“When you are going through hell, keep on going. Never, never, never give up.” – Winston Churchill

ROOOOOAAAAAR!!!! The mighty beast shook the valley with another thunderous roar. The ponies slowly began backing away from it. The Ursa Minor took an earth-shaking step toward them. The fence fell to pieces behind it. Now that it was out in the open, Raging Thunder was able to see just how humongous the Ursa Minor was. It had to be at least thirty feet long. Its body was easily one hundred times his size. Its arms were as thick as the largest tree trunks within the Everfree Forest; its paws could effortlessly snap those trees in two. And its mouth was large enough to eat a couple of tasty ponies in a single bite.

The Ursa Minor focused its enormous yellow eyes on Captain Thunder and the other ponies in the compound. It snarled showing off its pearly whites.

“He looks pissed,” Knight Glorious Dawn stated. She and Knight Silver Fang were the furthest from the Ursa Minor.

“Maybe he’s just cranky and needs to take a nap,” Spec suggested over the com link.

“Yeah alright, you fetch him some milk and Emerald will sing him a lullaby,” Flak sarcastically replied.

“And what are you going to do, Flak?” Emerald shouted at the aqua pony.

“Exactly what I said earlier,” he calmly answered. He casually loaded grenades in his launcher as he had all the time in the world. He slapped in one more grenade and spun the barrels of the launcher. “I’m gonna blow his bloody arse to kingdom come!” Flak fired a barrage of grenades at the Ursa Minor. KABOOOOOM! The grenades exploded all across the beast. The Ursa Minor lifted its front paws to shield its face and flinched from the detonations. The aqua pony grinned in triumph.

When the smoke cleared, they saw how much “damage” the grenades had done. A few tufts of blue fur flew off the Ursa Minor; there was no sign of significant damage. The explosions had little effect on it. Flak’s jaw dropped. “You’ve got to be bloody shitting me, mate!” he yelled in disbelief. The beast fixed its angry yellow eyes on the aqua pony.

ROOOOOAAAAAR!!!! The Ursa Minor advanced towards the ponies. “Shoot it!” Raging shouted. Flak unleashed another salvo from his machine grenade launcher; Knight Silver Fang opened fire with the minigun; Emerald Sapphire and Knight Glorious Dawn unloaded their assault rifles; Spec took potshots from the sniper rifle; Captain Thunder fired his dual SMGs.

The Ursa Minor slammed its eyes shut and recoiled from the hail fire of bullets and explosives. The bombardment continued for several more seconds. Finally, the colossal creature lifted its front paws high into the air and then slammed them to the ground shaking the entire valley. The tremor alone was enough to collapse one of the small shacks. The ponies all lost their balance and tumbled to the ground. ROOOOOAAAAAR!!!!

Raging looked up at the menacing gargantuan in shock. The Ursa Minor wasn’t even fazed by the torrent of bullets. We’ve only made it angrier! The beast narrowed its eyes. With a loud snarl, it charged the ponies. The captain got back on his hooves and limped back towards the slave pen. The others bolted for the main building. Knight Fang tried to open the door. It wouldn’t open. Raging stopped and looked. Flak and Silver Fang tried to ram the door down; it wouldn’t budge. The slavers must’ve locked the door. The main building of the Everfree Mills was built directly into the cliff face; there was no other place for Flak and the others to go. They were much too close for Flak to shoot his grenade launcher at the door. They were trapped.

The Ursa Minor stopped and looked between the lone captain and the group of trapped ponies; it was contemplating who to attack first. Come get me you big bastard. Raging showed it how more “vulnerable” he was by slowly limping away from it. The Ursa Minor could have easily reached out and caught him in its arms, but the beast made a different decision. It turned its head to the others and growled ferociously. As if realizing their predicament, it chose them over the captain.

Raging looked on in horror. NO! The Ursa Minor closed in on its victims. Captain Thunder quickly levitated his SMGs. He emptied an entire clip from both the sub-machine guns into the Ursa Minor’s back hoping to convince it to change targets. The bullets harmlessly reflected off its thick pelt. The beast paid him no attention. Flak fired several more grenades at it. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Emerald, Glorious and Silver, likewise, fired their weapons near the beast’s head. Once again the Ursa Minor appeared to flail in pain. And once again it simply shrugged it off and kept getting closer to the ponies.

I need something bigger to get its attention. The captain holstered his SMGs and looked at his magnum. It was far too small to do any good. He frantically looked around for another weapon. The entire compound was littered with assault rifles dropped by the slavers. But were they even enough? The Ursa Minor was nearly within striking distance of the trapped ponies, which were still shooting at its front. Raging gripped the nearest assault rifle with his magic and fired at the Ursa Minor. Once again, it completely ignored him.

Refusing to give up, the captain levitated a second assault rifle to him. Nervously glancing at the floating weapons in front of him he realized he’d never fired two rifles simultaneously before… at least not by magic. Although he was a unicorn, magic wasn’t Raging’s specialty. It took a lot out of him to focus on several spells at once. He could easily levitate multiple guns at the same time, but shooting them in unison was another matter. The SMGs were easy to wield and operate due to their small size. It took him several exhausting hours of fine tuning his spells to even accomplish that.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Flak hit the Ursa Minor with another volley of grenades. The beast temporarily halted. The captain had to act while it was distracted. He closed his eyes tightly in concentration and focused on the two hovering assault rifles. He envisioned himself pulling the triggers of the two rifles. He could mentally feel the triggers within the grasp of his aura, but he couldn’t quite “pull” them. Come on, Raging. It’s just like firing the SMGs. Focusing even harder, Raging began to shake in place, beads of sweat started to trickle down his face. This task was more grueling then he first thought. Finally, he could feel the triggers starting to move millimeter by millimeter. At once, the bullets sprayed from the barrels of the assault rifles.

Raging opened his eyes slightly (to not lose focus) to see if his effort was having any effect. The Ursa Minor didn’t even seem to notice the dozens of rounds striking its back. I can’t give up! Raging eased off the triggers of the two rifles. He spotted another assault rifle off to his left. Do I even have the energy to shoot three guns? The dark blue unicorn shut his eyes again and concentrated on the third assault rifle. The rifle slowly lifted off the ground and joined the other two in the air.

More sweat began to drip down Raging’s face. His breathing had become quick pants for air. He was getting tired. Firing two rifles was far more difficult than two SMGs. A third rifle would be much worse. Already he felt his magic was reaching its limits. ROOOOOAAAAAR!!!! The Ursa Minor briefly caused Raging to lose concentration. All three rifles dropped to the ground. He reached out and caught them in a field of violet. I don’t even know if this will do any good. Taking deep breaths the captain looked back at the Ursa Minor. If not even a grenade launcher daunts it, what good will three assault rifles do? The Ursa Minor was now within striking distance of the ponies. Emerald Sapphire, Glorious Dawn and Silver Fang continued to shoot at it. Flak ceased firing his machine grenade launcher; he was either out of ammo or was too close to shoot it.

BANG! BANG! BANG! Spec resumed shooting at the Ursa Minor from the ridge. The beast stopped in its tracks and took a few giant steps away from Emerald and the others. It turned its head and roared in Spec’s general direction. ROOOOOAAAAAR!!!! The other ponies immediately held their forehooves to their ears. They had pained expressions on their faces. The sound must’ve been deafening.

That caught Raging’s attention. Why did it only react when Spec shot at it? Could it be because of the type of ammo he is using? The Ursa Minor returned its attention to its prey. BANG! BANG! This time, the Ursa Minor disregarded being shot by Spec’s sniper rifle. There’s got to be a reason for this. The captain did not have the time to think. The Ursa Minor got within arm’s length of the trapped ponies. Raging focused what little magic he had left on the three rifles in front of him; nothing was happening. His mental strength was all but gone as his magical energy neared depletion. The rifles wobbled in place about to fall. The Ursa Minor raised its colossal arm for the kill. The ponies all ducked in fear.

“NOOOOOOO!” Raging screamed. He felt a sudden surge of energy course through him. His horn glowed brighter than ever. At once, all three assault rifles opened fire on the Ursa Minor. The bullets impacted the beast on the back of its head. The beast retracted its arm and flailed around like it was finally getting hurt. The captain continued concentrating on the rifles. The three guns continued to spray the Ursa Minor until they each began to click: out of ammo. The violet aura around the weapons faded away. All three assault rifles plummeted to the ground. The captain collapsed to his knees, his energy sapped.

ROOOOOAAAAAR!!!! The Ursa Minor madly spun around and faced the captain, its yellow eyes instantly focusing on him. The beast did not look hurt. It only looked even more pissed than it already was. The captain gazed up at it. He sluggishly got back onto his hooves. Pain shot through him as he stepped on his wounded hoof. Ignoring the pain he stared defiantly at the bloodthirsty behemoth. “Alright,” he wheezed. “Now that I have your attention…” With a loud snarl the Ursa Minor charged after the captain.

___________

As Raging Thunder ran for cover he realized his crippled hoof didn’t hurt quite so much anymore. The Ursa Minor was hot on his tail. With each thundering step the massive creature took the ground shook violently. He approached one of the final standing shacks in the compound. He made a sharp right away from it. The Ursa Minor wasn’t able to make such a sudden change in direction due to its size. The beast plowed right through the shack tearing it to ribbons. The Ursa Minor knocked the rubble aside and resumed its pursuit of the unicorn.

Raging continued running around the compound until he was certain he’d thrown the Ursa Minor off his tail. He took cover behind the shack where he’d been shot by a sniper. He took a moment to catch his breath. The ground shook as the Ursa Minor came to a stop on the other side of the wrecked shack. The captain fell silent and prayed that the beast did not peek around the corner. Raging heard the Ursa Minor grunt followed by the sounds of scraping metal. A moment later, the destroyed catwalk flew over the top of the shack and landed a few feet in front of him.

Do I dare look? Raging cautiously edged his head around the corner of the shack. The Ursa Minor had its back to him. It was sniffing the charred remains of one of the stealth snipers. Looking closely, the captain noticed for the first time that one of the snipers was a unicorn with a coat of a dark shade; it was impossible to tell now. The Ursa Minor was staring intently at the dead slaver. Does it think that dead unicorn is me?

The Ursa Minor stopped sniffing the dead unicorn. It snatched the corpse in its jaws and ripped it apart. Raging looked away from the horrid scene disgust. He could hear the Ursa Minor chew the body to pieces. When he heard the sounds of crunching bones he nearly vomited. Well, at least he was already dead. The captain chose not to look back to see if the Ursa Minor had finished its meal. He was hoping that it thought it had eaten him.

“Captain, are you there,” Spec spoke loudly over the PipBuck. The Ursa Minor grunted at the sudden noise. It swung its massive arm and leveled the rest of the shack. Raging slowly looked up. The beast was staring down at him, its mouth resembling a grin. It opened its jaws and roared yet again. ROOOOOAAAAAR!!!! The Ursa Minor lunged forward with its gaping maw.

Raging barely managed to dive out of the beast’s massive mouth. It snapped its jaws shut a meager one foot away from the unicorn. The captain struggled to get back onto his hooves. Pain befell him as he stepped on his wounded hoof once more. He could see the entrance of the factory a hundred yards in front of him. The behemoth stepped over him, blocking his path. It stopped and looked at the train tracks leading out of the factory. Raging gazed up at it. What are you waiting for? There’s freedom! GO!

Rather than escape to freedom as he hoped, the Ursa Minor about-faced towards Raging. The Ursa Minor snarled at him. The captain couldn’t believe it chose him over its own escape. He slowly backed away from the gargantuan creature. It slowly, yet forcefully, swung its paw at him. The hit knocked the captain on his back. The Ursa Minor towered over him and growled. It clearly had no intentions to leave the Everfree Mills until somepony was dead… and that somepony was Captain Thunder. BANG! BANG! Spec shot the Ursa Minor in the face. The beast recoiled from sniper rounds, buying enough time for Raging to get back up. Taking a deep breath he galloped as fast as his crippled hoof allowed. The Ursa Minor shook its head and charged after the fleeing unicorn.

Raging found himself back at the empty slave pen. There was no point in trying to escape the Ursa Minor in there. He came to a stop, gasping for breath. He was out of options, out of energy, and out of time. The earth trembled beneath his hooves.

Breathing heavily, Raging Thunder turned to face the monster. The Ursa Minor stared him down. BANG! BANG! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Spec and Flak both shot the Ursa Minor. The bullets and grenades harmlessly impacted on its back. The beast brushed off their attacks. “CAPTAIN!” he heard Emerald shriek.

The Ursa Minor lowered its gigantic blue head to within mere inches of the dark blue unicorn. Raging could see his shattered reflection in its great yellow eyes. The two stared into each other’s eyes for several moments. The Ursa Minor opened its cavernous maw. Its breath was absolutely putrid, it smelled like rotting flesh. Bloody drool dripped from its teeth and plummeted to the ground leaving red puddles in the dirt. ROOOOOAAAAAR!!!! The force of the roar was able to knock the captain onto his haunches.

Raging hit the dirt. He panted as he contemplated his next move; he didn’t have one. The Ursa Minor took a lumbering step closer. Why doesn’t it just kill me already? Raging straightened himself up. He yelled, “JUST DO IT! Kill me you oversized teddy bear!” It titled his head as if it wasn’t expecting that sudden outburst. Perhaps it’s just toying with me? The dark blue unicorn challenged, “Are you hoping to hear me beg? I’ve never begged to anypony, and I sure as hell won’t beg to something like YOU!” The Ursa Minor narrowed its eyes and growled.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Spec shot the Ursa Minor in the head once again. It flinched yet again and shut its eyes. Raging watched it closely this time. It turned around and roared once more. ROOOOOAAAAAR!!!! Flak, from his hidden location, immediately unleashed another barrage of grenades. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The grenades exploded across the Ursa Minor’s head. It threw its arms to shield its face.

Raging noticed how it only reacted to being shot in the head. Suddenly he realized it. It’s head! That’s it weak spot! He lifted his PipBuck and shouted, “Shadow Team! Aim for its head! That’s where it’s weakest!” The captain lowered his forehoof and tried to levitate his weapons. They wouldn’t move from his holsters, he was still depleted of magic energy. He sighed in frustration.

The Ursa Minor charged off towards the other ponies, leaving the captain at the slave pen. He limped in their direction where it ran. As he limply trotted to catch up he listened to the other ponies shoot at the unseen Ursa Minor. ROOOOOAAAAAR!!!! The captain halted as the beast roared louder than it ever had. BANG! BANG! BOOM! He limped around the corner of a leveled shack and emerged out in the factory’s clearing.

The other ponies had dispersed around the clearing, each firing their weapons at the Ursa Minor. It was stalled in the center of the clearing as the ponies let it have everything. It held its paws to its head as bullets and grenades struck it from every direction. It languidly spun in a circle, facing towards the factory entrance. It opened its eyes and for the first time, Raging saw, not seething rage, but genuine fear within them. It finally seemed like it had lost the will to fight on. It lowered to the ground, still protecting its head as best it could from the maelstrom of weapons fire.

It looked pitiful in its state and Raging couldn’t help but feel sorry for it. The Ursa Minor let out a howl of pain as it closed its eyes and dropped its arms to the ground; it lied motionless. The ponies ceased firing. Smoke was rising from its head; most of the fur around its face had flown off. Captain Thunder vigilantly inched closer to it, as did the other ponies. The Ursa Minor didn’t appear to be breathing. Knight Silver Fang was the first to approach it. He jabbed one of its giant paws with his minigun. He jumped back immediately after expecting it to respond, it did not.

Emerald Sapphire asked, “Is it dead?” Raging believed so. I don’t think anything can survive that amount of head trauma. Knight Glorious Dawn didn’t seem convinced. She stepped up to its head and fired and entire clip of her assault rifle into it. The Ursa Minor did not move.

Flak lowered his machine grenade launcher. “I think the bloody bastard’s dead now,” he blatantly stated. He chuckled before saying, “Now who wants their picture taken with it?” He looked around enthusiastically. Nopony answered. The aqua pony shook his head, “You ponies don’t know how to have fun.”

Emerald solemnly lowered her neck. “The poor creature,” she cried.

Flak looked at her with an odd expression. “You feel sorry for it?” he asked in disbelief.

“I wish it did not have to come to this. All it wanted was to be free… to live,” Emerald protested.

Raging nodded in agreement. “I wish it were different too, Emerald,” he replied. She sadly turned her head to him. “I was trying to lead it to the entrance of the factory in hopes it would leave. But it made a different choice.” The captain turned his attention to the still Ursa Minor.

“It was either it or us,” Spec stated over the com. Raging truly felt sorry for the beast. It could’ve been one of the last of its kind. And now it was dead. Then he reminded himself who was really at fault for its death: the slavers. They brought it here. They contained it here. It was their fault the majestic creature was dead.

The captain spoke into his PipBuck: “Spec, get down here. We’re heading inside.”

“Affirmative, sir. On the way,” the sniper pony replied.

Captain Thunder asked, “How many more prisoners do we need to rescue?”

“There are five more Applejack’s Rangers,” Glorious Dawn answered. Silver Fang silently nodded.

“Okay. Once Spec gets down here we’ll-” the captain started. ROOOOOAAAAAR!!!! The Ursa Minor’s roar startled everpony around it. It was still alive. The mighty beast rose from the ground towering over the ponies. The captain went wide-eyed. It swung one of its paws. The ponies all dove to the ground, narrowly dodging it. It loudly growled in rage. Everypony scattered.

“Doesn’t this wanker ever go down?” Flak shouted as he ran for cover.
Raging came to a disturbing realization: The Ursa Minor had played dead in order to get the ponies into coming close so it could kill them all more easily! It tricked them! Clever bastard! But it evidently did not take Spec into consideration. Perhaps because it did not know where he was. The captain ducked behind the dumpster from earlier.

Flak turned and fired more grenades at the Ursa Minor. This time the beast reacted more swiftly. It ducked as the grenades harmlessly flew over its back and exploded on the ground. “Oh fuck!” Flak shouted. The Ursa Minor lunged towards him. The aqua pony tried to run but didn’t get far enough when the colossal creature swiped him with its paw. Flak hurled through the air. He landed flat on his back a dozen yards away.

“Flak!” Raging screamed, “Are you okay?” He did not answer. The Ursa Minor rushed over to the fallen pony and gazed down at him. It snarled before reaching down with its mouth. It’s going to eat him! The captain felt his magic energy returning. He jumped back to his hooves and levitated his SMGs and magnum. Concentrating, he aimed for the Ursa Minor’s head and fired the three guns. All the bullets struck it in the side, causing it to raise its head away from Flak. Almost immediately, Raging felt his energy gone again. The three guns lowered back into their holsters.

The foreboding beast turned its attention once more to the captain. Upon seeing him, it snarled and lumbered away from the downed Flak. Raging stood his ground unflinching. At that moment, Emerald, Silver and Glorious opened fire with their assault rifles and minigun. The Ursa Minor shut its eyes and lifted one of its paws to shield its face. The captain realized what its true weakness was. Yes, its head was more susceptible to injury than the rest of its body, but there was one spot it was truly vulnerable…

Captain Thunder smiled. I’ve got you figured out now, you bastard! He whispered an order to Spec through his PipBuck. “Confirmed, sir,” the brown pony replied. The Ursa Minor shook the pain from its head and continued to advance toward Raging. The dark blue unicorn grinned at it.

The beast halted and gazed down at him. It growled again revealing its pony-sized teeth. “I know why you waited to strike us!” the captain declared to it. “You waited until we all got close enough to attack at once!” The Ursa Minor titled its head in surprise. Raging continued, “It was a clever trick to get us to lower our guard. But it was mainly so you could avoid retaliation.” The beast’s eyes narrowed; it seemed to be wondering what he was getting at. The captain looked around it; he could see Emerald and the Applejack’s Rangers move from cover.

The Ursa Minor lowered its head to stare directly at the confident unicorn. The captain could see his reflection in its yellow eyes again. “There’s only one pony with the right amount of precision that can hit you in your true weak spot,” Raging lectured. “And you waited until you knew he could no longer see you! You had your chance to be free. But now you’ve left me with no other option.” The beast had had enough. With a loud snarl it lunged forward with its mouth opened wide.

Raging sidestepped. He shouted, “Spec! Shoot it now!”

“Say goodnight you bastard,” he heard Spec taunt. BANG! The Ursa Minor reared up on its hind legs. It threw its paws over its face and flailed its arms in excruciating pain. RRRRROOOOOAAAAARRRRR!!!!!! It let out one last ear shattering roar that shook the valley. It slammed its paws to the ground creating another earthquake. The captain barely got out of the way. He looked up at its face and zeroed in on its left eye… or where its left eye once was. In its place was nothing more than a bloody pulp that used to be an eyeball. Blood streamed down the Ursa Minor’s face. Shielding its one good eye, it leapt over the captain and sprinted away.

As it ran through the factory compound, it kicked some boxcars that tumbled out of its way like they were discarded toys. It ran out the main gate, crushing the fence beneath its paws. The ‘Welcome to Everfree Mills!’ sign was knocked to the ground as the Ursa Minor brushed past it. The captain could no longer see it, but he listened as its trembling footsteps grew quieter and quieter. Eventually he could no longer hear it.

Emerald trotted up to the captain and helped him to his hooves. She noticed his wounded hoof for the first time. “Captain. Your hoof…” she gasped.

“I’ll be fine, Emerald. I’m okay,” the captain lied. His hoof hurt like hell. If he didn’t get it treated soon, he didn’t want to know what’ll have to be done to it. “My hoof is the least of our problems,” he said looking in Flak’s direction. The aqua-colored pony had not yet moved; Raging feared the worst. He and Emerald trotted over to Flak. The captain winced each time he stepped on his injured hoof.

The two unicorns stood over Flak. The Applejack’s Rangers stopped behind them. Raging Thunder knelt next to Flak. “Flak,” he whispered. “Can you hear me?” Flak mumbled something. “Are you okay, Flak?”

Flak groaned, “No. I’m not okay.”

Emerald leaned in closer, “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

Flak groaned again, “No.”

“Then what is it?” Raging demanded.

Flak sat up and showed them his machine grenade launcher. The barrels were all bent and smashed, the loading mechanism was in pieces; it was beyond repair. “That fucking wanker destroyed my weapon, mate!” Flak yelled. The captain stood up and shook his head.

“Yep. You’re fine,” the captain smiled.

Flak shot him a pissed look. “I am NOT okay! This was my favorite gun, dammit!” He got up on his hooves and dropped the now useless weapon. “Now it’s just a piece of shite!” he whined. He looked like was about to start crying.

Captain Thunder sighed, “Look. If you stop your bitching, I’ll see about buying you a new grenade launcher.”

“Gee, would you, sir?” he asked sounding foalish. “I’d really appreciate that.”

“Where do you think the Ursa Minor went,” Emerald asked, changing the subject.

Raging shrugged. “I bet it ran all the way back to the Everfree Forest with its tail between its legs,” Glorious Dawn snickered.

“If I ever see it again,” Flak growled, “I’ll rip its other eye out with my bare hooves.” I’d like to see you try, Flak.

Glorious Dawn turned to Emerald. “Do you still feel sorry for the Ursa Minor,” the orange mare asked the green unicorn.

“Yes. I still do,” Emerald unashamedly admitted. “I still feel it didn’t deserve what happened to it.” Emerald stroked her blue mane and quietly stared in the direction the Ursa Minor had fled.

A few minutes later, Spec rejoined the group. “Sir,” he saluted the captain.

“Alright Shadow Team,” Captain Thunder started. “And Applejack’s Rangers,” he designated Glorious and Silver, “let’s get inside and save the remaining hostages.” The group approached the door to the main building now that all hostiles had finally been eliminated. Raging looked at the lock on the door, it had an intricate design to it but it was not tamperproof.
He pulled out a bobby pin and his screwdriver and got to work.

“You do know how a lock works, right captain?” Flak taunted while wearing his minigun battle saddle.

Raging glanced at Flak out of the corner of his eye. “Don’t push it, Flak,” he warned.

Knight Dawn looked at Flak and smiled. She knew what he was getting at. Captain Thunder was struggling with the lock. One bobby pin broke. He pulled out another and resumed his lock picking. “What did you mean by that?” Emerald asked Flak.

“Well…” Flak began.

“FLAK!” the captain yelled. “I’m warning you!”

“Our fearless leader couldn’t turn a simple key in the lock on the slave pen,” Flak continued regardless. “He broke it. If he can’t turn a key I can’t wait to see him pick a lock.” Emerald and Spec both turned and laughed. The captain ignored the insults.

“That’s it, Flak. You just set tomorrow’s alarm clock an hour early,” the captain countered. “And that goes for everypony.” Both Emerald and Spec stopped laughing and gave Flak angry looks. Flak’s smile quickly faded. Wake up call for the Equestrian Crusaders is a mandatory 06:00 sharp, now they get to wake before sunrise.

Finally, the lock gave a satisfying Click! Raging slowly pushed the door open expecting some slaver to be waiting with a shotgun on the other side. It was too dark to see inside and therefore he couldn’t see anything. Still, he did not want to take chances. Emerald floated her combat shotgun out of her saddle bag in a field of teal aura. “I like to keep this handy for close encounters,” she explained.

Flak nodded, “Damn straight, mate.”

Raging lifted his good forehoof and waved it forward. One by one the ponies silently filed into the dimly lit building. Inside was a desk with a filing cabinet, a set of stairs in the back, and a second door off to the left. The room was the clear of enemies. Captain Thunder pointed his hoof towards the stairs. Emerald quietly marched up the steps, Spec was right behind her. Raging and the others spread out in the room. Flak started to search the desk and filing cabinet. “What are you looking for, Flak?” Raging whispered.

He rifled through the drawers as he replied, “Anything useful, sir. You never know what you’ll find.” Ain’t that the truth? The captain remembered he once found three dozen bottle caps in a trashcan years ago. Why they were in the trash, he’ll never know. A few moments passed and Emerald and Spec came back down the stairs.

“Did you find anything?” Raging asked.

“Affirmative, sir,” Emerald replied. She levitated a healing potion. Before the captain could ask she said, “It was the only thing worth salvaging up there.”

Raging sighed. “So, no other medicine then?” Emerald shook her head.

“Take it, sir. You need it,” she said floating the bottle over to him.

Raging shook his head and pushed the bottle back with his hoof. “I don’t need it. I’m sure one of you ponies need it more than me.” He glanced at all their faces, they all shook their heads.

“Captain, we’re not the ones with bullet holes in our hooves,” Spec reasoned while staring at Raging’s lifted hoof.

“He’s right, sir. So just take it,” Emerald said impatiently floating the potion back in his direction.

Raging rolled his eyes before accepting the healing potion. Despite his claims, he was grateful for having it. He downed the potion immediately and felt the effects as his hoof magically healed itself. He placed his hoof on the ground and felt no sting. That’s such a relief. “Okay then everypony, let’s proceed onwards,” he instructed.

___________

The ponies proceeded through the second doorway and found themselves in a large tunnel built into the cliff. The origins of it were unknown as they were not in the factory’s blueprints, which Flak had found in the desk. Knight Dawn had suggested it could’ve been created by hellhounds, but the chances were slim. It was very dark in the tunnel; Captain Thunder had to turn on his PipBuck light to reveal the way. Emerald illuminated her horn to provide extra light for group. After several minutes of trekking the tunnel came to a T-junction.

Captain Thunder looked down one section of tunnel and then turned and looked down the other. They both continued on for some distance into the darkness. They didn’t have time to all go down one tunnel and then backtrack if that tunnel dead ended. “Alright, we’ll have to split up and see where each of these tunnels lead,” he declared. “Emerald,” he said pointing a hoof at his second-in-command, “take Spec and Silver Fang and proceed down the tunnel to the left. Flak, Glorious Dawn and I will head down the other tunnel.”

“Yes, sir,” Emerald responded.

The captain turned towards Glorious Dawn and said, “If that’s okay with you, I mean.” He didn’t want to make the Applejack’s Rangers think he had superiority over them.

The orange mare shrugged, “That’s fine by me, sir.” She looked at the silent Silver Fang. “Go with them Silver.” The blue stallion nodded. Emerald, Spec and Silver trotted down their section of tunnel, Emerald’s horn lighting the way.

“Keep your com’s online,” Raging called after them. He watched them turn down a corner and disappear. “Let’s move,” he said to the others. They trotted down the adjacent tunnel.

Artificial light reflected along the walls, floor and ceiling of the tunnel. Raging’s PipBuck’s light provided just enough radiance to allow them to see where they were going. Another reason he kept his PipBuck was for its light. Not that his horn can’t cast its own light, it’s just that the device gave off a brighter hue. He glanced over his shoulder and saw his shadow trotting along the wall. He glanced at the opposite wall and spotted Flak’s and Glorious’ shadows. He chuckled to himself, ‘Now we really are Shadow Team.’

As they walked, Raging suddenly realized that he didn’t inform Crusader Command of Shadow Team’s whereabouts. His handler would go into total bitch mode for neglecting to report in. He stopped and spoke into his PipBuck. “Come in, command. This is Captain Thunder, over.” When he didn’t get an answer he radioed Emerald and Spec. “Emerald?”

“Yes, captain,” she replied over the com.

“I can’t get through to command. Can you raise them?” he questioned.

“One moment, sir. Standby,” Emerald answered. Raging stood silently staring at his left foreleg. Flak and Glorious Dawn stared impatiently at him. “I can’t reach them, captain,” Emerald said.

“We must be too far underground to get a clear signal,” Spec added over the com.

“No matter. We’ll radio them later once we can. In the meantime we’ve got we’ve got a job to do. Move out, Shadow,” Raging lowered his foreleg.

“What was that all about, sir,” Flak asked him.

“I forgot to inform command we were here. You know we’ll have hell to pay for that.”

“Well, maybe Winter informed them where we were headed when she took that Initiate back to New Appleloosa,” Flak suggested.

“Wait,” Glorious Dawn stopped them. “You found a survivor back at the ambush point?”

Raging slapped the side of his head. He’d totally overlooked mentioning the Initiate they rescued. He gave the Applejack Ranger an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Glorious. I completely forgot to say it earlier. We managed to find and rescue one survivor where the rest of your platoon was killed.”

“Who was it?” she optimistically asked.

“I don’t know. We didn’t ask her name. But she was an Initiate,” he told her.

“We only had two Initiates in our platoon. The rest of us were Knights with the exception of Paladin Nightfury,” she explained. She gave him a hopeful expression before asking, “Did she have lavender-colored eyes?”

“Yes. Yes she did,” Raging remembered.

Glorious titled her head to the ceiling. “Thank Celestia,” she joyfully prayed. Flak looked at her in surprise. “That Initiate is my younger sister, Elegant Daybreak.”

Flak mumbled, “Glorious Dawn? Elegant Daybreak? Who the hell named these ponies?” Glorious glared at Flak for that statement. “What?” he stupidly asked.

Glorious stared at Flak for a few more seconds before looking back at Raging. “I saw her get shot and when she went down…” she hesitated. “I thought I lost her,” she cried. She lowered her head. Raging saw tears drip down her cheek.

The captain put a hoof on her shoulder. “Your sister’s going to be okay,” he reassured the Ranger. She looked up at him. “She’s in good hooves in New Appleloosa. We’ll check on her once we get back, okay?”

Glorious smiled at him. “Thank you, captain,” she said appreciatively. He smiled and nodded back at her. Raging remembered the holotag he took from the fallen Initiate. He pulled it out of his saddlebag and showed it to the Ranger. Glorious read the name in the artificial light. “Why do you have her holotag?” she queried.

“I request permission to inform her parents of her passing,” he answered.

She looked at him puzzled. “Why would you want to do that?”

“Because…” he paused. “I know her parents. We’ve been friends for a long time. It’ll probably be easier on them if they hear the news from a friend.”

“I’m sorry, captain. Really. But that is not my call to make. Elder Crossroads is the one who decides who passes along condolences,” Glorious apologized.

Raging quietly sighed, “I understand.” He returned the holotag to his saddlebag and turned away from Glorious.

“Believe me, captain. If it were my call I’d say you could. But this is an internal matter. Elder Crossroads believes that only Applejack’s Rangers should inform the families of a deceased Ranger,” Glorious explained as best she could. Captain Thunder didn’t respond to her. He fully understood, but he didn’t like that policy. “I’m truly sorry, captain,” the orange mare whispered.

The three ponies continued to walk down the seemingly endless tunnel without saying another word. Raging thought about the Initiate and how he first met her when she was just a filly. It was back in Stalliongrad during the Enclave’s attack…

Stalliongrad
Fifteen years ago…

Raging Thunder ducked as a beam from a magical energy rifle shot over his head and struck the wall behind him. A small section of the wall disintegrated into a pile of ash in an instant. Raging emerged from cover and aimed his trusty magnum at the Enclave soldier flying right at him. He quickly activated S.A.T.S. and locked on to every possible exposed section of the armored pegasus. He telekinetically pulled the trigger six times, and six bullets exited the barrel. Two shots completely missed their target. The other four struck the pegasus in the wings and torso. She immediately fell from the air and crashed into the streets below.

Raging leaned over the side of the building to verify if she was still living. The pegasus wasn’t moving but that didn’t stop the dark blue unicorn from putting two rounds into her cranium. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. That was the third close call he’d had within the last ten minutes. His wingman was not so lucky. He gazed at the pile of green ooze to his left. What a horrible way to die. This day was doomed from the start and now he was in the middle of a war that he was sure would mean his death.

He came out to Stalliongrad all the way from Trottingham on business. He was hunting a wanted fugitive by the name of Plunders Chest; a raider with an eye patch responsible for the murder of more than a dozen pony families. He had a personal score to settle with Plunders and he would not rest until he was captured or dead. He’d been tracking him for years with no luck. When he finally got a reliable tip that he was seen near Stalliongrad there was no stopping Raging from leaving home in pursuit of the raider. He swore he’d pursue him to the ends of the world if he’d have to.

When he arrived in Stalliongrad, the city notorious for being full of warriors, the ponies were already in the process of erecting barricades and setting up sniper nests and turrets along the outskirts of the city. At first, he thought nothing of what they were doing or why. He only wanted answers on the whereabouts of Plunders Chest. He asked some ponies in the city if they’d seen him, but none of them had the time to talk about one raider; they all had far more urgent matters to attend to.

Eventually, he tried the city’s saloon (which always has information). He barely set a hoof through the door when he heard a radio broadcast about Canterlot being destroyed. Evidently it had happened some time before he arrived in Stalliongrad and so when he inquired about it, everypony gave him shocked looks. They asked him if he just trotted out of a Stable; he was wearing his PipBuck, after all. It was at that point when he learned of the Pegasi Enclave and how they’d been attacking ponies in the wasteland. He was surprised that he didn’t encounter or hear anything about them on his journey to Stalliongrad.

His blood boiled as he heard of the dozens even hundreds of innocent ponies being senselessly murdered by the pegasi. As the ponies in the saloon listed off the atrocities the Enclave had been committing he completely forgot about Plunders Chest; he could only think of how the Enclave had to pay.

After they’d told him that the Enclave declared their intentions to attack Stalliongrad, Raging instantly volunteered his services to defend the city. He would rather die than stand by and watch innocent ponies be slaughtered by an oppressive enemy. Not that he doubted the prowess of the Stalliongrad ponies. The town was reluctant to accept his help as he was an outsider; they felt only ponies from Stalliongrad should defend their home. But after he’d told them about how he defended Trottingham from a slaver attack a few years prior they all immediately recognized him as the “Invincible Stallion”! He couldn’t believe that his “nickname” had spread so far from Trottingham. He always doubted anypony would address him by that title, he stood corrected.

Not long after he was given a personal tour of the city’s defenses by the city mayor. To any passing pony it would’ve been seen as something to admire: multiple concealed automated turrets, hidden sniper nests along the road, etc. However, Raging wasn’t satisfied. He noticed how too spread thin the ponies were placing themselves. It would be easy for anypony, especially pegasi, to slip past them. The snipers and turrets were fine but they would not hold out long against a massive Enclave attack which was fast approaching. Those emplacements had only one or two ponies each. If they were to succeed in repelling any invaders they’d need more ponies at each station.

The worst part was that they hardly had any defenders in the city itself. They were clearly anticipating a successful defense outside Stalliongrad. It was another major mistake that would’ve cost them their victory. When Raging pointed out their flaws, his objections were disregarded. The mayor was confident that they had set up the perfect defense. Her overconfidence nearly meant the end for Stalliongrad in the first battle alone.

The first wave of Enclave soldiers came en masse from virtually all sides of the city. The outer defenses gave it their best but were quickly overrun. The sniper nests were razed with magical energy weapons and the turrets were taken offline with relative ease. Raging did not partake in the first assault as he knew it was a futile gambit. Of the 200 hundred ponies that held the line, only 12 managed to retreat back into the city. Raging could only count a few dozen pegasi attackers; they hardly lost any of their forces. Almost immediately after the attack, the Enclave retreated as well. The cause for their initial withdrawal still remains a mystery but they would only return less than two hours later.

With their only line of defense effortlessly crushed, the mayor of Stalliongrad relented to Raging’s earlier suggestions. He now had the final decision for their next defense. He came up with an idea to use the buildings as cover for an ambush. By hiding all their remaining fighters, they could take the Enclave soldiers by surprise. The main problem with that plan was that they needed to allow the enemy to enter the city. It was a risky maneuver, but they had a greater chance of success. It was decided. Stalliongrad’s remaining fighters, which meant everypony with a gun would conceal themselves and await Raging Thunder’s command to attack. A few ponies were assigned to guard the foals and other noncombatants near the city center.

It took a good thirty minutes to establish their new positions. As soon as the last pony found his spot the Enclave soldiers returned. If they had been expecting swift, yet pathetic, resistance, they were in for a surprise. The three dozen pegasi dispersed around the city searching for the residents; that was their first, and last, mistake. Raging heard one suggest that the town had been abandoned. Once the unsuspecting pegasi passed by Raging’s line, he jumped up and screamed at the top of his lungs: “NOW!”

He couldn’t have asked for a more perfectly executed ambush. The Enclave soldiers were flabbergasted at the sudden change in Stalliongrad’s tactics. Since the pegasi had foolishly spread themselves out, they were unable to give support to one another. Only one pegasus was able to get a shot off, which missed, before they were all dropped by the ponies of Stalliongrad. A few ponies were already cheering in celebration. But that was only the first wave. The next attack came far sooner than Raging had anticipated. And his ambush ploy would not work a second time.

The second assault consisted of several dozen heavily armed and armored Enclave troops. Watching the pegasi descend from the sky was like watching a swarm of locusts about to raze a crop field. Raging ascended to the top of one of the buildings ready for the fight of his life. While he could easily survive being shot by bullets, he knew the energy weapons of the Enclave could disintegrate or liquefy a pony in just one shot. Just ten minutes into the second assault he lost his wingman and nearly lost himself too. The closest the pegasi got to ending his life was a shot right through his mane. The effects of the beam practically vaporized all the hair in his mane. That was the last shot that Enclave soldier ever got off. She was also the one he ended just a few moments earlier.

Raging returned his attention to the fight. All around the town ponies were fighting for their lives. They were dealing significant damage to the Enclave, but this still seemed like a losing fight. The pegasi continued to emerge from the safety of the clouds above. It was impossible to see how many of them were above the city. For all anypony knew, there could’ve been a million of the bastards preparing to attack at once. Raging put that disturbing thought aside.

He returned his gaze to the sky. Two more pegasi were incoming, and they were flying right at him. He holstered his magnum and took the sniper rifle his that belonged to the pile of goo that used to be a pony. The unicorn aimed down the sight at the closest dive-bombing pegasus. He fired once and missed. He fired a second time; this one stuck their armor but did not deter them. The pegasi were now much closer. Raging couldn’t use S.A.T.S. as his magic was still depleted. Taking a deep breath, he aimed for the head of the pegasus. BANG! This time the bullet struck home. The Enclave soldier plummeted from the sky.

Raging sighted the second pegasus. This one wised up and started flying in a zigzag; making it impossible for Raging to get a proper shot. In desperation, the unicorn emptied the remaining bullets into the air. BANG! BANG! BANG! Unsurprisingly, the pegasus dodged each shot. She stopped midflight and hovered several yards from the building’s roof. Raging spotted the weapon strapped to her side. It resembled a minigun with a special design. The barrels of the “minigun” started to spin before rapidly shooting multiple beams of energy.

Raging dove behind his last bit of cover: a metal crate. A minigun that shoots energy beams? You’ve got to be kidding me! The crate began to turn to ash on the other side. It would take a few seconds for the pegasus to shoot through it and finish him off. Raging looked for something to use. He had his dual SMGs and his magnum, nothing else. The sniper rifle was out of ammo. Well, I’m screwed! I’m going to die here as a pile of ash by some goddess-damned gatling laser!

Raging checked his E.F.S. The only nearby hostile was the pegasus with the gatling laser. Not that it helped his situation but it gave him some respite knowing there wasn’t any other pegasus coming for him. He wished he had learned about S.A.T.S. and E.F.S. when he first acquired his PipBuck; it would’ve helped him out a lot in the past. He only just discovered them during his journey to Stalliongrad.

He met an odd group of ponies along the way: two unicorns, a pegasus (the first pegasus he’d seen in years) and a zebra (!). He’d never seen a zebra before, and certainly didn’t expect the one to behave the way she did. One of the unicorns (who he thought was just a filly by her size) had a PipBuck with her. He asked her about it and she explained all the functions of it. Raging almost wanted to strangle himself for not learning that right away. He brought his PipBuck for no particular reason except that he thought of it as a good luck charm. After a brief conversation with the group he departed their company and, for the first time since acquiring it, put on his platinum-plated PipBuck. Now he’s used everything it is capable of, except for the radio; he doesn’t have time to listen to music.

Raging Thunder regained his focus. The pegasus had yet to let up on her gatling laser. The crate had almost completely disintegrated. If only someone could just rip that gun right off her… That gave him idea. If he could just grip the pegasus’ gatling laser in a field of magic, then maybe, just maybe, he could take it from her. Or distract her long enough to escape, at least. He closed in eyes in concentration and visualized the rapid-firing gatling laser. Focusing on it, he could feel his aura envelop the weapon. The pegasus did not even realize what was happening. Once he felt he had secured a firm grip, his magic yanked the gatling laser. The pegasus stopped firing as confusion overtook her.

The gatling laser did not detach from the pegasus’ combat harness. She quickly realized what was happening and struggled to regain control of her gun. Raging was not going to give up that easily. He focused even harder. His horn illuminated the entire rooftop in a violet glow. He telekinetically tugged and pulled the gatling laser. The pegasus promptly flapped her wings in an effort to escape the unicorn’s grasp. Although he could not see her, he grinned at her struggles. You’re not going anywhere!

The pegasus flapped her wings faster and harder. No matter how much she struggled, the magic field would not release her gatling laser. Raging felt her growing tired; her wings began to slow beat. It was just as predicted. I’ve got you now you son of a bitch! With a final jerk from his mind the gatling laser ripped off the pegasus’ combat harness, the saddle with it. The pegasus somersaulted through the air. She glanced back at the floating gatling laser. It was impossible to tell what facial expression she had due to her helmet, but Raging could only guess it was one of complete shock.

Raging rose from his cover in deep concentration. Without opening his eyes he turned to face the Enclave soldier. The gatling laser floated to him. The magical weapon’s saddle strapped to his back. He released his magic from the gun. He grunted as he felt the weight of the gatling laser. He strained as he lifted it. Slowly opening his eyes, he focused on the pegasus as she regained her composure in the sky. She froze in place upon seeing the unicorn with her weapon. Raging smirked and opened fire…

“… even listening to me, sir?” Flak asked irritated.

Raging shook his head snapping back to reality. He’d been so deep in thought of the past he didn’t hear what Flak was saying. They’d been walking down the long tunnel for who knows how long. The captain looked at Flak who was giving him an impatient look. “I’m sorry, Flak. What were you saying?” he apologized.

Flak rolled his eyes. “I’ve been asking you if you smelled that?” he demanded. He was clearly annoyed. Raging wondered just how long he’d been spacing out.

He tilted his head up and sniffed the air. A strong scent struck his nostrils; it smelled like rotten eggs. He held his hoof over his muzzle to mask the stench. “Ech,” he gagged. He knew that smell meant one of two things: it was either sulfur he smelled or something much more dangerous. “Yeah. I smell it alright,” he answered Flak.

Glorious Dawn grimaced. “What is it? Is it sulfur?” she coughed. She, too, was covering her muzzle with a forehoof.

Raging shook his head, “Not likely.” He looked at Flak. “Do you know what it is?” He looked at the aqua pony expectantly, although he already knew the answer.

Flak nodded. “That rotten egg smell means that there’s methane in this tunnel,” he said in alarm.

Glorious looked panicked, “I thought methane doesn’t have a smell to it.”

“That’s true when it’s is in its natural state,” Flak explained. “But when it has naturally combined with hydrogen sulfide it gives it that rotten egg smell. That or a chemical was added by someone as a warning of leaking gas. I’m pushing more towards the latter.”

Glorious continued to cover her muzzle. “Should we be worried? Isn’t it dangerous if inhaled?”

“I don’t think it’s at high enough levels to kill us for breathing it. But we’ll probably feel a little sick later,” Flak stated. Raging wasn’t very convinced. If you can smell methane then that means you should get the hell out. Flak untied his red bandana and scratched the top of his head as he thought of something. Glorious breathed a sigh of relief and lowered her hoof. “However,” Flak regained their attention. Glorious covered her muzzle again. “The gas does seem in high enough concentration that the slightest spark could ignite the entire tunnel and send us all sky high.”

Raging blinked. Glorious’ jaw dropped. “Well that’s just great,” Raging stomped his hoof. “Is it likely that the other tunnel is full of methane too?” Flak nodded. Dammit. I have to warn the others. “Emerald, come in,” he said into his PipBuck.

“Go ahead, sir,” she instantly replied.

“I need you all to holster your weapons. We can’t have any firing in the tunnels,” he ordered.

“What? Why?” she questioned.

“Flak has confirmed that the tunnels are full of methane gas. The slightest spark could blow us all to Cloudsdale. So I need you, Spec and Silver to holster your weapons,” the captain instructed.

He heard moaning coming from the other end. “Oh great. What are we supposed to use now? Harsh language?” Spec complained.

“I’ve got a few choice words for those slavers,” Glorious commented to herself. Raging had to agree. He still wanted to know what they were up to and why they butchered Paladin Nightfury the way they did. As he thought more about the carnage he couldn’t help but think that slavers were not wholly responsible. Barbaric as they are, he’s never heard of slavers taking their time to mutilate their victims in such atrocious ways. That was something psychotic raiders would do. And not even raiders would pick a fight with a platoon of Applejack’s Rangers unless they had either the numbers or firepower to do so. Is it possible that slavers had attacked the platoon, took a few prisoners and left only for raiders to come along shortly after to butcher the bodies? No. They wouldn’t have the time to do that. Even if they did, Winter would have surely seen them as she arrived at the massacre roughly ten minutes after Glorious Dawn had called for help.

These mysteries were something Captain Thunder was desperate to solve. But as they continued to trek through the dark tunnel he began to wonder if slavers were even responsible for the ambush, which looked like entirely like a raider attack. He reminded himself that slavers had to be responsible as they had taken some of the Applejack’s Rangers prisoner. Why would the slavers come to Everfree Mills? It obviously wasn’t the most defendable location as a meager four ponies took out all the guards and freed the prisoners. There had to be something else about the Everfree Mills that gained their attention. Something big was going down, he could feel it. Maybe our answers lie at the end of the tunnels.

Then he started thinking about the Everfree Mills itself. More specifically he pondered the origins and purpose of the tunnel system they were in. They were too old to have been made recently. The factory’s building archives did not mention anything about them. And yet, a door was built leading directly to the tunnels. Was there a reason the factory neglected to depict the tunnel entrance? He had a strong feeling that the factory was involved in more than just harvesting raw materials from the Everfree Forest during the Great War. But what?

Raging could see a light a short distance ahead in the tunnel. “I think we’ve neared the end of it,” he suggested to the ponies. Flak and Glorious agreed. They’d been walking in the tunnel for nearly an hour and it was good to think they were finally at its end. The three galloped towards the light.

They emerged in an enormous cave. The source of the light was emanating from artificial lamps set up all along the walls. Raging gasped in awe as he scanned the vast cavern before him. He spotted several planks set up across the gorges that made up a large section of the cave. Catwalks were established along a few of the walls. Weapons were littered in every nook and cranny; there was enough to equip a small army in here. He didn’t have time to enjoy the view, however, as multiple red blips popped up on his E.F.S.

WHOOOSH! BOOM! A rocket exploded behind Raging and the others. Small rocks and dirt rained down upon them. Raging quickly looked for the source of the explosive. A slaver wielding a missile launcher materialized on one of the catwalks. More slavers armed to the teeth appeared around the cave. At once, they opened fire on the three ponies. They scattered for what little cover they could find.

Raging thought about the methane gas and why the cave wasn’t erupting into an inferno from the slavers’ weapons. He sniffed the air and noticed he could no longer smell rotten eggs. Perhaps the methane was concentrated only in the tunnels. “Return fire! There’s no gas in here!” he shouted at Flak and Glorious Dawn.

The captain levitated his SMGs and magnum. Feeling all his energy back, he felt like he could fire all three guns with ease. He briefly emerged from cover and fired the three guns at the nearest slavers. Two were felled by the SMGs and a third from the magnum. The missile launcher slaver shifted his attention on the unicorn. WHOOOOSH! Raging sprinted from his cover just as it exploded. BOOM!

Flak was having difficulty attacking the slavers with his minigun. He needed a full second to spin up the barrels before he could fire. By the time he’d be able to get off his first rounds, the slavers would force him back behind cover. His machine grenade launcher would have really come in handy here as he could simply barrage the enemy from behind cover. “Fuck this!” Flak yelled. “Did I mention how I’m going to kill that fucking teddy bear?”

Glorious popped up and fired a short burst from her assault rifle before hiding again. A few bullets struck the top of the rock she was using as cover. “You’ve only said that the whole way here,” she replied.

The missile launcher slaver loaded another missile. He aimed at the small crevice where Raging was hiding and let the explosive fly. WHOOOSH! BOOM! The ground a few feet from the captain exploded. Shrapnel struck him in the leg. Raging howled in pain. The jagged piece of metal had imbedded itself deep within his right foreleg, the same leg that’d been shot earlier. A thick stream of blood seeped out of the wound, traveled down his leg and puddled on the ground. Seriously! What is it with these slavers shooting me in the damn leg! There was nothing he could about it right this moment. He had no way to treat it. He wished he’d saved that healing potion.

He considered pulling the shrapnel out, but thought against it. For all he knew, the metal might have punctured an artery. If he removed the shrapnel now, he would end up bleeding to death as a result. He was no use to Shadow Team if he was dead. He pulled his leg back and shuddered from the pain. This hurt much worse than having a sniper shoot him in the hoof.

The crevice the captain was hiding in trailed off away from the battle. Hoping to find better cover, or a better weapon, he lied as flat as possible and crawled through the ditch. A few of the slavers were on to him. Bullets streaked over him striking the ground just inches to his left. As he crawled he prayed the missile launcher would not find him. WHOOOSH! BOOM! A section of the ditch exploded behind Raging. He was not hit by any shrapnel, but rocks and dirt hurled through the air and landed on him. Some of the rocks were large enough to scratch his body just deep enough to draw a little blood. He would rather take small scratches over more impalement any day.

While he was in the ditch, Glorious and Flak did their best to draw the slavers’ attention away from him. Glorious managed to get one or two of the slavers but Flak was still under too much suppressive fire to do any good with the minigun. Raging kept his eye on his E.F.S. the entire time. All the hostile contacts were behind him, still trying to shoot him.

Above him was a plank used to cross the ditch. It wasn’t reliable cover, but he chose to stop underneath it and check his wound. His leg was throbbing. His leg looked like it had turned a shade of purple from the color combination of the blood and his dark blue coat. The wound was full of dirt and grime. He’d be lucky if he didn’t get an infection from whatever germs were in this cave. “There you are,” he heard a voice above him.

Tilting his head up, he stared directly into the barrel of an assault rifle. An earth pony slaver with a jet black coat stared down at him from the plank, a grin on his face. “Didn’t think you could hide from us did you?” he mocked. The shooting persisted in the cave.

Raging narrowed his eyes in defiance. “I never hide from the enemy,” he said.

The slaver chuckled, “Then what the fuck are you doing down in a ditch? Crying for mommy?”

Raging shook his head, “Nope. Just looking for a better gun.” He shifted his eyes to the slaver’s assault rifle. “And look what you brought me.” His horn glowed as he yanked the assault rifle to the side in a field of aura. The slaver pulled the trigger spraying bullets in each direction. Raging pulled on the assault rifle with his mind as the slaver tried to in vain to resist. With his distraction working, the captain levitated his magnum and floated it up to face the slaver. The slaver’s eyes went wide as he watched the floating magnum. “Adieu, asshole!” BLAM!

The slaver’s body toppled into the ditch. Raging relieved him of his assault rifle. He swiftly searched the body for any useful supplies but found nothing except for some Dash and Mint-als. Drugs? Fat lot of good these do me. Discarding the drugs, Raging continued his belly crawl through the ditch. WHOOOSH! BOOM! Another missile exploded in the ditch behind him. The plank was turned into splinters; the slaver’s body became a meat shower. Blood and gore splashed over Raging’s body. He froze in place as he noticed some of the slaver’s blood had landed on his wounded leg.

Oh no! He frantically wiped the new blood away with his left forehoof. He begged that the slaver’s blood did not mix with his wound. He fears were confirmed when he saw the bloody bone fragment imbedded alongside the shrapnel. Oh fuck! NO! He yanked it out with his teeth and spat it on the ground. He felt the world end around him. If he didn’t acquire some infection from all the dirt, he would certainly catch something from the drug using slaver. He thought of the possibility of contracting something like PIV (pony immunodeficiency virus). His life could be ruined from this. If I had some antiseptic I could sterilize the wound and prevent myself from catching a disease.

More bullets were fired into the ditch around him. Raging knew he’d worry about what happened at a later time. Once he was back in New Appleloosa he would have Candi check him out. He resumed his belly crawl trying not to think of his injury and potential infection. He kept the assault rifle floating in front of him with his SMGs. Eventually he reached the end of the ditch. He clambered out and found himself on the opposite side of the cave.

A few slavers were on this end preoccupied with the firefight to notice Raging. He used their incompetence to his advantage. He charged right up to them firing his three weapons in unison. Before the slavers could react, they were all dead. Raging trotted over to their corpses. He holstered the SMGs and took two assault rifles to add to his arsenal.

The missile launcher slaver noticed the commotion and spotted the captain instantaneously. He aimed the missile launcher and fired. WHOOOSH! Thinking fast, Raging dropped the assault rifles and caught the missile with his magic. The missile was still traveling at its maximum velocity which made it difficult for the captain to hold. The slaver’s jaw dropped. Raging spun the explosive 180 degrees. Sighting the slaver he whispered, “Let’s play catch!” He released the missile which flew through the air towards the slaver’s catwalk. BOOM! The catwalk burst into pieces, the slaver with it. And I thought I never joke.

Raging’s E.F.S. detected two more hostiles emerge in the cave. Near the center of the cave the two minigunners returned. One of them aimed his miniguns at Glorious and Flak’s position. The other turned focused his attention on the captain. Both minigunners had donned some kind of metal armor which covered their entire bodies, save their heads. The barrels of the two miniguns spun to life unleashing hell in Raging’s direction. He jumped behind a makeshift barricade. I wondered where those two went. Now nothing will stop them.

The captain picked up the three assault rifles and took aim. He fired the three guns at the same time. The minigunner ignored the bullets which harmlessly impacted on his body armor. Assault rifles were not precise enough to aim for the head at this distance. The captain lowered the rifles and reloaded them. Rising back up, he counted half a dozen slavers advancing on his position while the minigunner provided them covering fire. Now they were using real tactics.

The first slaver to get near Captain Thunder was wielding a shotgun. She leapt over the barricade and shot at the captain. He rolled to the side and brought the assault rifles to bear. The last thing the mare saw were the rifles in her face. He swapped one of the assault rifles for the combat shotgun. The next two slavers attacked at the same time. One came at his front, the other at his six. The captain telekinetically aimed the shotgun at the slaver he was facing. He aimed the two assault rifles behind him. With a single thought all three guns fired and both slavers dropped.

The last three slavers wised up and did not get any closer. The minigunner slowly moved up to support his three comrades. The three other slavers pulled out grenades and chucked them over the barricade. Raging caught them with his magic and tossed them back. They exploded in the air inflicting no damage to anypony. Raging waited for the next attack. No such attack came. What are you waiting for?

He heard heavy hoofsteps getting closer. He quickly poked his head from cover with just enough time to see the minigunner bearing down on him. The three slavers stepped to the side to allow their comrade to pass. Raging hopped up and aimed the rifles at the minigunner. The slaver did not have a helmet and so he would not be able to survive being shot there. Raging grinned and fired the three guns. His grin turned to horror as not a single bullet struck the minigunner in the head. Each bullet was drawn to the bulking armor instead. Each bullet harmlessly reflected off the shiny steel armor.

Raging ceased fire, his eyes wide and jaw dropped. That armor must be enchanted to attract bullets! The slaver wickedly grinned as the barrels of his two miniguns spun to life. The captain crouched behind the barricade just as the first dozen rounds zipped over his head. The other slavers started to cheer and egged the minigunner to finish him. The slaver moved in for the kill, firing the miniguns each step of the way.

Raging was not done yet. He’d managed to escape from bleak situations like this in the past, and he was confident he’d survive this engagement. He would find the chink in this pony’s magical armor. Searching his immediate vicinity he spied an undetonated grenade a few feet in front of him. He reached out with his magic and pulled its pin. He counted to three and tossed the grenade over the barricade.

The grenade landed at the hooves of the minigunner just as he was leaning over the barricade. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at the “apple”. BOOM! Raging peeked over the barricade and saw the minigunner had gone down. The other slavers stopped cheering and fell into total silence. Raging jumped up and aimed the three guns. The slaver ponies looked nervously at one another and decided they’d seen enough. They dropped their weapons and surrendered, lowering themselves to their haunches.

Captain Raging Thunder kept the surrendering ponies in his weapons’ sights. He warily approached them but stopped over the minigunner. The explosion took his weapons out of commission and had blown a massive dent in the breastplate of the armor. To his surprise, the minigunner was still alive; he was merely stunned by the blast. Beyond the damaged weapons and dented shell, no other impairment had been done to the armor. What the hell kind of armor is this?

Raging lowered the combat shotgun until it nudged the minigunner’s right temple. “Do you surrender, slaver?” he demanded.

The stallion angrily eyed him before growling between his teeth, “Death before defeat!”

“Fair enough,” the dark blue unicorn said coldly. BLAM! Brain and bloody skull fragments burst from the gaping hole in the slaver’s head. I guess that armor doesn’t save you from pointblank range. He returned his attention to the surrendered ponies. He menacingly trotted over to them and winced as his hurt leg shot pain through him. He stared furiously into their terrified faces whilst jabbing a rifle in each of their directions.

“We surrender. Please, don’t hurt us,” one of them, a mare, begged.

Raging shot the slaver a look. “Give me one good reason that I should spare your miserable lives,” he threatened.

“If you let us live, we’ll tell you everything we know,” the second slaver suggested.

“That would have to depend on what you have to say,” the captain said looking at the second slaver.

“We can lead you to the rest of the prisoners,” the third slaver proposed.

There’s an idea. The captain turned his attention to the final slaver. “Okay. I guess I’ll spare you then. For now,” he said grimly.

“Oh, thank you,” the slaver mare said rising to her hooves.

“Mark my words, slavers,” Raging warned, “if any of you try anything… I will not hesitate to end your lives. Got that?” The three slavers slowly nodded. The other two slavers got onto their hooves.

Hundreds of bullets streaked through the air ripping one of the slavers apart. Fountains of blood spurted from his chest, his left foreleg dislodged from his torso. He fell to the ground, blood gushing from his severed limb like a river. Raging and the two remaining slavers dove behind the barricade. The second minigunner approached. How could I have forgotten the second one? The downed slaver was screaming in agony clutching his leg. The minigunner stood over him and glared. The injured slaver looked up in total fright. “Death before defeat!” the minigunner growled in mimicry of the previous one. He aimed his right-side minigun and fired a burst into the injured pony. The slaver stopped screaming.

The sinister slaver aimed both miniguns at Raging and the remaining two slavers. The bullets started flying again. Raging glanced at his two “prisoners”. They were petrified by what they just saw. The minigunner showed no mercy on the slaver he killed. He murdered him in cold blood for surrendering? He takes commitment to the cause way too seriously. The minigunner moved closer.

Raging heard more minigun fire and imagined that a third minigunner had arrived. Peering around the corner he spotted Flak on the opposite side of the cave. He and Glorious Dawn had joined the fight and were firing at the slaver. The slaver’s armor was attracting the bullets like a magnet, all of which bounced off its impenetrable surface. The minigunner ignored them.

Raging looked around for another grenade but couldn’t find any. Pointing a hoof at the traumatized slaver mare he demanded, “Do you have any more grenades on you?” She nodded in a state of panic. “Give them to me!” She tossed him one grenade. Just like before, let’s go two for two. Raging pulled the pin and counted to three before hurling it at the minigunner. The slaver stopped firing and leaped backwards away from the grenade. BOOM! Raging looked over the barricade. The minigunner was unharmed, unlike the previous one. “Shit!” he yelled.

The minigunner sneered, “Did you think that would work on me?” He resumed firing his near infinite bullets. Raging was out of ideas again. This minigunner was more agile and aware of the effect of grenades to be fooled. Bullets couldn’t penetrate his armor and the armor itself draws all bullets away from his exposed head. The only way to take down the brute was a pointblank shot to the head. He best bet was to wait until the minigunner got in close to go for the headshot.

As the bullets continued to rain on the barricade the captain recalled that day in Stalliongrad and how he telekinetically removed the Enclave soldier’s gatling laser. Could I remove this pony’s miniguns the same way? There’s only one way to find out. Raging Thunder dropped his weapons and closed his eyes in concentration. The other two slavers looked at him in confusion. “What the hell is he doing?” the slaver stallion asked.

Raging’s horn glowed a bright violet as he focused his energy on the minigunner. As his aura enveloped the guns, he suddenly felt his energy rapidly drain. His horn dimmed and he opened his eyes in astonishment. His energy was gone in an instant! “What the hell just happened?” he asked dumbfounded.

The minigunner temporarily stopped firing and bellowed a laugh. “You fool! Magic tricks don’t work on me!” he laughed.

How is that possible? Could that armor also prevent tampering from other magical abilities? What is this thing? Flak and Glorious persisted in their efforts to shoot down the invincible minigunner. Captain Thunder thought that this slaver should be the one called the “Invincible Stallion” and not him. The minigunner closed in and was now inching over the barricade. Raging’s energy was too sapped to even lift his rifles. The other two slavers held each other like scared foals. The minigunner rose up onto the barricade and aimed the miniguns at all three ponies. Raging stared hopelessly at his attacker. “Goodbye, Captain Thunder,” the slaver glowered. He knows my name? The minigun barrels spun to life.

BANG! A bullet grazed the front of the slaver’s neck. He staggered back in shock. A line of blood began to drip down his neck. Raging and the two slavers stood up. The minigunner was idly turning away from them. BANG! A second bullet shot through the slaver’s throat. He coughed up blood and gagged before collapsing to the ground next to the first minigunner. What?

“That was cutting it a bit close,” he recognized Spec’s voice on the com.

“Captain, are you okay?” Emerald Sapphire asked.

Captain Thunder exhaled the breath he didn’t know he was holding. He looked around and noticed a second tunnel which filtered into the cave. Emerald, Spec and Silver Fang were briskly trotting out of it. “Damn perfect timing you guys!” Raging exclaimed.

Emerald, Spec, Flak, and the Applejack’s Rangers galloped across the expanse of planks and gangways to reach the captain’s position. Raging stood over the dying minigunner when the other ponies arrived. “What kind of armor is he wearing?” Flak inquired.

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen armor like that before,” Glorious Dawn stated. Silver Fang quietly nodded in agreement.

Emerald took one look at Captain Thunder’s leg and gasped. “Goddess, captain!” she said in alarm. “What happened to you?”

Raging decided to just be out with it. He knew if he lied or brushed it off, Emerald would only keep harassing him. “I got hit by shrapnel from a missile. I’m not going to lie, my leg hurts pretty badly.” He chose not to mention the bone fragment that may have given him an infection.

Emerald examined the wound. His leg looked like it may have lost all of its blood. She was not a medic, but she did pick up a few things from Winter. “This is serious, captain! We need to find you medicine right now!”

“I know, Emerald. I know,” he admitted. I really, really wish Winter was here. She would know what to do. “Let’s take care of this slaver, and then we’ll worry about it.” Emerald gave him a disapproving look. She worried too much for his sake. Always putting others before yourself. That’s what will make you a great leader someday, Emerald. He looked down at the minigunner. “Who the hell are you? How did you know my name?”

The minigunner coughed up a tidal wave of blood which covered his entire face. More blood leaked out of the wound in his throat. This made Raging think of Initiate Elegant Daybreak. He hoped she was alright. The slaver looked up apathetically, not a sign of remorse on his face. “Death…” he coughed, “… before defeat!” He wasn’t going to admit to anything.

“So be it,” the captain said. He nodded at Silver Fang. The silent blue stallion stepped over the minigunner and fired a quick burst from his own minigun into his skull. The captain checked his E.F.S. for any more hostiles. It registered that the cave was clear of enemy combatants.

“I tried to shoot him in the head,” Spec said. “Why did I only hit him in the throat?”

“I don’t know. His armor must be enchanted to attract bullets. I was only able to shoot the other one at pointblank range. Every other time my bullets only hit the armor, regardless of where I aimed,” Raging explained. “His armor also seems impervious to magic. I felt my energy instantly deplete when I tried to grip one of his miniguns.”

“Could it be that the armor siphons magic energy to power itself?” Emerald suggested.

“Maybe we ought to take this with us,” Flak proposed.

“On our way back, maybe. For now we’ve got to rescue the remaining Applejack’s Rangers. Now then,” he said looking at the two slavers that surrendered. All eyes were fixed on the cowering stallion and mare. “I believe you were going to tell us everything you know. And you are going to take us to the remaining prisoners,” he reminded them.

___________

The two slavers sang like canaries during their interrogation. Although, they did not provide much helpful information. They admitted that they were mere “grunts” just following their orders from someone they didn’t know, as were most of the slavers stationed at the Everfree Mills. They had been using the factory and the secret tunnels as a staging area to capture and enslave ponies as any ordinary slaver would. As for the minigunners in the magic armor, they claimed they didn’t know who they were except their mysterious leader sent them to “oversee” some top secret project that they weren’t allowed to know about. They didn’t even know how the armor they were wearing worked. They were just as surprised to see what it could do as Captain Thunder was. Surprisingly, they didn’t even know why the Ursa Minor was outside. They also claimed they had nothing to do with the ambush on the Paladin Nightfury’s platoon. Glorious Dawn verified they were not the ones who captured her and Silver Fang. This also prevented them from learning what “THE END” meant. That was all the information Shadow Team and the Applejack’s Rangers would get from them.

Glorious suggested they kill the slavers for the crimes they had committed, much to their horror. Raging declined as he made a deal with them, and he never goes back on his deals. Besides, they said the cave system goes on for miles and without their guidance it could take forever to find the remaining Applejack’s Rangers. Evidently, they were guarding them before they were ordered to attack Raging Thunder and the others.

At Emerald’s insistence, the group detoured to the slavers’ quarters for medicine. The slavers were only too happy to help, anything that kept them from getting shot. It took only a few minutes to get to the guards’ quarters; it probably would’ve taken longer if the group shot the slavers and tried to find it on their own. The slavers weren’t kidding, the cave complex was massive. Raging would sure hate to get lost down here.

The slavers’ quarters were built into small grottos in the cave’s walls. There were enough grottos to allow virtually every slaver at Everfree Mills their own room. Each room was built to the tastes of the guard staying in it. Raging was impressed that they could put this all together; it was certainly not like Shadow’s HQ back in New Appleloosa.

“Okay,” said the slaver stallion, “you can probably find medicine and other useful stuff in these rooms.” He nervously designated the many grottos with his forehoof.

“I’ve got an idea,” Glorious jabbed her rifle at the slaver. “How about you go get us the medicine. And we’ll stand out here.”

“Um, I can’t. Well I mean, I could but it would take a while,” the slaver innocently replied.

“And why’s that,” Glorious demanded. She did not like the slaver. Raging couldn’t blame her, the stallion probably did something atrocious in his past; he was after all a slaver.

“Because I don’t know if anypony had medicine in their rooms,” he answered trying to sound friendly. “I sure as hell don’t. And neither does Grapeshot,” he said designating the female slaver. She shook her head.

“Alright, everypony,” Raging gathered their attention. “Let’s search these rooms for supplies. Silver, keep an eye on the prisoners. If they try anything funny, shoot them,” he instructed the silent Applejack Ranger. Silver curved one lip in a half smile before briefly spinning up his minigun. The slavers gulped.

The ponies, save Silver and the slavers, all entered different rooms. Raging chose the room closest to him. There wasn’t much to look at. There was a mattress, filing cabinet and a chessboard. The chessboard caught his attention. I didn’t think slavers had the time or luxury to play a game like chess. It looked like someponies were in the middle of a game. Pieces were placed all across the checkered board and several were sitting off to the sides. It was impossible to tell whose move it was, but from the looks of it grey was on the verge of winning. A grey bishop was within striking distance of white’s king. Raging picked up the bishop and placed it on the king, knocking over the deposed monarch. He smiled and said, “Checkmate!” After which, he felt a little sorry to the slavers for not being able to finish the game. He’s always loved playing chess since he was a colt. He just loved the strategy involved to the board game.

He shifted his focus to the filing cabinet. He skimmed through the drawers and found clip boards, data sheets, graphs, a pencil and other useless junk. What? No bottle caps? Or ammo? What kind of filing cabinet are you? With nothing else to rummage through he turned to leave the room. He looked back at the chess board. He hadn’t played a good game of chess in years. Since the slavers wouldn’t need it anymore, he picked up the board and the pieces and tossed them into his saddlebag. He left ransacked room.

Stepping back out into the cave a fresh wave of pain coursed through him. He grunted and stroked his excruciating leg. I really need to find medicine… again. The jagged piece of metal appeared to have wedged deeper into his muscle. The lengths I’ll go to save ponies really surprise me from time to time. He shook his leg and limped into the room opposite. He entered only to find Glorious Dawn was already inside. She was looking at a magazine and didn’t hear him come in. Raging looked away only to do a double take when he recognized what she was looking at: a copy of Wingboner Magazine, a pre-war pornographic magazine illustrating pegasi mares. He gave Glorious an awkward look. Why is she looking at that? She looked over shoulder at the captain. Mortified, she quickly tossed the magazine away. Her orange face turned a dark shade of red.

“Uhhhh… how long were you standing there, captain,” she asked in total embarrassment. She rubbed the back of her head with her hoof.

All Raging could say was, “Long enough. I didn’t take you for that type.”

“Look, captain,” she tried to explain. “I’m not that kind of girl. My barn door doesn’t swing that way. It’s just…”

Raging did not like where this conversation was heading. It reminded him too much of a some mares he’d met a few years back. A couple of mares who definitely did not know the meaning of ‘too much information’. “Do you really want to tell me? Because I don’t think I want to know. I can just pretend I didn’t see anything.” I am pretty good at that.

“It’s just…” she continued despite Raging’s suggestion. He rolled his eyes. Great, here we go… What part of ‘I don’t want to know’ did you not understand? “I’m straight, you see,” she awkwardly clarified. “But sometimes I wonder what it would be like to…” she paused thinking of the right word. “‘Experiment’ with a mare.”

Knight Glorious Dawn wants to…? He shook that thought out of his head. “Aaaannnndddd…. you’re telling me this because…” he asked in disgust.

She blushed again. “Umm… I don’t know… forget I mentioned it, sir,” she said sadly staring at the floor.

“No offense, but do I look like I can do anything about it,” he practically barked. He immediately regretted that; Glorious lowered her head further in shame. Way to go, Raging. Crush her dreams, why don’t you. “Look, Glorious,” he said lifting her chin up with his hoof. “I’m sorry. That was mean of me. I’m just under a lot of stress right now,” he spoke softly, designating his bloodied leg. Glorious still didn’t look at him. Raging sighed, “If you want…” She looked at him. I can’t believe I’m doing this. “I could probably point you in the right direction with that.”

She stared intently into his eyes. “R-really?” she asked.

“Yes,” he answered straightforwardly. “I might know a mare or two who could be able to…” he hesitated. Dare I say it? “… satisfy your desire.”

Glorious was stunned. “I… uh… I don’t know what to say,” she stuttered.

“Would that be a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’?” he asked feeling awkward.

Glorious blushed again. “Umm… Yes,” she answered in complete humiliation, sounding a little unsure.

“Fine,” he grunted. “But I can’t make you any promises. Understand?”

“Yes, captain. I understand,” she said. Raging turned to leave. “Oh, and captain,” the Applejack Ranger asked. The dark blue unicorn looked back at her. “Could we just keep this to ourselves,” she pleaded. And prevent the world from discovering your fetish? What is it that DJ Pon3 says? “Bringing you the truth, no matter how bad it hurts.” The captain agreed, he wouldn’t reveal something like that. He left her in the room to continue her “search”.

The captain limped into the adjacent room. The room was unoccupied. Similar to the first room there was a mattress in the corner and next to it was a desk. Sitting on the desk was a terminal. He trotted over to the desk and sat in the chair before accessing the terminal. Unsurprisingly, the terminal required a password, which he didn’t have. Fortunately, he knew how to hack into a terminal’s programming.

Inputting the commands from his PipBuck into the terminal he got to work. Hacking a terminal was not too difficult; it did give one a list of words or phrases to choose from. The real trick was guessing which word was correct. From the terminals he’s hacked in the past he’s learned that the password usually relates to the terminal’s location, not always though. It certainly did not relate to this one either. The password was “password”. How original?

Only one file popped up on the monitor. It was slaver’s personal diary. There were too many entries for him to read and so he chose the most recent ones…

Entry 26:

The boss gathered us all for a meeting today in the main chamber. He said we are to expect some new guys within the week. He didn’t say who they were, but that they were important to some “project” that’s underway deeper in the cave. None of us grunts know anything about it. Every time one of us asks about it, we always get the same answer: “Don’t ask.” I’m beginning to wonder just what the boss and his lackeys in the white coats are really up to. Some of us are starting a betting pool to be able to figure it out. I have my money on it being some kind of animal experiment. After all, what else would we have that damn Ursa Minor outside for? It’s hardly a guard dog, so the boss must be trying to make some sort of mind control device. Like the ones the Enclave used on the hellhounds years ago, only this one will control the Ursa Minor. At least that’s what I think. Some of the others think the boss is experimenting on some of the prisoners. But what would he do that for? Those prisoners are worth money, and nopony will pay for dead slaves. But then again, it would explain why some of those unicorns we’ve caught were taken further in and have yet to come back. I wonder what they’re really up to.

That also reminds me. Why would the boss care to tell us about these new guys? He’s never told us about new members before. They must be pretty special if they are getting their own welcome party. Some of the others are planning on jumping them as soon as they get here. I’m keeping out for my own good. The last thing I need is a problem with anypony, least of all the boss. The last slaver who crossed him had his eyes and tongue cut out while he was still living. I hate to imagine what he did to piss off the boss. Then the poor son of a bitch was tossed into the Ursa Minor’s pen as a live meal. It was probably the first fresh meat it’s eaten since it got here a month ago. If those ponies plan on jumping the new guys without any repercussions, then they probably have another thing coming. Only time will tell.

Entry 27:

I barely got any sleep last night. Spook and Brick were going at it all night… again. Why does my room have to be right next to theirs? Spook kept me up all night with her loud moaning. I’m not the only one complaining, just about everypony within earshot can’t get a minute of sleep when they fuck each other’s brains out. I’m not gonna lie, it was sort of enjoyable the first night, but now it’s absolutely ridiculous. I’d submit a complaint, but the boss won’t give a shit. His only rule for those two is no “fun time” during work time. And so they resort to wasting the night with their constant fucking. Brick hardly calls it “wasting”. What I wouldn’t give for some freaking earplugs just for one night. I can’t imagine how those two always have so much energy during the day after what they do all night. Sometimes I wonder if I could get that cutie Grapeshot to spend the night with me…

Anyways, not much happened today. The boss says we aren’t going out to round up anymore slaves until the new guys arrive. That’s really not a problem with me; I never get to go out on the roundups. All I do is stand guard around the interior slave pen. Still, it is a very simple job and I get paid well in caps. I can’t think of anything else to write tonight, I guess I’ll hit the hay early. I’d like to get some sleep before Brick and Spook go at it.

Entry 28:

Once again, I did not get much sleep. I can’t take those two anymore! If this keeps up, and I know it will, I’m gonna crack! Well, I guess I could sit here bitching up a storm, but I’d rather write what happened today. I managed to ask Grapeshot to sleep with me, and she said YES!!! A surprise really, I didn’t think I’d have a shot with her. Some of the others were pretty pissed when I told them; they’ve had their eyes on her too. So I’m gonna finish this entry and then head to Grapeshot’s room. Tonight’s gonna be fucking amazing!

Entry 29:

Last night was the best night of my life! Although she doesn’t look like it, Grapeshot is amazing in bed! I never knew a mare could be so flexible. She really enjoyed it too and now she already wants to do it again! I have nothing else to write so I think I’ll just explain what exactly we did. First, she gave me a mind-blowing…

Raging decided he did not need to be “traumatized” by that last entry. Something’s are just better left unsaid. He continued on to the next entry…

Entry 30:

Those new guys arrived today. They were nothing but a pair of stallions, pretty big stallions I might add. The boss didn’t give them a proper introduction except that they’ve come from some place far away. He said they would participate in the “project”, whatever that means. They are also going to oversee us and our own activities. I don’t think I like the sounds of that. These guys look like they mean business. They were both carrying TWO miniguns EACH! And they weren’t even wearing any kind of armor. They must have super strength or something. Those ponies I mentioned in one of my earlier entries tried to jump one of them. It was six on one, and they did not stand a chance. The new guy killed the two ringleaders and severely crippled the others. The boss didn’t care what happened; he only blamed the ponies for being foolish enough to pick a fight with him. If this was supposed to be a message to the rest of us, well, I think we all heard it loud and clear.

Entry 31:

It’s been a few days since I last typed an entry. I’ve been too scared of the new guys to want to write anything. They strictly enforce all the rules with a zero tolerance policy. Anypony who violates the rules in anyway gets killed. Since their first day here at Everfree Mills, they’ve killed nine ponies. I don’t think any of that was called for. Some of them didn’t do anything deserving of death. When those two aren’t watching us like hawks, they are down further in the cave working on their secret project. Those two really scare the shit out of me. I have to constantly watch my back and pray I’m not violating the rules in some way.

The boss got word of a patrol of Applejack’s Rangers not far from here. He sent nearly half us to take them out. I thought it was just overkill, but the Rangers are no laughing matter. I was surprised to see them come back with several of the Applejack’s Rangers as prisoner. The boss didn’t take too kindly to that. He said they were all supposed to be killed and no prisoners brought back. However, he seemed to not really care. Half of them were put in the pen outside and the rest were brought in here.

Grapeshot and I were guarding the prisoners when one of those brutes showed up. He told us we were relieved of our post. I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life. I thought as soon as we turned our backs he was going to shoot us. It was the first thing either of them had ever said to us, after all. I’m not sure why he sent us away, must be something big. With nothing else to do Grapeshot and I went back to our rooms. So here I am writing another log entry. Grapeshot and I are gonna sleep with each other again tonight. I think I’ll ask her if she wants it…

The entry abruptly ended. The slaver probably had to leave when Shadow Team arrived. Raging sat up from the desk to leave the room. He stopped when his hoof kicked a metal container under the desk. Looking underneath he found a pair of ammo containers. Conveniently, the crates had just the right ammo he needed. He slapped fresh bullets into his magnum and SMGs before leaving the grotto.

Upon entering the cave he found Spec, Flak and Glorious Dawn had finished their searches. He gave Glorious a look and mentally asked her if she was still interested in his offer. As if she knew what he was thinking, she slightly nodded her head. The captain thought about the mare he mentioned. Now, how am I going to ask her if she wants to meet Glorious for… well, more than a casual get-together? That’s not going to be an awkward conversation. “Alright, everypony,” the captain gathered their attention. “Shall we press onward?”

“One moment, sir. Emerald hasn’t come back yet,” Spec pointed out.

Raging looked around and did not see the green unicorn. “Emerald!” he called. “Let’s move!” When she didn’t respond he asked, “Which room did she go into?” Silver Fang pointed a hoof to the grotto next to the room with the terminal. Raging approached it and drew his magnum. “Emerald?” he whispered through the makeshift doorway. There was no answer.

Raging charged through the door and aimed his magnum, ready to fire. He was not expecting what he saw inside, nor did he want to remember what he saw. The room had one single bed, large enough for at least two ponies. The bed sheets were mangled and covered in sticky residue (not that Raging actually touched it, he could smell it). Sitting next to the bed was a bottle of… birth control pills? A tube of lubricant sat adjacent to the bottle of pills. The overhead lamp gave off a very sensual glow. On a dresser adjacent to the bed were a couple of colorful, elongated, plastic “toys” in the shape of... well, you know. The whole room was like a porn star’s bedroom.

Lovely. Glancing around the room he spotted Emerald in the far corner. She was lying on her stomach and facing away from the door. “Emerald? Are you okay?” he asked in concern. She did not answer. Fearing the worst, Raging slowly trotted over to her, stepping on all kinds of slimy, disgusting things that squished beneath his hooves. Yuck! Mental note: amputate hooves! He stood over Emerald and noticed her horn was giving off its shade of teal. In front of her was a memory orb. He breathed a sigh of relief that she was okay. His relief turned to anger. I sure hope whatever’s on that was worth worrying me. And worth making me walk through all that nasty shit!

The magic around Emerald’s horn faded. She rapidly jumped up to her hooves and spun around. She saw the captain and screamed. Raging jumped back in surprise. “Oh, I’m sorry, captain,” she apologized taking a deep breath. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Of course not,” he said annoyed. “You were too busy poking your nose into a damn memory orb.” She recoiled in embarrassment and glanced away from him. “You were supposed to look for supplies, Emerald,” he scolded.

“I’m sorry, sir,” she apologized again. “I saw that memory orb and my curiosity got the better of me.”

“I know a pony whose curiosity got the better of her in plenty of life or death situations,” he said unimpressed. “She’s confessed that her curiosity nearly got herself killed in the past. I thought something bad had happened to you when you didn’t answer me.”

“I’m really sorry, captain. It won’t happen again, sir,” she promised.

“I will hold you to that, Emerald.” Then the captain felt his own curiosity was piqued. “What was on the memory orb anyhow?”

Emerald swiftly shook her head back and forth. “Trust me, sir. You don’t want to know,” she said with a hint of disgust. “Remember that slaver Brick? I think this is his room. That memory orb was of him and that other slaver Spook and they were… well I’d rather not talk about it. Is there any way I can remove that memory from my mind?”

Now Brick’s cutie mark makes sense. I still don’t want to know when he discovered that was his special talent. Raging chuckled. “I think I can guess what you saw just from the looks of this room. To answer your question: I don’t know. You might want to try that doctor at Tenpony Tower, Life Bloom,” he recommended. “It was that bad, huh?”

Emerald nodded, still showing signs of disgust and horror. Flak and Spec both trotted into the room. “Is everything alright, sir? We heard Emerald scream,” Spec questioned.

“Yes, Spec. We’re fine. I’m fine,” Emerald answered.

Flak looked around the disturbing room with a look of awe. “Would you look at this place, mate?” he asked impressed.

“Ugh. I’d rather not,” Spec grossly replied.

Flak walked around admiring the scenery, must to the revulsion of the others. “Check this out, mate. You could shoot your own porno here,” he chuckled in amusement. Obviously, he wasn’t grossed out. Raging gave him a funny look. Flak reached under the bed and pulled out another issue of Wingboner Magazine. He flipped to a random page and started ogling the image. “Hey, Emerald! I didn’t know you were in these magazines!” he teased.

“Oh my Goddess, Flak! Shut up!” she yelled.

“No seriously, mate. This one looks just like you. If you were a pegasus, that is,” he smiled at the picture.

Spec leaned over Flak’s shoulder and opened his eyes wide. “She really does look like you Emerald. Green coat, blue mane… Even her eyes are blue and green,” Spec said in astonishment. He looked at the frowning unicorn. “Just like you.”

Emerald gave Spec and Flak a look that said she was ready to kill them. Raging was thinking she’d rather kill Flak more than Spec. Raging stomped his hoof on the floor. His face twisted when he realized he’d stepped in something. Shaking his hoof to get the object off he said, “Well if everypony is done sightseeing, shall we press onward?”

“One moment, sir,” Emerald said catching his attention. “I did find something in here… besides that memory orb.” She levitated a bottle of healing potion. “You need it, sir. I’m taking no for an answer this time.” Raging did not argue. His foreleg was in excruciating pain and it almost seemed like it would need to be amputated soon.

“Okay, Emerald. But can we treat me somewhere else,” he asked looking at the filthy bed sheets. The four ponies left the room. Flak took the pornographic magazine with him. He certainly has a dirty mind. Raging and Emerald entered a different grotto. The captain lied down on a bed while Emerald looked at the piece of metal embedded in his leg.

Emerald fished a piece of fabric from her saddlebag. “I’m going to remove the shrapnel,” she stated. “As soon as I do, you need to drink the healing potion. Are you ready?”

“Do it,” the captain ordered. Emerald gripped the shrapnel with her telekinesis and ripped it from Raging’s leg. He howled in pain as blood began to gush from the wound. Emerald held the fabric tightly to his leg. Raging winced before downing his second healing potion of the day. Emerald continued to hold the fabric as the potion worked its magic. A few minutes later the green unicorn removed the blood soaked fabric. The wound had mostly healed; there was still a nasty scratch that would need to be checked later. Captain Thunder sat up from the bed. “Thank you, Emerald.”

“Don’t mention it, captain,” she politely smiled at him. “Honestly, sir. What would you do without me?”

“Simple. I’d ask Winter for help,” he answered with a hint of sarcasm. Emerald laughed and reminded him that Winter was not present. She asked him what he’d do then. “I guess I’d buck up, no pun intended, and just deal with it.” Emerald laughed again and the two unicorns returned to the group. Raging approached the slavers who were still under guard by Silver Fang. “Now, lead us to the other prisoners.”

“Sure thing, sir,” the mare, Grapeshot, nervously acknowledged. The two scared slavers rose to their hooves and lead the group away from the grottos. As they were lead down another series of long tunnels, Raging couldn’t help but think the slavers were leading them in circles. Upon asking, they reminded him just how massive the cave system is. They insisted that if he wanted to find his own way he was more than welcome. If he wanted to become hopelessly lost, that is.

Finally, they emerged in another large cavern. It was big, but not nearly as big as the main chamber; it was roughly a fifth of the size. The only light that provided any illumination was a small ceiling lamp hanging directly in the center of the chamber. Were it not for the lamp, the chamber would be pitch-black. Right underneath the lamp was the slave pen they’d been searching for. There were several ponies in the pen; all of whom were lying on their sides like they were sleeping. We’ve found them!

“Here they are, just as Heater and I said,” Grapeshot pointed. Raging looked at the slaver called Heater and took a wild guess that it was his terminal that he read. It could explain why the two seemed devoted to each other.

“Wilder!” Glorious shouted overjoyed. “We’ve found you!” She excitedly galloped to the cage before the others even made a move. The others casually trotted over to the cell. Glorious came to a sudden stop at the door to the cage. The ponies inside had not yet moved from their positions. Suspecting that something was wrong, they proceeded into a full gallop to reach the cage. When they reached the slave pen, their hopeful expressions turned into looks of dread and sorrow. Any hopes of saving the remaining Applejack’s Rangers had vanished. The floor of the pen was covered in a thick layer of blood. They were all dead. No!

“Oh my Goddess,” Emerald said shocked. “We’re too late.”

Glorious immediately rounded on Heater and Grapeshot. Her eyes showed only anger and hatred. She kicked Heater to the ground and pressed a hoof against his neck, intending to crush the life out of him. Grapeshot was about to step in but Silver Fang aimed his minigun at her. Heater started to gasp for breath as Glorious choked him under her hoof. “What the fuck did you do?” she snarled.

“Nothing,” Heater gagged.

“DON”T YOU FUCKING LIE TO ME!” Glorious screamed at the tops of her lungs.

“I swear,” Heater gasped, “they were alive when we left them.”

“LIES!” Glorious screamed again, applying more pressure. Heater began to flail his legs and tear up under the anguish.

“Please stop,” Grapeshot pleaded. “He’s telling the truth. We didn’t harm them.”

Glorious didn’t care. She was about ready to crush Heater’s neck. The slaver further squirmed for air and mercy beneath the pissed Applejack Ranger. Raging remembered the terminal in, presumably, Heater’s room and how the last entry indicated one of the minigunners sent him and Grapeshot away. From the sounds of desperation in their voices, he believed Heater and Grapeshot were not responsible for the Applejack’s Rangers deaths.

He stepped in to the stop the orange mare. “Glorious!” he shouted at her. She did not look at him. “Knight Glorious Dawn, stop!” the captain shouted again. This time she looked in his direction. Tears were pouring out of her furious blue eyes. “Glorious, release him,” Raging said softly.

She lifted her hoof just enough for Heater to catch his breath. She did not release the stallion. “I can’t,” she cried. “Wilder is dead! They are all dead!” She returned her hate-filled gaze to Heater. Raging went out on a limb that Wilder was somepony special to her.

“Who’s Wilder?” Emerald Sapphire asked for the group.

“WILDER IS MY BROTHER!” Glorious screamed. Raging felt his heart drop. Oh, Goddess! Emerald, Spec and Flak fell silent. “Wilder was my older brother,” Glorious sobbed. She never said anything about a brother. “When they decided to move some of us inside he stepped in my place because he was concerned for my safety. He didn’t want me to die like Elegant.” Heater looked up at her with tear in his eyes. Whether he was crying because he was in pain or because he felt for her was unknown.

Goddess, if I’d known she had family in danger… this is my entire fault; I got too careless with the mission. “I understand how you’re feeling, Glorious,” Captain Thunder tried to reason with her.

Without looking at him she barked, “How could you possibly understand?”

Raging solemnly closed his eyes before saying, “I know how it feels to lose someone close to you.” She looked back at him with tear-filled eyes. “Like you, I’ve lost family. I wanted to lash out at the closest thing I deemed responsible for their deaths. It was not the right thing to do, but I didn’t care,” he confessed. Everypony looked at him in bewilderment. “I wanted revenge for what happened to them. But I was blinded by my hatred. I… I did something horrible… something I can never forgive myself for.” Glorious was giving him his full attention with the sudden revelation. “I nearly lost myself that day. Don’t make my mistake. Let them go,” he implored.

“How can I just let them go?” she demanded. “They deserve to pay for their crimes!”

“Maybe so. But they’ll face justice later. This is not the right thing to do. We both know they didn’t kill your brother. Please, don’t do something you’ll regret for the rest of your life,” Captain Thunder begged.

Glorious lowered her head in deep thought; she was struggling to make the right choice. Tears continued to drip down her orange cheeks. “Glorious. Please let him go,” an unrecognized voice spoke softly. There was only one pony who Raging hadn’t heard speak yet: Silver Fang. The quiet blue stallion had lowered his minigun and was holding a hoof on Glorious’ shoulder. “Listen to Captain Thunder. Please.” Despite being a strong pony, he had a very soft sounding voice. Glorious turned her head to Silver. She stepped off of Heater and fell into Silver’s arms, crying into his shoulder. Silver wrapped his arms around her and patted her back. Heater scurried over to Grapeshot in panic.

Raging nodded. You’ve made the right choice, Glorious. I know it was hard. He looked at the slavers. Heater mouthed “Thank you” to him. The dark blue unicorn turned away and walked over to the cage wondering if he did the right thing by sparing the two slavers. He sincerely believed they were not responsible for the deaths of Wilder and the others, but that did not excuse them for being slavers. This went against all his morals. He would still see that justice is delivered on the two of them. Perhaps instead of an execution, maybe they could spend some quality time in Arbu Penitentiary.

Raging passed Emerald, Spec and Flak. “Captain…” Emerald started.

The captain held up a hoof telling her he didn’t want to talk. She was obviously wondering about what he was talking about, they all were. He had only told that tragic tale to a few ponies in his life, and only one of them knows the entire truth. It was his darkest hour and it is something he wishes he could forget, but alas he cannot. Someday, he might tell Shadow Team the story.

Raging stood outside the cage and examined the dead ponies within. There were at least a dozen prisoners locked within. Five of them were the Applejack’s Rangers he’d failed to rescue; one, of course, being Glorious’ brother Wilder. He could still hear Glorious crying a few yards behind him. I truly am sorry, Glorious. He was certain that if Silver hadn’t said anything, then she would have killed Heater and most likely Grapeshot. But would that have been a bad thing? Yes. As much as I hate to say it, I can’t stand by and watch an innocent pony suffer. Slavers or not, I know those two did not kill anypony here. Next time, however, things will be different.

As Raging looked among the bodies, he noticed a distinct lack of physical trauma inflicted upon them. There was not a single bullet hole and the deceased did not seem to have been beaten to death. They had all died in some other fashion. What did they do to you all?

He leaned forward to get a closer look at one of the ponies. He looked at the stallion’s cold face. Blood had streamed out of his nose, eyes and ears. He looked at another corpse and he too had similar symptoms. Wait a minute! His eyes went wide as he began to comprehend the situation. He leapt to his hooves and frantically scanned the faces of all the dead ponies. They had all died while bleeding from their eyes, noses and ears.

“What the hell?” Flak said in puzzlement standing beside the captain. “What the hell happened to them?”

Raging looked around in a state of panic. The bleeding from the ears and nose could’ve meant anything, such as bizarre internal hemorrhaging. It was the eyes, however, that gave it away. Although he’s never experienced it before, he knew the dreaded signs. There’s only one thing that can do this! He didn’t even have time to scream “BROADCASTER!” when he heard the static.

Footnote: Perks Added!
Shadow Team Perk:
Top of the Food Chain – Shadow Team’s battle with the Ursa Minor has made them hardier in combat against creatures. As a combined unit, Shadow Team can now deal 25% critical damage to the beasts of Equestria.
Captain Thunder Perks:
One Pony Army (2) – Your magical ability with firearms has increased. You can now wield up to three rifles or any smaller weapons at once.
Desperate Measures – When your magic energy is completely depleted, you will receive a temporary boost whenever a member of Shadow Team is in danger. The more members in danger, the higher the boost will be.

Author's Note

I've named this chapter Glorious Dawn because Captain Thunder really gets to know her more here. Also, the perk One Pony Army (2) is labeled as such because at some point prior to the start of the story, Captain Thunder managed to dual wield small weapons (i.e. his SMGs). Therefore, he already has One Pony Army (1).