• Published 9th May 2022
  • 1,731 Views, 92 Comments

Rimworld: Colony is Magic - Anotherrandom



Abducted by an unknown being, Twilight Sparkle is thrown into an unfamiliar world full of dangers. Will she be able to survive, make new friends and find a way home? And to what lengths will she have to go to ensure her safe return?

  • ...
3
 92
 1,731

Chapter Seven: Unyielding

Clean water was running down her fur, a feeling of soap on her skin, filth vanishing down the drain.

Shower, she liked showers.

Such a simple thing really, ponies all over Equestria took them every day without thinking. Everypony had one in their homes. Why would they ever spend time thinking about something so boring and normal?

Yet, it was a luxury, at least here. Water was allocated precisely to keep on top of their usage. The desert is merciless and without water, there is no survival. And the incredible amounts of effort it took to make actual functioning plumbing in the place was simply staggering.

But the humans did it anyway. Adapting this hostile place to fit their needs. It filled her with hope. If they could do it, why not her?

She closed her eye, relaxing, letting the warm water soak her coat and mane. She had to be extra careful around her eye socket, getting soapy water there was…not great.

The events of the last day were still fresh in her mind. The young mare did as scholars do, analyzed in an attempt to understand.

What was done was done. She tried to help and failed miserably. But she would continue trying. She would not forget her mistakes, Sun Glory’s words resonating within her.

Carry on, and never forget.

Twilight was scared for a moment that the colonists would be angry with her. She made another enemy, one more foe that would have to contend with, but they didn't blame her for it, aiming their fury was elsewhere.

Humans were strange.

The more she found out about them, the less she understood them. So ponylike sometimes, but nopony would ever think of putting a bomb in a slave collar.

And to think those were the same species that saved an absolute stranger from a burning wreckage, liked inappropriate jokes and gave her a surprise party to make her feel more welcome.

Her friends.

Twilight wanted to stay there, in the shower. Just exist for a moment. But duty was calling. She wouldn't let them down. Much needed to be done after yesterday's chores were abandoned unfinished.

She dressed, only taking the cuirass and pauldrons of her armor, putting it under the white of her lab coat, the rest of the plate armor left on the dresser. Twilight would get it for the waves, but wearing full plate all day was too inconvenient, even with the upside of the added protection.

Also, hot hot hot!

Metal suits are not great at keeping the heat out, and with the recent heatwave, well, she had no desire to be baked alive.

With no further delay, she opened her doors, existing into the streets of Ponyville.

Applejack greeted her from her stall, the farm pony awake bright and early. “Howdy there, partner! Getting ready for that picnic?”

“Must be, so how are things Sparky?”

King was eating an apple, the delicious fruit small for the looming human., bright smile on his face.

Twilight started smelling smoke.

The village was on fire, enemies swarming, ponies running around screaming, bullets whizzing in the air. Corpses lying in the open. Dawn enveloped in a purple telekinetic field, striking down the attackers. Mechanoids, insects, men in strange armor.

Sun Glory on his knees, sword lodged in his chest. Hand opening revealing a pin.

“Not yet.”


Twilight woke up.

Crown sat beside the remnants of a campfire, the night sky stretching above his head, the four moons in full view. The desert was silent around them. Only crickets to keep them company.

“Bad dream?” he asked.

The unicorn stretched, the bedroll was uncomfortable, the simple tent Crown build not a very good shelter against the elements. “... Yes.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

The night was always so beautiful here. And cold, fur or not. “Not very.”

He gave a solemn nod. “King is… doing okay. I think. At least he isn't getting worse.”

They turned their gaze towards the last tent, a bundle under it. King resting there, whimpering with each breath, bandages around his torso and arms.

“How is your leg doing?”

Twilight turned her attention back to Crown.

Her leg was okay. The herbal medicine did its job, at least for her. The pain was gone. She felt she could walk on it now. “Good.”

“It's gonna leave a scar, I’m… not a great doctor,” he gave a quick glance to King, turning in his uneasy dream. “You should prolly go back to sleep. Get back your strength.”

Dawn lying beside her. Unmoving. Not making a single sound, the chain still.

“God knows we are gonna need it.”

Twilight nodded, huddling in her sleeping bag, watching the campfire until dozing off again.


I hate hospitals; she decided with finality.

“Stop fidgeting, please.” Lilith said. Attaching wires for the scanner to Twilight's coat was hard enough, the mare vehemently refusing to have it shaved. With her moving around, it became nearly impossible.

“I said I'm fine,” Twilight retorted.

“Hmm, of course. Now let's see what the scanner says.” Knight attached another wire, pulling a bit too much, receiving a scowl from the pony that he ignored, glancing at the screen. “Congratulations, it's a boy.”

Lilith rolled her eyes and took a look herself. “Good news, no ruptured organs or internal bleeding.”

Twilight puffed. “Yes, same as yesterday, when you scanned me. And it will be the same tomorrow when you scan me again.”

“Hey, we are not the ones who got a face full of explosions,” said Knight, earning a scoff from the pony and a weak slap on the back of the head from Lilith.

“What he is trying to say is that blast injuries are very serious, and it's better to take every precaution. The symptoms can show later, so watch out!”

“Then where is Sun Glory?” she asked, tilting her head, one ear straight and the other laying against her skull.

The scientist gave an abashed smile. “His marine armor has protection against overpressure. He is… fine.”

Note to self: get power armor at earliest convenience.

“Yup, that's why he got the glorious task of getting rid of the mortar shells. By himself. Fun.”

Or maybe not. Twilight didn't want to be recruited to a bomb squad without any training. She would like to keep all of her limbs, thank you very much.

“Ehm, well, I think that's all. You can go, just… take it easy? Please? If that's okay?”

Knight went pale, like a horrible realization came to him. “Oh god no, we got another one.”

She chuckled. It wasn't a very good joke.



A swirl of dark, a glimpse of green and yellow, the shadow of the infinity. Blue, for some reason. A voice calling to her. White and gold enveloping her like a soft blanket.



The lab was on fire.

Metaphorically, of course, though Twilight doubted the temperature would change that much if it was.

She sat behind a table, unfinished calculations before her. Tail swishing from side to side. Clock ticking on the wall, glass flasks bubbling.

Focus, you can do it, just focus.

The lab was sweltering, the air conditioning in the entire base stopping and starting suddenly every so often.

The new geothermal reactor made large amounts of power, yes, but it couldn't supply the whole colony by itself, which was exactly what they forced it to do, as the solar panels were destroyed and there was no wind for the wind powered ones.

"I can't take it anymore!"

Lilith wasn’t doing much better than her.

Sweating, biting her nails, getting up every five minutes and walking around for a while, before sitting back down. Sometimes obsessively cleaning the lab down to the last smidgen of dust.

And not working on their project

With determination in her steps, Lilith locked the doors. "Now, there is nothing to distract us. Let's do some science!"

"Yeah!" she yelled, giggling like a filly.

Lilith continued, "Let's prove we can do it, no matter what!"

"YEAH!" Twilight cheered.

"Prove to my mother that I'm not useless!"

"Yeah?!"

They both vent to town on their calculations, solving problem after problem. Coming up with complex theories and mechanisms and programs to make their life on the hell planet easier.

For about ten minutes.

Twilight bit her lower lip, twiddling her hoofs.

The electric sound of the computer, Lilith tapping her fingers on the table, creaking of her chair as she changed positions, trying to find one that was comfortable, each squeak putting her nerves at the edge.

“So… any ideas?” spoke Lilith

“Argh! Let's just forget this. We won't get anything done today. Maybe Crown needs help with the fort.”

Lilith sighed. “You are probably right. This is going nowhere.”

The woman went to the doors, the sturdy metallic protector of all the expensive lab equipment.

There was a sharp "Tinkle" followed by a sheepish look appearing on the woman's face.

“Ehm, Lilith?”

“... I broke the key.”

They were stuck for hours until Sun Glory came around with his usual bowl of fruit.

The door didn't survive.



A sea of white. Lines of gold. Safe. She felt safe. Someone was watching out for her. A kind voice, calling her.



King worked.

Working always brought joy to him. Making a piece of steel into an item of his design, turning on a machine and it finally working right, repairing and mending broken items, bringing them back from the bring. It never failed to make him feel warm inside.

Today he felt warm mainly because the air conditioning broke.

“Damn it.”

The power grid was not meeting expectations, with batteries breaking and them not being able to repair them due to lack of components, as was the norm in Going South .

“Spark, are you good back there?”

Twilight Sparkle didn't have a good time.

While yes, that was true most of the time since being stuck on an alien planet for the amusement of unknown beings, it is especially true now, because she was boiling alive.

She truly, fully despised the desert at everything it stood for.

Sorting through the stockpile, taking inventory, and making sure none of the dangerous things, like ammunition and explosives, were not just laying in there, should have been a mundane job. One in which she even finds some enjoyment in.

Should have.

“What even is this?” she asked, more the universe at large than anybody in particular.

“Eh, that's green milk I guess?” said King, looking at the old buckets.

Twilight stood stunned for a moment, gawking at the green liquid.

“Why the hay you have twenty buckets of green milk, in the parts stockpile?” The flabbergasted pony could help but question.

“Well, it kinda fell out of the sky in a transport pod and we may have just taken it and put it there,” he answered, as if it explained anything.

“Why?” she asked again.

“It could come in handy! Maybe! I dunno! Stop staring at me!”

Move on Twilight, just move on. It can't get any weirder than this.

“Wait, is that… prosthetics toes? Why do we have those?”

King laughed nervously “You see-”

“It landed in a transport pod.”

“It landed in a transport pod.”



A voice of a woman calling onto her… not a woman. A mare. Celestia? Princess?



The diner changed into a war room.

The table with the map was occupied by all the six occupants of Going South. Little wood carved figurines placed for all of them, like pawns on a chessboard.

Sun Glory was prancing around it, using Twilight's borrowed spear as a pointer.
“Be mindful of the IEDs here and here. We do not want to detonate them prematurely by accident, so no grenades, save those for when they get close,” he said, spear point pointing in the kill box. “Do not, in any circumstance, underestimate them. These are no pirates or tribal raiders, these are trained soldiers.”

Twilight pinned her ears down. The odds were not looking good for the band of under armed misfits. Against a roaming band of bandits? Yes, their defense was enough. But against a proper army?

Plasma and fully automatic assault rifles versus lever and single actions. Power armor and shield belts against flak.

But they had time, which they did not squander. Traps, turrets, chemfuel barrels, barbed wire and a secondary defensive perimeter in case the first one falls. Every gun they had loaded with armor piercing ammunition.

And they had her magic.

“We heard it for the first time, Sun Tzu. And the second and third too.”

Sun Glory handed the spear back to Twilight. “Maybe, but it's better to be sure. Plans may fail, but-”

“Planning is indispensable,” five voices echoed.

“Ehm, yes, precisely.” He sighed, his shoulder sagged. “Now, to the plan itself,” he said, picking up a piece depicting a man in plate armor, holding a gladius and a rectangular shield. “Tell me, what is this?”

“A melee specialized fighter?” tried Twilight. To her, these seemed to be the least dangerous out of all the soldiers sent at them.

He nodded “These are the champions, do not let appearance fool you, these alongside standard troopers form the spine of your standard imperial units. Slow, heavily armored and able to become walking cover with their shield belts,” he put the figurine down and picked up another. “This is a trooper. Armed with more advanced ballistic weapons, flak armor, and a gunlink. Alone they are nothing special, but in tandem, they form tough formations,” he placed them down.

“This is how we break them.”



Twilight watched the gorge, straps of her armor digging into her flesh, Sun Glory adjusting them as he went over each colonist, patting down their webbings, making sure they brought water, ammunition and that their gear was up to spec.

No wind, only cacti, rocks, and dust as far as she could see. Vultures were flying high in the clear sky. The blazing sun hung right above them. Sweat pouring from their brows. King was playing with the bolt of his machineguns, the turrets turning on their positions.

Lilith hiding behind her cover, nervously watching for danger.

Knight leaned against the sandbags, pretending to be nonchalant. “We have this.”

“Contact!” yelled Crown from his perch, a pair of binoculars in front of his eyes.

The wave number twenty-four arrived.

“Our hearts for you alone!
Destined to be eternal!”

Singing echoing through the canyon, marching to the beat. Dust raising under their boots.

“Destined to be eternal!
Our lives for you alone!
Our lives for you alone!
Imperium! Eternal! Victorious!”

Sun Glory stood next to her at the gate, watching them approach slowly to the range of their guns.

A figure stepped in front of the marching formation, dressed in red and gold power armor, a better and more modern model than his Sun Glory’s marine one. A grand figure to lead the men. Longsword made of crystal and metal, with blue lines dotting its length raised, waiting to give the order.

“That is not a cataphract,” Glory’s voice was stark, hand landing on his weapon. “That's a Stelic Warden.”

And one he recognized. The gilded helm hid his face, but Sun Glory didn't need it to know how he looked.

He wasn't alone.

Black recon power armor clad soldiers around him, equipped with plasma charged weaponry.

“Brothers,” Sun Glory whispered.

The blade gave the command, and the attack began.



“The standard tactic is to form a turtle formation, march closer and use the champions as cover. Deploy smoke, while the troopers return fire from safety with the help of their gunlinks. As you get closer, send a sapper squad to plant explosives on the gate and force them to open. We have to prevent them from doing this.”

“So, how do we stop them from reaching our walls?”

Sun Glory grinned like a hungry fox. “Chem fuel.”



Shoulder to shoulder, rectangular ballistic shields in front of them, energy barriers flickering to life, rifles sticking from the gaps between. As much an intimidation tactic as a real strategy.

Marching in unison, missing a sign in the sand.

Knight took a deep breath, zeroing in on his target, King waiting for the signal.

“Imperium! Eternal! Eternal!”

White smoke popped, hiding the imperials, but not Knights’ target. A red barrel laying in the field.

“It flies the eagle of the legions!”

Closer, closer… just a bit more.

“It flies, the eagle of the legions!”

Crack of a rifle, followed by a fiery explosion. Four Maxim guns springing to action, spraying into the smoke, where flames raged.

Screaming, they got some! “Eat these fuckers! Yeah!” exclaimed Knight, racking his bolt and aiming at another barrel - hidden from the view of the coming enemy by their own smoke.

King readied himself for another burst. He didn't need to be very accurate. Wait for Knight to create a gap in the shields, put some bullets in. Take them apart.

Another explosion, machine guns firing side by side, bullets filling the air as the enemy reached the range of their turrets. The imperials stopped deploying smoke, wanting to see the threat before approaching it.

It nearly drove the colonists mad, having to conserve fuel for the traps, leaving the power grid under powered these last few days.

But they put it to good use.

Twilight could swear she saw fear run through the formation as they clearly saw the amount of chemfuel barrels waiting for them - but the imperials didn't hesitate, destroying the barrels by firing at the traps, clearing the way for the coming attack.

The shield belts, the source of the energy barrier over them, had a fatal design flaw. Blocking any fast-moving object, meaning no shooting from inside of it.

To clear the traps from a safe distance, the attackers had to turn them off for a moment.

Shots reverberated in the valley, the elite force focusing on the barrels while the troopers fired on the defenders in an attempt to suppress them.

The advantage was with the defenders. King and the turrets needed only to be accurate enough with their volume of fire, while the attackers needed to get either very lucky or be very precise to lead their shots through the embrasures.

Twilight ran, boxes of ammo in her levitation, Crown beside her.

“Keep firing!” Sun was standing by the gate, borrowing Crown's binoculars and serving as King's assistant as the crafter kept sending hell to the empire in the form of .303 armor-piercing bullets.

The path clear, the attackers resumed their approach. Barrier back up, the enemy numbers whittled down, but not enough to break them yet.

“Knight! Release the beasts!”



Sun Glory scratched his chin. “The chemfuel will only work for a while. We need to supplement them with something else,” he turned Knight, their resident farmer. “A question,” he said, a spark in his eyes.

“How trainable are boomalopes?”



The double gate opened, a stampede of animals rushing out. A considerable loss for the colony, but one they accepted as necessary.

“Atta them girls!”

Again, Twilight was reminded that boomalopes have no survival instinct, and will happily charge to their deaths.

If they do not spontaneously combust first.

The enemy soldiers could only stare in bewilderment as a bunch of tamed animals charged at them.

Drop the shield, face gunfire. Fight them, face fire. Both scenarios were a win for the defenders.

The soldiers of the empire chose the latter.

A truly brave or stupid champion with a gladius stabbed one of the animals. He wasn't there a second later. Well, he was, but not just there.

We could say he was all over the place.

Boomalopes produce chemfuel in the sacks growing on their backs. They were bio-engineered to do so. This doubles as a defensive mechanism after they were released to the wilds of the outer rims, as anything trying to hunt them found itself in the list of endangered lifeforms fast.

The Stelic Defender showed himself in the crowd of panicking soldiers, animals exploding around them. Knight choose that moment to send a round and him, only for it to bounce off, not penetrating his armor. “Shit!”

Twilight steeled herself for what to come, breathing heavily.



“Twilight, you can skip, can't you?”

“Skip?”

“Teleportation, Twilight.”

“Yes, I can. It's…costly on my magic, but possible even in this environment. Why?”

“How far?”



A box of old ammo, not used anymore by any of their weapons. Sun Glory waiting for her to give the okay.

“Now!”

One strike with Dawn, the ammo started to cook off.

Reality bends around it, powered by the unicron. The box of ammo vanishing and reappearing some distance away.
Under the feet of an imperial trooper who could be called very, very unlucky.

“Bullseye! Ya got them Twilight!”

Twilight felt relief rush through her. They were winning, keeping the forces of the empire at bay.

The Stelic Defender lifted a construction of three tubes, aimed it at the walls. Desperation and a dark realization came to Sun Glory. “Focus fire! Get him! Everyone, fire at the commander!”

The reaction was immediate, the fear as it crossed her friend's eyes.

King machineguns threw bulletstorm the commander's way, turning red hot from the sustained fire. Everyone was shooting at him. Including Twilight, the mare sending bolts of magic at the Stelic Defender. The unicorn did her best, the urgency clear as they tried to take the enemy leader down.

But nothing could prepare Twilight for what was coming.

The champions stood between the Stelic Defender and the colonists' unceasing attack, some collapsing dead or wounded.

But it was too late.

The gilded armor clad enemy squeezed the trigger of his triple rocket launcher.

“DOWN! GET DOWN!”

The walls exploded, bricks and sandbags flying through the air. Smoke filled her already impaired vision. A cheer from the enemy.

“CHARGE!”

Was that Sun Glory's voice?

Someone grabbed her. “Fall back! Fall back!!”

Rigging in her ears, dizzy, her leg bleeding.

Sun Glory stood behind them, buying time. Her body was thrown over Crown's shoulder as the builder carried her to safety, while she felt a sharp pain in her leg. King kept shooting his shotgun, retreating slowly to cover.

Enemies close behind them.

The killbox was breached. Their positions were broken. Turrets were limp, the cables connecting them severed. Imperials pouring in through the hole in their defensive, ready to end the battle.

There were still a half of the forces enemy left.

“Fall back!” yelled Sun again, Dawn in his hand, striking down a charging champion, the chain sword roaring like a caged beast, cutting through the man's abdomen.

“Lilith! Where is Lilith?!” she heard King cry out.

Their second defensive line was nothing but some sandbags and a few still functioning turrets. Nothing against such overwhelming force.

“Run! To the mines! Run!”

Shots whizzing past them. Troopers and janissaries firing with abandon. They were getting close to the mines, where they would be trapped. Easy to pick off.

Unless.

Sun Glory turned to them, grabbing Crown by the shoulders. “Listen to me,” his voice was so unnaturally calm. He knew what he needed to do. “Go to the mines. There is a false wall marked with an X, break it and run. Do not look back! Understand!”

“Sun Glory, what-”

“Do. you. understand.”

Crown looked him in the eyes. Gaze filled with resolve. “Yes.”

“Take care of them, hear me?,” He gave the sword to Twilight. Dawn, his ever loyal companion. Now clutched in the purple mare's hooves. A last goodbye. “Now, go!” he ordered. “Do not go back!”

Twilight watched him, her leg hurting, the pain maddening. Something was definitely wrong with it. “What do you think you are doing?”

“What they made me for,” he said as he picked up a gladius from the dead man. “Don't worry about me.”

Crown hesitated, unsure what to do.

“Go!” Sun Glory yelled one last time, Crown finally taking off. Leaving him behind as they vanished into the mine.

Sun Glory rushed to a crevice by the entrance, a wooden box hidden there. He had to ready it fast and-

Impact to his shoulder. The imperials were already there.

The last resort, then.

He filed the pocket of his apron, thanking silently the pink hyperweave material for being able to carry so much weight.

“And look who we have here.”

Man in red and gold, monosword in a decorative scabbard by his hip, talking with a familiar voice.

His voice.

“To see mighty fall so low,” the words were filled with disdain and hate, almost spitting each one of them out like they left a foul taste in his mouth. “A fitting end for a traitor. Crawling in the dirt like the snake you are.”

Sun Glory stood up, the grip of the gladius in his fingers.

Head held high.

“Kill him,” the Stelic Defender commanded.

The champions rushed in, but were stopped in their tracks as Sun Glory charged in kind.

Dodging and weaving, striking in the weak spots of their armor, bashing skulls in with his bionic fist. A flurry of blows, calculated and precise.

A champion holding his bleeding neck. Trooper staring at a stump where his hand was. Plate armor clad warrior screaming on the ground, a deep gash on his face.

Never stopping, never giving in.

Parry and stab, rush in before they could react.

Janissary shooting his charge rifle at him. With a handful of sand thrown into the janissary's face and a lighting quick punch, the enemy was knocked out. He grabbed the charged rifle, emptying a mag into a group of enemies, then throwing the empty gun at the nearest foe.

Stab, slash, dodge, parry.

Sun Glory was surrounded.

An axe hitting him in the shoulder blade. A dying warrior stabbing him with a knife into his leg. A bullet wound in his thigh. Few of his fingers were lost. His body was failing, it was failing him for some time. The weakness in his arms, the shortness of breath. Sun Glory felt the touch of death.

It was a fate shared by all clones. Reaching their expiration date.

Not yet.

Another janissary struck him with the butt of a LMG, the power armor adding strength to the attack. Sun Glory felt his ribs break, tasting blood in his mouth.

Sun Glory countered, stabbing the offender into the armpit. The gladius was stuck in the recon armor, but killed the enemy soldier nonetheless.

Another attacker, sword hitting him in the back, he turned around, bionic hand grabbing the champion's arm, breaking it,

A hit to his helmet, Sun’s vision going blurry. Rage and fury were now in his every movement. Less coordinated, less trying to survive, more trying to kill. He let out a scream, sounding more like an animal than a man, ripping out a trooper's jaw with his bare hands, bullets piercing his armor in numerous places, bones shattering.

Bleeding from numerous wounds, Sun Glory knew his last stand came to an end.

Not yet.

Everything was red. The enemies kept coming, firing shot after shot at him. And step by bloody step, Sun Glory fought on.

Something changed. Silence filled the air.

The Stelic Defender raised his fist, the soldiers under his command backing away from the crazed madman that was left of him. “So old, so close to deactivation. Still, there is some fight left in you,” the enemy commander took off his helmet. Revealing his face.

The face of Sun Glory.

Younger, yes. But otherwise indistinguishable. His eyes, his voice and his posture, all same to his own.

“I remember the stories they told us about you. The first vatgrown to raise in the ranks,” he spat on the ground. “And then you betrayed us all. Joining with the rebellion. Tell me, was it worth it?”

Sun Glory didn't answer, his tired legs finally giving in, falling to his knees.

“I must say, you did not disappoint. Shame for your friends though.” A sword left its scabbard. Impossible sharp edge of the monosword thirsty for blood.

Was it enough? Did they escape? Made it out of the mine?

Or was it all of it for naught?

A swoosh in the air, a smirk on his brother's face, monosword stuck in his chest. Leaning close to him.

“Beg, beg for your life.”

His existence flashing before his eyes.

The vats, the place of his birth, like waking from a dreamless sleep. The grueling training, brothers lost, destroyed for their perceived inadequacy. Not strong enough. Not tough enough.

His first set of recon armor, the first mission, the first execution, battle won, people enslaved, a planet burned.

The mechanoid war, the slaughterhouse it all was.

The decision that damned his life to death, the arduous path to redemption. Did he find it?

The graves of his loved ones. Killed for his crimes.

A deal with the devil, the chance to change fate.

The illness all the clones shared. A part of their programming. There is no place for an old vatgrown.

I’m ready.

He smiled. There was nothing else to do.

“Do you yield, traitor?”

“No,” he said, hand leaving his apron pocket. “Not yet.”

Palm of hi bloody hand opened, shaking. A pin in it.

"Do you?"

The grenades and mortar shells filling his apron pocket, alongside the rest of the explosives, detonated.

And then Sun Glory, the vatgrown soldier, found peace in the burning light.

Author's Note:

We reached the end of an arc.

The next chapters will be delayed, as I won't have access to the internet for two weeks. Hopefully, I will be able to write in the meantime. I just won't be able to upload.
I took a look at all the suggestions. I definitively plan on using some of them.

Looking at you, random man hunting rats and tamed animals.

This was hard to write, so… yeah. So. see ya all and thanks for the support. It really means a lot.

Inspired loosely by a real last stand of a pawn (Tough, Iron Willed, Sanguine) against overwhelming odds, may Chaddus Maximus rest in pieces.