Chapter 1: Distant Horizon

Theme: "Mars" (0:00—1:45) by Audio Network

"Sir, apologies for the interruption, but they're waiting."

Cosmo Logic pressed the button on the arm of his chair as he spoke, never taking his eyes from the paused surveillance feed. "Thank you, SEGA. Tell them I'll be with them in a moment."

"Understood."

He leaned forward in his bulky, but comfortably cushioned office chair, resting his chin on his hooves. Perhaps it was a bit rude to make them wait, but a small reminder that he was not just another mindless underling couldn't hurt. Besides, he was very much enjoying the show.

With the push of a buttom, the video resumed. Voice of Reason was reading the memo out loud to Jasper Pie. "'By now, they're probably...'" He suddenly gave a start. "'...reading this memo and realized that they're being watched?!'" Those looks of fear and terror brought a smile to Cosmo's face, which grew bigger still as they warily scanned the trees around Landfall. Such courage and bravery in the face of an enemy they can fight, but when somepony more powerful—and most of all, unseen—makes themselves subtly known, they quiver like fawns before wolves.

"So," Jasper said, "how about we run back to town and hide under Doc's desk for eight hours?"

"Ladies first," Voice said.

With a cry of terror, they darted away and into the woods, heading for that miserable husk of property known as Coal Town. Cosmo couldn't help but laugh at them. How delightful it was to see his enemies running scared! And with that laugh came a sense of accomplishment. The first phase, fear and intimdation, was now complete. Soon the other mercenaries in that worthless dump will understand that there are larger, more powerful forces working against them. What they didn't know, however, was that those forces were about to bring war to their doorstep.

The video, recorded an hour earlier, came to an end. At that time, Cosmo had shut down the surveillance feed in that severed robot's head. Eventually, its emergency power would run out, but not for a long while.

He then manipulated a control stick on the left arm of his chair, shifting it over the chromatic flooring to a separate console with a large television and connected camera. Once in position, he adjusted his freshly cleaned and ironed suit before pressing the call button. It flickered to life, revealing "upper management" on split screens: a gold earth pony and a silver pegasus, each attired in red and blue suits respectively; Redmond and Blutarch Mann, the heads of Mann Co.

"Finally," Redmond said, visibly irritated. "You really shouldn't keep us waiting, Director. Do you need to be reminded who's in charge here?"

"My apologies, gentlemen," Cosmo said. "I was just now reviewing the footage from the attack in Landfall."

"You have news, I take it?" Blutarch asked.

"I do, indeed. The battle was a complete success. The robots were completely demolished, and the two mercenaries discovered the planted message, as promised."

"Well," Redmond said. "I'll admit, that was well executed. Nicely done." How quickly he forgets his irritation. If he wasn't careful, an opponent could take adventage of such a glaring weakness. This was a passing thought, however. Cosmo instead reveled in the compliment inwardly, but only inclined his head in acknowledgement. He needed to be cold, calm, and calculating. This mindset allowed him to excel where other ponies failed.

"Yes, well done," Blutarch said, "but now it's time we moved on to the next phase. Redmond and I will put our army and weapons in place, and you should do the same."

"Actually," Cosmo said, "I already put my part of the plan in motion. There was no doubt in my mind that they would find the message." This was a half-lie, but that was besides the point.

"Excellent," Redmond said. "And before I forget, there's been a slight alteration in the plan. You will field the AMS Ordog. We're sending it your way as well."

"The prototype? Hmm... And I wager you'd like Coal Town to be its field test?"

"Correct."

"Splendid. Victory was assured before, but with the Ordog, it's as good as done. Presuming it works, of course. Regardless, you have my gratitude. Now, if there's nothing else, I have little time, so I should take my leave. I wish you well..."

"Before you go," Blutarch said, "there's something else that must be discussed. Redmond and I have recently reached a decision regarding your performance as Director."

Cosmo raised an eyebrow, feeling his ears droop slightly. "Oh?"

"Overall, you've done well, but there is one area of expertise you are sorely lacking in and it's a real detriment to your performance, as well as Mann Co. Your hiring sensibility."

Cosmo mentally recoiled at those words. Dustykat never returned from his mission, and judging from the fact that the situation in Coal Town remained completely unchanged after his attack, he either utterly failed or simply quit and walked away. Considering that he had the Alicorn Amulet, the latter was far more likely. He gritted his teeth. He should've known it was a mistake to pay that backstabber up front. He should never have given him such a powerful artifact. "As I said before, I will correct my mistake once I find the Australian. You have my word."

"And we'll make sure you never make that mistake again," Redmond said.

"From here on out," Blutarch said, "we will have a say in who you hire."

"What?" Cosmo asked. "Gentlemen, I'm pefectly capable of making these decisions myself. If you didn't feel that way, you wouldn't have folded me into Mann Co. and made me Director. Did you not a moment ago tell me directly that I've done well?"

"That's why we won't fire you for the time being, especially if you cooperate. Should you decide to hire without our knowledge... Well, let's just say there are many ponies in our ranks looking to become the next Director of Robotics, and all very eager."

"Fire me...?" Those words tasted like vomit, and felt like poison. He took a deep breath; how untouchable he felt before this call. They really thought they could replace him so easily. "Gentlemen, I'm sure if you give me another chance..."

"Director, this is nonnegotiable," Redmond said. "We'll weigh in on every potential hire, end of story."

"If you give me a chance to explain—"

"Don't confuse your autonomy with independence, Director," Blutarch spoke louder, nearly shouting. "It's not your place to argue, only to follow our commands and serve our interests. Are we clear?"

Cosmo sighed, leaned back, and rubbed a hoof on his forehead. "Crystal," he forced out.

"Good," Redmond said. "Continue with the operation then, and inform us once it's finished. Good luck."

"Acknowledged. Good day to you both."

With that, the transmission ended. He leaned back in his chair and sighed. Despite the praise earlier, the fact that they're entertaining the idea of firing him was quite a blow to his ego. He was perfectly capable and well deserving of the title of Director. They should be aware of that!

But then a soft smile crept across his face. Independence...independence... The word sounded better and better in his mind the more he mulled over it. If they couldn't see that he's worthy of such trust, then they aren't deserving of his service. He chuckled quietly. It would be rather petty to break ranks over something like this, but he was quite the petty pony after all. No, this wasn't wise; but it wasn't as if he hadn't paved his own path before, and he was able to sweep the little alliance with Gray Mann under the rug. He supposed that he'd have to, as they say, improvise, but he had much higher priorities.

And then elation filled him further as his thoughts shifted to Coal Town. After all this time, after all these preparations, the beginning of the end had come. Those mercenaries will regret the day they crossed him. He will ensure that they do.

But first, there was something else he needed to deal with.

Cosmo pressed the button on his chair. "SEGASister, please come to my office. I wish to have a word with you in private."

Eliyora made her way to the outskirts of Coal Town to blow off some steam. She was usually more on top of things. GoldenFox managed to snipe her dead six times, got a face full of bullets from Starlight twice, and worst of all, she actually let Thespio's British Ninja disguise fool her, all in the last match of the day. When she first became the red pyro, she leapt straight into the action and almost never let her hoof off the flamethrower's trigger. She was very destructive—and she admitted she still is—but the practice and training she underwent made her smarter about her attacks. She shouldn't have been taken down that many times. Was the blue team really advancing that quickly? Could it just be an off day? Or was she slipping?

She turned the corner to where the scrapped robots from the first battle were piled up. Many of them were completely destroyed the first time Eliyora expressed frustration at the other mercenaries, but lucky for her—and unlucky for them—some survived. It was time to pay them a visit. There was something about hearing the robots scream with programmed agony that was so cathartic. If nothing else, she could at least end the day on a high note.

She stopped short, however, when she saw Sweetie Bloom among the piles of metal and circuitry. Some of the robots that were mostly intact were propped onto their legs haphazardly, seemingly ready to fall over at any time. With swift, clean slices, the pink lemonade pony decapitated one robot after another, seeming to dance more than practicing serious hoofwork. She was also singing to herself as she went, and Eli recognized the song, "I'll Make a Man Out of You," though she replaced the word, "man," with "mare." She'd forgotten that Sweetie Bloom isn't as bothered by ponyisms as some of the others. Her pink coat glistened with sweat, and her yellow mane was matted and messy.

"Hey, Eli," Sweetie Bloom greeted, a little short of breath. Her wings extended out of delight.

"Hey, Sweetie. What are you up to?"

"Oh, there's a voice in my head that really enjoys decapitations, so I'm trying to keep him happy," she said, smiling. "His name's Jiminy."

Eliyora blinked, stunned. "You, too?"

Sweetie Bloom raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

She sighed. "Well, I guess if you're going through it, too... Do you promise not to tell anypony what I'm about to tell you?"

Recognizing the gravity of her words, Sweetie's expression grew serious. "Of course. What's up?"

"Do you remember the incident with the pyro helmet?"

"Yep, I do." Her ears drooped. "That was one of the most stressful days of my life."

"Oh, Sweetie, I'm so..."

"There wasn't a single bathroom in that emergency bunker, and I really needed to go. And somehow, the hatch got stuck, so I couldn't get out. The thought of going...on the floor...in front of everyone..." She shivered. "I almost didn't make it."

"Um, sorry, I guess?" Eliyora said.

The hatch getting stuck technically wasn't her fault, nor was putting the mask on; it was Silver Quill's. But it was true she forgot about them after the fact, so that part she took responsibility for. Also, wasn't it Keyframe that needed to use the bathroom?

"Anyway, there have been some lingering effects. Occasionally, I'd hear a voice in my head that tells me to set everything on fire. And I mean everything. And then during matches, I'd sometimes see rainbows instead of flames. And no, that wasn't Blissy going into her super form again. Thankfully, when it gets too bad, I just switch into my own super form and all that goes away, for a while. The time between events like these is getting better, but even so, I decided to keep this to myself. Everypony views me as 'the crazy one' as it is. Blissy once called me 'the living embodiment of balefire,' whatever that means. My super form has helped them see me as more than just a weapon, but if anypony found out...well, I don't want to lose the progress I made."

Sweetie Bloom listened intently and patiently, and once Eliyora finished, she nodded. "I understand where you're coming from. But if you ask me, there's no need to be so secretive. I told Finn about my voice, and he took it very well."

"That's not saying much. That kid takes everything well."

Sweetie Bloom chuckled. "True, but the point is that when you're struggling with something..."

"...let somepony know, I get it, but I... Sweetie, I realized something while I was wearing that mask. I don't want to lose anypony here. I mean, I love using my flamethrower, and it's clear that the others are willing to humor my eccentricities, but in the back of my mind, I'm afraid that one day, I'll go too far."

"So you're afraid of pushing them away by accident?"

Eliyora nodded.

"Hmm... Well, if it helps, we endure the pain of death dozens of times a day for training, and sometimes, we just do it for fun. We're all a little crazy. Even Doc can be pretty scary sometimes. At the risk of sounding cheesy, everypony here is your friend, so you can trust them with stuff like this. Sure, you may get a little snark, sarcasm, screams, fire, bullets, and death thrown your way every now and then, but that's just because we're comfortable with you."

Eliyora softly smiled. "I guess I can't argue with that kind of logic. Thanks, Sweetie. But what about you? Are you going to get that voice in your head checked out?"

"Oh, I'm not worried about him. We've become pretty good friends, and he loves my jokes." Sweetie Bloom's smile suddenly faded. "Aww. Well, I thought they were funny."

"Okay, this has been a good talk, but..."

Sweetie Bloom's head suddenly raised and her eyes were wide, as if a grand revelation had dawned upon her. "Hey...come to think of it, I'm pretty curious myself."

Eliyora raised an eyebrow. "Um..."

"Hey, Eli, when you put on that pyro mask, what exactly did you see?"

"Well..."

Eliyora remembered, as much as she wanted to forget. An office with a hodgepodge of conference rooms and cubicles, stuck in a lifeless, colorless void. She searched all around, looking for a way out, but there was no exit, and nothing she could use to bash a wall down. Firebrand, devoid of all personality and emotion, kept following her, asking for the copies of an official document that prophecied the future of children's media. Silver Quill pranced around with no pants on, ignoring Eliyora's extreme discomfort. Right as she was about to give up all hope on ever escaping, the entire office heaved and collapsed in a flash of light.

But it was not the end. She reawakened in the same cubicle, barely aware of what happened before. The memory of it was fuzzy, like she was dreaming. She stood and reached for her glases, sliding them up onto the bridge of her nose—and nearly yelped in surprise when she saw her hands. Even greater than before, she felt a sense of unease. More often than not, things got a lot worse when ponies were turned into humans.

Within that office was an errand dog that she was horrified to discover was Dr. Wolf; a little girl that was so short, she couldn't reach the photo copier on the table, who turned out to be Lightning Bliss; and a Finn that was so jaded by his job that he barely smiled, much less hugged anyone. Even when Eliyora tried hugging him, all he said was, "Uh, thanks," before pushing her away and going to his cubicle. A strong desire suddenly and violently smashed her heart like a hammer to a thumb. Not only did she want out, she wanted everyone back. Just as the urge to cry started welling up, she suppressed it. No, this was only an illusion. Her real friends were going to get her out of this soon. She just needed to endure until then.

"Doc, Eliyora, Finn! Come to my office ASAP!" Dread pressed down upon Eliyora, crushing her will. That was Silver Quill.

"Celestia," Eliyora prayed, "please don't let this illusion go where I think it's going."

It occurred to her that perhaps she could simply not show up, that Silver Quill would somehow overlook her absence, but the next call that specifically mentioned her put that idea to bed. She reluctantly decided to check it out, but at the first sign of trouble, she was getting out of there.

She leaned inside, and was as perplexed as she was relieved to find Silver sitting at his desk with his soldier outfit on, with a serious, almost angry expression. Dr. Wolf and Finn were standing side by side, standing stiffly and awaiting orders. She eyed them as she stepped in the space between the two of them and decided to mimic their poses.

"Lady and gentlemen, we have a situation on our hands," Silver began in a gruff, husky voice. He then gestured to the three stacks of papers on his desk. "The Langoliers have requested aid with these twenty thousand word reports. Dr. Wolf! We need to reprint copies of these and translate them into French, Portuguese, and Trigonomanese, all in triplicate. I expect to see these done in twenty minutes, and I am timing you!"

He then threw the stack straight at Dr. Wolf, who managed to catch the whole thing with his mouth.

"Finn the Human! Take these reports and comb the papers. I expect nothing less than the finest combing in the country."

Silver threw the papers once more, aimed direclty at Finn's face. He seemed not to react at first, but to Eliyora's surprise, he caught the papers in one hand, and with one fluid motion, tucked them into his armpit while simultaneously producing a comb out of nowhere. The rest of his body may as well have been petrified. "Yes, sir," was all he said in response. Eliyora had trouble processing anything that was happening. This had to be wrong in at least eight different ways.

"Eliyora!"

Instead of an explanation, however, he simply threw the stack at her. He did it so quickly and suddenly that she didn't react in time, and the papers smacked her right in the nose. "Ow!" she cried out, hands over face. "Why'd you do that?"

"I'm still not wearing pants!" he replied.

She felt her brain almost break in half from the mental whiplash. All pain was instantly forgotten, and her stomach doubled in weight. "Please tell me you're lying."

Abruptly, he scooted back. "Oh, you want me to prove it?"

"No!"

There were three more rounds of this torment, each collapsing only to start anew before Jasper finally broke her free from the clutches of that mask.

In the present, Eliyora shivered and refocused her attention on Sweetie Bloom. "Let's just say...I've seen things. And in this case, the less you know, the better."

"Oh. Okay. So Jiminy still wants some more head chopping, but if I do it too much, I might go blind again, so I'm going to cut him off there, pun totally intended. Even if I could die and respawn right away, I'd rather not go through that, so I'm going to see what everypony else is up to. Want to come?"

"Thanks, but I want to hang out here for a bit. There's still plenty of daylight left and a lot of robots to burn. I'll see you later, though."

"Okay, have fun!"

Eliyora began scrounging the scrap pile. There were a couple robot heads, some exposed wires, a few legs that were somehow bent the wrong way, and a smattering of tiny fragments from her earlier rampage. She just needed to find robots that were a little more whole, and preferably still talking.

"Huh? What are those things?" she heard Sweetie Bloom ask.

She turned around to see her looking straight up at the sky, and followed her line of vision. She saw them. Dozens of small, glowing yellow lights were floating high above, standing out greatly against the cloudless sky. They seemed to be traveling across the Australian outback, but were now slowly descending upon the town. Two of them approached Sweetie Bloom and Eliyora. The latter could tell that they were some kind of biolumenescent creatures that were a cross between a squid and a jellyfish, floating gently and elegantly as if they were in water. They moved with a soft whoosh of air, slowly flapping their tentacles like wings. The first of the two went right up to Sweetie Bloom, who held a hoof out to it.

"Sweetie, I don't..." Eliyora started.

The creature seemed to sense Sweetie Bloom's outreach and wrapped its little tendrils around her hoof as it cooed and smiled. Their faces were surprisingly expressive, almost cartoonish. "Aww, it's so precious," Sweetie Bloom said.

Eliyora watched suspiciously, noting that Sweetie Bloom didn't seem to be experiencing any pain. Maybe it was safe? The second drew closer to her and she tilted her head, watching closely as she held out her hoof as well. The reaction was exactly the same. She peered closer. "What are these things?" she wondered aloud.

"I don't know, but they're squishy. Look!"

Eliyora nearly yelped in shock when she saw Sweetie Bloom attempt to crush the creature with her other hoof. But it didn't seem to be feeling any pain at all. In fact, if the expression on its face was anything to go by, it seemed even happier. Sweetie Bloom's hoof almost seemed to bounce.

"Squishy, squishy, squishy... Oh, I love you, little guy! I'm going to call you...Blake. You're so cute and mine and adorable and mine and squishy-squashy...and mine." She raised her head all of a sudden and empathy suffused her voice. "Aww, don't worry, Jiminy, I haven't forgotten about you."

Eliyora paid little attention to Sweetie Bloom, however. She was looking into her own creature's eyes. They were so big, warm, and friendly. As fun as it was to strike fear into the hearts of the blue team, and sometimes the red team, it was nice to see something look upon her with such sweetness and innocence. Before she fully realized it, she was smiling. "I'll admit, they are pretty cute. But we should probably take these to Doc. Even by Coal Town's standards, this is weird."

"Yeah, we should, but let's take our time a bit. I want to play with Blake a little while longer."

As they made their way to the other side of Coal Town, to the lodge where Dr. Wolf's office was situated, Sweetie Bloom whispered and baby talked with the little visitor. Quite a few more were now in the midst of the town, floating idly between the previously abandoned structures, though most still floated above. As Eliyora glanced between them and her own little creature, her brow furrowed deeper and deeper. Both she and Sweetie Bloom had been at Coal Town for years, and there was never a single sign that these things even existed. Why were they coming now, of all times? And if they had some kind of purpose, what was it?

Chapter 2: Always Watching

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Theme: "Waiting for Bliss" by X-Ray Dog

"When I saw that, I said, 'It just wanted to hug you with its fangs,'" Firebrand told Finn as they approached Doc's office.

Finn laughed. "Oh, that's a good one. You know, it's really too bad we can't actually hug wild animals in the human world. Sometimes, I wish they were more like Equestrian animals."

"Hmm... That does seem nice on the surface, but the moral and ethical implications..." Firebrand shivered as he pushed open the door, holding it open for Finn behind him. "To say that would open Pandora's Box would be an understatement."

"I'm sorry," another voice rang out from deeper in the building, "but I can't work at my desk with you two hiding under there. I must ask you both to come out."

Firebrand's and Finn's attention was suddenly fixed on Dr. Wolf, who was standing aside his desk.

Firebrand heard Voice of Reason's voice. "But RM...BM...they're watching!"

Next came Jasper Pie's, who whispered ominously, "Always watching."

Doc rubbed his eyes, sighing in frustration.

When he sounded an emergency meeting earlier, Firebrand immediately departed to his office and found Keyframe had beaten him there. The next thing he noticed was Voice and Jasper hiding under the desk. It was strange to be sure, but strangeness was normal for Coal Town. As the seconds passed, then minutes, Lightning Bliss came in, followed soon by AnY, GoldenFox, and Maddy Munchkin. Firebrand grew more and more annoyed until Doc realized that during each member's orientation, both he and Firebrand glossed over the alarm for an emergency meeting. Everypony else had probably forgotten about it and didn't realize it was urgent. This realization cooled Firebrand's temper somewhat, though he was still quite irritated.

Doc then informed him that when Voice and Jasper returned from their outing, they immediately dove under his desk, muttering about RM, BM, and that they were watching. When he pressed them for more information, they said they were attacked by a battalion of robots, those of the same army that attacked Coal Town before.

As soon as he said this, Mary Sue had announced that the final match of the day was going to begin in five minutes. So Dr. Wolf told everypony there to inform the others before the match; if that's not possible, then tell them as the opportunities come. And if they ask, Voice and Jasper won't be joining. Firebrand did exactly that, and informed as many as he could before he needed to get into position alongside Silver Quill. Once blue team was declared the winner, he and Finn decided to return to Doc's office together.

Firebrand walked up to the bipedal wolf. "Haven't budged, huh?"

"I'm afraid not," he said. "The two of them are bumping the desk so much that it's become nigh impossible to complete the paperwork. Speaking of which, I presume you're here to make your daily report?"

"Mainly."

"Your usual gripes, I presume?"

"Yep. Lack of focus, lack of cohesion, flight at the first sign of trouble, all the usual stuff. Though the 'lack of cohesion' part is more on the red team than blue team. I got to say, if we don't get our act together, then we'll be in a world of trouble in a serious firefight."

"Noted. I'll schedule some more exercises tomorrow. Perhaps we can introduce some kind of puzzle-solving mechanic..." A loud scraping from his desk interrupted his thought process. "...but first things first."

"I'm on it." Firebrand sighed and muttered to himself, "If I had a pay grade, I'm sure this would be well beyond it." He walked behind the desk and laid eyes upon the two shivering mercenaries. "You two have been under there for half an hour already! It's time to come out."

"Oh, great," Voice said. "That leaves seven and a half hours to go."

"If they're watching us," Jasper said with manic eyes, "then who's watching them?"

Firebrand's mouth thinned, trying to keep his rising anger in check. "Okay, you know what? Let me ask you something, because I'm a little confused here. Can you tell me why hiding under Doc's desk is in any way a proper response to...well, anything?! Both of you are practiced veterans, for Celestia's sake—and that goes double for you, Voice! Frankly, I expect better."

"Keep an eye out," Voice responded. "They're watching..."

Firebrand's eyes widened, somewhat confused. "Wow, that usually gets him riled up. Well, I'm out of ideas."

"With respect, Firebrand," Finn said, stepping forward. "I think you're going about this the wrong way. Let me try." Firebrand shrugged and moved aside. "Voice? Jasper? If you come out, I'll bake you cookies, and you can have the whole batch to yourselves."

There was silence for a moment, then Voice asked suspiciously, "What kind of cookies?"

"Well, I was thinking peanut butter cookies, but tonight I'm feeling a teensy bit ambitious and thinking of adding chocolate chips."

Voice shuddered, but it was a good kind of shudder. "I can feel my arteries clogging already. Okay, fine, I'm coming out."

"Great!" Finn held his hoof out to Voice, who pulled him out and topside. "And Jasper?"

"You cannot quench my terror!" Jasper declared as he popped out, but with a terrified cry, dove back underneath.

Finn sighed. Firebrand knew that his cookies were his trump card. If they couldn't win a pony over, nothing in his ususal repertoire could. It was time to switch tactics, and he could tell that Finn knew it, too. "'It Ain't Easy Being Breezies' time," he muttered. Then he spoke louder. "Jasper, I'll give you one more chance. Is there anything I can do that will make you come out?"

"No-o-o-o!" he cried. "Let me fear!"

"Alright. You've left me with no choice, then."

Finn bent down closer, but had just enough...space...

Firebrand gasped when he realized what Finn was about to do. Firebrand backed off. "Doc, you may want to stand back." He raised a questioning eyebrow at first, but then it hit him, immediately taking position next to Firebrand. Finn was about to utter the most rage-inducing words that Jasper ever heard. A phrase so powerful that it was declared forbidden, never to be uttered in Ponyville, and though most would look on in confusion, it was frowned upon in Equestria by those in the know.

But they were not in Equestria, much less Ponyville, so Finn uttered the cursed words.

"No one—out-pizzas—the hut."

Suddenly, the desk was thrown off its legs, toppling top first onto the floor. Jasper stood erect, and enraged. "I out-pizza the hut!" he screamed. "I'll show you. I'll show all of you!" He galloped right out the door and straight to the mess hall in the center of town.

Firebrand recalled the incident that instigated the ban. While he was serving time at the Forward Operating Base in the Equestrian Badlands, Princess Twilight called him up and requested help in calming Jasper down. Even Dr. Wolf couldn't do much. Soon after her return from a trip to the human world, she said the phrase out loud, and Jasper was apparently within earshot. He made a literal beeline to Twilight's kitchen, and the walls of the castle barely slowed him down.

He recalled her exact words. "When you said Jasper's pizzas were boundary breaking, this isn't what I had in mind!"

Firebrand hated puns, but at least she was finding humor in the situation. Thanks to his super form, he was able to teleport straight to Ponyville. As much as he tried to get him to stop, Jasper kept making more and more pizzas until he literally collapsed from exhaustion; thus Firebrand was finally able to carry him home. Though those ingredients weren't meant for pizzas, Twilight didn't want them to go to waste, so she threw a party for the town. Despite the happy ending to the ordeal, Twilight asked everypony involved to never speak that phrase in Ponyville again.

At present, Finn took off his hat and placed it over his heart as he closed his eyes and his ears went limp. "I'm sorry, Jasper," he whispered.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Firebrand said. "Maybe you hurt him in the moment, but I'm sure once he calms down and thinks about it, he'll realize you gave him a needed push."

"I hope so."

"What you did just now, that took guts. I'm proud of you."

Finn smiled. "Thanks, Firebrand. Okay, let's get started on those...cookies... Oh." Even from this distance, they heard the deafening clatter of dishes and the dull roar of mixers, followed by frenzied laughter.

Doc walked up to the others. "I think for the time being, I should declare the kitchen a hazard zone until Jasper's little episode ends."

"Yeah, sorry, Voice. Tell you what, I'll add an extra sprinkling of sugar to make up for the wait."

He chuckled. "It's all good. Thanks, Finn."

"In the meantime," Dr. Wolf said as he turned to his capsized desk, "I'll need to get this reorganized." In the chaos that lay before them, the drawers were thrown open and files spilled out. Pencils, pens, paper clips, and a stapler were scattered across the floor, along with a smattering of miscellaneous reports and acquisition forms. It was fortunate that nopony was standing right where the desk landed. "Finn, could you help me out?"

"Sure thing, Doc."

"Thank you kindly."

Firebrand shrugged. "Eh, why not?" He walked over to the desk and starting working to flip it back on its feet.

Voice glanced back and forth between the activity before him and the door. In the end, however, he shrugged and said, "Meh, got nothing better to do," and pitched in with the cleanup effort.

Getting the desk back on its feet was the easy part. As Voice and Finn gathered the papers, Firebrand and Dr. Wolf picked up the writing supplies and were putting them in their proper place. A few minutes passed before Finn suddenly gasped, holding up a piece of paper.

"KP requested extended leave?" he asked.

"Wait, she did?" Firebrand said.

"Oh, yes, I'd forgotten," Doc said without stopping. "That actually arrived only a few minutes ago, though I don't really need time to think about it. I'm going to decline."

"Agreed. She's already scheduled for a week away from Coal Town, which is already pushing it considering Abbey is on vacation already. Does she really need that much more time?" He levitated a stack of papers that Finn made and straightened them out, but then dropped them, lightly gasping. "You don't think this is her way of quitting, is it? She has indicated in the past that Team Fortress 2 wasn't her thing."

"Perhaps, perhaps not. Personally, I would think turning in her resignation would've been a far simpler solution, so I believe she's just trying to figure things out. Let's wait and hear what she has to say when she returns...if she returns." He stopped, taking a deep breath. "It is rather strange how sudden the requests were. If only they hadn't gone on vacation so suddenly, I would've assigned them bodyguards. But then I might just be overreacting..."

The front door of the lodge opened, and at the first breath of wind, Doc, Firebrand, Voice, and Finn—with a cry of terror—threw themselves on top of the desk to keep the already haphazard piles of papers from blowing away. Normally, Doc kept paperweights on his desk to counter the never-ending desert breeze, but they didn't have that luxury for the time being.

In came Sweetie Bloom and Eliyora, the latter of which closed the door behind them. The former, however, looked upon the odd sight and remarked, "Well, you guys look like you're having fun. Did something happen?"

"Jasper happened," Firebrand said, "but I'll fill you in on the details..." He then saw what looked like glowing yellow kalamari on their hooves. "Huh? What are those things?"

Eliyora came up next to Sweetie Bloom. "We decided to call them 'jellysquids.' They just came floating into Coal Town. They don't seem to be causing trouble, but we thought we should let you know, if you didn't notice them already."

The ponies and wolf went up to them to get a closer look. While Doc, Firebrand, and Voice were skeptical, Finn was more than taken by them, saying aloud that they were so cute and pretty.

Sweetie Bloom abruptly held out her hoof. "Ooh, Finn, you should feel how squishy they are!"

He held out an eager hoof and felt the creature. "Oooooh..."

Before long, the two of them were repeating "squish, squish, squish," all the while squeezing the jellysquid.

The others stared at this strange spectacle for a moment before they decided to gather around Eliyora's. "I'll admit, they look pretty adorable," Firebrand said, "but I'm getting serious 'Swarm of the Century' flashbacks. These things could be more dangerous than they appear."

"It would be wise to err on the side of caution until we know more," Doc said. "Eli, do you know if they're specifically coming here or if they're simply passing through?"

"I think they may have been passing through at first, but when they saw the town, they decided to descend. If they're going to move on, they're sure taking their sweet time."

Dr. Wolf rested his paw on his chin as he considered the information, then nodded, reaching a decision. "Eli, you and Sweetie Bloom gather up these...jellysquids and put them in a confined space away from any sensitive equipment, at least until we know more about them. The storage shed across the way should do."

Eliyora sighed. "Alright, but the second I find Ink Rose, she's going to help us. I'd rather get this over with as soon as possible."

That made sense. With KP gone for awhile, Ink Rose was unquestionably the fastest mercenary in Coal Town. "Very well, do as you please."

"Will do. Come on, Sweetie," she said, activating her levitation magic.

Sweetie Bloom, who was still squishing the thing with Finn, suddenly found herself dragging backwards away from him. "Ow, ow, my tail, please stop pulling my tail, I'm coming, I'm coming."

And with that, Eliyora opened the door—the other four hurled themselves onto the desk once more—and shut it behind them.

Voice climbed off the desk and said, "Geez. Can today get any weirder?"

Dr. Wolf and Firebrand, who followed suit, both scowled at him, and he dropped his head.

"I really should've learned by now. Well, karma, do your thing."

The door burst open again. None were able to react in time. The loose papers were caught in the wind and flung across the office. Firebrand groaned. Finn, however, leapt to the rescue immediately and began recollecting them.

Tyandaga suddenly bounded in. "Doc! I need help! Something's attached to my antler and it won't come off, no matter how hard I shake it!" As if to demonstrate, the deer thrashed his head around in a panic.

"Hey, hey, hey, hold still," Firebrand said. "Looks like you got another jellysquid. I'll see if I can pry it off."

"Jelly-what?" he asked.

While Firebrand got him caught up, he worked his magic trying to pry it loose, but it was clamping onto him pretty tightly. He noticed that the jellysquid's smile seemed to grow bigger and bigger the more he pulled it. Why did it seem so happy when they're trying to resist? It was a little creepy.

Firebrand heard another set of hooves step into Doc's office: British Ninja. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw him staring. "What kind of life do I lead when I say I've seen stranger things since becoming the red spy?" Ninja asked nopony in particular.

Then Silver Quill unceremoniously passed him by, without saying a word. British Ninja's jaw dropped in utter shock, as did Dr. Wolf's, and Tyandaga's. Firebrand was the only one to immediately burst into uproarious laughter at the sight of him, followed soon by Voice.

"Well," Ninja said. "I stand corrected."

"Silver, how did...?" Dr. Wolf said. "So far, we only had one jellysquid for every beast in Coal Town. How'd you manage..." He paused to count them all. "...seventeen of them?!"

"Quite simple, my canine companion. You may think fate has farted in my direction once more—indeed, I thought as much at first—but it's all a matter of perspective." He smiled mischievously. "Even in this strange, unusual, unorthodox way, I still win the popularity contests."

Firebrand laughed at that. "Trust me, this is one contest I'm glad to—lose!"

With that last word, he successfully managed to pry the jellysquid from Tyandaga's antler. The last tug was so hard that the deer nearly lost balance, but managed to catch himself. He thanked Firebrand profusely, but the words died when he saw the jellysquid. From the way his eyes were lighting up, it was the first time he got a close look at one. Its tendrils slowly reached up to his face, coming close to stroking his nose.

"It's...actually kind of adorable. Maybe I'll keep it after all."

Firebrand pulled it away from him, however. The jellysquid sensed that Firebrand was closer and rotated in his magical grasp, reaching for him now. "Uh-uh. Not a good idea, remember?"

"Oh. Right. Well, if it turns out they are harmless, I'm definitely keeping one!"

"Me, too!" Finn chimed in. He'd taken to stacking the files and reports in the corner, away from the door. Smart.

Firebrand then half-smiled and threw the jellysquid at Silver, smacking him clear in the cheek. He cringed at the sting of the slap, then rounded on Firebrand. "Oy!" he shouted.

"Take these things to the storage room across the way. Get them off, but keep them in there," he ordered. "Finn, can you help him out?"

"Sure can," he said. "It's perfect timing to boot. I just got the last of the papers all tidied up."

"Excellent, Finn," Dr. Wolf said. "As always, your help is appreciated."

Silver grumbled, but didn't put up any resistance, and left with Finn happily trailing behind him. Once the door that protected the interior from the wind shut tight, Doc began picking up each stack and filing them away. Voice joined him, but he required almost constant guidance. Firebrand didn't blame him. He helped run the Coal Town Mercenaries, and even he had no idea how they were organized.

"Firebrand, what's up with these creatures?" NInja asked. "What's going on?" Tyandaga went up beside him, eagerly awaiting the answer.

"No clue, hence the precautions. Eliyora, Sweetie Bloom, and Ink Rose are rounding up the jellysquids as we speak."

"Once they're gathered, I'll study them," Dr. Wolf said. "Something I'm particurly curious about is their eating habits. There's not much to consume out in the desert, unless they eat sand."

"At any rate, we have more pressing issues right now. Did either of you hear what happened to Voice and Jasper?" They shook their heads. "It's better you tell them, Voice."

"Right. So while Jasper and I were, um, hanging out at Landfall, we were attacked by the robots that tried to kill us awhile back, before you two joined the mercenaries."

Firebrand thought Ninja looked shocked, but under that mask, it was sometimes difficult to tell what he was thinking.

"Attacked?" Tyandaga said. "You two weren't hurt too badly, were you?"

"Um...more scared than hurt, if I'm being honest."

"Jasper didn't sound scared when we passed the mess hall," Ninja said. "I believe his exact words were, 'I'll get them! They'll see. I'm going to them,' pockmarked with inane babbling and insane laughter."

"Had to instigate an episode. I'll tell you about it later. Anyway, after the attack, we found a memo to ponies known as RM and BM, which said that they were watching us."

"What else did it say?" Ninja asked rather suddenly.

Voice opened his mouth, but nothing came out at first. "Something about...attacking us?"

"Do you have it?"

"Uh, no. We left it there."

"Well, that's not particularly helpful."

"Hey, excuse us if we focused more on the 'being watched' part!"

"Dr. Wolf, I'd like to head to Landfall and retrieve that memo. There may be more information we can glean from it."

Doc closed the drawer shut, sighing with satisfaction that the mess was finally cleaned up and everything was organized as it should be before turning his attention to Ninja. "I suppose that's fine, as long as you take somepony else with you. If the robots attack again...well, you know spies aren't frontline fighters by any means."

"I'll go with him," Tyandaga said, stepping forward. "If there are enemies, I'll torch them. Besides, I'd like to see this memo myself and dust off my detective skills."

Dr. Wolf considered for a moment, then nodded, albeit reluctantly. "Very well. Go and retrieve that memo. But I don't want you to stay and fight. Remember that you'll be outside the limits of the respawn generator. The second you spot an enemy, get out of there. No memo is worth your lives. Understood?"

"Sure thing," Tyandaga said.

"Crystal, Doc," Ninja said.

"Good. Head out when you're ready. And exercise caution to the utmost."

"Understood." Ninja then turned to Voice. "Where did you leave that memo?"

"It's on one of the upper platforms, presuming the wind or one of the woodland creatures didn't knock it over or something. If it's not there, check the ground below."

Ninja nodded. "I don't think I need anything. Do you, Tyandaga?"

"No, I think I can leave right away, actually."

"Let's go. The sooner the better."

Firebrand stared at the door after it closed behind Ninja and Tyandaga. Most of the time, Ninja was more relaxed, easily able to go with the flow. The last time he was that determined was during his test to become the red spy, something he truly desired. He must really want that memo, though he got the feeling there was more to it.

The thought passed, however, and it wasn't until Doc spoke that he realized how far away he'd gone.

"Are you alright, Firebrand?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I'm just..."

"You look like you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. Are you concerned about the robot attack?"

"Yeah, exactly. I thought this was a random skirmish at first, but now that I think about it, it may be more than that. If what we know about the memo is anything to go by, the Landfall attack was intended to spread fear and uncertainty. RM and BM are watching us, observing us. It feels like pieces are moving on a chess board. I can't say for sure, but I have a feeling something big is coming. Something terrible."

Dr. Wolf's expression grew grim as the heaviness of Firebrand's words weighed upon him. "I believe you may be right." Abruptly, he began making his way to the door.

"Where you going?" Firebrand asked.

"I need to check something. We'll talk later, Firebrand."

"Oh. Okay, talk to you later."

Without another word, Doc stepped out, leaving Firebrand alone in the office. He furrowed his brow. It wasn't just Ninja that was acting strange. Doc wasn't so dodgy and cryptic most of the time. The only instance that he could think of... Firebrand gulped. Vague words with that expression; he recalled this during the robot army's first attack, right after the respawn generator was destroyed. It was when Doc came up with a plan to save everypony, but as they were pressed for time, he couldn't stop to explain, only telling him that he would know what to do when the time came and for him to lead them on—to lead them into a battle that could easily have ended their lives.

Firebrand prayed that that wasn't an affirmation of things to come.

Chapter 3: Natures Strange and True

View Online

Theme: "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Lorde,

Original by Tears for Fears

AnY dropped the empty bottle next to him, allowing it to roll down the dirt road. It occurred to him that he should probably run and grab it, but that sounded like too much work. Coal Town was already a trash heap. What was a little more at this point? He sat on the ground and leaned against the wall of one of the many unmarked and abandoned buildings of the town, letting out a satisfied sigh. There was nothing like downing a bottle of cider after a day of battling. The fire in his belly was burning strong indeed, and that fueled his courage and abilities in battle.

As he closed his eyes to nap, however, he noticed a yellow glow through his eyelids. Under normal circumstances, he would've been thoroughly annoyed by these things that arrived at Coal Town, but he was too far in his drunken stupor to care. He simply moved away from the approaching... What did Sweetie Bloom call them again? He couldn't remember. Wait, she was gathering them, wasn't she? She must've missed one.

AnY was about to move away from it and find another spot to relax, somewhere where he can be left alone and sleep in peace. Not the bunks, it was too early for that. Somewhere where he can breathe the open air would do nicely. But he stopped, noticing the joyful expression on the creature as it looked upon him. Come to think of it, he was a bit hungry.

It wasn't until this moment that he realized why he didn't particularly care for these creatures. Because he was half-changeling, he's capable of sensing strong emotions across town, but even when these things were right in front of him, he sensed nothing. He shrugged, however, and said, "Well, may as well give it a shot."

In a flash of green that consumed him in a blink of an eye, then vanished just as quickly, he turned into his changeling form. He grinned, feeling his sharpened teeth grind against each other. Between them, his snake-like tongue dangled from his mouth. Usually, he could better sense where emotions were coming from, feeling and tasting the emanations in the air. But there was very little he could sense. He inhaled deeply, using his changeling magic to bring the delectable love and joy to his mouth. As he expected, but hoped wasn't the case, nothing came.

He clapped his jaws shut, then took a few steps back when he realized how close the creature had come to him. However, he tilted his head, intrigued. "Huh. Are you somehow immune to changelings?" His dulled wits didn't allow him to question it further, however. Instead, he shrugged dismissively. With another flash of green, AnY returned to his pony form. "Eh, fine. I'll just get a boring food snack."

With that, he began making his way to the mess hall.

Suddenly, he heard loud metallic groaning, followed by a heavy clunk! of steel against wood. Half out of curiosity and half out of boredom, he decided to see what was going on. Going off the direction it was coming from, it didn't take him long to figure out what caused it.

In a small building at the end of the main street of Coal Town, where it split east and west, AnY found Dr. Wolf hunched over the open hatch that led into the emergency bunker, clipboard and pen in his paws. He seemed to be studying the hinges rather closely, reaching out and feeling the metal. AnY recalled the doctor installing a sturdier door to the building a few days ago. Soon after, Finn barred up the window. Mary Sue did some related work, but he didn't know much beyond that. When Maddy asked what was happening, Doc said that it was just a precaution, nothing more. At the time, AnY wondered if it was some kind of subtle commentary on their performance, but he dismissed that notion.

"Hey, Doc. What's going on?"

Dr. Wolf glanced up at the door, but quickly turned back to the sheet. "Ah, good evening, AnY. I'm just checking the hatch to see if it's in need of any maintenance. So far, it seems to be in peak condition, thankfully."

AnY saw that he wanted to focus on this task, so he shrugged, stepping towards the door. "Well, okay. Have fun."

"Take care."

Once he approached the mess hall, he heard a lot of noise coming from the kitchen, hearing the voice of Jasper coming from within. Even in his state, AnY could tell that Jasper was having another episode and he didn't like the idea of wrestling him away from the food so he could get a snack. That was too much work. Maybe he could trick him into moving, instead.

He then heard a rush of air above him and spotted Ink Rose flying above the buildings, heading south. His gaze followed her, but when she darted in another direction, his eyes instead landed on Dr. Wolf's office. Then he remembered that behind the bar within, some of the mercenaries store the snacks they bring with them, some of which remained there, forgotten. AnY smiled, and pressed on.

As he approached the office, however, he spotted yet another creature hovering outside the town limits, but instead of glowing yellow, it glowed green. Perhaps it was the other gender of the species? It wasn't heading for him, like the others would have. It simply hovered there, bobbing up and down from the undulation of its tentacles, and it was too far to tell from where he was, but he felt like the thing was watching him. Otherwise, it did nothing. He narrowed his eyes and wondered what it was waiting for. In the end, he shrugged and went up to the entrance. As long as it wasn't hurting anypony, it could do whatever it wanted for all he cared.

After closing the door behind him, AnY saw Firebrand sitting at that same bar, drinking out of a glass bottle, a dark liquid swirling within. The stallion glanced up at him, but there was no greeting, nor even any other form of acknowledgement. AnY wondered what was so interesting about his drink; he just stared at it. He sensed the emotions swirling within him, tempted to consume the rage and frustration that broiled within. But there was no way he wouldn't be noticed here, and the attempt to consume them would only anger him further.

AnY approached. "Hey, Firebrand. It's pretty rare to see you drinking."

Firebrand slammed the bottle onto the counter. "I'm not drinking," he grumbled. "It's root beer!"

"Well, somepony is a little testy tonight." AnY, unperturbed by Firebrand's outburst, walked around him and began rummaging behind the bar.

Firebrand sighed deeply. "I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you specifically, just at the state of our teams as a whole."

AnY pulled out a box of old cheese crackers and checked the expiration date. It was a few days ago. He sniffed the crackers, nothing unusual. Maybe it was safe? He popped one into his mouth and winced a little at the staleness. But at least the taste was still okay. Deciding this was good enough, he pulled a stool over and sat across from Firebrand. Placing his hooves on the counter and leaning forward, AnY said in the best Dr. Wolf voice he could muster, "So Firebrand, tell me what's on your mind."

Firebrand chuckled lightly. "That impersonation was terrible." The slight smile that came with the laugh quickly disappeared, as his melancholy mood returned. AnY kept eating as he spoke. "I've been thinking about the first robot attack, when Dustykatt first appeared. We all got our flanks kicked right at the start. The robots' numbers were overwhelming, and the respawn generator was destroyed. We were effectively cornered."

AnY was actually there, but decided against pointing this out.

"With little choice, we fought back. And we were amazing! We stuck with our strategies, properly utilized our strengths, and were able to beat back the robots almost too easily. Compare that with how the teams are now. It feels like we regressed in our competence, running when the slightest thing goes wrong. And that's if they choose to fight at all! I've lost count of how many times I saw them talking to each other rather than engaging in battle. Yeah, we were able to beat back the robots the first time, but..."

Firebrand sighed, resting his head on his forelegs. AnY felt a shift in his emotional state, a transition from anger to depression.

"...I can't help but wonder if it was a fluke. Just dumb luck that we were able to win. Honestly, ever since these thoughts entered my mind, they just swirled around in my head, repeating over and over. The stress and worry it caused built up and boiled over into frustration. At this point, I just want to stop thinking about these things and let my anger go."

AnY thoughtfully munched on the crackers a moment longer before it became clear that Firebrand was finished. He set the box aside. "I guess you forgot about Voice and Jasper already. The two of them alone were able to wage a successful skirmish against the robots."

Firebrand looked up at him in confusion. "And then proceeded to dive under Doc's desk for half an hour because they were 'being watched.'"

"Oh. Didn't know about that part. Still, speaking more generally, I would say we have improved. We had a burst of competence because of the stress of the situation, returned to normal, then continued to improve. I'm willing to bet we'll be ready if another engagement on that scale happens again. But as the saying goes, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Firebrand nodded. He was beginning to calm down. "Well, if nothing else, I'm certainly ready. And from here on out, I'll make sure everypony else is, too."

"Good to hear."

AnY began craving another bottle, then remembered that he had a stash here.

"Now I know you're not much of a drinker, but I have something here that could help you relax and take the edge off." He pulled out the cider, the bright orange liquid reflecting the lights of the bar.

Firebrand laughed a little. "You do know that's non-alcoholic, right?" This would be reminder number five since they formed the Coal Town Mercenaries—and that was from Firebrand alone.

AnY guffawed at that. "Right, and I suppose I'm 'non-drunk,' too."

Regardless, he accepted the drink. The conversation moved into small talk, and all the while his emotional state returned to normal. In the midst of their exchange, AnY's muddled mind made a connection that was so sharp that he surprised himself. Doc was checking the bunker earlier. Did he also believe they were unprepared for a large engagement? As Firebrand scooted back, saying that he was going to go for a walk and get some fresh air, he made a mental note to ask Dr. Wolf about that later. For now, he wanted to drink some more, and enjoy the rare moment of silence and calm.

Suddenly, a great cry of pain cut through the silence, followed by the unmistakable thud of a body hitting the ground. AnY knocked over his stool as he leapt onto his hooves. In his sudden carelessness for the bottle, he set it down haphazardly on the edge of the bar, where it fell and shattered on the floor. That was Firebrand, and that wasn't the usual cry of death that they hear during their matches. This one was different, and with the strange circumstances and rising tension among the mercenaries...

AnY leapt into action before completing the thought. He dashed out the door, and the first thing he saw was the red medic collapsed on the ground, unmoving. The second was Finn and Silver coming out of the storage shed. They, too, heard Firebrand's cry. The three of them converged on him quickly.

"Wait, is this another death prank?" Silver asked. "I mean, I'm glad it's not me for once, but I got to say at least those were a little funny."

"But he's not dead, Silver," Finn said. "Otherwise he would've respawned by now. He must've been knocked out by something."

"True, but who or what could've attacked him? We're the only mercenaries nearby, and most of the jellysquids are in there," Silver said, jerking his thumb behind him.

"Jellysquids, that was it!" AnY said.

Silver ignored him. "He'll be coming around soon anyway, so why not wait and ask if he saw anything?"

"That would be the easiest way for sure. We should probably take him to Keyframe first, though. Get a medigun on him."

"Or a better idea would be to leave him here and bring Keyframe..."

"Guys, look at this!" Finn suddenly shouted. With a grunt of effort, he heaved Firebrand's body onto his other side. There was no need for Finn to explain further, as they all could see a green jellysquid latched onto the base of Firebrand's neck. It was the same one that AnY saw before, but only now did he see that the tendrils were quite a bit longer on this one.

Silver bent down and tugged it free with ease. The tentacles were completely limp and flopped about, and the expression was completely frozen, constantly smiling. "No resistance," Silver remarked. "It's probably dead."

"Firebrand might've killed it when he landed on it," AnY said.

"Possbily. Either way, at least we know...who..." Silver's words trailed off as his eyes suddenly widened. "Oh, no."

"What?"

"AnY, do you have your Claidheamh Mòr on you?"

"Yeah, but why?"

Silver dropped the jellysquid onto the ground. "Cut it open." Then he saw the look on AnY's face and added, "I know it's strange, but do it. It's a lot easier for you to see for yourself rather than try to explain it."

Despite his confusion, AnY pulled the sword out, the springsteel gleaming from the setting sun. He took firm hold of the red and green plaid grip, lined up the blade, then with swift motion, brought it down. It cut the creature wide open. What came flying out wasn't what AnY expected. Glass shards of what used to be a sort of cylinder were flung from the corpse, and the broken tip of a needle was left jutting out. A tranquilizer dart! What had everypony gawking, however, were the wires and circuitry splayed out from the jellysquid's body.

"Machines," AnY said, breathless. "They're machines!"

"Worse than that," Finn said as he leaned closer to the jellysquid. He pointed at one of the circuit boards, careful not to touch it. "I recognize that part. It's a receiver. Somepony was controlling this one."

The three of them exchanged glances with each other, the implication of this discovery hitting hard and sinking in.

"I guess he wasn't ready after all," AnY muttered, then spoke louder. "Who's watching the jellysquids right now?"

"Well, we were," Silver said. "But now there's..."

It wasn't until now that AnY noticed that there was a bright yellow glow emanating from the cracks of the door to the storage room. Finn and Silver turned around, and he could tell they just now noticed it as well. It was getting brighter and brighter by the second, and a dull, guttural growl was building from within.

"We got to stop it!" Finn shouted, bolting for the door. "Whatever it is, we got to stop it!"

"Finn, no!" Silver shouted. "They might be..."

His words were swallowed up by a flash of light and the growl crescendoed into a roar. AnY could only close and shield his eyes.

They were too late.

Chapter 4: Over the Edge

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Theme: "Apollo (For What It's Worth Vocal)" by Think Up Anger, Performed by Malia J

Tyandaga followed British Ninja closely through the undergrowth. While he'd grown accustomed to the heat in Coal Town, and the more intense heat of the flamethrower, the humidity of the forest made it unbearable, causing him to sweat bullets and his suit to cling to his fur. He could already feel rashes starting to form in many uncomfortable places. The second he gets back, he's going to change out of the suit, take a bath, and stick with his natural, reindeer coat for the rest of the evening. Though from the way Ninja sighed, he may be faring even worse than he was. The only company the two of them had were the unseen cries and calls of wild animals, along with a very annoying helping of mosquitos.

Finally, they emerged onto a clearing and laid eyes on the Coal Town Mercenaries' secret base, Landfall. The wooden buildings towered high above them, solid and strong, despite the signs of aging that they bore. There were a handful of trees within the confines of the base, of which wooden platforms were built around. Despite the fact that this was yet another husk of its former self, it seemed much more livable than Coal Town. It's true that that was the place where their mercenary band formed, but he felt that "Landfall Mercenaries" was a much cooler name.

But perhaps it was more dangerous than Coal Town, since the "secret" part of the base turned out to be more alleged than actual. The entire compound was littered with demolished robots, the remains of the battle between them and Jasper and Voice. Whoever sent the robots learned about this place, and attacked.

"I had no idea this base was here," Tyandaga said, looking at the wooden structures. They blended into the forest quite well.

"Only the red team knew about this base," Ninja said, "though evidently Jasper found out about it somehow."

"Oh, I see. But how come red team got a secret base and not blue team?"

"I suppose it's because the red team was the first to form. Given time, I'm sure Keyframe will set one up for you lot."

"I hope so. I like the idea of having a base set aside for only the blue team."

The pair looked out on the mechanical carnage that took place only hours before. While most robots were unmoving, there were a handful that were still activated, their lights flickering. Tyandaga wondered how they could possibly still be active. He pulled out his flamethrower and kept it aimed at each one, just in case they weren't as disabled as they appeared. Then he noticed something odd about the pattern of bullet holes, scorch marks, and bomb craters.

"Hey, Ninja, it seems like the robots weren't trying to attack the base itself. The damage sustained isn't focused on any particular building." British Ninja said nothing. Tyandaga turned to his companion. From the look on his face, he seemed to be thinking very hard, as if he were attempting to solve a difficult puzzle. "Ninja?" he said louder.

He blinked himself from his thoughts and shook his head. "Wha-what? I'm sorry, did you say something?"

Tyandaga repeated himself, pointing across the landscape.

"Yes, you're right," Ninja said. "It's safe to assume that they were specifically targeting Voice and Jasper. Whoever sent the robots was probably trying to kill them while they were isolated."

He bucked at the remains of a particularly large robot, but stopped, staring down at it.

"What?" Tyandaga asked, walking up alongside him. Ninja pointed, and he saw. "Huh? Isn't that...?"

Jutting out from the flank of what Tyandaga supposed was a heavy, an access hatch laid open, exposing the contents of a storage compartment. This wouldn't have been a strange sight if it had been blasted open, but there was no apparent damage surrounding it, despite a chunk of its head and right foreleg blasted off.

Ninja activated his levitation magic and, from a compartment that was left open, lifted a rolled up paper, tied neatly with a string. On it was written,
To: RM & BM
From: The Director

Ninja and Tyandaga exchanged looks before the former untied the knot and unfurled the paper. He held it away far enough for both of them to read comfortably. Tyandaga felt the tiniest embers of frustration. When it seemed they'd found a piece of the puzzle, it only raised further questions.

"So it sounds like they went easy on those two?" Tyandaga asked. "They weren't trying to kill them?"

"So it..." Ninja mumbled.

"Ninja?"

"Is it really...?"

Tyandaga tapped him on the shoulder. "Ninja, are you alright?"

He startled back to reality. "Hu-what? Uh, yes, I'm fine."

"You sure? You seem very distracted and even jumpier than me. Seriously, I don't know what it is, but this places gets creepier by the minute."

"It's nothing, I was just thinking about the robots. If they went easy on Voice and Jasper, then perhaps they're more dangerous than we realize."

"Maybe. I really hope not. But the others made it through the first attack, right? Unless you think they're somehow more dangerous this time?"

"Perhaps, but we can only speculate on that for the time being. For now, though, I'm wondering how this memo got here in the first place. Voice said that it was on one of the upper platforms, out in the open. There's no way it bounced itself into that compartment on its own. Somepony must've put it in there, but why?"

"Or..." Tyandaga started, then turned away and searched among the wreckage. He then found the body of what he guessed must've been a spy robot. He found a similar compartment, and saw what he suspected. He pulled yet another rolled up paper out and held it up for Ninja to see. Tyandaga finally saw the light bulb go off inside Ninja. He then untied the knot with his magic and opened the paper.

"Yep," Ninja said. "An exact copy. It's safe to assume, then, that nearly every robot is carrying one. The one behind this attack, this RM and BM, planted these copies. He wanted the memo to be found and read. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, this throws the legitimacy of the message into question. It could be true, certainly, but it could just as easily be misinformation. I don't think we can trust it."

Tyandaga balled up his copy and tossed it aside. "Can't argue with you there."

Ninja brought the first copy close to his head, ready to throw it away. But he stopped and ultimately decided to put it in one of his suit pockets. "Even so, we should probably take this back to Doc."

"Yeah, we got what we came for. Let's get out of here."

The duo picked their way back out of the base, the robotic parts and components crunching and screeching beneath their hooves. The two of them hit a patch of soft grass and crunching leaves. The quiet this lent compared to walking on metal stood out to Tyandaga far more than usual. He stopped, listened, then it hit him like a truck to the face. His fears were justified after all.

"Ninja!" he said.

The spy stopped and turned around. "Hmm?"

"I know why it's so unsettling here."

"Okay, why?"

"Do you hear anything?"

Ninja concentrated, rotating his ears as far as they could turn. "Unless you're talking about that incessant buzz of insects, I hear nothing."

"Exactly. No birds, no forest critters...nothing. I could hear them everywhere when we arrived, but now they're gone. Either they ran away...or they’re hiding."

"From what?"

Tyandaga's eyes swept the base warily. "I don't think we should stick..."

The sound of gunshots in the distance resounded through Landfall. A pair of scattergun blasts. “Now that, I heard,” Ninja muttered.

The two of them immediately ducked behind the nearest building. Tyandaga lifted and ignited his flamethrower. “I didn’t hear bullets flying past. I don’t think those shots were meant for us.”

“Agreed.” Ninja levitated his revolver out from one of his inner pockets, flicked the cylinder out to check for bullets, then flicked it back. He then peeked out in the direction of the shots, then glanced in the direction of the compound entry path. “We’re further from the entrance than I’d like. We’re going to need cover, and the element of surprise. I’ll cloak and keep an eye out ahead. Once they’re close enough, I’ll return and give you the signal, then you blast them with your flamethrower. That should disorient them long enough for us to get out of here.”

Tyandaga nodded, his heart racing faster and faster. “Okay.”

Ninja was just about to activate his device when they heard the rustling of underbrush. He stopped, ears twitching in that direction as panic took hold in his eyes.

“Ninja, go!” Tyandaga half-whispered.

This snapped him out of it, the steel in his eyes returning. He pressed the button and faded into nothingness. Tyandaga placed his hoof on the trigger, then forced himself still when he realized he was shaking. He’d never been in a real firefight, not one without the respawn generator to save him. The urge to turn tail and run was strong, but the training he’d undergone in Coal Town kept his hooves planted. Panic will get him and Ninja killed here. For the sake of their survival, they must think calmly and strategically, and not do anything stupid.

As the rustling heightened, Ninja decloaked while standing out in the open. “What are you doing?” Tyandaga shouted.

“It’s a pony!” Ninja said, suddenly darting forward.

Tyandaga risked peeking out and saw a familiar face, the only pony he knew with cat-like features. He, too, emerged from cover, quickly putting away his flamethrower so he could bound on all fours. “It’s SEGASister!”

Ninja glanced behind him. “SEGASister? Isn’t that Voice’s marefriend?”

“Yeah. She’s hurt!”

SEGA had just limped out of the underbrush, gasping for air. Her mane and tail were a complete mess, and her fur was coated in mud. As Tyandaga drew closer, he saw that she was bleeding quite a bit as well, cuts and scrapes everywhere across her body. Her expression was twisted into a mix of agony and desperation.

“SEGA, are you alright?” Ninja shouted as he ran up to her. He began checking her wounds.

“Guys…you’re here…” she said, barely finishing before collapsing into Ninja’s forelegs.

“Oh—oof! Okay, I gotcha.”

Tyandaga slid down beside her, realizing with horror that some of her scrapes were grazes from bullets. There was a gaping hole in her hind leg. She wouldn’t be able to run fast on her own.

“We…we got to get out of here.”

“R-right,” he said. He stepped back and with a groan of effort, lifted SEGA with his levitation spell. “We’ll get you back to Coal Town.”

They then heard the sound of metal grinding against wood and shrubbery.

"Hurry,” SEGA said. “They’re hunting me.”

As she spoke, Tyandaga’s blood ran cold, his eyes widening. In the forest beyond the clearing, dozens of glowing blue eyes were fixed on them, getting closer and closer. He heard the cocking of pistols, the pumping of scatterguns, and the whirring of miniguns.

The robots had come.

“Oh, bugger,” Ninja mumbled.

Ink Rose was on the southern edge of Coal Town, collecting what she was pretty sure was the last jellysquid. Clenching her Sandman baseball bat with her teeth, she held it out to the creature. It wrapped its small tentacles around the wood and squeezed tightly, just like the others. She noticed that what the jellysquids attached themselves to didn't matter as long as somepony was on the other end. Earlier, when there were three of them on the bat, she decided to set it down and walk away, to see what happened. She didn't make three paces before all of them detached and started following her. Whether it was instinctual or not, she couldn't say, but she told them that they were lucky they were so cute, otherwise it'd be very creepy.

The sun had nearly vanished over the horizon, and the cool air of the desert night was beginning to sweep through town. Ink Rose closed her eyes and breathed in the refreshing wind. It was usually quiet during sunset, but it was even more so tonight. Perhaps it was because of all the ruckus that evening that it seemed comparatively calmer, but beyond that, she couldn't say why.

She opened her eyes and looked at the creature clinging to her bat. "Alright, little guy. Let's get you to your friends, alright? Or is it fami...ly...?"

The adorable smile that these jellysquids so often expressed vanished. Its face suddenly became blank and unreadable, eyes emotionless. Erring on caution, Ink Rose quickly and gently set the bat down and backed away. She watched it warily, ready to flap out of the way if it suddenly decided to attack. Instead, however, it released its grip and, ignoring Ink Rose, turned north and started floating away. Seeing this, she picked her bat up once more and held it in front of the jellysquid. Its tentacles lazily slithered over the bat, paying it no mind.

Ink Rose furrowed her brow. It was heading for something, but what?

The jellysquid stopped. It lifted its tendrils high, spreading them wide. Something black and silver extended downward from the main body, moving too smoothly to be natural. Ink Rose peered closer, thinking for a moment that her mind played tricks on her. But no, that extension was metal, without a doubt. And that would mean...

"You're robots," she said, breathless.

Then there was a flash of light from the north. The jellysquid dropped to the ground, unmoving. She poked it with her bat. No response.

Ink Rose pulled out her radio and switched it on. "Hey, Doc, can you...?" Her words died when no static or sound emanated from the device. Only the click of the on/off switch could be heard. It felt quite warm in her hoof, come to think of it. And the smell... Ink Rose sniffed it. Without a doubt, it was burnt. The circuitry inside the radio must've been destroyed.

That, coupled with the "death" of the jellysquid, led Ink Rose to the inevitable conclusion—an electromagnetic pulse. But how? None of her friends had any EMP's, as far as she was aware, nor would Doc or Firebrand allow such a weapon on base. It would've destroyed so much...

Chills went down Ink Rose's spine as it dawned on her how crippled they were. It must be a deliberate attack. She has to warn the others!

She spread her wings, ready to take off, but paused when the glint of the setting sun shone in the corner of her eye. When she glanced in that direction, however, it was gone. While it wasn't there before, there was no way she didn't imagine that. There was something on the other side of that sand dune. Something metal, and moving.

Ink Rose glanced back at the heart of town. Her friends in the Coal Town Mercenaries weren't exactly geniuses, but they weren't completely witless, either. Well, most of them. They probably figured out what happened just as fast as she did. So reporting that would be pointless. And telling them that she saw a glint in the distance? If her radio was still functioning, that would've been worth saying, but flying all the way to Doc's office would've been a wasted trip. Firm in her resolve, she galloped out of town and into the desert wastes.

Her hooves kicked the sand up, coating a decent amount on her legs. While she would've preferred simply flying over the sand, she needed to stay as low as possible. And her carefulness was paying off, as she heard a lot of somethings moving about; it was the sound of revving engines, whirring tools, and squeaky wheels, now barely within earshot. More than likely, she was scouting out a dangerous situation. She needed to stay under the radar as much as possible. So she simply ignored her discomfort, even when some of the sand started getting into her wings, and even more so when she began crawling up to the crest of the sand dune.

She soon reached the top, peeking over. Her mouth fell open, as she fought the urge to panic and fly back with her tail between her legs. The first things she saw were the two massive vehicles, each dozens of feet tall and just as much wide, with twice the length. One was unmistakably a Robot Factory Tank, which was pouring out dozens, if not hundreds of machines, with those familiar eyes. Those cold, dead, glowing eyes.

There was no mistaking it. The robots had returned.

The other was unfamiliar to her, and far larger and bulkier. Where the control center of the tank would've been located, there was instead what looked like the head of a robot heavy, except with tinted windows. The floodlights were activated on both vehicles, so it was clear that somepony was inside, but otherwise there was no activity coming from it that she could see. It simply sat there, like a silent sentinel. There was no doubt somepony was inside, but who? And what was the purpose of this vehicle?

Ink Rose couldn't spare a thought on either question, for her eyes were next drawn to a device in the midst of the flood of invading robots. But with darkness beginning to set in, it was becoming difficult to see. She pulled out a pair of binoculars, and was able to make out just a bit more. It was mounted on a pair of wheels, so it was something that was mobile, but it was also quite large and seemed heavy to her. The device itself was milky-white, with a dish-like head pointed at the town. Energy was pulsing through it from cables that snaked from the Robot Factory Tank in the form of a neon blue light. It was steadily growing brighter and brighter. It's got to be charging, but what was it? Could it be some kind of weapon?

Nearby, she saw a row of...

Ink Rose's mouth fell open. "That... How? It can't..."

The loud clap of a sniper rifle and the whistle of a bullet flying inches past her head ceased all thought. Pure fear and instinct took hold as she screamed and pushed herself away from the top. The sound of a couple more bullets shooting through the sand increased her terror. She scrambled so quickly that she lost her footing and fell headfirst into the sand, rolling down. She quickly regained it, then took flight, foregoing all pretense of subtlety.

As she approached the outskirts of Coal Town, she regained a measure of composure and realized what she must do next. "EVERYPONY!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "THE ROBOTS ARE HERE! TAKE COVER! THEY'RE HERE! GET INSIDE! TAKE COVER!" She kept shouting and shouting as she shot straight north, directly to Doc's office. She passed over the cafeteria and saw a gathering of her friends. Without entirely processing who she saw, she began shouting, "DOC! FIREBRAND! DOC, WHERE ARE YOU?"

"Ink Rose?!" she heard Doc's voice, before she plowed into the ground and skidded to a halt.

Only now did she take stock of who she saw. Dr. Wolf, Keyframe, AnY, Finn, Sweetie Bloom, Eliyora, Silver Quill, and... She gasped when she saw Firebrand's unmoving body on Silver Quill's back. "Firebrand! Is he okay?"

"He's fine, just unconscious," Dr. Wolf said hastily as he ran up to her. "But did I hear that right? The robots have returned to Coal Town?"

"Yes! They've amassed an army to the south, just outside of town."

Dr. Wolf's ears, along with everypony else's, went limp as they heard this. "Then it's as we feared. We need to gather everypony up and get out of here, immediately. We'll make for Landfall."

"We're not going to fight them like last time?"

"No. The risk is now too great. We must leave. Now..."

As everypony was about to set out and gather the rest of the mercenaries, a familiar blue light began to glow from the direction of the robot army. They stopped and watched as the wave of blue spread outwards and upwards, reaching like giant fingers seeking to capture and become the sky at an ever-increasing speed. The mercenaries gathered together, taking comfort in each other's presence, as this overwhelming event made them feel incredibly small. In a matter of seconds, the blue wave of energy encircled and enveloped the town, enclosing it within a massive, semi-transparent domelike barrier.

"We're trapped!" Keyframe said.

Doc gulped. "We now have only one choice. We must set up a defensive line where the road splits. Do not engage in combat like you have in the past. Take cover, and do not expose yourselves if you can help it."

Ink Rose sensed something different in the way he said that. "Why can't we fight like before?" she asked nervously.

Doc's mouth formed a thin line as his voice grew grim. "That EMP, Ink Rose. It knocked out our mediguns and respawn generator. They're damaged beyond repair."

Ink Rose felt the fur along her back raise. Only now did it dawn on her exactly how much danger they were in. "Oh, no... Oh, no, no, no."

Dr. Wolf placed his paw on her shoulder. "Ink, I need you to stay focused." Then turning to the group as a whole, he said, "Everypony, Sweetie Bloom and I will need to..."

His voice faded in her mind when, beyond the barrier, she saw faint flashes. Then she remembered the last thing she saw.

"...confusing right now, but it needs to be destroyed. Now go, and hold the line!"

"Everypony!" she shouted. "We need to take cover right now!"

"Right now?" Doc asked.

Ink Rose grasped him by the shoulders. He must've seen the intense fear in her eyes, for he now had it in his. "Doc—they have artillery!"

"Art—what?!"

A deafening roar soaked the air in heat, rocking the town. That was the first time Ink Rose felt the ground beneath her quake so strongly in Coal Town. The first of many.

Chapter 5: Maelstrom

View Online

Theme: "Tactical Dominance" by Position Music, Composed by Jack Trammell

Tyandaga's training and instincts overcame his shock and fear, and he felt courage swell within him. "Go!" he shouted.

He leapt forward, leveled his flamethrower at the undergrowth before what was easily dozens of robots. A torrent of fire erupted, roaring into the forest. Brush and trees alike were instantly set ablaze. He thanked his lucky stars that their artificial intelligence had slow processors, as he could hear cries of pain instead of their weapons. For now. He turned and bolted. British Ninja was ahead of him, levitating SEGA with his magic. He ducked behind the building he took cover behind before. Then at last, the bullets came, raining all around Tyandaga, missing him by inches. Tyanadaga dove behind a stack of crates and covered his head as best he could, but his antlers were in the way. For the first time, he wished he didn't have antlers. But this thought was soon silenced, as the miniguns of the heavies began chewing their way through the crates, wood chips flying up and pelting Tyandaga. He covered his eyes to keep them from blinding him. He was losing cover, fast.

"Ninja, I could use some help here!"

His back was to him, likely making sure SEGA was alright. But Ninja whipped around, saw the predicament that Tyandaga was in, and pulled his revolver out. He leaned out from the corner of the building and levitated the weapon up. Two bullets discharged forth, each hitting a heavy in quick succession. Both crumpled to the ground, their miniguns ceasing. Ninja ducked back just in time to avoid another hailfire aimed for him. Tyandaga took the opportunity, crawling out just far enough to blast out another fireball. The robots were out of range, but it created another wall of flames, slowing their advance. The sound of a distant gunshot among the others, along with the kicking up of a small patch of dirt near his head, alarmed him. He then got on all fours and dashed further towards the entrance. He glanced to his side and saw Ninja now beside him, out of breath, with SEGA in tow.

"They've got a sniper!" Tyandaga shouted.

"Oh, it just gets better and better, doesn't it?"

Ninja dove behind a building once more while Tyandaga went behind a thick tree. He leaned out a little, but quickly ducked back when four more distant shots rang out, three of which whizzed by, too close for comfort. Now there were more snipers.

"Stay put! I'll try and take them out!"

Ninja levitated his gun, but the field of magic failed, dropping to the ground. Not only was he out of breath, but his magic was nearly gone. He couldn't use anymore without risking a permanent burnout. He instead reached for the gun with his hoof and aimed down its sights. He squeezed off three bullets. His frustrated groan told all that Tyandaga needed to know.

"We're bloody useless against snipers!" he said as he reloaded. "I say we make a break for it."

"Agree—argh!" Tyandaga was suddenly accosted by a scout who attempted to thrust its hoof into his face. He barely managed to duck out of the way, but another sniper bullet shot past, nicking his antler. He heard Ninja fire off more shots, though none were aimed at this robot. Tyandaga blocked another hoof strike with his flamethrower as he glanced five more scouts dashing toward him. With a burst of strength, he pushed the first away and unleashed his flamethrower, engulfing all scouts within. They screamed and ran about erratically, causing the environment around them to catch fire.

That was exactly the distraction they needed.

"Run!" Tyandaga shouted, heading for Ninja. "Go, run, run, run!"

"Alright, help me out," Ninja said. He began to lift SEGA.

Tyandaga stopped him, though. "No, you're tired. I'll carry her."

Without any further argument, Ninja lifted her onto Tyandaga's back. He didn't hide the fact that lifting and carrying her took a lot of effort, but there was no time to voice it. The two of them dashed for the entrance, bullets whizzing by without result. As soon as they stopped, Tyandaga turned and fired one last wave of flames that would deter any robots from following.

They ran deeper and deeper into the forest, the shouts of the robots following their hoofsteps. Long after the echoes finally faded did British Ninja stop, gasping for breath. Tyandaga didn't feel how tired he was until he stopped, his legs burning and sweat pouring out from under his fireproof suit.

"Okay," he said between breaths, "that was far more terrifying than I imagined. I never thought fighting the robots would be like that."

British Ninja simply nodded, turning his attention to their wounded companion. "You weren't hurt any further, were you, SEGA?"

"No...but everything still hurts," she said weakly.

"Alright, let me see. I'm no medical expert, but..." His voice faded as he looked over her wounds. "Well, it seems that most of the wounds aren't serious. The only one that's got me worried is your hind leg. A bullet went straight through, and it's bleeding quite a bit." Ninja tapped around himself, searching his pockets. To Tyandaga, he asked, "I...don't suppose you brought some sort of dressing?"

"No, that didn't occur to me. Sorry."

"No worries, it didn't occur to me, either. Curse our lack of foresight. We'll need something else." Ninja's eyes darted back and forth as he considered their options. Then, he pulled his mask off, revealing the natural tan of his coat. "I might have just enough magic left."

He activated his horn and a wave of light swept across the cloth. The magic exerted upon it caused it to flutter and vibrate a little. The color also brightened a little, returning to its original rustic quality. Ninja had just removed the sweat that permeated his mask. The light faded and Ninja exhaled as if he was holding his breath.

"There," he said as he tied the mask around SEGA's leg. "It's not exactly the cleanest it's ever been, but it's far better. That should stop the bleeding."

She cried out as he pulled it tight, as gentle as he tried to be. Ninja placed a hoof on her shoulder. "I know it hurts. We'll take you to Coal Town, and have Firebrand and Keyframe heal you right up. Just hang in there, alright?"

"Coal Town," she muttered. "Voice. I want my Voicey."

"We'll take you to him, too," Tyandaga chimed in.

They'd only taken a few steps before specks of orange and grey floated down before them. Ash. They looked into the sky and were shocked to see black smoke looming over them, barely visible from the dim light of the setting sun, and the orange glow of what was unmistakbly a wildfire. That dull roar that Tyandaga subconsciously dismissed as wind was the approaching tsunami of flames.

"Oops," Tyandaga said.

"Let's get out of the forest, right now!" Ninja shouted.

"SEGA, if you can, please hang on as tightly as possible."

As soon as he felt her hooves wrap around the base of his neck, the two took off as fast as Tyandaga could go. But he still had to be careful. She did not have the strength for a firm hold. He prayed that they stayed ahead of the coming maelstrom.

Coal Town really was the best place to be right now.

Voice of Reason heard Ink Rose's cries—the robots had returned and they needed to take cover. Unfortunately, she didn't mention where exactly they were coming from, so he had to presume they were coming from the south, where Ink Rose came from. He took position on a rooftop across the eastern edge, scanning the desert closely through the scope on his sniper rifle. The second he saw metal, heads were going to roll. But when his vision was filled with neon blue light, he pulled away and watched as the light spread and grew, quickly passing around and above Coal Town. His jaw dropped further and further as it stabilized and formed a hemisphere. There was no mistaking a barrier when he saw one. If there were any doubts amongst the mercenaries about the coming attack, they were surely extinguished now.

Voice approached the barrier. From that rooftop, it was within reach, and so he prodded it with the rifle. It felt very solid at first, but after pressing even harder, he saw that there was some elastic give. He placed his hoof on the barrier, hoping that he wouldn't be electrocuted or something. But thankfully, there was nothing. It was little more than a wall. Still trapped, but at least they won't have to worry about getting hurt by it.

A loud whistling pulled him away from his observations. He raised his rifle immediately, but instead of robots greeting him, it was an explosion. The fireball erupted, sending a wave of heat that Voice could feel from there. And it came from the center of town. He scanned the buildings, feeling a sense of danger building within him. Were the robots already here? Did he miss them?

He caught a glimpse of GoldenFox, who was also on a rooftop. Despite the fact that he was in a good position for a sniper, he jumped off the roof and flapped straight down to the ground. Voice was puzzled by this. Goldilocks was a hacker, but he wasn't dumb or cowardly (though Voice wouldn't admit that out loud). What's gotten into him?

There was another whistle, then suddenly, a second explosion erupted from the building right next door, close to searing Voice's fur coat off. Bits of wood and glass shot up into the sky and out onto the main road. He ran to the opposite side of the rooftop and covered his head, but luckily, none of the debris landed on him. Before he had time to process this, a third and fourth explosion erupted in other parts of the town.

These weren't ordinary explosions. He was in the middle of an artillery barrage!

Voice scrambled back onto his hooves just as he heard an incoming shell, much closer this time. He leapt off the roof, the explosion deafening his ears. The shockwave from the blast altered his trajectory. Unable to keep his balance, he slammed into the ground and rolled to a stop. No serious injury, though his ears rang and the barrage was muffled, as if he was hearing it underwater. He focused his eyes just in time to see the building he was just on collapse into a pile of rubble.

Left with no other choice, Voice dove into the nearest building, curled up into the deepest corner, and kept his head covered as best he could. The decrepit structures of Coal Town crumbled like dried fallen leaves against the bombardment, but they were better protection than none. All he could do now was wait and hope that the building wasn't struck. The ground shook beneath him. How helpless he was against such weapons.

The floor convulsed violently and Voice could only look up in horror as the roof above gave way. He gritted his teeth and braced for whatever pain may come. And come it did, feeling the debris fall directly on his ribs. He groaned, but endured.

And then it was silent. Voice opened one eye. Through a hole in the roof, he could see the evening stars. Oddly calming, all things considered. He supposed that some buildings were sturdier than others in this place. If this one was as bad as the first, he'd surely be dead. But then he'd respawn and probably be able to regroup faster. On the other hoof, putting a bullet in his own head wasn't very appealing.

He pushed the debris off and stood. Tenderly, he felt the part of his ribs that was struck. He winced as a jolt of pain shot up his spine, but it wasn't unbearable. It'd bruise, but that would be all.

Voice hefted the sniper rifle and was about to look through the scope, but stopped, horrified. Half of the buildings were destroyed, and flames were consuming yet more. Where there wasn't rubble strewn about the streets, there were craters. Though some of Coal Town still stood, it was nearly unrecognizable. No matter how violent or destructive their matches got, it was never this bad.

Voice heard the clunk of wood on wood behind him. He turned and gasped when he saw a helmet and a red and green plaid scarf poking out of the debris.

"Maddy!" he said, alarmed.

He went over to the Shetland pony and threw the boards that lay on top of her aside. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just a little bruised." He offered his hoof and she accepted, getting back on her hooves. "What in blazes was that?" she asked as she dusted herself.

"Artillery barrage, I would guess. Seems like it stopped, though. We should get out of here and find Doc. I hope he's got a plan."

Maddy gasped. She saw the state Coal Town was in. "He better."

The two of them ran out onto the street. As they turned north towards Doc's office, they spotted Lightning Bliss and Keyframe. The former was using her paintbrush-like tail to dust herself off while the latter was in a coughing fit.

"Hey!" Maddy shouted. "You two alright?"

"Maddy! Voice!" Lightning Bliss said. "We're okay, just...shaken. That was one of the scariest things I've ever been through."

"Same here," Keyframe said weakly. "But it's strange. We're completely helpless against an artillery barrage. Why did it stop?"

"Hey, guys!" the voice of Ink Rose rang out from overhead. "Doc has called an emergency meeting to the south, by the emergency bunker. Head down there ASAP!" Without another word, Ink Rose darted back from whence she came.

"Wait, Ink!" Keyframe shouted. "What about the others?"

She was already out of earshot.

Keyframe sighed. "Come on."

The four of them ran to the meeting location, though Keyframe's long legs allowed her to outrun the others. They all rounded the bend and saw the other mercenaries gathered as well. Voice was relieved to see everypony gathered in one place, but it was short-lived. There was something in their expressions. They were much more afraid and stressed than normal, even Mary Sue. Then that would mean...

His train of thought derailed when he saw an unconscious Firebrand resting on Silver Quill's back. He glanced at Silver's face, then back to Firebrand, then back once more. "I'm guessing he's not just taking a nap?"

"Tranquilized," Silver said simply. "I'll tell you about it later."

"If I could have your attention, please," Doc called out. It wasn't as if they were particularly talkative in this moment, but they all hushed. "First of all, you have no idea how relieved I am that all of you survived, but we're not out of this yet. It's true that the barrage has ceased, but that most likely means the robot army is bearing down on us as we speak. Unfortunately, the electromagnetic pulse rendered our..."

"Wait, there was an EMP?" Voice asked. He took a step closer and bumped into AnY and muttered, "Sorry."

"Yes. It came from the jellysquids, or rather, the disguised machines. Within each of them was a single component of an EMP emitter. When they were all gathered in one place, and saw the opportunity, they built and unleashed it. It's rendered our dispensers, turrets, mediguns, and more crucially, the respawn generator, inoperable."

Keyframe glanced down at her medigun and tried activating it as Doc spoke. Sure enough, nothing happened. With a solemn expression, she cast it aside and pulled out her syringe gun.

"We'll need to adjust our strategy accordingly. Take purely defensive positions here, before the emergency bunker, and hold the line. With radios taken out as well, you won't be able to communicate effectively. Instead, keep an eye on each other, adapt to the situation, and make calls that each of you deem fit. I cannot stress this enough, but do not engage in risky behavior."

The gentle flap of a pegasus drew everypony's attention, as GoldenFox approached and landed next to Doc. "They just crossed over the dune crest. They'll be here in about a minute."

Doc nodded, then turned to the rest. "Sweetie Bloom and I have something to take care of back in my office." Judging from her expression, this was news to her. "I'll explain what's going on later. For now, it's imperative you hold the line until we return! Then we'll take shelter in the bunker. Understood?"

Everypony nodded with smatterings of "Yes, sir," and "Understood."

"Good! Take positions!"

With that, Doc mounted Sweetie Bloom and she took flight, proceeding directly south.

"Huh. That was weird," AnY muttered.

"What was?"

"The strongest emotion that Doc is feeling right now...it's guilt."

"Guilt? Why does he feel guilty?"

"I'm an empath, not a telepath."

"You heard him, take positions!" Keyframe shouted to the two of them.

Voice climbed onto the buildings that were still standing on the left side, as Goldilocks was taking position on the right.

"Silver, Firebrand is just dead weight right now. Go ahead and drop him off in the bunker, and make it fast!"

"With pleasure."

"Mary Sue, I have an idea on how you can help us out."

"What is it?"

Voice felt a sense of dread as he went prone and checked his sniper rifle and scope. It really was a dire situation if Mary Sue wasn't her cheerful, uber confident self. Keyframe lowered her voice, so he couldn't hear any more. But what he did hear was the scraping of metal, the clang of an opening hatch, and then a dull thud.

"I didn't meant that literally!" Keyframe shouted.

"Whoops," Silver said, sealing it back up. "Oh, well. What's done is done."

Voice refocused his attention on everypony else's position. Ink Rose guarded the stairs leading up to him, as Thespio did the same for GoldenFox. The rest took cover along the avenue, with the heavies closer to the edge of town, and the soldiers close behind. Eliyora sparked her flamethrower to life close to where the road split. Keyframe and Finn were at the very end, aiming with their syringe gun and rescue ranger respectively.

Any second now.

Eliyora pulled out a flare gun and fired into the air. The light brightened the avenue as if it were in the daytime.

And there they were. A seismic wave of robots coming to overwhelm and swallow them whole, marching in perfect rows. "Not on my watch," Voice said. He blasted one of the robots' heads off, followed by GoldenFox's shot.

"This is it! Are you ready?!" Keyframe shouted down the street. "Be brave!"

Two more fell. By now, the others must see the robots gleaming in the light of the flare gun. In the corner of his eye, he saw Mary Sue's horn glow and her wings spread.

"Be brave!"

The first row jumped down and they all cocked their weapons simultaneously and consecutively, one row after another. The whirring of miniguns echoed in the night.

"BE BRAVE!"

The robots charged. Both sides opened fire.

Chapter 6: On the Horizon

View Online

Theme: "Code of Conduct" by Hans Zimmer, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 OST

Sweetie Bloom flew Dr. Wolf to the north. Thankfully, the office and storage shed appeared to be undamaged. It seemed that the bombardment was mostly concentrated in the southern half of Coal Town, though a few shells did land close by. The damage, however, was negligible by comparison.

"This makes little sense," Jiminy said, his voice ringing through her mind. "Bombarding the north would've been far more devastating. What are they playing at?"

"Maybe we just got lucky?" suggested Sweetie Bloom aloud. "Or maybe they got bad intel?"

"Oh yes, of course, the events leading up to this moment are hallmarks of somepony acting on random chance or somepony ill-prepared. How could I be so stupid?"

Sweetie Bloom's eyes narrowed. "Sometimes, your sarcasm hurts, Jiminy."

"Sweetie," Dr. Wolf said. "Now's not the time to talk to that voice in your head. Every second we spend over here is a second we risk losing our friends. Please concentrate on taking us to the storage shed."

"Right, sorry, Doc." Sweetie Bloom knew the situation was serious, but this was the first time to her memory that Doc had spoken with such intensity, as opposed to his usual calm and friendly demeanor; even during the first battle with the robots.

Upon landing, he leapt off and ran to the door, holding it open.

"Come inside!" he said. "Hurry!"

She did so, but hesitated when she saw the carnage inside. Dozens upon dozens of dead jellysquids were piled haphazardly in the center. Despite what she was told, Sweetie Bloom chose to keep Blake. She shivered, remembering the horror of seeing some sort of mechanism emerge from him, then, after the flash of that EMP, his sudden drop and eternal stillness. Even now, it was a struggle to think of them as machines, and not as living beings.

"It's much easier to plant an EMP in an enemy base when the enemy does it for you," Jiminy remarked darkly.

"Here," Dr. Wolf said, hurriedly digging through a pile of spare parts that they've come to regard as random scrap, and tossing the bits and pieces behind him, next to Sweetie Bloom. "Carry as much as you can. We're heading for my office."

"What are these going to be used for?" she asked.

Gunshots echoed from the other side of town. Sweetie Bloom felt a chill down her spine when she realized that the others have engaged the robots. Without either saying another word, she put as much scrap as she could on her back, more tucked beneath her forelegs, and one final piece on her mouth, all as quickly as she could. Doc hefted as much as he could carry in his arms.

They dashed across the way to the office and burst through the door. Doc immediately threw his load next to the respawn generator. "Throw that scrap here, then use your Stickybomb Launcher on both the generator and the pile."

Sweetie Bloom hesitated, confused. Doc himself confirmed that the respawn generator was fried and unusable. What was the point in demolishing it further? "Uh, but Doc..."

"I'll explain everything later. Just do it."

She sighed quietly to herself, but chose to trust Doc and followed his orders. The two of them backed away and she pulled out the launcher, pelting scrap and generator alike. The two of them ran outside and as soon as the door was shut behind them, she detonated the bombs. The deafening boom and the quake beneath hooves and paws told them all they needed to know. That, and the wall that was blasted away from its foundation.

"Now, back to the others," Doc said. "We need to..."

His words died in his mouth as he looked beyond the town's limits. Sweetie Bloom followed his gaze and her jaw dropped. Though the land was now shrouded in darkness, she could see dozens of glowing blue eyes advancing upon them. And that was just the ones they could see. There could be hundreds for all they knew.

"They're coming from the north, too," she said, breathless. Sweetie Bloom yelped as bullets flew just over her head.

Doc leapt onto her back. "Go, go, go!"

She ran as fast as she could, then once she gained enough speed, flapped her wings and took off. "There's no way we can fight off that many."

"No, we can't. We've got to get everypony in that bunker, now!"

It would've been another cold night in the desert if it weren't for the heat and haze of battle. The air was alive with bullets, rocket-propelled grenades, or in Keyframe's case, syringes. Very few of the mercenaries on the defensive line could speak. The guns drowned out all else. Though all worked in concert, most had to operate on their own, guided only by their training and instincts. Fortunately, that didn't mean they were struggling. The robots that bore down on them were destroyed quickly and precisely. Keyframe's primary focus was holding back the robots' advancement, aiming between the jutting piles of debris she was using for cover. Their objective was to prevent the robots from reaching the emergency bunker, so that when Doc and Sweetie Bloom return, they can retreat safely. Though she was completely focused on the battle, she was beaming with pride in the back of her mind. It couldn't be going smoother.

The only exception was Finn. Because of the EMP, virtually all of his equipment was ruined. At first, when the battle first began, he thought the Rescue Ranger would've been enough. But as he was placed at the very back of the defenses, the shotgun wasn't particularly useful. But then he had an idea and Finn set up a turret. However, as soon as he able to, he began taking it apart. Keyframe shouted, asking if this was really the right time for tinkering. But once Finn explained his intentions, she understood and redoubled her efforts. It would really help them out, and really was a stroke of genius from the engineer.

“It’s ready!” he shouted. “Or at least it should be.”

“Then start firing!”

Finn took up position next to Keyframe and lifted the hefty head of a turret, taking aim at the kill zone. He fiddled with the new underbelly of the weapon, and a smattering of bullets launched themselves out with such force that Finn lost balance and fell backwards. This didn’t dampen his elation, however. “Yes!” he shouted. “The firing mechanism itself still works!”

“Great, now keep it up!”

Finn got back on his hooves and aimed with the turret, short bursts of bullets tearing through steel.

Mary Sue flew high above, casting a shield around herself as she swooped in and out of the field of fire. She strafed the approaching robots with magic beams, knocking many of them out before they even entered Coal Town. Their fire was drawn to her, but her agile flight patterns kept the shield from wearing down.

Keyframe gasped when she saw a soldier taking aim at Goldie. He had come in from behind and didn't see him. For the first time in that battle, she felt true terror. She screamed to warn him, but her voice couldn’t reach him. Just as she did so, the robot dropped dead, and Thespio decloaked above its ruined body. Goldie turned around and saw what happened. She would've needed a few deep breaths to calm down, but the haze and intensity of battle overrode her usual senses, so she refocused right away. Then a spy decloaked behind Thespio and Goldie shouted to warn him. Thespio whirled around just in time to block a butterfly knife aimed at his eye socket, but he couldn’t stop it completely. He dodged aside as he released the hold, allowing the blade to sail past his cheek, then in a swift motion, levitated his revolver out and blasted the robot’s brains out.

How badly she wished she could tell them to watch for spies.

The robots were truly putting pressure on them, and they were getting closer and closer. A feeling of dread and horror went down her spine when she realized the robots had advanced beyond Silver Quill’s and Lightning Bliss’s positions. Where were they?!

Eliyora sprung her trap, leaping out from behind a building and unleashing her flamethrower. The robots who weren’t killed quickly fired their weapons erratically, taking out their own companions. Finn ducked, allowing Eliyora to throw herself over the pile of debris.

“They’re getting too close!” she shouted. For the third time, Eliyora shot her flare gun in the air, bringing a renewed light to the battle.

"Just keep firing! Don't let up!" Keyframe said.

She then spotted Ink Rose hastily retreating, backing up as she unloaded her scattergun. A swarm of scout robots came into view, one by one falling to her blasts. Once the third fell, she ran out of bullets. And there were three left. Upon realizing that she had no time to reload, she pulled out her bat. Even from here, Keyframe could almost hear her scream, "Come on!" With a sudden charge, she brought the bat down on one, smashing it to the ground with a single blow. The second threw a right cross at her, but she dodged left and landed a strike at the back of its head, effectively disabling it. The last, however, managed to block her strike, and then, rearing upon its hind legs, struck her cheek. She was sent whirling and lost her balance. But before the robot could strike further, Ink Rose scrambled back to her hooves and swung the bat upward, clocking it in the chin. This sent it stumbling backwards. With momentum regained, she swung the bat with all her might, knocking the head clean off. She took a small breather before reloading the scattergun.

And then it was getting quieter. Keyframe was momentarily confused, but then saw that the robot army was diminishing. And then suddenly, there was no more. Only silence.

"We...we did it?" Finn asked.

"Is everypony okay?" Keyframe shouted. Everypony’s responses all blended together, to the point where she couldn’t understand them. But there were no cries of pain or alarm, so she supposed they were alright. “What about Silver and Blissy? Are you two alright?”

“I’m still breathing!” Lightning Bliss responded. “At least, I think I am.”

“I need a change of clothes, but I’m still here…for once,” Silver said.

“So that’s it, right?” Finn asked. “We won?”

Keyframe furrowed her brow, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “I guess. But it doesn’t feel right. Whoever planned out the sneak attack with the jellysquids is too intelligent to do the same thing as last time. The definition of insanity and all that. There’s got to be…”

“Heads up!” Voice suddenly shouted. “More robots incoming! They’re big ones!”

“Big, big ones!” Goldie said. “Never saw them before!”

“Positions, everypony!” Keyframe shouted. “Even if these are tougher, concentrate your fire and they’ll surely fall!”

Eliyora fired another flare into the sky. Silence returned to the mercenaries, and now Keyframe could hear them; the deep grinding of heavy tracks. The sound reverberated through her body. She couldn’t tell whether the shaking below her hooves was her imagination or not. Even if she really was shaking, she wasn’t entirely sure why. Voice and Goldie fired their sniper rifles. “What? That was a direct hit!” the former shouted, while the latter simultaneously shouted, “Oh, you got to be kidding me!” The pink magic from Mary Sue’s magic beams lit the horizon. Gunfire in response. She could recognize the sounds of miniguns anywhere. Finn raised his turret back to eye level once more. His forelegs were shaking. He wasn’t strong enough to hold something that heavy for so long.

“Finn, rest your forelegs,” Keyframe said.

“But…”

“No ‘buts,’ Finn. When the robots come and they get closer, then unleash the turret. We’re going to annihilate them, you’ll see.” She could tell Finn was still worried, but he did set the turret down. She knew exactly how he felt. While she wasn’t one to shy away from expressing worry or stress, she couldn’t allow it here. Not when she was leading them in a battle for their lives.

All the while, Voice and Goldie kept firing. Their cries of frustration were soon drowned out. They had reached Coal Town.

When the robots landed, Keyframe felt the ground lurch beneath her. That definitely wasn’t her imagination. There were four of them, two by two, and they were absolute behemoths, dwarfing all the robots that had come before. They were thicker and bulkier than heavies, each boasting two miniguns each. Voice and Goldie had been firing on them? She couldn’t even tell from here. They began a slow advance, all miniguns whirring.

“Oh, sh—” The bullet storm drowned out the rest. Silver and Lightning Bliss were the first targeted, diving behind the buildings. It was too intense! They couldn’t fire back! “Finn, forget what I said! Open fire now!”

The two of them raised their weapons to eye level and fired with everything they had. Goldie landed a headshot at one in the back row, but it turned its miniguns on him, rotating on an axis so its tracks were still heading for the bunker. He scrambled away from the precipice just in time, before the bullets ate away at the corner of the building. Voice landed a shot as well, same results. Ink Rose flew in from behind and unloaded a scattergun blast into that same robot’s back, then landed on the far side of the nearest roof before she could be targeted. Jasper fired four bazookas in quick succession, all aimed at one in the front. Maddy, seeing this, fired hers as well. The blasts rocked the street, casting dust into the air. Seeing this opportunity, the untargeted mercenaries increased their rate of fire, but as quickly as the dust came, it cleared. Keyframe peered over her cover and saw sparks were flying out of the one that Jasper and Maddy struck. It was almost down!

The heavies had passed the heavy’s position, and were now a fourth of the way to the emergency bunker. Silver leaned out and fired his own minigun, but the blasts suddenly ceased. He raised it high and shook it, pointing to the still-spinning end.

“Silver’s out of ammo!” Keyframe shouted.

“Oh, if only I could… I got this! Cover me!”

“What?!” Before Keyframe could ask what he was doing, Finn dashed away, heading for the buildings to their right with turret head tucked beneath his foreleg. “Finn, you idiot! Stay put!” But he was well out of earshot already. That kid’s desire to help out really was going to get him killed!

Mary Sue swept across the sky. Her blasts were on-point and struck the damaged robot in a sensitive spot. Its innards were overloaded with pink energy and exploded, causing it to topple over. One down, three to go!

With Mary Sue drawing their fire, Finn made it all the way to Maddy, who was forced to hide on the stairwell behind the building. Keyframe couldn’t see any movement around there for a time. Just as she was beginning to worry, she saw Maddy running across the rooftop as far from the robots as she could be. Of course, it made more sense for her to run the turret to Silver. She could take more hits than Finn.

The behemoths were now halfway to the bunker.

Jasper’s Ronaldo unleashed more rocket-propelled grenades against the robot in the lead. Lightning Bliss’s Starlight punched more penetrating holes near its neck. Then Silver, now wielding the turret head, held down the trigger. As it turned around to fire, he hit the newly formed weak spot, and then the head came clean off. The body slouched to one side, then fell over. That was two down!

But it was increasingly clear that it wouldn't be enough. Keyframe recalled Doc's orders to hold the line and protect the emergency bunker. But the orders were given with the goal to save as many lives as possible. When these objectives conflict, then she didn't need to think twice which she should prioritize. She made the decision and ignited her horn, firing a white spark into the air.

Mary Sue, understanding what that meant, flew over the mercenaries as close to the ground as she dared. Her horn ignited and she shouted in an amplified voice, "RETREAT! RETREAT! MAKE FOR THE BUNKER! RETREAT!" The behemoths must've heard her cries, but she didn't draw their fire until she began blasting them more ferociously.

The mercenaries saw the opportunity. Goldie ran across the rooftops, half-leaping half-flying from one to the next. Ink Rose grabbed Voice around his belly and followed a mirrored trajectory to Goldie, assisting in his bounds over the gaps. Keyframe saw a spy decloak in the corner of her eye. Startled, she aimed the needlegun between Thespio's eyes.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, it's just me!"

She was about ready to demand he prove it, but there was no time now. If they didn't hurry, she, along with everypony else, were dead anyway. She sighed and lowered the weapon.

"Keyframe! Thespio!" a welcome voice said behind them. She first saw Sweetie Bloom, then Doc, the latter dismounting the former and ran up to them, keeping his head low. "There's another robot army coming from the north. We can't hold them. Time to get everypony inside!"

"You don't have to tell me twice," she said.

With Doc's physical strength and Keyframe's levitation magic, the two of them darted inside the building and opened the hatch, both directing the ponies downward. Sweetie Bloom went in first, followed by Thespio, Ink Rose, then Goldie. One after another, the mercenaries poured in to the dark below. As they passed, Keyframe scanned each of them for wounds. Nothing serious thus far.

Somepony cried out. Keyframe and Doc, along with Silver, Lightning Bliss, and Finn, stopped to turn around, just in time to see the red soldier crash to the ground before the door, screaming in pain.

"Maddy!" Finn shouted, horrified.

Yet, it was Silver who reacted first. He bounded forward and dove towards Maddy's foreleg, grabbing hold of it. Keyframe ran forward as well, but the surprised look on his face and what that meant sent her to a screeching halt. She stopped just far enough out the door to see that the behemoths were just beginning to round the corner, only a few feet away. Chills went down her spine. At this close a range and the fact that they're out in the open... Maddy and Silver were dead, and she was going to watch them die.

Then came an explosion of pink, right as the robots fired. Once the flash died down, the first thing Keyframe saw was Mary Sue, with her active shield, withstanding the bullets pummeling it. But against a bombardment that intense, even her shield won't last long. The next thing she noticed was that Silver and Maddy weren't dead. The former was hastily dragging the latter towards the door. Keyframe stepped aside, and as they passed, she saw that Maddy was pelted in her flank with a few bullets. As long as the bleeding was stopped, it wasn't life threatening, but her movement would be seriously hindered. A real handicap for a soldier, but what was more concerning was the gash on her head. She must've hit it as she fell, and it knocked her out cold.

"Hang in there, Maddy!" Keyframe shouted. "I'll patch you up once we're inside."

"Wounded incoming!" Silver shouted, as he picked Maddy up off the ground and gently lowered her in. The unicorns down below grabbed hold of her with their levitation magic and brought her down. Soon, Silver's hindquarters slipped down into the abyss. As soon as he was gone, Lightning Bliss and Finn leaped down behind him. Keyframe glimpsed dancing lights down below, lighting up the darkness.

Mary Sue flapped within the room and deactivated her shield. She slammed the upgraded door closed and locked it. It would buy them some time, but Keyframe couldn't imagine it lasting long against robots like these. Mary Sue was out of breath.

"Mary Sue, down below, now!" Doc ordered.

Apparently surprised she was next, she immediately turned around and leapt through the hole, folding her wings in to a graceful dive before Keyframe glimpsed her unfurling them before she hit the floor, gliding to safety.

There was a sharp, screeching noise that startled Keyframe. She gasped when she saw what looked like a sword, rapidly cutting its way through the door. That must've been the behemoth, but where did that blade come from?!

"Go, Keyframe!" Doc said.

Keyframe only had a split second to take in what she saw before she leapt inside. The interior was completely dark, except for the lights emanating from the unicorns' horns. Strange. She knew that Doc had made upgrades to the emergency bunker, but she had no idea that included making it larger and roomier. All this information passed through her mind in the space of a second before she was ripped from her observation by crashing metal and gunfire from above.
She looked up in time to see Doc standing upon the ladder rungs. He slammed the hatch shut, miniguns barely missing him. He began turning the wheel below to seal it. When it became clear that he was having trouble, Keyframe joined in, followed by Thespio and Mary Sue. There was a reassuring clunk as the wheel halted. Then he reached for a lever adjacent to the hatch, and tried pulling it. Once more, he gained assistance. As he pulled, there was a screech of metal grinding against metal.

"Clamps in place!" Doc declared. He climbed down the ladder and joined the weary group down below, heaving a sigh of relief. "It was a stroke of good fortune that that model came with a manual lock."

Their breaths caught when an ear-shattering slam emanated from the hatch.

Doc saw the alarm in their faces. "It's alright. That hatch is made from a mix of tungsten and titanium, as is the rest of the outer wall of the bunker. Conventional weaponry will have little effect, if any at all. Everypony, take a breather."

It was as if all let out a collective sigh, including Keyframe. Now that she had a moment, she took in the different surroundings. While the original was cramped, no bathroom in sight, and an absolute mess of emergency rations, this one was much roomier and far better equipped. The room that the entrance dropped into was a sort of meeting room, if the giant table in the center was anything to go off of, that perhaps doubled as a dining area. There were a handful of office chairs that were pushed neatly against the wall, but there were a pair of sofas as well, and even a few armchairs. Upon one of those sofas laid the still-unconscious Firebrand (she noted that he'll be upset once he learns he missed the battle). Keyframe wouldn't have imagined comfort would be a priority, but seeing the mercenaries collapse on them, resting and gathering themselves, she realized how important and welcoming that was. One side of the room led to a long hallway, and on the other was a door leading to an adjacent, separate area. She and the others knew that Doc had been making upgrades to the bunker recently, but not to this extent. When was he planning on telling them about these changes?

"Babe," a familiar voice said.

"Goldie!" she cried out. Barely registering that was him, she immediately began looking him over. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"Just a few bruises, it's nothing. I wasn't hit. I'm more worried about you."

"I'm fine. I didn't get a scratch. I...I guess I'm really lucky."

"I think, under the circumstances, we're all lucky."

"Uh-oh," Ink Rose suddenly said. They turned to her; she was looking down the hallway. Keyframe, GoldenFox, Doc, and Sweetie Bloom went to investigate. As they approached, she pointed. Keyframe sighed. Ink Rose didn't need to say anything else.

The hall extended down the way until it met a ladder at the end, leading up to a hatch. That's right, there was one thing that Doc did go over with the whole group: the addition of a disguised emergency exit on the western edge of town. Not that it mattered now, though. The barrier extended even underground, slicing through the emergency bunker what must've roughly been fifty feet down the way. That meant that the barrier was not a hemisphere as they first thought, but a complete—and enclosed—sphere.

"I guess digging our way out is...well, out," Ink Rose muttered.

From the light of her horn, Keyframe was able to see many rooms lining the hall. More and more questions filled her mind. "Doc, how were you able to hollow this out and build the structure so fast?"

"It's amazing what one can accomplish in such a short time with a willing alicorn by your side."

"You're welcome!" Mary Sue called out in a singsong voice. Didn't take her long to get back to her cheery self.

Keyframe heard the resonant tone of a spell behind her. "Excuse me!" She turned and saw Mary Sue levitating both Maddy and Firebrand, both still unconscious, walking past them. "Doc, I'm going to take these two to the medbay."

"I'll come with," Keyframe said. "Without my medigun, I'm not sure how much good I can be, but I'll help however I can." Just because she lost her usual method of healing doesn't stop her from being a medic. Or so she would like to think...

As she walked alongside Mary Sue, she heard Finn's voice behind her. "Hey, Doc, is there a kitchen down here?"

"Ah, yes, that's the room over there. I take it you want to whip something up?"

"Yep! The sooner we can relax and bring smiles back, the better. Even if we're safe, most of us are very stressed out."

"Mmm, very true. And it's just as well. With the electricity gone, everything in the refrigerator will soon spoil. We should make use of our food while we still have the chance. Though the oven will have been rendered unusable, too."

"Oh, that's no problem! I know plenty of recipes that don't require baking." Before there was anything else said, Finn hurried away to perform his duty.

Then she heard Voice of Reason. "Exactly how many precautions did you take, Doc? Not that I'm not grateful we have a safe place, but it kind of seems like...you knew this would happen."

Keyframe stopped dead in her tracks, twisting her ear behind her.

"Is this connected to our destroying of the respawn generator?" Sweetie Bloom asked.

Her jaw dropped, her brow angling downward. That's what they were doing on the other side of town? Destroying a machine that was already ruined? Why?

There was dead silence. Everypony was waiting. She heard Doc take a deep breath. "I know I owe all of you an explanation. And I owe all of you the truth. There's something...something that's weighed heavily on my heart for some time now. I had this feeling that the conflict between us and the robots wasn't over, but there was never anything more than a feeling, until just recently when Voice and Jasper engaged the robots. So I kept it to myself..."

"Key-key?" Mary Sue said. Keyframe blinked and refocused her attention ahead of her, onto the pink alicorn. "Are you coming?"

"Y-yeah. Yeah, I'm coming."

It was difficult, to tear herself away from this, but Firebrand and especially Maddy needed her more right now. The others will have to fill her in later. She kept walking, but kept her ears turned behind her, listening in on as much as possible before she passed out of earshot.

"I'm not sure if any of you have realized this already," Dr. Wolf said, "but we've become far more than just mercenary teams, and if my theory is correct, it's why we've been targeted..."

TF2 Analysis: Event Horizon

by Echoes of the Voice

Chapter 1: Distant Horizon

Chapter 2: Always Watching

Chapter 3: Natures Strange and True

Chapter 4: Over the Edge

Chapter 5: Maelstrom

Chapter 6: On the Horizon