A survivor joins refuge with an elite task force to fight for Equestria when he soon discovers the true origin of the zebras realizing that both tribes want the same thing.
Three friends inhabit the wastelands of a post-apocalyptic future, their land once filled with peace and happiness when a war was declared by the unknown. Follow the story of Black Cross as he uncovers the true nature of the zebras. While on a mission to investigate in the city of Manehattan, the unicorn later befriended a zebra and discovers an astonishing truth.
In the year 2064, just a few years prior after the bombs had fell, a young mercenary joins refuge in a task force to battle against the unknown. He soon discovers about the truth behind the zebra tribe, who also want to put an end to the war once and for all. From the inspiring video game franchise, the Fallout and Call of Duty series here comes a fictional fan-made story exploiting adventure and friendship in this original story.
It is the year 2058, beyond the mountains and trees in a faraway landscape there were miles of roads that are dividing between the two worlds, there was the pony tribe and the zebra tribe. This was the land we called Equestria. Rather big, it shares its nature and beauty for the two worlds. It would have seemed both parties were at peace, for awhile at least.
By 2062, there were an increase of population and ponies want nothing more than land. The zebra tribe, or also known as the Wanderers of Equestria, had enough of their greedy ways and must put an end to all ponies with violence. The ponies were encouraged to move into the vaults for safety but not many ponies had chosen that direction, some rather stayed home where they felt comfortable, however that didn't stop them from staying home while some had to live underground in the sewers - the zebras should not had started this war, or so it was believed that way. So they fought back.
Then the bombs fell.... destroying the buildings and structures we had spent generations keeping them standing. This was only the beginning of war.
It was dark, the sense of smoke and dust was in the air making it predictable to fly or breathe. The gas was corrosive and extremely dangerous to inhale that could kill anyone in a matter of minutes. Everyone else who was affected by the impact of the blast were vaporized, but the gas was beginning to reach other locations including upper areas in the Frozen North, the Mysterious South, and larger areas of the East Coast.
Meanwhile, a unicorn was running away from the gas, but reached to the end of the East Coast only to find himself unable to leave, with nowhere to go and no way of getting off the land without a boat he is completely stranded. He could only see sand and even more sand, with the sea only being in front of him. He was sweating a-lot, tired of running and just when he thought he could get away, there was nowhere to run now. His options were very limited.
When all hope was thought to be lost, the unicorn starts digging onto the sand beach expecting to find something useful. He kept digging and digging to hopefully find something but eventually didn't had any luck only to create holes in the ground, however he was running out of time. Then suddenly the unicorn thought of an idea, as he grabs all of the sand around him to cover himself into the deepest hole that he made. He then cast a spell to protect his body like a shield sphere, and creates a cloud that could produce oxygen which can allow him to breathe for up to 10 hours.
The gas had reached the East Coast, eventually floating above water and evaporating it only to produce acid rain. The liquid was highly deadly that it could melt flesh in a matter of seconds, then disintegrate metal, wood, and concrete. It was devastating.
After a few hours have passed, the unicorn who had buried himself was trying to break free from his little shelter since his spell had worn off, as he attempts to dug himself out from the dirt. Gasping for air, he struggles to get out when his horn was the only thing sticking out from the ground, he casts a spell to pull himself up with his levitation technique that he learned in Celestia's school for the gifted unicorns. His head was finally above the surface, lead by a cough grasping for more air, but it wasn't from the sand, rather coming from the filthy fog that had lifted the air. "How long have I been out?" he says.
It was quiet. The unicorn wanders around, looking for anyone that might need his help. It was yet to be silent, as Manehattan was always so loud and busy. Rather quite unusual. However, the unicorn was losing air, and his legs were unsteady, he felt a very sharp pain in them, it must have been from sleeping for too long. He falls to the floor, laying on his side against the dirt as his eyes begin to close itself, he loses consciousness and passes out.
Suddenly, a couple pegasus flew into the scene where they discovered his body. They realized it wasn't too late to save him, but in a matter of time until they could reach to safety.
"Let's take him with us back to the Vault" says the pegasus in orange hair.
One of his comrades picks him up and carries the poor unicorn. They also searched for any identifications on him that he might have, a wallet was found inside his jacket. What they found was a Governor ID that revealed his name, Black Cross an agent who worked for the city supreme counselor as their body guard personnel, but his account was dismissed recently due to unknown reasons according to the federal agents division website that they have for him on file.
While further inspecting the unicorn, his coat is rather gray almost as the same color of a dimmed fog, eyes were blue like the deep ocean, both mane and tail are black as the darkest side of night. He has a black cross for a cutie mark which for some reason matches his identification and other features.
The group takes Black Cross to their under ground facility operated and protected by the government who designed the so-called "Vaults" which only 20 of them that exist in Equestria located in only 6 different regions, while not being approved by Princess Celestia herself, however knowing that the high rulers are no longer present, that only the supreme leaders and military generals now has to take over for the princess.
Black Cross was taken inside to a safe and secured facility built as one of the toughest strongholds which is known for their highly advanced security system. This is Vault 7 holding a record of the largest facilities below Manehattan. It has over 329 rooms, with 30 clinical laboratories included, and only 8 comm rooms operated by the head administrators.
6:45 AM
This organization was founded somewhere in the middle of nowhere just 32 kilometers away from the big city of Manehattan. A large city with tall skyscrapers and markets but now the mutants are scattered all over the place. These are artificial intelligent ponies and professionals from around the world capable of healing, engineering, weaponry, and even hunting. Different classes over a variety of ranks and specialists making up a name for themselves. They call themselves the Equine Society.
While seemingly asleep, Black Cross finds himself in a room with pure brightness, in front of him there were a few empty beds, a surgical tube was implanted onto his left hoof just lower from his metacarpal into the vain. At the other end of the tube was a medical pad filled with water, probably used to keep him hydrated. He slowly gets up, laying on his back against the bed, as he looks to his right there was a heart beat monitor beside from him at a very calm heart rate and stabilized.
Suddenly someone walks in as the door slides open from both sides then closes behind the pony that came in. He appears to have a horn - a unicorn if that wasn't obvious, an orange mane and tail, with a blue jacket that has a yellow streak in between where the zipper seals but wasn't too visible, rather hidden underneath the comfort zone. The unicorn gets closer to get a better inspection of Black Cross.
"Hello Black Cross, I am Spitfire, son of Spitfire and former head administrator of the Wonderbolts Corporation" he says as he got a little closer for a check up, "We found you by the beach on east coast of Manehattan, you're lucky to even be alive."
Black Cross had no words, almost as if he forgot how to introduce himself to others he had never met before, but under circumstances such as this, it is difficult to comprehend after the events of the bombs, yet is still shaken from the disaster that happened moments before he could parish prior to his own eyes.
"Speechless, huh?" he scoffs, "I understand, especially after going through enough trouble but don't worry about that now, you're safe and that's all that matters." Spitfire walks near the exit but awaits Black Cross to get out of bed.
Not sure what his intentions are but he realizes it's better to just follow his instructions in order to achieve his main objective, almost as if this reminded him of his previous occupation before he was dispatched from the company. He quickly gets up on all fours but was still feeling a little anxious.
"Go ahead move around and try to give yourself some exercise, take a look if you just want to get used to this place" he says before turning around and opening the door in front of him while Black Cross was following him from behind. "Let's get going, I want to show ya around." Black Cross nods and continues to follow.
Spitfire leads Black Cross to a room he will supposedly stay, as he enters they are greeted with an empty room, no one was home. While agreeing to stay, Black Cross had no idea what he was getting himself into but if it means for the sake of his kind and for others. He takes a quick look around before turning to Spitfire again. "Thank you, for all of this" he says.
Spitfire shows signs of respect and smiles at Black Cross, "We'll get through this together, I'm sure we'll make great acquaintance" he says, "You'll meet your crew by tomorrow, but for now get some rest" he closes the door behind him on the way out.
Black Cross inspects the room again, putting his coat on a dresser, but something he notice was missing. His wallet was gone, perhaps stolen but that's impossible since he last had it with him during the bombing, unless Spitfire or one of his crew took it for their own he wondered. For now it was only a matter of time until he finds it, or perhaps it was probably better to stick with being a nobody without knowing the identity of himself.
He tries to open a drawer next to him but his magic wasn't taking any affect, strange it was. Equestria we use to know and love now became a battlefield, it's possible that magic could be futile in the future, and thousands - if not, millions of lives had just went extinct. Black Cross uses his mouth to open the drawer to put his stuff down. As he closes the drawer, he goes to sleep and times goes by. Tomorrow was going to be a new day.
After waking up from a long nap, Black Cross undoubtedly searches for Spitfire without any clue where he was suppose to find him, he was a bit surprised even though this was the first time Black Cross was in a place like this. "I was just about to go look for you, I didn't realize you could find me in just a short amount of time" says Spitfire.
Black Cross just shrugs it off, he has been on countless of missions during his glory days as an early agent, it's easy for him to track the movements of his allies as well as the enemy. "I have experience in tracking creatures, I have the mobility to find anyone I've met, depending on where their location is, it doesn't take me long to study a pony's routine" he says.
Spitfire was amazed, he didn't even had to go get Black Cross when he is the one that went to him instead. Perhaps this was the perfect opportunity to assign him on his first mission. "Well then I guess we're lucky to have you Black Cross, in fact I think this mission will be perfect for you" he says, greeting him with a big smile on his face.
It wasn't much enthusiasm for Black Cross, as he believed this was probably just another regular scouting mission, perhaps needlessly necessary. However the Equine Society was not afraid, with their advanced military technology they could accomplish anything.
"What do I have to do?" said Black Cross.
Spitfire pulls out a map revealing all of Manehattan's county, parts of which have already been scribbled with red marker, probably used to search certain areas perhaps too important for them, but it was too hard to tell what was circled from his view, the words were very small until he got a closer look. He points to a new location that hasn't been written on, rather a place he is awfully familiar with, it was his previous work place.
Black Cross looks at him, unsure what he's plotting, "What's the meaning of this?" he says. Spitfire couldn't help himself but smirks back at him surprisingly. "We need to retrieve something that will help us, and only you can get it since you have access to this building" says Spitfire.
Realizing that Black Cross was recently departed from his employment, but Spitfire just shakes his head, "We inspected your account before you got here, it would seem that you are currently pending for termination but since no one isn't available, let's assume that you won't be dispatched anytime soon" he says. This means that Black Cross is the only one present with a key card that grant him access to certain parts of the building, however this gives Black Cross a strange feeling that this isn't going to follow his plans smoothly.
"I don't know what your plan is, or why you have me assigned to this when really anyone could have used my keycard, however this doesn't give me full privilege to every area of the headquarters, but if this plan were to somehow doesn't let you proceed successfully then you're only putting your team at risk" he says.
Spitfire had given Black Cross the coordinates in his mini monitor that was wrapped around his canon below his knee, it was like a working computer that he could travel alongside without having to carry anything useless.
Spitfire shows no expression from that response, it would seem as if he has a backup plan in case if something does go wrong. "You're absolutely right about that, and that is why I have created an escape route in case if something like that does happen" he says, pulling out a picture of what looks to be like transparent layout of the building and shows it to Black Cross, he points to him where he can locate the object that he's looking for.
Black Cross is astonished to witness what he has seen, knowing that this is highly top classified information that not even civilization could know about, in fact no one isn't allowed to have this kind of detail. "Where in tartarus did you get this?" asked Black Cross.
Spitfire explains that one of his crew members were once in the same organization as Black Cross, however there isn't any evidence of their presence since they recently had been killed in an accident a few hours prior before they found Black Cross by the beach. He then goes on about his plan, Black Cross and his companions must collect an amplified stereo receiver, used to send out and retrieve signals from other locations no matter the distance. This was used by the division that Black Cross worked for allowing them to contact other division operator stations around the world. He agrees to this mission and prepares for launch in the next few days.
Black Cross was just about to get his equipment and weapons from his bedroom when suddenly he was stopped by a pony in the hallway
"I was in a meeting with the general, what can I do for you?" asked Black Cross.
A pony who Black Cross wasn't familiar with stumbled in the hall, he appears in front of him blocking his path holding a 6-round revolver we like to call the Nuzzle because of how the barrel was designed being so short, "Hey!! Black Cross, I was just looking for you" he said. Next to him there was Rainbow Storm, a shader red-yellow-green color for his mane and tail, a dark blue coat, and blue eyes. He gives Black Cross something, a weapon he has never seen before, perhaps it was brand new. "Here take this submachine" said Rainbow Storm.
Black Cross receives the MLP4 - a fast firing automatic submachine gun with high capacity, while despite it's small size weighing only 15 pounds, the lightest weapon in its class. In length, the gun is 15 inches long, and 7.5 inches in height. Equiped with a short magazine carrying up to 20 rounds.
"What is it that you do?" asked Black Cross. "Well I use to work as a correctional officer before the war started but now I work as an engineer technician for computers. I do want to start a medic career and that's about it" said Tootsie.
"Sounds good enough for me and the team, just don't stand in our way, okay?" said Black Cross as he stood by the door to grab his equipment and picked up an assault rifle that was pretty heavy, the weapon itself most ponies prefer to call as the Stallion‘98 because of it's design that ironically looks like another weapon made in the 90's by stallions.
"Right, you got it" Tootsie added. "Let's get a move on, we have an objective tomorrow morning, that's an order, soldier" said Black Cross.
Rainbow Storm was standing next to Black Cross with a loaded pump shotgun strapped onto his armor held on against his waist. "I'm ready" he said as Rainbow Storm had lowered his weapon.
Black Cross picks up his loaded fully automatic assault rifle with an extended magazine "Okay team, Operation REBIRTH move out!" he shouted.
That day...
Mission: Operation Rebirth search for the Amplify Receiver Location: Burbank, Manehattan city of the supreme counslor headquarters Agents Rainbow Storm, Tootsie Roll, and Black Cross take refuge inside a convenient store Thursday, December 28, 2062
It was freezing cold, the sky had poured snow and the team are just around the corner from reaching to their destination. Black Cross, his team had advanced gear on, the pony who appears in front of him was Tootsie Roll who recently joined the Equine Society as a task maker and medic, Tootsie is rather enthusiastic and the look in his eyes, red as a lollipop but his coat was brown, strangely.
The three of them looked at each, wondering why they are there. "So what exactly are we looking for?" asked Tootsie, Black Cross was nodding his head left and right as if he said something stupid, annoying at first but he knew why Spitfire needed this device. "We are searching for the Amplified Stereo, it can be used to communicate with others, even from a great distance" said Black Cross, Rainbow Storm had his eyes lid opened to what he just heard, "I get it now, he wants to rebuild civilzation, but he needs our help to do it" he added.
Without hesitation, Rainbow Storm and Tootsie Roll get up moving forward followed by Black Cross from behind watching their backs. They get to the front entrance, Black Cross inputs his old password unlocking the door to get in, while entering the place was already empty. "Where is everypony?" asked Rainbow Storm as his voice echoes the room from the main lobby and second floor. Black Cross looks around to see if there were any signs or traces where his crew may have gone, he wondered if they left in a hurry, "It seems they have evacuated after the bombs" he added. "Where were you when it happened?" asked Tootsie, holding his gun to his side sighing.
Black Cross explains his past about his former work experience, while being away from his job location, he was at a place at the wrong time. Then it happened. There was no regret, however he could care less about anybody except for himself, but with his new crew, this time he will look after them and won't let anything happened to either Rainbow Storm or Tootsie Roll and everyone else back at the hideout.
The team head up stairs to the highest floor where they found the stereo on a desk sitting by a bunch of computers, no one hasn't been using it for awhile, Black Cross puts the amplified stereo in his satchel bag, and after putting it away they feel something below them. The ground beneth their hooves begin to shake and wobble as if it was a small earthquake, but they soon begin to realize that something was wrong with the building. "This building isn't stable, we have to get out of here!" said Black Cross.
Rainbow Storm leads the way, as Tootsie Roll started moving quickly as he could, followed by Black Cross running up the stairs, "Get to the roof, now!!" he shouted. The building was going to collapse, and everything around them was breaking apart, even the books falls off from their shelves.
They get to the roof, both Rainbow Storm and Tootsie Roll jump off as they flap their wings to glide, while soaring the skies, Black Cross uses a spell to help him levitate as he follows his crew when suddenly the building comes crumbling from behind them. He quickly leans to the left moving out of the way as he could, they made it to the other side of town seeing all the damage that was left behind after the blast from the bomb a few days ago.
Their mission was complete, all three made it back safely and managed to get the stereo right on time.
The next day, Black Cross enters the operation room where he sees Spitfire, "General Spitfire, good to see you" he says.
Spitfire looks at him. "Agent Black Cross, as you know you've only been here for a few days, I understand you just came back from your previous mission, but I have to assign you on another" he says.
He explains the mission to Black Cross, he and his team has to elimate a group that are a threat to their plans. The location was somewhere no unicorn would ever enter without the possibility to cast a spell. Spitfire shows a map to him while explaining what he has to do.
"You want me to go to Las Pegasus?" asked Black Cross. "It's going to look awful, rain everywhere, it's like fucking raining acid out there, contagious, you stand out there and your skin demolishes in a matter of seconds" said Spitfire pointing a spot where he can hide.
Black Cross remembers studying about the weather, "I guess that's what happens when magic is evaporated into thin air" he says. "Well luckily for my team, we have technology, each of you will be getting your own spy drone" said Spitfire.
"Sounds like a good plan" Black Cross replied. Spitfire gives him a look that might surprise him, "I will also be assigning Syphon Filter on your mission" he says, yet it was a bit strange be he knew what he was thinking. Syphon is good at hacking, he has never been a failure and always a good companion to Spitfire.
Black Cross needs to bring Syphon to the facility, he could hack their systems and fix the issue, then the acid rain will stop pouring onto Ponyville. "You are our only team I can rely on, and do don't die" said Spitfire. He agrees to the mission and proceed to the operation.
That day...
Mission: Team Black Cross go investigate the Rainbow Factory Location: Near Canterlot, a little village called Ponyville in the sky above Agents Rainbow Storm, Tootsie Roll, Black Cross and Syphon Filter arrive in Cloudsdale Sunday, June 3, 2063
Black Cross pulls out a remove control as Syphon opens up a suitcase which has his RC Spy Drone that he named Striker, he gives it to Black Cross as a gift which will be useful to him. It has a built-in camera with live video feedback, the rotors are suppressed and silent in flight mode.
While piloting the drone, it flies around scanning the area for any life forms and their location. Detected multiple units in the sight, appeared to be guarding the facility wielding heavily armed riles and machine guns. The team decide to call in for backup, requesting artillery armor support for defense. Four pods were deployed containing a single suit of armor with the initials that reads "J.E.T.S." which stands for; Juggernaut. Evasive. Tactical. Suit.
It was 6:56 PM
Black Cross alongside with Rainbow Storm, Tootise Roll, and Syphon trot their way through Las Pegasus. When spotted, the raiders were alerted of their presence, as they shoot their guns the crew only took partial damage, it was the suit protecting the body and face from gun fire. Lasers and bullets were flying everywhere, but they don't penetrate through their armor, however the suit can overheat, if taken too much damage then the unit has to take cover for a cool down recovery phase.
Several months have passed. It was Thursday, May 12, 2064, 3 months after the success of his second mission, every pony respects him wandering around through the halls while on guard duty. Weeks after his promotion he had officially become the squad leader for a new team known as Operation REBIRTH.
10:32 AM
In the cafeteria, Black Cross was sitting in a chair with a group of ponies surrounding him as he told them funny jokes and stories about his past life. "So the soda can said to the straw; hey buddy, why do you gotta suck up on everything?" he chuckled.
Everyone in the room laughs when suddenly a pony walks in from behind him "Black Cross, he's here" he said.
"Thank you for keeping an eye out for me, corporal" said Black Cross. He nodded and walks away from the scene.
Black Cross went to the operation room where he would expect to meet the head admin of the Equine Society.
"Black Cross, I called you up here to assign you on a very important mission, we're running out of medical supplies and we need some pony to go find more, luckily for you, we've located to the nearest hospital just south of Manehattan" he shows Black Cross a holographic map of Baltimore "it looks roughly abandon, I want you and your team to investigate, kill anything that gets in your way, and whatever you do, don't let any zebra survive." Spitfire explained.
Black Cross was told that the zebras were responsible for declaring war on the ponies, the Equine Society pushed them back into the forest, however they somehow got their hooves on tactical weapons, then the ponies had to struct them down with nuclear bombs. It wasn't before long when half of the population were forced to go into the vaults, the ponies who designed the vaults did everything they could to protect every pony but half of them chose not to.
There was no turning back now. No pony goes in and no pony ever leaves. Black Cross was confident on this new mission, "Copy that" said Black Cross as he nodded before leaving behind the door. The coordinates were marked on the map.
That day...
Mission: Operation Rebirth search for medical supplies south of Manehattan Location: Ruined city of Baltimore 60 miles near the Everfree forest Agents Rainbow Storm, Tootsie Roll, and Black Cross located the hostpital outside of Manehattan Friday, May 13, 2064
Black Cross and his squad were on their way to Baltimore and found themselves on a long journey, only several miles away to reach the city. Rainbow Storm, Tootsie Roll and Black Cross are on a mission to find medical supplies and anything useful, somewhere at a new location they've never been to that Spitfire had ordered them to retrieve, kind of like a search party. With nothing to do but walk miles to get to their coordinates, there seems to be not a single thing that would keep them entertained, it's a long way back to headquarters and no mares around.
"Finally, after an extended amount of walks than I ever had, we made it!" said Black Cross.
"I am so tired..." said Tootsie as he slowly walks behind the group.
"We can't rest now. We got a mission to complete, that's our order" said Black Cross.
Tootsie sighs and follows Black Cross into Baltimore along with Rainbow Storm guarding their back.
Black Cross was in front of the line with Rainbow Storm guarding their back, while Tootsie being the clumsy companion he is, stops for a moment, the team turns to him when they notice he was prancing around and tapping his hooves against the sandstone.
Tootsie gave Black Cross a funny look on his face while stomping around as if he was performing a dance move but he wasn't amused and looks back at him "What are you doing?" he said.
"I'm sorry, but I really gotta use the restroom" said Tootsie.
Rainbow Storm looks at Black Cross and turns back to Tootsie, "Why didn't you go before we left that hotel?" he shook his head remembering that Tootsie was the one guarding their backs while searching for loot for hours.
"You're just gonna have to go, don't waste our time or we'll leave you behind" said Black Cross.
Tootsie nodded and rushes out to find the nearest place to pee behind an inanimate object where his team would not see him. A few minutes have passed, Tootsie was moving his penis around and wiggling it like slapping someone with a raw hotdog. He started rocking his hooves up and down beneath the dirt hoping more piss would come out but nothing happens. He stood there silently not saying a word and leans to the side peaking from behind a tree to check on his friends.
Rainbow Storm and Black Cross was still waiting on Tootsie to get back to them but were beginning to be impatient with him, "What's taking him so long?" said Rainbow Storm, Black Cross shook his head like he wouldn't know what Tootsie be doing back there.
Suddenly Tootsie heard a click and the sound of something rolling underneath him when he stopped for a moment to look down only to discover that a grenade was below him, he quickly reacted jumping out of the way as far as possible. "GRENADE!!" he shouted, the explosion had him stunned but was not injured, Black Cross and Rainbow Storm heard the blast too and rushed in to find out what happened.
It was an ambush, a group of raiders came out from the horizon desert like a pack of wolves hunting for loot to treasure anything they could find regardless of how innocent you may be, they will kill no matter what. They came in and started blasting their guns with laser pistols.
Black Cross gets behind a wall for cover, as Rainbow Storm gets low on the ground and throws a smoke bomb to protect Tootsie from getting hit while shooting back at the raiders with his combat shotgun. There were seven of them, completely out-numbered but Operation Rebirth were not afraid to hesitate. One of them stood by Rainbow Storm about to shoot him with their laser pistol but Black Cross quickly stopped the raider ending his life getting shot by an assault rifle, "tango down" he says.
Rainbow Storm spots an enemy agent moving forward to get a better view but still couldn't see anything with the smoke in their vision, while laying flat down he shoots the raider with his shotgun in his breast and dies.
Suddenly a raider with the Revenant sniper rifle appears on top of a roof just a few feet above them, Black Cross was aware of his presence and shot the ground to distract him only to give Black Cross time to blast him with his Stallion'98 on the opposite side of the tree where he could see him and shot the sniper down but his gun was vaporized by the blast of a laser pistol from a raider that was in front in him, he quickly gets behind the tree again for cover to pull out two pistols of his own. He even gave them names, Reign and Control were his two favorite semi-automatic fired pistols. Black Cross had jumped out of cover and started blasting his pistols at the raider, he was took quick for him that not even the raider could react and dies from his bullet wounds.
"That was the last of them" said Rainbow Storm, he had walked up to Black Cross convincing him that everything is okay now but they notice Tootsie was back on his feet after getting knocked out from the grenade earlier, he looked at his friends with a gnarly smirk as if he did any help at all.
"Let's just keep moving, we still need to complete our mission" said Black Cross before turning his back on Tootsie with Rainbow Storm following him from behind. The team scours around for a while, although found nothing, about an hour later they've reached their destination. Operation Rebirth had came across what looks to be a testing facility and it appears to be marked on their coordinates as Black Cross checked the map.
Tootsie stops "No- there is no way I'm going in there" he said as he turned around but Rainbow Storm stops him.
"Quit being scared, we can't turn back now" said Black Cross.
"I'm with you all the way" said Rainbow Storm.
"We keep moving, don't stop now" Black Cross added.
Rainbow Storm shoves Tootsie signaling him to move forward as they follow Black Cross into the testing facility.
As they walked inside it appeared to be dark, there is a corridor leading to several doors through the hall. Meanwhile, Rainbow Storm looks around and found himself in the power room. He flipped some switches then the lights in the rooms lit up.
"We split up, find any survivors and don't get killed" said Black Cross as he leaves the group.
Black Cross found some batteries along with some scrap metal pieces scattered around the shelves which can be used for something later as he puts them in a pouch "Nothing else here" he said.
Black Cross enters a doorway which lead to another hallway where it ends to a room, the entrance to the empty room from the hallway gets darker as if something was here and took out all the lights in that part of the area. He enters another room and finds a taped recorder that seemed to have been left on a table by a scientist who used to work here, there was a tag on it that reads Wesker of Project Deviant on it, Black Cross decides to play the tape recorder to listen to the story before their arrival.
The recorder plays, "March 27, 2064. We have captured another one of those zebras who seems to be different from our previous subjects, test subject#014 has some strange powers that can't be explained by science. Although she seems to follow simple instructions quite well, however after multiple running tests, she seems to be immune to our machine beyond our expectations, we tried breaking her bones but they seem to mend together on its own, we also learned that she belongs to one of the head leader of the Wanderer Tribe. We are really close into finding the origin of the zebras and their whereabouts." then recorder cuts out.
Suddenly something was moving in a corner of the room that fell to the floor that Black Cross even heard. He stopped for a moment to listen closely, without making any sound he senses something lurking in the shadows from behind. It was too dark, he couldn't tell what it was or who it might be but he has a feeling that Black Cross is being watched. Still not moving from his spot as it would trigger a reaction - or even a threat he assumed. He begins to sweat and without hesitating, he slowly scrolls to his right but not turning his head around. Nothing appears in his sight as he reached to his limit, he begins to tilt his head to the right from where he was looking and as he turned there was something glaring straight right at him.
"What the hell is this" he had murmured without provoking the figure from behind him and that's when he wanted to turn away but he would not know where to flee since the shadow-like figure was blocking the exit from where he had entered.
The figure had gotten slowly closer to Black Cross, he couldn't see their face in the darkness surrounding them and as he turned around the mysterious creature comes charging right at him pinning Black Cross onto the ground.
Black Cross was unable to move as something very slender and long is keeping him pinned to the floor he then felt pain on his right shoulder as if a spear went straight through him.
A shotgun was fired coming from the distance hitting the mysterious dark figure slides off and releasing Black Cross, another character appears before Black Cross and turned out to be Rainbow Storm as he looked up.
"I told you, I got your back" said Rainbow Storm as he lifts up Black Cross off the floor.
That didn't stop the mysterious dark figure, it got up with growling and snarling sounds coming for Black Cross again. Rainbow Storm fires his gun again and the creature falls back.
"What the hell was that all about?" asked Rainbow Storm.
Tootsie Roll enters who appears to be shocked by the gun fire going off "Hey, what was with all the shooting for?" he said.
Black Cross takes a closer look at the figure that attacked him.
Rainbow Storm had stopped him from getting closer "What are you doing? Don't get too close!" he shouted.
"Oh my gosh, Black Cross you're injured" said Tootsie as he examines his wounds.
"I'm fine, it's just a scratch" said Black Cross as he pushed away Tootsie from getting near.
Black Cross inspects the mysterious figure.
The blackness fades away from the figure as if it was a-part of it, colors can now be seen revealing a mare with a white coat and black stripes around its upper hooves, black and pink streak for its mane and tail. What was weird most of all, for some reason she appears to have a pair of wings like a pegasus.
"Is that what I think it is? Wait... what is this?" asked Black Cross when he points out a name tag on the collar that reveals its name. "E.M.A.L.A. J.I.S.S. Emala? Emala Jiss. Who is that?" he added.
Black Cross pauses and thinks to himself.
Immediately Rainbow Storm stops him "That... that's a zebra!" he shouted.
Suddenly Emala Jiss wakes up "No!" she shouted.
The group gasped in shock.
"I don't want to go, please I don't want to be experimented on anymore... don't force me to go. I need... to be.... home" she said as she wrapped her hooves around Black Cross begging him for help and slowly falls unconscious.
"We need to get her out of here" said Black Cross.
"What?! Are you serious?" asked Rainbow Storm.
"Do you know what they will do to us if they found out we were protecting this thing, we are breaking the Division guidelines" Tootsie added.
Black Cross quickly realized that it didn't matter to him but he knew it would be the right choice for Emala Jiss "Fuck that! We are our own out here with no backup, we make our own choices, if you guys want to go then go on ahead without me, just tell them I died" he said.
"You know I can't do that, I don't want to leave you all alone with this zebra" said Rainbow Storm.
"Yeah, what if that zebra tries to kill you?" Tootsie added.
"Tootsie, shut the fuck up, you don't know that" said Black Cross.
Black Cross gives his jacket to Rainbow Storm "Just tell them I fought with courage and honor" said Black Cross as Rainbow Storm looks at him but doesn't take his jacket however he will accept his favor.
"What are you going to do?" asked Rainbow Storm.
"I want to find out the truth, the reason we're stuck in this war and I'm going to get to the bottom of it, I need to know what we're dealing with here, why did this war started and how can we fix this, just let me deal with the rest" he said.
Rainbow Storm sighs and takes his leave followed by Tootsie Roll then exits.
Black Cross didn't know what he was getting himself into but he would never believe in a lie, he decides to take Emala Jiss back to her tribe. He is a little scared but he must have some faith in hope.
"What are you... doing?" asked Emala Jiss.
"Don't worry, I'm here to help you, I'll take you back to your tribe" Black Cross replied as he discarded his weapons.
Emala Jiss looks at Black Cross in the eyes, he noticed her eyes were different colors, one eye is the color of emeralds and the other being light pink. She nods in his trust and decides to follow along with him.
They exit together.
Rainbow Storm and Tootsie Roll made it back to headquarters safely. They still feel confused as to why Black Cross would make a tough decision for himself but perhaps he had a reason. The question though, how are they going to tell Spitfire about this?
"I just can't believe he did that, I guess he's truly gone now" said Tootsie.
"We don't know that Tootsie, trust me I know Black Cross more than any pony else, I'm sure he could survive out there on his own" Rainbow Storm added.
"I hope you're right" said Tootsie.
Rainbow Storm and Tootsie enter The Division Headquarters without saying anything but as soon as they opened the door to the entrance they were stopped by Spitfire.
"You guys are back already? I assume you didn't find anything?" asked Spitfire.
Rainbow Storm shudders "Well uh no actually..." he added.
"And where the hell is Black Cross? I haven't seen him for a while," said Spitfire.
Rainbow Storm tries to respond to his questions without messing up "He... we just.. I could have-" Rainbow Storm paused.
"He didn't make it, General" Tootsie added.
Spitfire looks at them shocked to hear "Really, is that so?" he said.
"Yeah, that's right. His last words were... 'at least I died with courage and honor' sir" said Tootsie.
"I see, well may he rest in peace, he was a good soldier, sometimes it takes sacrifice to achieve victory" Spitfire added.
Rainbow Storm and Tootsie Roll both sighed in relief.
"Well you guys came back just in time, we found another zebra tribe just south of here, we think we know where they're heading, so we're going to take them out and followed by taking out their camps to end this war once in for all" said Spitfire.
Rainbow Storm and Tootsie Roll looked at each other.
Rainbow Storm had stopped Spitfire before he could exit "Uhh sir, wait-" he said.
Spitfire looks at him suspiciously "I'm sorry, is there a problem?" he asked.
"Well I just wanted to point something out" Rainbow Storm replied.
"Are you hurt?" asked Spitfire.
"No sir" said Rainbow Storm.
"Do I need to get a counselor to schedule you for an appointment?" asked Spitfire.
"No sir, not this time" said Rainbow Storm.
"Well then I see that everything is back in order, if there isn't a problem then I don't need to be bothered by you two, then carry on" said Spitfire.
"Sir if you would just listen" Tootsie added.
"Okay, what seems to be the issue then?" asked Spitfire.
"I think you should reconsider before taking action against the zebra tribe" said Tootsie.
"I'm going to stop you right there, may I remind you that the zebras attacked us first - they are responsible for this war and some pony has to do something about it - I hope you are aware that neither of us would want to put blood on our hooves, so I suggest you get your act together and once this war ends, I would guarantee you that everything will go back to the way things are" Spitfire explained.
Rainbow Storm and Tootsie Roll looked at each other for a moment, they think what Black Cross is doing might have been the right decision to find out their side of the story, perhaps Black Cross was right all along.
"You know what, I think Black Cross was right" Rainbow Storm added.
"Oh? So Black Cross has something to do with this attitude, he is the reason you guys are acting this way, I thought he was dead? Well change that attitude now, that's an order, whether you like it or not we're going to finish this war and if you two aren't going then stay out of our way, sit out and just wait until this war is over" said Spitfire as he turns away and exits.
"Ah fuck, what were we thinking?" said Rainbow Storm.
"I knew we shouldn't have left him behind" said Tootsie.
"Never mind that, he put me in charge now and I'm sure my friend will figure out a way to get us out of this mess" Rainbow Storm added.
"What are you suggesting?" Tootsie added.
"We should give Black Cross more time" said Rainbow Storm.
"And what should we do while Black Cross is doing his thing?" asked Tootsie.
"I... don't know. We just gotta have faith in him," said Rainbow Storm.
"Maybe you're right but I hope he makes it" said Tootsie as exits through a door leaving Rainbow Storm alone.
Rainbow Storm had murmured "Yeah... I hope so too" he added.
Rainbow Storm goes to his room looking around seeing all his medals and achievements he obtained after completing every previous mission with Black Cross. He sighed in distress just thinking about his friend as he emotionally begin to worry about him.
"My eyes are watery, I should get some sleep" said Rainbow Storm as he looks around his room.
Without breaking a tear, he imagines himself in a room with Black Cross opening gifts on the holidays. Rainbow Storm never had a brother but Black Cross seems to be closer to be like one. Although, he thinks Black Cross doesn't know how Rainbow Storm feels to be alone knowing that Black Cross has relatives of his own.
"It must feel nice to have a family that cares... I wish my mom was still alive" said Rainbow Storm.
Rainbow Storm gets up to reach for a small box, inside there was a charm that had a lightning bolt with the color of the rainbow on it symbolizing loyalty and something to remember his mother by.
"Oh mother, please make sure Black Cross makes it out alive, please watch over him for me" said Rainbow Storm as he kissed his charm of loyalty to send the message.
Rainbow Storm falls asleep after a long day of walking back from Manehattan to Headquarters, he moves around left and right, but just can't seem to get him out of his head.
Rainbow Storm wakes up "I can't freaking sleep... dammit!" he shouted.
Meanwhile, in another room at the headquarters, Spitfire appears to be talking to his other comrades to discuss their plans, "Thank you for coming Captain Starfighter, Syphon Filter, and Snipershy, please have a seat" he said as they all sit down.
"Alright, you better have a good reason you called us here" said Starfighter.
Starfighter was one of Spitfire's comrades who came with in Las Pegasus on his mission earlier, he almost looks a-lot like Spitfire except he often wears a bandanna on his head and carries around his most pride inventions the Shifter Model 7 after many fails, he finally had build his own assault rifle.
"Whatever you have to say, make it quick, I have a lot of patients who need immediate treatment" said Syphon.
Syphon Filter is a field medic, and a friend of Spitfire who also went with him to Las Pegasus on his mission. He had a light blue coat and likes to stay cozy in his sweater to look cool, he doesn't like lifting or carrying stuff in his bag except for his med kit and Tigershark assault rifle.
"That can wait, I will take full responsibility for that but for now I need all of your help" Spitfire added.
"What kind of help?" asked Snipershy.
Snipershy, ironically is in his name, he really likes snipers, when he was a colt he got his cutie mark while shooting a glass bottle with a bolt action sniper rifle which he now holds onto after his father died who named the weapon Sombre9 which was named after King Sombra, and the number 9 was just his father's lucky number.
"We have located a zebra tribe around this area, they come in groups and I don't mean in packs of five but hundreds of them, perhaps even thousands of them, however there's been an increased number of them, we don't know where they came from but they're back and this time multiplying, so what I need you to do is this; Starfighter I want you to hire as many ground troops as you possibly can, we'll assign them to place traps around the perimeter, now Snipershy - since Black Cross isn't available, you and your team will find a hiding spot to ambush them, and Syphon, you will provide supplies for the wounded on the battlefield" Spitfire explained.
"Is that all?" asked Starfighter.
"Oh wait, there is one more thing, if Black Cross tries to enter the battlefield, he will attempt to interfere with our plan and I want him neutralized, he has betrayed us," said Spitfire.
"What did he do?" asked Syphon.
"He has joined forces with the enemy, I am convinced that he might still be alive out there" said Spitfire.
Black Cross and Emala Jiss try to find a way out of Manehattan, every look and every turn they find a dead end. They sit down for a moment to catch their breath. Black Cross examines Emala Jiss, "Where did you get those scars?" asked Black Cross.
Black Cross had noticed some scars and stiches on her legs, while her left flank had a larger mark that was more noticable than the other ones around her hooves. "Those monsters were doing some things to me... horrible things" said Emala Jiss.
"Monsters? What do you mean?" asked Black Cross.
"They kept breaking it... every single bone in my body... they just wouldn't stop" Emala added. Emala Jiss desperately tries to hold her anger inside, not attempting to harm Black Cross as she slowly looks up to him, "You don't get it, I have special powers, my wounds regenerate on their own, powers... that not even mother could explain" she added. Black Cross pauses and suspects whether if this was an accient "So what happened?" he asked.
"I don't see anything broken, you look fine to me" said Black Cross.
"I was captured, they took me in and cut me opened" said Emala Jiss.
"How did you survived?" asked Black Cross. Emala tries not to think too hard when she decides to explain Black Cross every detail for him to be able to understand what she went through "I was in so much pain, that my anger came over me, emerging from all around me with this negative power and killing the bastards who gave me this scar on my ass, so this power I have flows through my entire body, I hate it but it's suppose to protect me, and it always have been guarding my family through generations but it's rare for a zebra like me to have some power," - she paused and remembers about her mother - "Mother calls it Lady Jiss" she said.
Black Cross was speechless but he tried everything to comfort her in any possible way without screwing up "Hmm... well that must've been really tough for you, sorry for asking" he said.
Emala Jiss punches Black Cross in the gut, he falls on his back as Emala gets on top of him biting on his ear but isn't causing any pain as if it was harmless to him, "Hey that tickles" he said, - Emala growls - "No, you're suppose to feel pain!" she tries to bite harder but her anger is not getting the best of her as if she doesn't really want to hurt him.
Black Cross was laying on the ground laughing his ass off, Emala Jiss gave up trying to and gets off of him feeling embarrassed. She had wondered why would some pony save her when both tribes are rivals "Why did you save me?" she asked.
Without being hasty, Black Cross tries his best to answer but he looked troubled "I don't really know, I just... felt like doing the right thing, I know this might sound crazy but just what if, what if we are fighting for no reason?" he replied.
"What are you saying?" asked Emala.
Black Cross thinks for a moment and decides to make up a mission for himself and Emala that would set them free "Emala, I have an idea, if you could take me to your tribe, then maybe I can find out why both sides have been fighting, I heard stories that the zebras attacked us, and are the evil ones but I didn't actually believe it until I met you, therefore, you don't seem so bad, from telling me that story, I would believe that you did nothing wrong to deserve what you went through" he said.
"I don't know if I can fully trust you, not after what I've experienced, I think ponies wanted something from me, but I'm just glad to be out of there and you were there, so I guess I should be thankful for that" said Emala Jiss.
"You have to trust me, I will protect you" Black Cross added.
Emala was worried that her tribe might go after Black Cross if they find out that she's been wandering around with a unicorn "You're going to get yourself killed, if my tribe finds out, they would execute you" she added.
Black Cross sighed "Then at least I died trying to protect you," - he felt uneasy about the decision but he's willing to sacrifice himself for her - "I will do anything to stop this war even if I have to kill every pony that try to hurt you, you are my only hope" he said.
Emala slightly blushes and moves closer to Black Cross where she can look at him between the eyes.
"So you would be willing to sacrifice yourself for me? No-one has ever done such a thing, not even my father, actually I never met him because he was never around, and mom... no, well she's always busy looking for another mate and not caring for me but the tribe" said Emala Jiss.
"What kind of mother would do that to her own child?" asked Black Cross.
"Don't worry about that, but she is the leader of my tribe, and it's like she doesn't spend a lot of time with me anymore however that does not mean she won't listen to me, we would need to come up with a plan," said Emala Jiss.
"Where is your mom now?" asked Black Cross.
Emala Jiss looks around to see where they are currently located.
"Let's see... are we still in Manehattan?"- Emala points to a sign - "Where're here at Dicks Stretch" she said.
"That says Dickens Street!" Black Cross corrected.
Emala scratched her head "Oh, then... y, you guys need a new name for that, it's kind of hard to pronounce some words you know, but anyways, I know where we are, if we can pass the bridge then we should be able to find a trail that will lead us there" she said.
"So how are we going to get there?" asked Black Cross.
"Hold on, follow me and then I'll show you" said Emala Jiss.
Black Cross decides to follow Emala Jiss to where they find an area surrounded by trees.
"Wait, where are we?" asked Black Cross.
"Just a second, before we go see my family, I need to make some adjustments for you" she added. Emala Jiss strips off Black Cross' jacket, but he quickly stops her and backs away, "Woaw! - Wait a minute, no need to get all hasty!" he shouted.
"Calm down, we just need to get rid of this jacket" said Emala Jiss.
Black Cross had brushed off the dirt from his jacket "What's wrong with the jacket?" - he looks at his jacket to make sure it stays clean - "No, I love this jacket" he added.
"I don't want my family to see you like this, so you might not have a choice, and you'll have to do what I say, otherwise, they'll think you're onto me like some stalker" said Emala Jiss.
"Alright, I'll remove my stuff" - Black Cross removed his jacket - "...but what are you going to do then?" he asked.
Emala Jiss picks up coal and mixes it with some mud.
"Okay, we can use this black paint to disguise you as a zebra, this mud will help it stay on there" said Emala Jiss.
Emala Jiss rubs the paint all over Black Cross making stripes and different patterns as similar as a zebra has.
Black Cross giggled a little "This feels weird..." he said.
"Okay, now I need to hide this plus sign on your right flank" said Emala Jiss. Black Cross turns to Emala Jiss to see what she meant "Oh that's my cutie mark" he replied. "What the hell is a cutie mark?" asked Emala.
"Umm... it's basically a mark that best represents me as a pony" said Black Cross. "What does it mean?" asked Emala.
"It means... I am a crusader, I protect those who I care and love" he added. "Oh... do you love me?" she asked.
"What? I mean, in a way... no that's not what I meant, I just do what I believe is right" said Black Cross.
Emala looks down to where she can see the floor by her hooves "I see... I wish I had somebody to love, it must be really nice to have such a caring husband" she said.
Emala Jiss stood silent for a moment and then covers the rest of Black Cross with paint.
"Hey, are you okay Emala?" asked Black Cross. "Huh? Yeah, I'm okay. Thank you for rescuing me back there..." Emala added.
Black Cross nods and Emala Jiss covers his horn with his own mane.
"There, all done" said Emala as she wiped off the mud with a small cloth she found.
"Alright, now let's go stop this war" said Black Cross. They exit.
Emala had looked around to find any zebra around but no sign of anyone "Hello? Anybody home?!" she shouted.
Black Cross was getting antsy and looks down to find a bonfire that was recently put out "No one is here, 'place looks abandoned" he said.
"No, they should've been here, unless they moved somewhere else... but where?" said Emala Jiss.
A zebra forger appears before them, "I found her! She's here! Emala is alive!" he said.
"What's going on? Where is everybody?" asked Emala.
The zebra forger was surprised to see Emala and quickly realized how far they are from the tribe "I will explain everything later, but first let's catch up with the rest of the tribe, everybody's waiting, now hurry!" he said.
Black Cross stopped them and reacted to the situation, "Wait, how can we trust you?" he says before pulling Emala to his side.
The couple thought he was a spy, they wanted to be sure that it was a zebra, as he removes his mask to reveal himself; "Don't worry, I am not a pony, the name's Dmitri Foresight, I was told to keep watch in case if we find Emala Jiss." he says, the two nodded and decided to follow him to their new camp sight.
Emala Jiss was a bit confused, she had wondered where has everyone gone to or perhaps they abandon her because she was thought to be dead, "I'm sorry but why isn't anyone here?" she says with a frowning face.
Dmitri was leading them to the forest, it had appeared he knows where to go as he turns to Emala with a strange look on his face, rather felt disappointed judging by his expression, "We got pushed back, but Zophia told me to stay put in case if her daughter would return, it seemed her predictions were true" - he looks in front of him to think for a moment and turned back to Emala, - "However, I never thought the ponies would find us, but I had my doubts, I'm just glad to see you again." he says before stopping by a bush.
"We made it! Okay, Black Cross, you just wait here" said Emala Jiss.
Emala Jiss passes through a crowd of zebras where they are surrounding their leader Zophia, "Mom!" she cried.
Emala Jiss runs up to Zophia surprised to see her once more as she rubs her face across her mom's chest.
"Thank the gods you are all right, I was so worried about you, I thought I'd never see you again," she says. Zophia is the mother of Emala Jiss, and keeper of the tribe, she is in charge of making sure every creature is safe from the ponies. Although she appears to be nice, but if anyone were to ever upset her then she will go out of her way to control the situation. She notice there are two zebras with her, but one she is not quite familiar with.
"It's okay mom." said Emala Jiss.
"What happened, how did you escape, are you hurt?" asked Zophia.
"I'm fine mom, but first, there is something else..." said Emala Jiss as she turns to Black Cross but Zophia looked confused when she explained.
"What's going on here?" asked Zophia.
Black Cross stood in front of Zophia where she could see him standing next to Emala Jiss.
"You see, I was saved, he was there when I was in trouble" said Emala Jiss.
Zophia had looked back straight at Black Cross.
"I've never seen you before, where are you from and what is your name?" asked Zophia.
Black Cross shudders a bit and tries to answer quickly "I'm... my name is... Bla-" but Black Cross was interrupted.
Emala Jiss had to backup Black Cross with an excuse "He's my fiance!" she shouted.
"What?!" Black Cross shouted.
"Oh? I had no idea" Zophia added.
"Yeah, that's right, we are engaged" said Emala Jiss.
"Well, thank you for saving my daughter Blah, and congratulations on your marriage" said Zophia as she exits to spread the good news to everyone else.
"Uhh... okay" said Black Cross.
Emala had whispered into his ear "I got you covered" she said.
"I hope you know what you're doing" he replied.
"Don't worry about me, but remember why we're here" she added.
Emala Jiss introduces every creature to Black Cross, she leads him to meet all of her family members and tribal allies. Most of which appear to be strong and fierce but Black Cross never tried to interfere with their occupation.
Suddenly a zebra peaks around, Black Cross noticed her presence but could not see where she was while moving around so fast, she taps on his shoulder, "Hi! I'm Atlas," she says excitingly. She turns to Emala with a funny look on her face, "I know what you're thinking and no, he is not my boyfriend" she says before turning away from her distant relative.
The weird zebra smirks, though seemingly she decides not to interfere with their relationship. "I'll leave you two alone" said Atlas smiling and takes her leave to go bother someone else.
Black Cross looks around questioning every creature in the area, he notice another mare zebra came up to them and she wraps badges around Emala's hooves. She looks at Black Cross to inspect him checking every area and genitals for any signs of injures, it appears she must be a professional physician.
"Kole Ingram at your service" she says as Kole shook his hoof "I might look like a enchantress but ever since this war started I became a clinician to help those in need, but if you're looking for technical support then talk to Boma Kai" she said before letting go his hoof.
"Um nice to meet you." he says nervously.
He paces around again, seeking answers about the history and physiology of every creature around, he notice a zebra standing on top of a large boulder which seemed pretty high above ground level, it looked like he appeared to be the chief. "Hey Emala, who's that?" he says pointing at the mysterious figure on a cliff.
"That's our chief, Flare-Bringer, no one knows his actual name or his origin, but legend has it he once killed a unicorn and merged its magic with his, which explains how he has a horn on his head." she explained.
"He seems... tough." said Black Cross, he shrugs it off and tries not to draw so much attention from the chief.
Emala looks at Black Cross noticing his recent attitude, but she wants to make sure he is safe from everyone else, "Yes he is, ever since he got that horn, he became the most powerful zebra in this or any tribe so far." she says.
A zebra with a mask that appears to be a skull of a pony walks up to Flare-Bringer from behind and whispered to him, "They're here" he says, Flare nodded and proceed with caution, "Thank you Nehemiah, you've been a faithful friend" he says exiting the area.
Emala turns to her mother, Zophia. "Now that you're in a good mood, maybe we can go back home and forget about the war?" asked Emala.
"That won't be an option." Zophia replied.
"What are you saying?" asked Black Cross.
Zophia knew she couldn't stop the war as it already has started "This war is not over...yet" she added.
"But mom, you have to stop it." Emala cries.
"There's nothing I can do from here, and besides that, the pony tribe are going to pay for what they did to you, Emala" said Zophia.
"You can still stop this..." Black Cross added.
"I'm really sorry everyone but there is nothing else I can do from here." said Zophia.
Zophia opened up a box that was sitting next to her, she pulls out a supposedly what looks like a custom assault rifle, it had a strange cameo and a tag on it that reads "peacemaker" which could be a reference or affiliation to something else, he thought.
Then Flare Bringer enters with a map he drawn himself, it appears he also can sense where the ponies are near by, "I know where pony are hiding, if we get to them by dawn it will be much difficult for them to spot us, we'll cover ourselves in mud to blend in." he says.
Black Cross quickly interrupts to give them a suggestion, "Excuse me but wouldn't it be best to surrender?" he says, confidently explains that the ponies have superior power and advanced technology that could wipe out the entire zebra race just like in 2062.
Flare scoffs and thinks this is just a major hoax, "That sounds something a pony would say" he implies that Black Cross might have some intel about the ponies, "and these so called ponies have advance weaponry could slain us all?"
"That's basically what it seems" said Black Cross.
"How do you know this?" asked Flare-Bringer, he suspects that Black Cross might be a pony, despite that his name is Blah as the others say.
He pauses for a minute, Black Cross was about to make a run for it but it would make things worse for the two tribes, he knew he just had to make up an excuse to break him out of the situation, "It's because I was there when it happened," he says, scratching his head with his hoof and gulping, "I was spying on them, I tricked the ponies with my zebra magic and pretended I was one of them. I'd say we steal their weapons and use it against them, then we strike." he says.
Emala Jiss just stares at Black Cross. For a second every zebra were confused, but when it hit them it started to make sense, it was the perfect idea, so the zebras cherished his plan and made happy noises but the chief wasn't completely impressed, however the tribe agreed to go along with it. "Silence!" he shouted.
Every creature stopped and looked at Flare, "I agree with Blah here, we should strike the pony-"
"Actually they're called the Equine Society" said Dmitri.
"So that's what they're called?" he reconsidered, correcting his plan "Very well, we will get behind our enemies and use their weapons against this Equine Society," he says throwing his sharp dagger on the map he drew pointing at their location to where the ponies are hiding. The zebras celebrate and get prepared for another war.
Zophia brings out a horn that she stole from the head of a unicorn as she blows into it making an eerie sound of an elk hollering for help, the artifact was used to signal her tribe to prepare for battle, there were hundreds - if not thousands of them, an army of zebras began to march armed with spears and bows getting ready for war, it was like nothing anyone has ever seen, This truly is what war felt like.
Equine Society and Equestrian Wanderers were at war once again while, Black Cross and Emala Jiss were still at the new zebra camp sight.
Black Cross was getting antsy and prancing around trying to come up with a plan.
"Are you going to be okay, Black Cross?" asked Emala.
"I'm just thinking..." he said.
"You should probably arm yourself with some weapons" said Emala Jiss.
"Wait... I have a better idea" said Black Cross as he pranced around and searching for some tools he can use.
Black Cross looks around and finds a work bench when Emala was watching him.
"What are you doing?" asked Emala.
"Oh just... some experiments" Black Cross replied.
Black Cross takes some batteries out from his pouch that he found and one of them pops open to test out the pressure buttons to see if it would trigger an explosion which he then makes some sticks to tipped it with lead poison for the arrows and finally attaches a string to some scrap metal parts to make a custom bow.
"What's that for?" asked Emala.
Black Cross turns to Emala Jiss and shows her "Oh this? I saw the zebras wielding bows, so I made myself one, I'm predicting that this one will sling further like a laser beam and will trigger an explosion upon impact when the button from the tip is pushed, in addition, the lead will kill anyone who inhales it, I call it Ray Bow!" he said.
"Hmm, I had no idea you were an engineer" said Emala Jiss.
"Well I learned it from the best of professionals" said Black Cross as he puts his bow away.
"You have a plan?" asked Emala. "Eeyup" Black Cross replied.
Meanwhile Rainbow Storm and Tootsie Roll were in their cell, unfortunately they have no way to escape. Suddenly Spitfire and Syphon enters the room with a bag that was set on a table setting across from them which had belongings to someone they know.
Rainbow Storm stands up and turns to Spitfire.
"What's going on?" asked Rainbow Storm.
"Since you two clowns have been acting strange lately, I figured it would be best if you two stay locked up in here until this war is over, I just have a few comments to add before I go" said Spitfire,
"Just let us go and we can forget about all of this" said Tootsie.
Rainbow Storm turns to Tootsie as if he was leaving him behind "Tootsie, what the fuck are you doing?" he shouted.
"I don't want to be here anymore, just release me" said Tootsie.
"You can beg all you want, but I know what your plan is, I have been listening..." Spitfire called.
"What are you talking about?" asked Rainbow Storm.
Spitfire turns to Syphon and nods as if something had happened, "Go on, show 'em" he said.
Syphon pulled out a jacket from a bag on that was on the table and opening the cell door to give to them then closing the door on the way.
Rainbow Storm and Tootsie Roll knew who that jacket belonged to, only one pony had worn a black jacket and that was Black Cross.
"Hey that's... wait where's Black Cross, what have you done?" asked Rainbow Storm.
Spitfire leaves the room with one final comment.
"I'll deal with you two later, but for now, I'll let you two enjoy your final moments together" he added.
Syphon follows Spitfire out of the room and exits.
Tootsie Roll looks at Rainbow Storm troubled "Rainbow Storm...?" he murmured.
Rainbow Storm picks up the jacket that belonged to Black Cross, "What the hell happened...?" he asked.
Tootsie Roll was confused "What?" he asked him.
Rainbow Storm was whispering to himself as if he were talking to Black Cross, "What did he meant?" he asked.
"Now that I think about it, maybe Spitfire was tracking us all this time from the very beginning, perhpas he knows where Black Cross is as we speak" Tootsie said as he began to pace around the room.
"I hope he's okay" Rainbow Storm added.
Tootsie Roll turns to Rainbow Storm "Forget about Black Cross for once, we need to worry about ourselves now, but the question is how are we going to get out..?" he said.
"I guess we'll have to wait for a miracle," said Rainbow Storm as he sat on a chair from behind him.
"Well I'm tired of waiting on him, we need to escape Rainbow Storm and stop this war" Tootsie added.
"I thought you didn't care?" asked Rainbow Storm.
"It took me awhile to put some thoughts into it, but now I realized that we've been fighting for the wrong reason, ponies are to blame and we now have to stop it" said Tootsie.
"You're right" said Rainbow Storm.
"Wait a sec... the guard left the key card next to the cell door, if one of us could reach it, we can use that to get out of here" said Tootsie as he looks around the room and on the side of the door as he stretches his right wing to reach for the key.
Rainbow Storm had helped Tootsie grab the key by pushing him further without triggering the alarm when he was able to reach for it and grabs it "You got it!" he shouted.
The door had opened with Rainbow Storm and Tootsie Roll leaves the room.
Mission: Escape the building and join with Black Cross and the Zebra Alliance Location: Cellblock D, Floor 5, Equine Society Headquarters underground facility Former agent Rainbow Storm and Tootsie Roll attempts to flee from the building
Rainbow Storm and Tootsie Roll were on their way to push back the ponies to give Black Cross enough time. It was too late, the ponies and zebras have already started the battle, but luckily Black Cross arrived just in time with the help from Emala Jiss, "Enough!" he shouted.
Quickly Black Cross had entered the battlefield at the scene with Emala Jiss beside him with their back against the other side from each other while protected by a magical shield-sphere guarding them from any bullets or arrows flying by straight at them.
Emala looks at Zophia, "Mother! Stop this fight!" she cried.
For a moment, the two sides had lowered their weapons and stopped fighting. Zophia was at the scene as she got closer realizing her daughter was there, Spitfire could seem them above a tower where he notice one of them was gray which looked a lot like Black Cross.
Zophia had spotted Emala in front of the battlefield, "Emala! What are you doing? Get out of the way!" she shouted. "No, I won't let you hurt another pony" said Emala Jiss.
Spitfire had entered the scene to confront the figure starring right at him "What is this? Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" he said. Black Cross stood quiet knowing he would reveal himself if he ever spoke.
"Why are you doing this?" asked Zophia. "Something tells me that we can still find peace" Emala replied.
Zophia gasp, "Wait a second, who is this guy and how does he produce such power?" she asked. Emala stood by Black Cross not moving no matter what, "Leave him out of this!" she shouted.
Spitfire was beginning to be impatient, "Somebody explain to me what the hell is the meaning of all this!" he shouted. Black Cross takes a step forward, "The truth is; I am a pony" he said.
Black Cross pours some water all over his face and body revealing a cutie mark where Zophia could see him.
Zophia realized that Emala was standing beside a unicorn the entire time even from the beginning, "Emala, what are you doing with that pony?!" she shouted.
"Mom, this is Black Cross," - she remained at her position still not moving standing beside him - "He is my friend" she added.
"I should have known it was you Black Cross...!" said Spitfire.
"Are you saying that your love was all a lie?" asked Zophia.
"No mom, the mating part was faked, but Black Cross and I are truly... something" said Emala Jiss.
"How could this happen?!" asked Zophia.
"You've betrayed us, Black Cross" said Spitfire.
"No Spitfire, you have betrayed us, not just the Equine Society itself but to the entire race, you dishonor your family and clan" Black Cross replied.
"Is there anything else I should know?" asked Spitfire.
"Yeah... you are a piece of shit!" Black Cross added.
"I don't understand..." - Zophia had wondered - "This must be another of your tricks" she said.
"But mom you need to understand, after I met Black Cross, I realized that ponies are not all bad" said Emala Jiss.
Zophia shook her head "This must be a trick! Tell me if he put a spell on you into fooling me with his words" she claimed.
"No mom, trust me, you would know...." said Emala Jiss.
"You can't stay in that shield-sphere forever" said Spitfire.
"Try me, it would take you a millennial to break this spell apart" said Black Cross.
"Mom, we should share this land" said Emala Jiss.
Zophia sighed and remembered who would make such a comment like that "You sound just like your father..." she said.
"What do you mean?" asked Emala.
She shook her head, and nervously replied "I haven't really been honest with you either... the truth is, your father was a pegasus" she added.
Emala was shocked to hear that her father was a pegasus "What?!!" she shouted.
"Yes... that explains why you have wings, however you cannot fly..." Zophia explained.
"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Emala, she was prancing around astonished to hear that her father was a pegasus all along, thought to be a spell her mother made up, turns out it was a lie.
Zophia paused as if she would be turned away from Emala if she knew the truth "I'd figured you'd be disappointed in me, but I loved your father very much, and his name was Bust Cloud, but he sure can bust a move on me pretty hard with that cock" she said.
Emala is freaked out realizing that her mother lied to her "Mom... you fucking slut!" she shouted.
Zophia stood silent in shame as she walks away back to her previous position.
"I've had enough, if you won't get out of our way then so be it, we'll go around" said Spitfire.
Black Cross and Emala Jiss looked at each other.
"What are we going to do now?" asked Emala.
"Time for plan B, we regroup, I must go find my friends, while you try to stop your mom" said Black Cross.
"Okay, just be careful, please" said Emala as she kisses Black Cross on the lips for luck turning away and running after her mom with the tribe following her from behind.
Black Cross had ran into the Division headquarters to search for his friends when suddenly he bumps into Snipershy with a loaded rifle.
Snipershy had remembered he was assigned to kill Black Cross, "Wait a minute, what the fuck, how are you still alive?!" he shouted.
"Hmph... well thank you for the welcoming message," Black Cross replied.
"You motherfucker, you're suppose to be dead!" said Snipershy.
Snipershy pulls out an assault rifle and points it to Black Cross in the head, "Don't move, this will end quick" he said however Snipershy gets shot in the stomach by a bullet that came from another room which then Rainbow Storm and Tootsie Roll have entered to save him.
Black Cross turns to his two friends "Rainbow Storm! Tootsie Footsie!" he shouted.
"I'm glad you're alive" said Rainbow Storm.
"Never mind that, but we're in a little brink of war" said Black Cross.
"Yeah, let's get a move on or they will find us," Tootsie added.
Black Cross had figured that Spitfire was after him or perhaps he thought Tootsie was talking about somebody else "Who are you talking about?" he asked.
"It's Spitfire, he wants you dead" said Rainbow Storm.
"Oh I already knew that" said Black Cross.
Snipershy tries to get their attention but he coughs up blood trying to, "You... will never... stop us" he said before he could die he then pulls out a detonator which triggers an explosion upon the building they're in.
Tootsie realizes that was a time bomb and makes a quick reaction "We have to go, now!" he said as he pushes his teammates out of the building before it could collapsed on them.
Immediately after the gang got out of the building before it collapsed to the ground killing Snipershy and destroying everything from the inside, Black Cross decides to bring his friends into battle when they found a way to get around from behind Spitfire without being detected by the Division operatives.
Rainbow Storm then remembers he had a jacket stored in his bag and gave it back to Black Cross "Oh! I almost forgot, here take this Black Cross" he said.
Black Cross was grateful to have his jacket back "Oh you found it, thanks!" he shouted as he puts it back on.
Black Cross was after the ponies along with Rainbow Storm and Tootsie Roll behind him but were suddenly stopped by the zebras pointing spears at them, but Zophia appears with tears streaming down her face.
"Listen, we don't want any trouble, we just want to help" said Black Cross as his team stood by his side trying to protect each other.
"If you truly want to help, then help my daughter..." said Zophia as she deperately begs him to save her.
"Emala? What happened to her?" asked Black Cross.
"Spitfire... took her, they might kill her, please you must save her, Black Cross!" Zophia explain while trying to stay brave and suppress herself from having a panic attack.
Black Cross nods and chases after the ponies.
"What we do?" asked Rainbow Storm.
"Change of plans, we go after Spitfire, but I must go alone" said Black Cross.
"Then what do we do?" asked Tootsie.
"You guys can wait here" said Black Cross.
"No way, we're in this together" said Rainbow Storm as he stood his ground and cocks back his shotgun.
"Alright, you can come along and watch my back but after that I will handle Spitfire by myself" said Black Cross.
Rainbow Storm and Tootsie Roll agrees to help protect Black Cross as he make his way up a ladder that leads to a highway where he can see Emala caged in. Suddenly a few ponies came after them from behind as Black Cross pulled out his Ray Bow and blasted them away.
Bullets were flying all around from every turn but Rainbow Storm made sure that no-pony came near and tried to kill Black Cross, "Keep going!" said Rainbow Storm.
Black Cross was on the highway leaving Rainbow Storm and Tootsie Roll behind to confront Spitfire.
The war has already started, ponies and zebras were at war again - killing each other with bullets flying and traps setting off with an explosion. It was like a bloodbath, only more grotesque and the battlefield was piled with bodies all over the place.
Black Cross was climbing the ladder to get to Spitfire, however below there was the battle between the two tribes, a race against whom are more superior. His friends were down there, sacrificing themselves to claim victory, but there aren't many left to achieve that goal. It was a nightmare. Bullets were flying, blood was spilled all over the place, bombs went off, and creatures were dying.
The zebras were outnumbered, and reinforcements was depleting on medical supplies. Atlas and the others were the remaining survivors, they knew that this was not going to end well, with only fewer allies to support, they were undergoing at a disadvantage, they could hope to surrender but it's a cowered thing to do, even if that means sacrificing in order to win.
Dmitri Foresight had enough, he could not keep up, and so he decided to retreat along with other zebra followers beside him, but each of them failed to flee from battle as they end up getting shot by the Equine Society. Only Dmitri made it back into the forest, Flare-Bringer looks at his fallen warriors, "Cowards" he called out. It was up to Flare and the rest of the Equestrian Wanderers to bring victory, he casts a fire spell destroying towers and tanks with his mighty magic, the ponies backed up for a minute.
It looked like everything was going well and accordingly to Zophia's wish, he grins believing that they have a chance for a moment not too soon when suddenly Flare gets shot in the head by Syphon, tango down. The bullet went straight to his horn knocking it off his head and piercing through his skull killing him. Kole Ingram screams in fear, Boma Kai looks like he just wants to die, Nehemiah just stands there as he watches Atlas looking down on Flare, there is no way anyone could have taken him down so easily.
The zebras are forced to surrender, they drop their weapons and kneels down. Syphon was just watching them beg for mercy but he could not accept that, in fact he chooses to do things his way. He grabs a pistol and gathers all remaining zebras in a straight line to end their suffering. He chuckles as he picks Nehemiah as his first target, he tries to hold it together, and while there was nothing he could do but just accept his fate "Do it" he says, "shoot me" as the bullet fling through his mask and head falls towards the dirt with blood spewing out.
Syphon picks another target, Kole appeared to be next in line, Atlas could not bare to watch her friend die, she closes her eyes to see nothing but pitch-darkness only to hear the sound of a loud bang. She knows she's probably going to be next, but she opens her eyes to see that Boma Kai was right beside her, he was shivering in fear, and gives Atlas all of his belongings as he awaits for his destiny. "I can't do this, I have a family back home" he shouted, Boma tries to make a run for it back into the forest but it was already too late, Syphon and other pony allies gunned him down, shots were fired all over his body, from limbs to his barrel stomach, as he falls to the ground but still alive, he drags himself towards the forest desperately, as Syphon walks up to him slowly, he points the gun to his head and ends his life with a gunshot to the head.
Atlas was shaking noticing she is the last of the zebra allies, a gun was pointed straight to her head, a tear streams down her face as she looks down upon her friends dead on the floor, she begins to mumble a song that her mother once taught her, "Oh dear mother of the holy land and her precious tree on a hill, your leaf has fallen before you, may your child forever be with you on the other side" as she whimpers in fear.
Syphon lowers his gun when he noticed Starfighter shoves his hoof away from Atlas, "Stop, we aren't suppose to execute the zebras, Spitfire's orders" he says before flying away. He turns back to Atlas realizing his mistakes, rather letting her go, Syphon decides to take her away and lock her up in a cage. Atlas was actually relieved, it was much better than dying, but still shocked to see that all of her friends died for her, as she turns to her right, she can see other zebras were captured as well, it appears that she was not the only survivor.
Meanwhile Syphon goes to meet up with Spitfire and the others on a bridge, it turns out that they already have the upper advantage with Emala Jiss in their grasp. Atlas still had Boma's belongings, it turns out there was a knife he carved himself, it was the perfect opportunity to free herself and her zebra allies. She cuts her way sawing the black metal bars as fast as she could, luckily it was strong enough to damage it, "We're almost out of here" she cried.
The next thing she knew, Atlas was finally free, outside of the cage however without Flare-Bringer or Zophia around, she is forced to take charge. As she frees the other zebras, they too fled back into the forest, she looks back to the battlefield and thinks to herself only to hope that Emala and the others make it out alive. At this point on, she wasn't sure what to do, with only fewer allies, it will be suicide to even attempt to come back, perhaps it the only way out. If Zophia was here, she would do the right thing, and taking her friends to a much safer place even if that means having to abandon her or Emala, perhaps there was nothing she could do.
It was like there was nowhere to go, without her leaders and trusted allies, she is on her own. However her only option is to give up trying to help and save herself.
Black Cross could see Spitfire and Starfighter standing beside the edge of the highway where they can view the battlefield, he slowly approaches and quietly opens the cage for Emala Jiss to get out without Spitfire noticing across from them. They turned around and walk away as fast as possible when suddenly they were stopped.
Spitfire stops Black Cross with a gun shot to the ground startling them, "Stop right there!" he shouted.
Black Cross and Emala Jiss ducked their heads as if it would protect them from getting hit.
"What do we do?!" asked Emala.
"Just keep your head down, I will protect you" said Black Cross.
Black Cross gets up and stands in front of Emala Jiss with his back towards her where she is behind him.
"You're in my way," said Spitfire as Black Cross confronted him, the wind had blew across them with their facials and clothing were waving from left to right, at that moment there was a pause.
Black Cross kept in front of Emala while he was starring at Spitfire "You will not hurt Emala!" he shouted.
Starfighter walks up to Spitfire from behind him, "Sir, the zebras have gathered around by your targeted parameter, as you expected" he said.
"Okay, prepare for the initial attack, but wait for my signal," said Spitfire.
"You don't have to do this," - but Black Cross knew nothing was working, - "Why can't you understand?" he asked.
Spitfire had laughed "There is nothing to understand don't you see, Friendship has left you, Friendship has left all of us, only war is the answer to our call but I can promise you that once this war is over, you can go back to your normal life," he said.
"That's where you're wrong! Friendship never left us, it has been with us all this time, I still believe in Friendship even before the bombs fell" said Black Cross.
Spitfire was serious and even began to believe Black Cross was no longer on their side "I don't care for any of that non-sense, these zebras are going to pay for what they did, and we're going to take back our land!" he added.
Black Cross had brought his Ray Bow as he pulled back the arrow slinging it further but missing his target only hitting a barrel of oil causing it to explode damaging the bridge from behind Spitfire. Spitfire fired his gun which hits Black Cross in the arm and collapse.
Emala had witness Black Cross collapsing to the ground "Black Cross!!!" she cried.
Spitfire didn't care but he knew it was the only way to get rid of Black Cross from standing in his way, then he blew on his whistle to call in backup "Syphon, get them out of here" he called.
Syphon got closer but Emala wrapped herself over Black Cross like a shield as if it would protect him "No! You will not take him!!" she shouted.
Emala's stripes covers her entire body in pitch black surrounding herself with negative power as she charges after Spitfire picking up the Bow and shooting him in the chest.
Syphon backed away realizing how close he is to the beast "Holy shit!" he shouted.
Syphon had witness the death of Spitfire and ran away where he accidentally fell off the highway bridge when he wasn't looking hitting his head on the hard floor instantly killing himself.
Emala Jiss had went back to her normal form and calm herself once again.
"No... not again" cried Emala.
Emala had sighed and remembers how she got here, "Oh no, Black Cross... BLACK CROSS!!" cried Emala.
Black Cross was unconcious but Emala Jiss stood by his side comforting him. His friends, Zophia and the two tribes where at the scene witnessing the sorrow around Emala crying by his shoulder with tears falling down her face onto his. Emala was devastated, she bites her lips and crying while heartbroken realizing she might lose Black Cross forever.
"Why... why couldn't they just have shared the land. If only... no forget about the tribes, forget about the war, but what about us? But don't worry about it now Black Cross," - Emala begins to shudder but tries to stay strong and not let Lady Jiss take over her again - "I'll get you out of here, we'll start a family together and make our own tribe, nobody will... see... you'll see" she said.
"Wait Emala, there's something else you need to know about your powers" said Zophia.
Emala pouts and tries not to look at her mother's eyes, "What about my fucking powers? This is my curse, I am cursed aren't I?! It's all my fault, I'm the one who got Black Cross shot by this asshole!" she shouted.
"That's not true, your powers are a gift..." Zophia added.
Emala slowly looks up but does not look at her mother "How?" she asked.
Zophia had notice Emala's tears were streaming down Black Cross across his face, when the tears had reach his arm it began to heal the wound "Look...!" she shouted.
The tears were streaming all over Black Cross' face, as more tears had reached to his right arm the wound began to heal itself from Emala's tears and Black Cross begins to wake up.
Emala Jiss looks at Black Cross where she could see him opening up his eyes again "I... don't believe it" she said.
Black Cross slowly opens his eyes when he notice Emala Jiss was by him. "Em... Emala?" he said.
Emala Jiss surprised to see Black Cross alive, "Black Cross? Oh Black Cross I'm so glad you're okay!" cried Emala.
Emala Jiss wrapped her arms around Black Cross hugging him tightly and not letting go.
Black Cross was being hugged not knowing or recall what happened to him "Woaw! Emala you're hugging me too hard, I can't breathe" he shouted.
"Oh sorry, I got a little too excited" said Emala Jiss.
Black Cross quickly recalled a war was going to happen, "Wait a second... Emala! The war, the tribes..?" he said.
"It's okay, don't worry about that now," said Emala Jiss.
"Wait, when I was passed out, I thought I heard your voice, what did you say about a family?" asked Black Cross.
Zophia had interrupted their conversation "Everything's back to normal" she claimed.
"What happened? Is the war over?" asked Black Cross.
"That would be the case, yes, but today we all learned something, Emala here just demonstrated about true friendship, you too Black Cross, both of you spit some truth about Friendship being all around us, Friendship truly never has left us, no matter who you are, a pony, a zebra, or maybe even a kirin" said Starfighter.
Black Cross gets up on his four legs, "Well I'm glad that's over with" he said.
"Not quite yet..." Emala added.
"What is it Emala?" asked Black Cross.
Emala giggled as she felt confident telling Black Cross how she feels, "Well, you see when I first met you, I felt a strange sense around you, but not in a weird way, I felt different, I was never angry around you when you were protecting me even when you were unconcious I was protecting you this time, then I felt as if I needed you, in short, where I come from, we call that a true zing," she explained.
"Zing? What does that mean?" asked Black Cross.
"It means Emala here has feelings for you," said Zophia.
"So Black Cross, I just have one favor to ask you..." said Emala Jiss.
Black Cross was still unsure what Emala Jiss was trying to tell him, "Huh?" he added.
"This is a new start and I really want to start a family with you, I really love you, for real this time, but it's hard to explain and I know we can make it happen, so Black Cross, will you be my zing?" asked Emala.
There was a pause, with only a short time to answer, Black Cross just had to quickly make a move but is unsure if it's the right choice for him. He knew it probably would make Emala Jiss happy, then that path will be his final decision.
"Okay, yes Emala, I will be your zing" said Black Cross.
He smirks and they both hug each other along with some kisses.
Emala Jiss and Black Cross were later engaged, at least this time and not for pretend. This was truly the end of a new beginning. The war was finally over.
12 years after the war, both tribes have lived together in peace and harmony, this time sharing the land. If it weren't for Friendship, then the war would never have ended, sometimes negotiating helps rather than fighting for our lives even if that means someone has to die for their land but Black Cross realized that we all live in the same world and we should be grateful for the life we are given.
Black Cross and Emala Jiss had went to the same highway where the war had stopped while it looks abandoned as they settle beside the edge of the bridge they lean their heads on to each other.
Black Cross was beside Emala Jiss to get a view of the sun rising, he throws a pump shotgun off the bridge not wanting to do with weapons anymore, "Goodbye Nexus, you will be missed" he said while falling straight down and breaking apart after hitting the ground hard onto the surface.
Emala Jiss turns to Black Cross smiling at him and questions about their ancestors "All this time, we have been fighting through generations, if only they knew how to stop it" Emala claimed.
"Maybe our ancestors did not know... sometimes we just need to realize what we're all fighting for" Black Cross replied.
Emala sighs as she buries herself onto his shoulder, "Well now we don't have to worry about that..." she said.
"You know there's one thing I still don't get" said Black Cross.
"...and what's that?" asked Emala.
"Spitfire could have lived if he joined us..." said Black Cross.
Emala had kicked his balls hearing that name when he was told not to mention it "I hated that guy" she said.
Black Cross felt pain in his left testicle "Ow" - but Black Cross knew he shouldn't have brought it up - "Which is why you told me not to bring up his name" said Black Cross.
"Exactly..." Emala added.
They both sighed in relief when suddenly a colt appears from behind them.
Black Cross had a son and daughter with Emala Jiss, they named them Sphaeram and Peacemaker. Black Cross looks at his son, "What are you two doing over there?" he say, "Come here and lay down with us Sphaeram" said Emala.
Sphaeram was a hybrid of a zebra and pegasus, she has a black mane and tail with a pink streak in the middle, her eyes were matching Emala's color. She walks over to his parents to snuggle with Black Cross and lays aside from both of them.
"Look, the sun is coming up..." said Emala Jiss.
The four of them were settling down on the bridge together as they view the sun rising beyond the horizon.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" asked Black Cross.
"Yeah... it sure is," said Emala Jiss.
"Emala, you know I never would have left you back there in Manehattan, who knows what could've happened to you if I didn't show up" Black Cross had claimed.
"...and here we are now, you're with me, I probably wouldn't know what to do if I didn't meet you," Emala replied.
"I know but..." - Black Cross paused and realizes that it's not important to them - "nevermind," he said.
"Don't worry about it Black Cross, it's in the past now" said Emala Jiss.
"I guess I should stop talking about that now..." said Black Cross.
"By the way, whatever happened to your friends?" asked Emala.
Black Cross explains what happened to his friends after the war. Apparently, Rainbow Storm was last seen going to Las Pegasus in search for his mother after finding out that his mother was alive but a few years have passed and he never returned or perhaps he probably won't return to Manehattan. Tootsie became a doctor, but after 8 years of success, he suddenly disappeared, and no one has ever heard from him again, wherever he is, that remains a mystery.
"Well I suppose everyone had a happy ending, right? asked Emala, she remembers hearing from her mom, Zophia had left Manehattan to find her father Bust Cloud and after a couple of months she finally found him.
"Well, almost everyone" said Black Cross.
"I guess you're right" Emala added.
Emala Jiss kisses Black Cross on the lips.
"Promise me you'll always be with me" said Emala Jiss.
Black Cross looks at Emala Jiss in the eyes, "Always, no matter what happens, we will always be together," he said.
"I'm very thankful, I feel though as if love have found me" Emala claimed.
Black Cross explains the difference between these two subjects, "Love and Friendship comes in many forms, war just seems to interfere as it breaks everything in its sight, but fate didn't bring us together or love itself, sometimes good things happen and I guess I'm just very grateful for helping" he said.
Emala was touched by his words "I love you Black Cross, I will always be with you no matter what, don't you agree?" she said.
"Of course Emala, we are more powerful when we work together, even when we are far apart, I will always be there when you're in danger... or if I somehow get myself in danger as well," he added as he explains the history of Equestria and how it became as it is today.
Equestria can now be free from fighting. It took many years for ponies and zebras to realize that we all have a home that we should share. Without a world, then there is no point of anything. At least Black Cross had that perspective, everyone was being greedy and argue about things they want but sometimes they need to remember to learn to share. Now after so many generations, a new legacy had just began.
"Promise me you'll love me forever?" asked Emala as she begins to cry from the words he's been sharing with her.
Black Cross had licked her tears from her face and kisses her left cheek where the tears were streaming "Emala, your tears brought me back to life, if it weren't for you then I still may be dead, back when I first met you, I thought my heart may have skipped a beat, but that's just how I feel around you and now you came into my life, so no matter what happens, we'll always be together because truly..." he pauses.
"Because what?" she asked.
"I am forever, eternally yours" he said.
The wind blew across their mane, it was rather calm and heartwarming surrounding the atmosphere, over the horizon there was water in the distance, rain had previously rained there. Below them was a field of flowers and posies bloom where the bodies had been buried after their sacrifice in stopping the war. It was like a moment of truth, or perhaps a dream they thought that came into a reality. The two looked at each and were relieved. They kiss.
