The Descent into Madness

Chapters

Guess who’s (going) back
Swooping Pegasi
First Recruits
The Greater Good
The Spire of the World
Return
Boneyard
Surviving the Wastes
Another Scale of War
Pickup
Departure
Wrecks
Armoured Column
Central Command
Training in Fire
Landing
The Cult of the Lightning Fang
Try Outs
Skitarii
The. Worst. Possible. Thing
Back to Base
Biker Ponies from Commoragh
Raiders
Those Left Behind
Recovery
Determination
The Longest Days
Race Day
Confrontation
Acceptance
A Cult Divided
A Second Fire
A Buck in the Teeth
Grooming
Crisis
The Devil You Know
The Torn Scar Open
The All-Seeing Eye
Old Faces
The Triumvirate of Half-Formed Hope
Battleplan
Upgrades
The Worlds Burn
Spheres and Warhosts
Planetary Assault
Barred Entry
Full Circle
The Remnants of the Swarm
Breakdown
Pa'Laa
The Triumvirate
We Stand Together
Apple of her Eye
What We've Done
Homecoming
Survivors
At the End of the Rainbow (Sequel is Live)
Poor Aim
Mistake are Measured in Shades of Blue
Third Sphere Expansion
Planetfall
The Last Straw
Diplomatic Talks
Absence - NOT A CHAPTER
Afterword

Guess who’s (going) back

Twilight stared at the patch of smoking ground, unable to comprehend anything else as she tried to come to terms with what she had just done. The loud roar of the machine finally brought her back to reality, and she quickly ripped the helmet from her head, tossing it aside and looking at a stunned Spike.

“Come on!” she yelled, looking at the purple dragon. “Maybe she’s just upstairs, or somewhere else in Ponyville, or…Somewhere!”

Spike was still stunned when Twilight disappeared up the stairs, sprinting out of the library and frantically starting to look for her lost friend. Shaking himself out of his stupor, Spike followed her lead, dashing out into the rest of the town, ignoring the heavy rain and occasional thunder clap as he searched everywhere he could think of for Applejack, pushing his anger for Twilight’s latest mess to one side for now.

After two hours of frantic searching and getting the rest of Ponyville involved, Spike finally decided to change up the ground war, heading back to the library to bring in reinforcements. If Applejack was anywhere other than Ponyville, running around the small town like a bunch of headless chickens wouldn’t accomplish anything other than building up fear and frustration.

Snatching up a quill, ignoring the newly developed pen Twilight had tried to get him to use, Spike began to scrawl out a hasty note to the ponies that would actually be able to help.

Princess Celestia.

Spell of Twilight’s went wrong while testing her new invention. Applejack got hit, can’t find her.

Help.

Spike.

It was not pretty, nor was it eloquent, but it would be enough to get the job done. Quickly rolling up the scroll, Spike ran over to the door, before taking a deep breath in, and allowing his magical dragon fire to immolate the message, sending it through the air to Celestia up it Canterlot. He just hoped she would get here soon, else Twilight would really be inconsolable. Rolling his neck, Spike headed back out into the rain to find her once more. She needed comfort now, the shouting could come later.

***

Canterlot

***

Celestia was smiling as she looked out at the rain lashing itself against the windows in the castle, before turning to face her sister. The pair of them had always like the rain, and the harder it was, the more they enjoyed sitting and watching it together. It was a sad truth that as the Princesses of the day and night, Celestia and Luna didn’t get to see each other that much, meaning every second that they did spend together had to be cherished and savoured. Luna sighed happily, before resting her head on Celestia’s shoulder.

“I am so glad you cancelled court for this sister,” she smiled happily.

“It was only Blueblood today, I’m sure it’s nothing important,” Celestia chuckled softly.

“Why do you even let him run around like he does?” Luna asked. “He treats the royal treasury like it’s his own personal bank, and he thinks anypony not born within a mile of the castle is an uncivilised barbarian.”

“He has his uses,” Celestia sighed. “For one, he knows almost all of the Equestria laws, so he can help me in court sometimes. Not to mention getting rid of him would cause uproar in the upper class. Sometimes severity is the price we pay for greatness.”

“That sounds like something from a book,” Luna giggled. “Still, I…”

She was cut off when a scroll suddenly appeared in front of Celestia, startling the pair slightly, before Celestia regained her composure.

“Ah, this must be Spike telling me about Twilight’s progress,” Celestia smiled happily, grabbing the letter with her magic and slowly unfolding it.

Her eyes began to scan the letter, and as they went, her face grew darker and darker, her mouth falling open in an almost comical display of disbelief.

“Sister, what is it?” Luna asked in concern, peering over the older Alicorns should and quickly reading the letter. “Oh,” she finished weakly, catching her sisters mournful gaze. “We need to get to Ponyville. Now.”

“Agreed,” Celestia nodded, before lighting her horn and enveloping both herself and Luna in a soft golden glow, before they vanished from sight.

“Auntie!” a voice roared, before Blueblood burst into the room, followed swiftly by a panting pony. Looking around the room, Blueblood’s eyes darkened, before he turned to glare at the pony. “Where are they?”

“I told you Prince Blueblood, they are not here today. Urgent business I’m afraid,” the pony said smoothly, quickly catching his breath. “Now, if you would like to return to court, I’m sure…”

“Bah, what would a commoner such as yourself understand about the importance of a Prince’s time,” Blueblood scoffed, before marching out of the room, leaving the pony staring after him in a mixture of shock and relief. Shaking his head, the pony exited the room, turning to one of the guards by the door.

“Where are they? I thought the Princess was watching the rain with her sister,” he asked in a hushed whisper.

“I thought they were still in there cleric,” the guard replied, peering inside the room. “Probably something came up in Ponyville. Again.”

“That town does seem to necessitate a lot of intervention doesn’t it?” the cleric laughed. “Still, if it means Blueblood is out of my mane, I’m happy.”

“Took the words right from this horse’s mouth,” the guard chuckled softly.

***

Ponyville

***

Twilight wept in the centre of the library, sobbing as the magnitude of what she had managed to do this time finally setting in properly. Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy were all attempting to comfort her to the best of their abilities, while holding back their own tears, while Spike continued to search around outside. Twilight knew that Spike would hold this against her for a long time, just as he did whenever she messed up in the past, and this was by far her worst screw-up. Before he had left for the outskirts of town, he had told Twilight that he had already contacted the princesses, before he had disappeared into the rain.

“There there Twilight,” Rarity cooed softly in between sobs of her own. “I’m sure…I’m sure she was just moved further away than Ponyville.”

“Yeah, we can find her again,” Pinkie nodded, although her hair deflating showed how much she believed her own words.

“It’s happening again,” Fluttershy whispered quietly, thinking of the last time they had lost a friend. She really wished Rainbow was here right now. She’d know what to do.

The room was suddenly illuminated by a bright flash of golden light as Celestia and Luna appeared in the centre of the room, quickly laying their eyes on the four sobbing ponies and moving towards them, starting to comfort them softly.

“It’s alright Twilight, my sister and I are here now,” Celestia said softly, pulling her student into a soft hug.

“But…I…messed…up…again,” Twilight sobbed, burying her head in Celestia’s chest.

“No Twilight we’ll find Applejack, don’t worry,” Celestia assured her, softly stroking Twilights head. “Now, can you tell me exactly what happened?”

“I…” Twilight sobbed, before sniffing and looking up at Celestia. “I was testing the Mark one Magical Induction Booster on apples, trying to teleport them…and then the storm hit…and I got distracted…” Twilight couldn’t finish, once again breaking down into tears. “I’m so sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault Twilight,” Luna assured her softly, moving away from the others and sitting down beside her sister. “I am sure it is not as bad as you fear.”

“How can it not be?” Twilight wailed. “We can’t find Applejack!”

“Maybe she just went further away than Ponyville,” Celestia suggested softly. “If your new machine is as powerful as you have led me to believe, it is possible that Applejack was just teleported further than you have searched. Now come on, let’s dry those tears and look at this logically.”

Sniffing, Twilight nodded, before rubbing her eyes and standing up, looking around.

“I guess…maybe we should go downstairs and I can try and scan my brainwaves at the moment of the spell,” she suggested. “That way we can trace the spell weave and find the destination of the teleport.”

“That’s the Twilight I know,” Celestia smiled. “Lead on, my faithful student.”

Nodding, Twilight headed towards her basement, followed by her friends and the two princesses. Quickly reaching the bottom, Twilight made her way towards one of the many machines dotted around the room while the others looked around the room curiously.

“I never knew you had quite so much Arc-tech down here Twilight,” Rarity said softly, rubbing her blotchy eyes as she looked around the room.

“I remember when it was just one machine,” Pinkie nodded. Her mane had begun to fluff up once more now that Celestia and Luna had arrived and given her hope, but it wouldn’t take much to send it right back down again.

“Indeed,” Luna nodded, before walking over to Twilight. “Do you need help?”

“That would be nice,” Twilight nodded, not looking round as she attached a series of electrodes to her head. “You know how to convert Arc-tech signatures to spell patterns don’t you?”

“Twilight, look who you’re talking to,” Luna deadpanned. “You’re not the only Arc-tech inventor you know.”

“Great,” Twilight nodded, before flicking a switch and pressing a few buttons on the machine.

Instantly, the machine began to whirl softly, before a stream of data began to appear on one of the large screens embedded in its surface. A moment later, a stream of paper began to feed out of a slot in the machine, Luna quickly taking hold of it and scanning across it quickly. The others looked on at the two Arc-tech scientists in silence, allowing them to work quickly and efficiently.

Eventually, the machine beep once, falling silent once more as Twilight looked at the results with Luna, slowly removing the electrodes from her head.

“I am guessing this was the spell in question?” Luna asked, pointing to one of the larger blips on the paper.

“Yeah,” Twilight nodded, scanning the paper and performing mental calculations, before her face suddenly went gaunt.

“I don’t think I’m familiar with this spell weave,” Luna said uncertainly, but twilight wasn’t listening, instead diving into one of her many filing cabinets, looking for a piece of data she had recorded years ago. She hoped she was wrong, and that she had just misread the signs. She doubted that was the case.

“Twilight, um…what are you looking for?” Fluttershy asked, walking over to the frantic unicorn.

“No time, hold this,” Twilight grunted, shoving a bundle of scrolls into Fluttershy’s hooves, knocking the Pegasus back a few steps.

“Umm…OK?” Fluttershy said uncertainly, looking back at the others.

“Here it is,” Twilight breathed softly, finally slowing down and drawing out a scroll from the bottom of the draw, taking it over to one of the tables and unrolling it. “Luna, could you bring the brainwave scan over please?”

Nodding, the dark alicorn walked towards Twilight, placing the new data next to the old one and standing back, allowing Twilight to work as she frantically compared the two sets of data, before finally letting out a scream of frustration and letting her head fall to the table, sobbing quietly.

Luna quickly moved forward, pulling Twilight into a hug, while Celestia picked up the two sheets of paper, looking them over. While she may not have been quite as well versed in this area of science as Twilight or her sister, she did have a basic understanding of what she was looking at, and quickly saw the similarities between the data.

“Twilight, where is this data from?” Celestia asked, holding up the older piece of paper.

“R-R-Rainbow…Dash,” Twilight sobbed, not looking round at Celestia or her friends.

“Rainbow Dash? But this is a brainwave reading for a spell weave matrix,” Celestia pointed out. “Why would you run it on a Pegasus?”

“Wanted to see…” Twilight began, before cutting herself off.

“She wanted to see what my brain did when I broke into the webway,” Rainbow finished tersely, throwing the door to the basement open with a crash as she looked down at the ponies arrayed befor her.

She was clad from head to hoof in her old aspect armour, her sword and rifle holstered securely at her side, flecks of purple blood splattered across her helmet. Slowly, she walked down the stairs, removing her helmet as she went, revealing her scarred face and the scowl she wore.

“Rainbow, I thought you had received a request from the Griffon king,” Celestia said uncertainly, turning to face Rainbow.

“It’s done. Wasn’t hard, nor was it worth my time, or that of my team. Been back for the past few hours, then one of my machines told me of an unknown spell going off,” Rainbow scowled, before looking at Twilight. “What have you done?”

Twilight didn’t reply, simply shaking her head as she looked away from Rainbow, unable to meet the Pegasus’s glare. Instead, Celestia moved forward, bringing the two data sheets over towards Rainbow.

“Everything we know is here,” she explained. “I assume you can read this?”

“Celestia, this technology was refined from Eldar tech, I think I can read it,” Rainbow scoffed, before grabbing hold of the pieces of paper and scanning through it.

“Well? Professional opinion?” Celestia pressed.

“It’s not the same as mine,” Rainbow grunted, before dropping the paper. “The destination of the webway breach will be different, but it’s a webway breech alright.”

“But, that means…” Celestia began.

“We just created an artificial breech in the webway and fired Applejack through it,” Rainbow finished.

“You mean…Applejack’s gone?” Pinkie Pie asked softly.

“Like I was,” Rainbow nodded solemnly, before turning to face Twilight. “It’s not your fault Twilight, I’m sure it was an accident.”

With that, Rainbow turned towards the stairs, only to be stopped by Celestia and Luna as they teleported in front of Rainbow.

“You’re leaving?” Luna asked incredulously.

“Hush Luna,” Celestia said softly, before turning back to Rainbow. “I am assuming you have a plan Rainbow?”

“A plan?” Rainbow scoffed. “Applejack has just been launched through the webway to who knows where by a random chance spell, meaning recreating it could be just as dangerous, so I can’t just travel to the same spot and get her, and you expect me to instantly have a perfect plan?”

“But you are making one,” Celestia pressed.

“Yes,” Rainbow nodded. “I’m going to go home, I’m going to gather up my team, and I’m going to find Applejack and bring her back home.”

With that, Rainbow pushed past Celestia and Luna, heading upstairs and out into the rain, pulling her helmet on as she went, and leaving the ponies left in the basement in a stunned silence. Finally, Luna broke the tension with a soft cough, before turning back to the four friends, all of whom were now weeping into each other’s arms.

***

Rainbow stared out into the Everfree Forest arrayed bellow her, grimacing beneath her helmet as she soared over the dark trees, the rain splattering onto her back and wings as she flew. This situation had really come out of the blue, blindsiding her more than anything had in the past four years, and now she was expected to be the one to fix it. To be fair, she was the only one who had any of the skills that would be needed for this, but this time, she wouldn’t have to do it alone, and she wouldn’t be taken by surprise. This time would be clean, it would be efficient, and it would be quick.

Finally reaching her destination, touching down in the clearing and looking up at the large building that now stood in front of her. It had clearly been built by pony hooves, but it didn’t resemble any pony architecture. No, this was made to her exact specifications, with plans drawn directly from her own mind to ensure that, as far as possible, this building mimicked the original perfectly.

Walking up to the door, Rainbow removed her helmet, looking into scanner as the newly developed Arc-tech security system registered her iris, before comparing it to a database of ponies who would be allowed entry. A second later, the door slid open, allowing Rainbow access to the building.

Walking inside, Rainbow sighed as she took in the familiar surroundings, feeling like she was at home as the door slid closed once more behind her. Hearing hoof-steps behind her, Rainbow turned to see one of her students walking towards her, smiling as he approached.

“Rainbow,” he nodded. “Did you find the source of the new spell?”

“Yes,” Rainbow nodded softly. “Go get everypony, tell them to armour up and check their weapons. The Swooping Pegasi have a new mission.”

Author's Note

Edited by Sparthage. Big thanks to this guy.

Swooping Pegasi

***
Three and a half years earlier
***

Rainbow sighed as she looked back at the ranks of Royal Guards arrayed behind her. They were good, each one eager to learn more, but there was something about them which Rainbow simply couldn’t put her hoof on. None of them had that tiny spark, that little bit of creativity and spontaneity that would make them stand head and shoulders above the rest. Rainbow had hoped she would be able to make them all aspect warriors, but so far, she was having trouble making them even stand up with Guardians.

She had been back in Equestria for six months now, and had taken the newly created position of Captain at arms almost instantly when Celestia had offered it to her. It was her job to make sure that the Royal Guard were combat ready if the occasion ever arose where they would have to fight. The Changeling invasion had shown just how woefully unprepared Equestria was for foreign aggression, and Celestia wanted that changed.

And so, Rainbow had begun a gruelling training regime, one that everypony from the highest generals to the lowliest recruits had to go through. She had received a lot of opposition from the officers for this, her insistence that they take part in the training not sitting well with them, but they didn’t really have much choice. As Captain at arms, Rainbow had absolute power when it came to training, and considering the fact that she was the only one with any real combat experience, the officers had eventually been forced to bend before her oncoming wake.

“Come on you lazy sons of Grox’s!” she roared, turning around and trotting backwards as she kept pace in front of the guard’s latest training run. “You think this is hard? You haven’t seen anything yet.”

There was a collective groan as the Guard looked up at her, the sweat glistening off the parts of their bodies not covered by their armour as they tried to keep up with Rainbow. Rainbow had started their training off with them unencumbered, but as the days and weeks slipped by, she had begun to add weight, until they were dressed in full combat rig. If anything struck Equestria, the guard would be ready. She would make sure of that.

“You don’t think…this is too much…do you?” Shining Armour panted, forcing his way to the front and keeping pace beside Rainbow as she turned back around.

“It’s as much as it needs to be Captain,” Rainbow replied. “We’ve only got a mile left anyway.”

“Yeah, and we’ve run twelve already,” Shining Armour wheezed. “The men…they can’t take it much more.”

“Train hard, fight easy Captain Armour,” Rainbow chuckled, looking down at the Captain. “You’re doing well Captain, but not well enough to question my training. When you’ve passed Kaliden’s basic, you can come back and tell me I’m doing it wrong.”

Shining Armour sighed, before dropping back into line with the other guards, panting as they followed Rainbow back towards the barracks in Canterlot. Eventually, they found themselves back in the parade square, wheezing and falling over from exhaustion, while Rainbow just chuckled softly to herself, before flapping her wings and getting above the tired ponies.

“You all did well!” she shouted, looking between their faces. “Fall out, two hours free time, then go get mess. Combat drills will resume after grub’s served!”

There was a series of weak cheers as ponies slowly began to limp towards the accommodation blocks and the showers, eager to wash some of their sweat away, as well as get some rest before dinner. Rainbow sighed, before heading for the castle to report on her days training. Combat drills were taken by the Captains of the guard, all of whom had been trained one on one by her so that she didn’t need to supervise everything, something she was immensely grateful for.

Quickly landing on the balcony to the throne room, Rainbow knocked, before being admitted by one of the guards who had been assigned to miss today’s training in favour of listening to the court cases being presented today. It was not a good assignment.

“Captain at Arms,” the guard saluted, coming to attention as he recognised Rainbow.

“At ease private,” Rainbow nodded, before looking at the princesses. “Interesting day?”

“Boring as always Captain,” the private corrected her. “Fifty three cases brought to the attention of the princesses, two of which revolved around Equestria’s current zombie outbreak readiness.”

“Again?” Rainbow chuckled. “I thought we already told them that we’d just purify the area with fire.”

“We told the last group that yes, but these were new ponies,” the private informed her. “But to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit to ma’am?”

“Drop the ma’am stuff or I’ll make sure you’re on PT drills for a week,” Rainbow warned with a small smile. “Still, training’s pretty much finished for the day, so I’ll be making my report any second…”

“Ah, Captain at Arms. Punctual as always,” Celestia smiled, walking towards Rainbow from her throne. “I will contact my sister and we can debrief you for the day. Private Snowball, you are dismissed.”

“Princess,” Snowball nodded, coming to attention and saluting, before turning to face Rainbow. “Captain at Arms, permission to fall out to the barracks?”

“Permission granted, go have a rest. Mess is in two hours,” Rainbow nodded, watching as the pony quickly made his way out of the room.

“So, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia began, casting a glance over her shoulder as Luna appeared, walking up to stand beside her sister, “how has training been going today? Any more faint from the heat?”

“Sixteen were sent back to the barracks before the end of the run, and two fainted from heat exhaustion during the obstacle course,” Rainbow said, casting her mind back to the ponies who hadn’t managed to complete the days training.

“Does the training really need to be so harsh?” Luna asked with a sigh. “It is not…”

“This isn’t harsh,” Rainbow cut in. “This is training, hard training, but still training. Fighting, that’s harsh, surviving, that’s worse, but if it ever comes down to the crunch and they need to fight, nopony will say that the training was harsh.”

“As always, you have the final say,” Luna relented. “Now, onto the readiness of our ponies. When do you envision them being at your standard of readiness?”

This was the moment Rainbow had been dreading, the moment that had been coming for the past six months. Celestia and Luna expected results, as well they should, and Rainbow feared that if she was going to push the guard up to the standards of readiness that the Eldar demanded, they would never be ready.

“They’re…getting there,” Rainbow shrugged.

“And how soon until they are there?” Celestia asked.

“A month? Two? A year?” Rainbow offered. “I’m a soldier, training isn’t easy, and running the training is harder, especially for this many ponies. As far as efficiency goes, they are far better than they were, but they’re not at the standard I would like.”

“The guard have been inactive for too long sister,” Luna pointed out. “Local law enforcement cannot be expected to keep the peace all on their own.”

“No, I guess they can’t,” Celestia agreed, before turning back to face Rainbow. “If the guard were to return to active duty across Equestria, how would you rate their combat readiness?”

“Guardians, maybe a few going as far as fresh-as-grass aspect warriors,” Rainbow mused. “I’d say an increased efficiency of around seventy percent, maybe seventy five for the more advance.”

“And you would be happy to sign them off as fully trained and ready for action?” Celestia continued.

“For the action I hope they see, they were already ready,” Rainbow shrugged. “I hope they never have to use the training that I’ve been doing. You’re never ready for combat anyway.”

“Then it’s settled,” Celestia smiled, “the guard will return to active duty tomorrow, and our Captain of Arms can oversee their deployment until we get another batch of fresh recruits. Does this suit you?”

“It works,” Rainbow nodded. “I have errands to run tonight though, and I want to service my Jetbike, with your leave of course.”

“Certainly,” Luna nodded. “We will meet again when the guard are redeployed tomorrow.”

“See you then,” Rainbow smiled, before coming to attention and saluting.

“You are dismissed Captain at Arms,” Celestia nodded, watching as Rainbow turned and flew out of the room.

“What is she going to do sister?” Luna sighed, looking at Celestia.

“What do you mean?” Celestia asked, turning to face her sister. “She wants to have some time alone, I think she’s earned that after all the work she’s put into training the guard.”

“I mean in the long run,” Luna clarified. “She’s not happy Celestia, working for the guard is one thing, but she’s not a shield like they are.”

“No, she’s a sword,” Celestia nodded. “And an extremely sharp one at that. She’s going stir crazy being sheathed all day.”

“But what can we do?” Luna asked with a shake of her head.

“I don’t know Luna, I really don’t,” Celestia sighed, watching as the speck that was Rainbow Dash rapidly shrunk into the distance.

***

Rainbow touched down on the porch of her cloud house, smiling as she looked around its intricate structure. Pushing his way inside, Rainbow looked at the new room that she had made a few days after she had finished telling her friends her story of her years away. The room was now her armoury, doubling up as her garage, her Jetbike sitting inside, waiting patiently for its owner to return. One of the best things about being friends with a pony as skilled in the art of spells as Twilight was the access to near permanent cloud walking spells, one that now rested on her bike, and kept it from falling through the floor.

Slowly removing her breastplate, Rainbow placed the armour beside her helmet, and walking towards her jetbike. Quickly running a few diagnostics on it, she determined that its weeks of sitting idly in her home hadn’t dented its performance.

Deciding that all her equipment was within operational parameters, Rainbow sighed to herself, before walking towards her bedroom and throwing herself onto the bed, allowing the feeling of the clouds that made up its surface to gently caress her scarred flesh. Even after all this time, she still hadn’t gotten used to it, but at least other ponies had begun to accept that she was still Rainbow Dash, not a monster. Lyra herself had been one of the first to properly apologise, and had then proceeded to listen as Rainbow retold parts of the story. She had been ecstatic when Rainbow had mentioned the existence of humans, verifying all the research she had tried to do it her life. Ponies had called her mad, now she had proof that she wasn’t.

Rainbow chuckled to herself as she remembered the giddy expression on the sea foam unicorn’s face, before sighing once more as she thought towards the future, and what it contained for her. The guard were good, and the pay was certainly nothing to get upset over, but they just weren’t living up to her expectations that she had when she had accepted the position. Some of them may have been good, but none of them were the standard she wanted. They got tired too early, they whined more than Rarity after a day of hard training, and she didn’t even want to go into the skills of the Pegasus guards.

Once again, she found herself wistfully wondering if she made the right choice when she had returned to Equestria. Oh she loved being with her friends again, but after two years of war, she just wasn’t sure peace suited her anymore. She had turned down the place in the Wonderbolts strike team because they were the few members of the Equestrian armed forces to fight, relegating her to a few flight demonstrations a year, and now was beginning to wish she hadn’t. She had a sneaky feeling that Spitfire was also annoyed she hadn’t joined up, but for a completely different reason. As far as she could tell, Spitfire was looking for a replacement for when she finally retired, an event that couldn’t be that far off.

The Everfree.

Rainbow sat bolt upright, her ears perking up as she scanned the room, for the source of the voice, carefully scrutinising everything, before slowly lying back down, making sure to keep her ears open for anymore sounds.

Go to the Everfree.

“Alright, who’s there?!” Rainbow roared, jumping out of her bed and rushing to the armoury, grabbing hold of her las-blaster and beginning to walk through the house. “If this is a prank, I suggest you leave now, I’m not in the mood!”

The Everfree Forest.

“Who the fuck…” Rainbow began.

The Everfree. There you’ll find answers.

As the voice finally began to recede, Rainbow felt a slight tingling in the back of her mind, and almost fell over from the memories that came rushing back with that soft touch. Nothing, not even the Daemons of Chaos felt like that when they touched her mind. Only one race could replicate that, and if she was feeling that…

Dashing into the armoury again, Rainbow grabbed hold of her armour, running through the motions to put on the ancient war suit she had been given a life time ago, before fitting the helmet over her head and sheathing her weapons beside her. Doing one final check to ensure that she hadn’t left anything behind, she jumped on her Jetbike, its engines roaring into life at her slightest touch. Grinning, Rainbow shot out of her house, crashing through on of the cloud walls, the surface rippling as she passed through, before becoming solid once more as Rainbow banked and headed towards the Everfree.

It didn’t take Rainbow long until she was over the old forest, reminiscing about times where its dark trees and spooky animals had scared even her. She had thought that nothing could be scarier than the gnarled old trunks that made up the Everfree, she had been sadly mistaken.

“Alright Eldar, breadcrumbs followed. Time to show me the way home,” Rainbow muttered as she looked around, pulling the Jetbike to a halt, hovering over a large clearing.

Once again, Rainbow felt a tingling presence in her mind, and instantly knew where she was supposed to go, throwing her bike into a dive at the behest of the voice. She was on the ground a split second later, leaping from her Jetbike as she looked around the massive clearing, slowly drawing her las-blaster in case any animals attacked her, although most avoided her when she came into the forest these days, recognising the gait of a superior predator.

“Rainbow Dash,” a voice echoed around the clearing, and Rainbow whirled around, scanning the area for anything, and finding herself facing a very familiar Eldar warrior. “Are you going to shoot me again Rainbow Dash?” The Guardian asked.

“Guardian?” Rainbow asked in shock, deactivating her rifle and slinging it on her back. “What are you doing here?”

“The same could be said of you Rainbow,” the ancient warrior replied, cocking his head to the side slightly.

“You called me here, remember?” Rainbow pointed out.

“Did I? Perhaps I did, or will do, time is…an oddity sometimes, especially in the webway and warp,” The Guardian chuckled softly. “An interesting world, this Equestria.”

“Yeah, I know it is,” Rainbow nodded. “So, you’re here now, is it everything you expected it to be?”

“It’s peaceful here, a warrior could finally rest here, if they so desired,” The Guardian sighed, taking in a deep breath through his helmets filters. “But then again, it could be a curse for a warrior not yet able to accept peace. I know which one you are Rainbow, but do you?”

“I want peace,” Rainbow said firmly.

“Of course you want peace, all warriors fight for peace,” The Guardian nodded. “But you personally, you don’t want peace, not for yourself, do you?”

“I saw so much, killed so many, so callously,” Rainbow sighed. “How do I go from that to…this? From fighting alongside ancient warriors of unparalleled skilled to training Royal Guards?”

“I’m afraid there I can’t help you Rainbow,” The Guardian shook his head. “As I have said, time is hard to discern for one who looks into the future as readily as he does the past. I can only offer advice, and hope that you pick the right path.”

“And what is the right path Guardian?” Rainbow asked, slowly removing her helmet and letting her mane flow free.

“I don’t know,” The Guardian admitted. “There are some paths, dark trails, ones I would not see come to light, but there are others, ones so bright they give me hope for the future, not just for Eldar kind, but for the other races as well. And then there are paths…paths I don’t know how to categorise. They encompass so much darkness, telling of death and ruin, destruction and perversion on a massive scale, but of love, of perseverance, of hope. I can’t tell you the right path Rainbow, I can’t tell you the wrong one either. That is a decision you must make on your own, if I interfere, the paths will change, and what could be will be lost forever.”

“Is there some sort of rule that old ponies and Eldar are supposed to give cryptic prophesies to fuck with the minds of the young?” Rainbow chuckled, looking up at The Guardian. “If you can’t give advice, and you can’t influence the paths we take without changing them, why are you here?”

“As I said, advice,” The Guardian said simply. “I can offer my advice, but if I force my will on you, everything changes, time fluctuates, and we cut off the possibilities of choice. Free will is our most important virtue in the galaxy. We must be free to choose our own paths, but that doesn’t mean you can’t receive advice, even if that advice is a ‘cryptic prophesy’.”

Rainbow didn’t know why, but she got the faintest impression that The Guardian was smiling underneath his helmet. She also sensed that this was a rare occurrence, and the ancient guardian of the Black Library didn’t smile often. Pinkie would love to meet this guy, it would be like Cranky Doodle Donkey all other again. For a long time, neither of them spoke, the two warriors simply staring at each other, one old and one young, waiting for the other to break the silence. In the end, it was Rainbow who broke the spell.

“So go on then, what is this advice you can give me?”

“There is a darkness coming Rainbow Dash, one that we on the Black Library can neither discern nor prevent. There will come a time when this planet needs strong warriors, a time where its inhabitants must stand up in the galaxy and be counted among its denizens. That time is fast approaching. I have been watching this world since you returned to it, gauging the skill of its inhabitants, evaluating them. There is potential. There needs to be more.”

“But what can I do?” Rainbow pressed. “I’m just me, and I just tried to train up the guard, I did that to the best of my abilities for that amount of ponies. If they’re not strong enough, I don’t know what else you want Ponykind to do.”

“Use your rune,” The Guardian said simply. “You are the first warrior of your shrine Rainbow, do not forget about your destiny. Become what you must to do what you must. Mould others into your own image, create the warriors this planet will one day need. Become the Phoenix Lord the fortunes have foretold you will become, the first of your kind to hold the ancient honour, and the first to do so without losing yourself to the ancient curse that holds the Phoenix Lords and Exarches captive. This is my advice to you Rainbow, heed it, or ignore it, I can do no more than offer it. Stay true to the light.”

And with that, The Guardian disappeared, activating a personal webway portal and fading away into it, leaving Rainbow alone once more to ponder his words. Nodding to herself, she looked around the large clearing, her mind working overtime as she began to envision what she would build. It would all start here, her journey even further down the path of the warrior. She had thought that after her war mask had shattered, she would never again tread its trail. She had been wrong.

This would be the birthplace of the first Equestria Aspect temple.

The home of the Swooping Pegasi.

Author's Note

Edited by Sparthage. Big thanks to this guy.

First Recruits

Rainbow grinned as she brought her Jetbike down towards the gates of the palace in Canterlot, looking at the two guards who were standing to attention, looking straight ahead as they were drilled to.

“Captain at Arms,” one said, the pair snapping off perfectly timed salutes.

“At ease privates, open the gates,” Rainbow replied, her voice ringing out in a slightly mechanical way thanks to her helmet's filters.

“At once Captain,” the second pony nodded, before lighting his horn, enveloping the large gates and pushing them open, allowing Rainbow to slowly edge inside.

She could have easily flown over the walls, nopony would have been able to stop her, nor would they have tried, but if she was going to do this, she was going to make damn well sure that she did it properly. Plans were still forming in her mind, quickly condensing into an idea that would allow her to finally train ponies to the standard she wanted to. She now realised that, just like on a craftworld, there had to be Guardians to make up the numbers of an army, but the elite would be the aspect warriors. She had already trained Guardians, now it was time to train the next stage.

Reaching the main doors to the caste, Rainbow slipped off her bike, making sure to activate the security systems, before heading inside the caste, making her way towards the throne room once more. It did not take her long to find her way through the winding passages of the castle, and she was soon in front of the great doors to the throne room. Slipping her helmet off, she attached it to her hip, before marching smartly inside.

The room was mostly empty just like it had been when Rainbow had been here a few hours earlier, but there were still a few nobles, presenting their case to Celestia or chatting amongst themselves as they waited their turn. As she walked in however, a hushed silence fell over the occupants of the room, as all eyes rested on her, watching her closely as she made her way to the thrones.

“Captain at Arm, to what do we owe the privilege?” the pony talking to Celestia asked.

“You owe nothing Blueblood,” Rainbow said simply. “This is a matter between Celestia, Luna and I. I would like to speak to you, away from prying ears.”

Celestia nodded, turning her gaze on the other ponies in the room, before back to Rainbow

“Rainbow, if you would wait in the command room, my sister and I will be with you as soon as we have finished our business here,” as Celestia spoke, she turned to look at her sister, who nodded in agreement.

“Of course,” Rainbow bowed, before turning and trotting out of the room once again, turning towards the command room a few doors down.

Before she had begun training the guard to be the force Celestia wanted them to be, this room had been virtually unused, a thick layer of dust coating almost everything. That had all changed when Rainbow had asked for somewhere private to meet with her commanders, or discuss strategies in the future with Celestia and Luna. She still remembered the first time she had been shown into this room.

The room hadn’t been used for years at her first guess, and as soon as she stepped inside, her muzzle had been assaulted by the musty smell of ancient tomes on war. Cobwebs clung to the ceiling, hanging down low around the room as spiders scurried across them, and there was a thick layer of dust that covered every surface, floating through the air to create a soft haze.

Other than the shelves of military books, the room was barren, save for a table covered by a thick cloth. It had quickly been removed, showing Rainbow the large stone table, upon which rested a perfect scale replica of the whole of Equestria, stretching out right to the boarder it shared with Saddle Arabia in the south, and the Griffon Dominion in the north. From the carvings on the side of the table, Rainbow had known it was old, but the replica of the country showed some newer features than should have been possible, such as the Ponyville Dam and some of the newer buildings in Manehatten.

Celestia and Luna had dispelled her confusion, explaining that the table was an old artifact of some considerable complexity and would magically morph to represent the current state of Equestria. Terrain would erode, borders would shift and buildings would rise and fall in real-time, just as they did outside. Small pinpricks of light represented the location of Equestrian guards and soldiers, different colours donating the different unit types, from the faint green lights of local law enforcement agencies to the bright blue lights of the Wonderbolts, nothing was hidden from the board. It was an unbelievably useful tool for strategic planning and deciding upon troop deployments, and thus the command room had been brought back up to proper standards.

Eventually, Celestia and Luna made their way to the room, nodding at Rainbow as the three took their places around the planning table.

“Rainbow, I didn’t expect you back so soon,” Celestia cast her eye over the table as she spoke, carefully noting where her Royal Guard were, checking that they were all still in Canterlot.

“Pressing matters Princess,” Rainbow replied. “Like I said earlier today, I can’t train the entire guard to the standards that I once promised you, but there may be another way, a way an old acquaintance of mine showed me.

“I thought you said you had done all you could do,” Luna pointed out. “I am not doubting you, or this ‘acquaintance’ of yours, but I am eager to know what you have planned.”

“Do you remember when I told you of my rune after I first came back,” Rainbow asked. “The rune of the Swooping Pegasus.”

“Yes, you said it was a personal mark,” Celestia nodded.

“Well, I believed it was, until The Guardian from the Black Library brought me to the Everfree Forest,” Rainbow continued. “The rune doesn’t just have to be my mark, and with your permission, I plan to make it the rune of a temple. My temple, and then I’ll train you warrior’s princess, the ones I promised you.”

“You spoke to The Guardian again?” Celestia asked in surprise. “He came here?”

“I met him in the Everfree,” Rainbow nodded. “He explained some things, and I brought them to you.”

“So, you think that this temple will be a good idea?” Luna asked.

“Yes,” Rainbow nodded firmly. “I can’t train the guard, there are just too many ponies, and not enough time in the world to give them all individual training. But if I had a smaller number, five other ponies for example, I think I’d be able to make the elite force that I promised you. With your permission, I’ll start screening for potential candidates.”

“If you believe this is the best solution, then by all means go ahead,” Celestia mused. “You will be wanting quarters in the city I take it?”

“No, not the city,” Rainbow shook her head. “Too many eyes, too many potential civilian casualties if something goes wrong. I was trained in solitude, away from any civilians, so anypony I’ll train will do the same. There’s a clearing in the Everfree Forest that will be perfect, right here.”

Rainbow quickly looked down at the planning table, finding the Everfree on the map, before picking out the clearing where she had met The Guardian. She tapped it softly, looking between Celestia and Luna, gauging their thoughts on the idea

“Here. If we can build a training area here, as well as accommodation, I can train the ponies efficiently. I think that we’d be combat ready in six months, and up to my standards in a year at the most.”

“Combat ready?” Luna asked. “I thought you said that you didn’t envision the guard having to use their new skills. Why would this new squad be different?”

“One, they will only be a squad, not an army,” Rainbow pointed out. “A small six pony squad will be able to do things that an army won’t be able to manage. Small covert operations, strikes against threats before they become threats. And two, The Guardian told me something before he left. He told me that there was a darkness on our horizon. I don’t know what it is, but I’ll make sure Equestria is ready.”

“If you truly believe that this is wise, I will begin to draw up plans for the construction of this temple,” Celestia nodded. “I will also procure weapons and armour from the Royal Guard stores.”

“That was another thing,” Rainbow said slowly. “If we’re going to be effective, we need more advanced wargear. And the only way that’s going to happen is if Equestria breaks through with technology on its own, or…”

“Or you let us study your own arms and armour,” Luna finished, drawing an odd glance from her sister. “What? It is obvious what Rainbow was about to suggest.”

“I know I’ve kept it from you,” Rainbow sighed. “And I’d rather keep it that way, it’s dangerous and made for nothing but war. But if The Guardian is right, we’ll need it. So if you both give me your word that the only military gear you will begin creating from what you find in my armour, weapons and bike will be for the use of my temple and my temple only, I will allow you to examine them. Use what you like in other fields, but please, limit the use of military technology.”

“Are you sure about this Rainbow?” Celestia asked. “I don’t know how long it will take to reverse engineer your armour, or how quickly we’ll be able to show results. You may not be able to have your armour or weapons back for a long time.”

“I understand that,” Rainbow nodded, placing her helmet on the table and looking up at Celestia and Luna. “Do I have your word?”

“You do Rainbow,” Celestia nodded, her horn glowing as she picked up Rainbow’s helmet. “We will begin studying it at once, as well as constructing this new temple for you and your forces. How are you planning on finding the ponies for this squad?”

“I have some ideas,” Rainbow replied, beginning to slip out of her armour, placing it on the table, before either Luna or Celestia lifted it away, Luna in particular looking extremely giddy at the prospect of studying the alien equipment.

Eventually, Rainbow had completely removed her armour, now standing in all her scarred glory in front of the princesses.

“My bike is outside the palace. I’ll deactivate the security when I leave,” Rainbow chuckled. “Wouldn’t want anypony to get zapped by it when they’re trying to study it.”

“Of course,” Celestia smiled. “I wish you luck Rainbow. And don’t worry about the parade tomorrow. Luna and I can deploy the guards again if you would rather not attend. I know how much you dislike parades.”

“Thanks,” Rainbow nodded, before turning and heading for the door.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Celestia turned to face her sister, examining the weapons and armour Rainbow had just entrusted to them.

“Is this wise sister?” she asked softly, drawing Rainbows sword from its scabbard.

“I believe so,” Luna nodded. “Rainbow trusts this ‘Guardian’, and he believes that this is necessary. As for the weapons and armour, I think Rainbow was wise to ask us not to mass produce this. The more we create, the more ponies will be able to get hold of it outside of the guard. I’d rather not have ponies running around with a sword like that, and if we mass produce them, no matter how careful we are, somepony will manage to get hold of one and flood the underworld with them.”

“If you believe it is wise sister, then we’ll do this,” Celestia smiled. “You’re looking forward to this aren’t you?”

“What, tinkering with advanced alien technology in the hopes of recreating it, both for Rainbow's new squad and for the benefit of Equestria as a whole?” Luna asked with a giggle. “No, what makes you think I’m looking forward to it.”

“You always did like R&D,” Celestia mused, before passing the armour to her sister. “Very well, I will allow you to take charge of examining the armour, and producing new technology from what you learn.”

“Thank you sister,” Luna took the rest of the armour as she spoke, examining each piece carefully. “I think I will contact Twilight as well. From what I’ve heard she’s already started to try and create new technology using what Rainbow told us. I’m sure she’ll jump at the idea of helping me to study this.”

“I’m sure she will,” Celestia laughed softly, thinking of her student, before turning to leave the room. “Good luck sister, I will leave you to your research.”

***

Rainbow made her way through the skies of Canterlot, enjoying the feeling of the wind biting at her mane and fur. It had been far too long since she had flown without her armour on, and she made a silent promise to herself that she would have to try and get out of it more often.

That would have to wait however, as she quickly made her way out of Canterlot airspace, heading towards Ponyville. She had three ponies she wanted to speak to, and after that she’d have to decide if she wanted to take on anymore. Ideally, she wanted six ponies in her squad including her, but she wasn’t about to take on anypony just to fill in numbers. Every member of the Swooping Pegasus would have to be strong, they’d have to be tough, but more than that, they’d have to have that spark to mark them as standing out from the crowd.

Eventually, she touched down in Ponyville, making her way through the town and waving to some of the ponies as she passed by. She still remembered how they had all treated her when she had first come back, but she couldn’t hold that against her. She did look like some cut up freak after all, and it wasn’t their fault that they assumed she was a monster.

Dismissing the thought as irrelevant, Rainbow made her way through the town, until she reached her destination, knocking on the door and waiting for the reply.

“Coming,” Lightning called out, opening the door and smiling as she saw Rainbow. “Oh, hey Rainbow. How’s the guard treating you?”

“Not bad Lightning,” Rainbow smiled, extending her left wing as the pair practiced the wing shake they had first started back at the Wonderbolts Academy. “They’re finished training though. They’re all shipping out tomorrow.”

“Ah, are you shipping out with them then?” Lightning asked.

“No actually,” Rainbow shook her head. “But enough about that, I wanted to ask you how you’re finding your job with the weather team here.”

“Eh, it’s not too bad. Thunderlane is a good team leader, and the rest of the team is nice too,” she shrugged.

“There’s a but though isn’t there?” Rainbow pressed.

“Yeah,” Lightning sighed. “It’s just not the Wonderbolts…you know. It’s not even a large team. Los Pegasus has fifty members, Ponyville has seven full time Pegasus and some temporary stand-ins. I mean, I’m grateful to you for getting me the job, but still.”

“I understand,” Rainbow nodded. “Which is actually one of the reasons why I’m here.”

“It is?” Lightning asked in slight confusion. “What, you want to ask me to join the guard or something?”

“Something like that,” Rainbow smirked. “That is, if you think you’re up to it.”

“You know I’m up for anything you do Rainbow,” she smirked back. “So tell me, what’s the job?”

“I’m putting together a team, kind of a flight team, more like a SpecOps squad,” Rainbow admitted. “We’ll be the elite. So, you want in?”

“The Wonderbolts are the elite of the military Dash,” Lightning pointed out. “I should know, I trained with them.”

“For now,” Rainbow chuckled. “When I’m done, the Wonderbolts will have a lot of competition, but to do that, I need ponies such as yourself who have training in military matters to help kick start things. So, what do you say?”

“I think you’ve got yourself a deal,” Lightning grinned. “So, when do we ship out?”

“Not yet,” Rainbow shook her head. “I’ll come and get you when I’m getting the team together properly, right now we don’t even have the right facilities, I just want to check that my first choices for the team are available.”

“I was your first choice?” Lightning asked.

“The very first,” Rainbow smiled. “Thank you Lightning. I guess I’ll be seeing you again very soon.”

“Yeah, guess I’ll have to get back to training,” Lightning laughed, before closing the door, leaving Rainbow to begin her search for her next potential student.

“Now, where is she going to be?” Rainbow asked herself softly, walking through the town once more, before a rapidly descending shadow fell over her.

Rainbow was instantly alert, darting to the side, before springing at the shape, tackling the Pegasus out of the air and forcing her opponent to the ground, growling at her would-be attacker, taking in her orange coat and her fuchsia mane.

“Oh, sorry Scoots,” Rainbow chuckled awkwardly, getting off Scootaloo and helping her back to her hooves. “The girls around?”

“Nah, they’re both off at their jobs,” Scootaloo shook her head with a grin, picking her scooter back up. “I was practicing for my big race, then I heard that you were in town, thought I’d come say hey.”

“And you’re idea of saying hello is by crashing into me?” Rainbow chucked.

“Well, I learned from the best Rainbow,” she stuck her tongue out as Rainbow as she spoke.

“Alright, well played squirt,” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I wanted to speak to you anyway. You got time?”

“For you? Yeah, I think so,” Scootaloo nodded, looking up at her idol.

“Come on, we can talk on the fly,” Rainbow smiled. “I’ll carry your scooter.”

“No you won’t,” Scootaloo smirked, shifting the small grav generator strapped to her back. “I think I’m more than capable of carrying this while flying.”

With that, Scootaloo took off, soaring into the sky, clutching hold of her scooter. Grinning, Rainbow leapt after her, quickly catching up with the younger Pegasus and matching her pace.

“So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?” Scootaloo asked.

“Do I have to have a reason to talk to me number one fan?”

“No,” Scootaloo shrugged. “But you have a reason all the same.”

“Yeah, I do,” Rainbow nodded, before changing the subject. “How’s the racing business?”

“Good. You’re looking at one of the best scooter racers in Equestria thank you very much,” Scootaloo boasted. “Should keep me going for another year, then I can join the Wonderbolts, well, try to join them.”

“Following in my hoofsteps hey squirt?”

“Hopefully not all of them, I may actually get in the team,” Scootaloo stuck her tongue out at Rainbow, dodging the playful wing strike that was swung at her.

“So rude. I have half a mind to take away my offer,” Rainbow pouted.

“What offer?”

“Oh, just a job offer, nothing big,” Rainbow shrugged with a grin. “You know, flying, danger, elite skills, that sort of stuff.”

“Wait,” Scootaloo asked slowly. “Are…are you a scout for the Wonderbolts now?”

“This has nothing to do with the Wonderbolts Scoots, except maybe that they’ll have some competition very soon,” Rainbow’s grin grew even bigger as she looked at Scootaloo. “I’m putting a team together, the Swooping Pegasi. Lightning Dust has already said she’s in, but I wouldn’t feel right not extending you an invitation.”

“Y-you want me to join a team you’re setting up?” Scootaloo squeaked excitedly.

“Well yeah, if you want to. No big deal,” Rainbow replied dismissively.

“Oh yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!” Scootaloo squealed, throwing herself at Rainbow and wrapping her hooves around her idols neck, letting her scooter fall towards the earth.

“Whoa, careful there,” Rainbow smirked, grabbing the scooter quickly and holding it out to Scootaloo as the young Pegasus unwrapped her hooves from Rainbows neck, blushing slightly. “So, I’ll take that as a maybe?”

“Where do I sign up?” Scootaloo beamed.

“I’ll come get you when the team’s ready Scoots,” Rainbow grinned. “For now, keep training for your races. You never know when you’re going to get to do it again.”

Scootaloo nodded, before zooming off towards the ground, jumping on her scooter and rushing off, letting out screams of glee as she raced back to town, probably to find Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle.

Rainbow smiled as she left, a slight pang of guilt making her feel slightly queasy. She loved Scootaloo like a sister, and she knew that Scootaloo looked up to her like they were flesh and blood. Was it right for her to expose her to the world Rainbow was planning on training her student to see? One full of enemies even among friends. She had the spark Rainbow was looking for, the drive to do better just like Lightning had, but unlike Lightning, Scootaloo had only just become a mare.

Rainbow sighed, before shaking her head and setting off towards her next destination. She had already offered Scootaloo the position, and she’d accepted it. Short of breaking the young mare’s heart, she didn’t have any recourse other than to train her to protect herself from any harm that could befall her.

***

Rainbow eventually reached the familiar rocky plateau that the Wonderbolts academy was set upon, angling herself to land on the long runway that dominated the area, allowing for nice and fast entries. Grinning, she touched down, skidding to a halt just in front of a pair of security guards, who both looked at her in confusion, before recognising her and snapping off a salute.

“Forgive us Captain, we didn’t recognise you,” one of them spoke.

“It’s all fine,” Rainbow nodded. “I’m in armour usually anyway, so I can see why seeing me out of it is a shock. But to business, I need to see Spitfire. Is she around?”

“I believe she’s in her office ma’am,” the second security guard replied quickly. “I can go and see if you would like?”

“No, I’ll go thanks,” Rainbow smiled, before moving past the guards and walking into the main building, making her way through the halls she had walked two and a half years earlier, smiling as old memories came rushing back to her.

Knocking on the door, Rainbow waited for a reply, feeling like a younger mare waiting in front of the headmaster’s office at school, before she was finally called in.

“Rainbow Dash?” Spitfire asked as she walked in. “Haven’t seen you in a while. Still trying to make the guard more like the Wonderbolts?”

“Nope, they’re deploying tomorrow,” Rainbow corrected her. “No I’m here for a different reason.”

“Well sit down, tell me all about it,” Spitfire smiled, indicating the free chair in front of her desk.

Nodding, Rainbow sat down, resting her hooves on the table as she looked at Spitfire.

“Alright, listen in. I’m putting together a team, small scale, dangerous missions. The way it’s organised, it will be almost like another Wonderbolts team, only better trained in military matters and less…publicised.”

“What, did Princess Luna ask you to revive the Shadowbolts?” Spitfire chuckled. “She’s always going on about how they were the first flight team and elite military group before she was banished, but after she went and the EUP was formed, they were seen as reckless and disbanded. The Wonderbolts took over, and the rest, as they say, is history. I don’t think Luna’s ever really got over the fact that her team was disbanded in favour of one more angled towards her sister.”

“It’s not the Shadowbolts, but that isn’t a bad idea. Could give you some competition in flight contests at the very least. But like I said, this team isn’t going to be in the public eye like the Wonderbolts are, they’ll be military through and through, not a flight demonstration team.”

“So the Wonderbolts without the showing off then?” Spitfire asked.

“Pretty much.”

“Wow, I never thought I’d see the day where Rainbow Dash wanted to join something because it showed off less than the Wonderbolts,” Spitfire chortled. “I seem to remember half a year ago you turned down a spot on the team because there was too much military operations involved. Why the sudden change?”

“Because for the last six months I’ve been trying to get back to my old self,” Rainbow sighed. “But that’s never going to happen. My old self died. I’m Rainbow Dash, but I’m the mark two model. I’m the R-Dash 2.”

“I see,” Spitfire nodded slowly. “So why did you come here? This is the Wonderbolts academy, from what you’ve said, your team may soon be rivals.”

“I know, which is why this may seem like an odd request.” Rainbow grimaced.

“You want to organise try-outs don’t you?” Spitfire smirked. “You want to form a team, but if you don’t have the ponies, then it’s just you. Basically, you want me to sign off some of my ponies to join a rival military organisation. Is that the gist of what you’re saying?”

“Pretty much yeah.”

“Oh what the heck, I’m game,” Spitfire chuckled. “I’ll call a general assembly and put them through their paces, see if any meet up with your expectations. How many ponies do you want for this team anyway?”

“Five, with me making the sixth member,” Rainbow shrugged. “I already have two team members, just need to find the remaining three.”

“Sounds like you already have a handle on things then,” Spitfire chuckled. “I’ll set this up. We’ll start in one hour.”

***

One Hour Later

***

Rainbow watched as the fifteen Wonderbolts at the academy pulled off stunt after stunt, showing off everything they had got. Each one was wearing their full kit for military operations, their faces covered by their suits, making it impossible to tell one from the other, save for the numbers emblazoned on their flanks.

Eventually, the fifteen ponies landed once more, looking at Rainbow expectantly. Sighing, she looked between them all, focusing on number one and number thirteen. They had all been good, but only two of them had been really good, so it looked like her team would be five ponies strong after all, not six.

“You were all great, but only number one and number thirteen were what I’m looking for,” she called out. “Since Spitfire’s not here, I guess the rest of you are dismissed.”

Most of the Pegasi groaned as they walked away, mumbling amongst themselves as they headed off towards the barracks. Stepping forward, Rainbow looked between the two Pegasus that remained. Number thirteen was clearly a stallion, and a relatively large one at that, while the other was a mare. Other than that though, Rainbow couldn’t tell. Stopping in front of the stallion, Rainbow looked up and down, before nodding.

“Take off the hood please.”

The stallion nodded, reaching up to his hood and pulling it off, looking straight at Rainbow. His features were smooth, and Rainbow almost found herself calling them good looking, his dark green fur matching what she could see of his eyes through his scraggy brown mane.

“Well then, name?”

“Wavechill,” the pony said simply, not looking down.

“Well Wavechill, you handled yourself well up there,” Rainbow smiled. “But do you know what you’re getting yourself into?”

“No, but I like a challenge,” the stallion replied in the same monotonous voice.

“Well, you’ll certainly get that,” Rainbow chuckled, before moving towards number one. “Well go on, take off the hood.”

“If you say so Rainbow,” Spitfire chuckled, pulling off her hood.

“S-Spitfire?” Rainbow asked, taken aback. “But…what are you doing trying out for a new team? You’re already Captain of the Wonderbolts, you can’t abandon them.”

“Soarin’s been after my job for years, Fleetfoot too,” Spitfire chuckled. “I figured it was time to let them have a go. This way I don’t have to retire to let them both try.”

“B-but…you…idol…what,” Rainbow mumbled, before shaking her head and looking at Spitfire. “You do realise that you’ll be subordinate to a much younger mare?”

“Yes, but a much younger mare who has seen more than I have and is a lot better trained,” Spitfire shot back. “If you’ll have me Rainbow, I’ll gladly join this team of yours.”

“I’d be a fool to say no,” Rainbow chuckled, extending her hoof for Spitfire to bump. “We’re not ready yet, but as soon as the temple is built, I’ll come and find you all. Okay?”

“I look forward to it Rainbow,” Spitfire smiled, bumping the offered hoof.

Chuckling, Rainbow took off, heading for home. It had been a long day, and she couldn’t wait to see her bed again. She’d travel up to Canterlot again in the morning to check how the research was coming along, and to offer any assistance she could, but for now, all she wanted to do was sleep. That was until she saw her house, and the open front door.

Rainbow quietly landed on the front porch, glancing around as she checked for any assailants still outside her house, before slipping inside, heading for her armoury. She had given away her las-blaster and power sword to Celestia, but that didn’t mean she was without weapons, and quickly retrieved a small short sword used by the Royal Guard.

Now armed, Rainbow began to creep through the house once more, before hearing a clanging from the kitchen. Turning towards it, she glanced into the room from the doorway, before sighing heavily as she saw the intruder.

“You know, keeping the spare keys in the same place isn’t the wisest move you could make Rainbow.”

“And leaving the door open when you break into my house isn’t too clever is it G?”

Rainbow placed the sword on the table as she walked into the room, staring up at Gilda as the griffon looked down at her, her features impassive as she looked at her old friend, before finally holding out a talon.

“Junior Speedsters are our lives,” she murmured softly.

“Dive-bombs, soars and daring dives,” Rainbow murmured in reply, placing her hoof on Gilda’s talon.

“Junior Speedsters it’s our quest, to someday be the very best,” the both finished together, before Gilda allowed her talon to fall back to the floor.

“What…what are you doing here Gilda?” Rainbow asked, her voice wavering as she looked at her oldest friend.

“What…I’m not allowed to even see my friends anymore?” Gilda asked. “First you run me out of town, and next, next you say I can’t even come and see you?”

“That’s not what I meant G,” Rainbow insisted. “I just meant why are you here now?”

“Where the heck were you?!” she snapped, her body beginning to shake with anger. “I came back to try and make amends for what I did before, and I looked for you when you disappeared, no matter what those ponies wanted. They said they had it under control, but they weren’t even searching outside of Equestria. I looked all over the world for you Rainbow, and I couldn’t find you.”

“It wasn’t my fault,” Rainbow pleaded. “I didn’t want to go Gilda, believe me I didn’t. I spent two years fighting, bleeding and killing in a worse hell than you can imagine. I died on an operating table Gilda…I saw demons and worshippers of chaos, and survivors of a galaxy wide genocide, reducing a race from trillions to millions in a few seconds. Do you think for a moment that I wanted that?”

“But you could have told me when you came back!” Gilda roared. “You’ve been back for half a year, and you never thought to contact me, to tell me that you were still alive!”

“I didn’t even know you were looking for me!” Rainbow roared back. “If I had, I would have made sure to come and see you personally Gilda!” Rainbow sighed, before sitting down at the table, gesturing for Gilda to sit down on one as well. “You’re my oldest friend Gilda, my first real one too. When we were in flight camp together…you made those some of the best years of my life. I didn’t want to have to choose between you and my new friends, that was hard for me G. You didn’t make it easy and it wasn’t all Pinkie’s fault either.”

“I know it wasn’t,” Gilda nodded softly. “I was an idiot Rainbow, but you still didn’t come after me. Did you…did you even look back when I left? Did you spare a thought for me, or were you too busy with your new friends?”

“That’s cold Gilda,” Rainbow sighed, forcing herself to hold back tears. “Of course I looked for you. I even went to your home in the Dominion, you weren’t there Gilda.”

“I had clear my head, went travelling,” Gilda apologised. “I…I guess I always thought you didn’t want to see me after Ponyville.”

“And I always thought you’d moved on,” Rainbow sighed. “I think we’ve both been stupid Gilda. You…I’ve got a spare room if you want to…well…you can stay here tonight if you want. You don’t want to fly home this late I’m sure.”

“Thanks,” Gilda smiled softly. “So, what happened over the last two years? Like, what in the hay happened to you Rainbow? I mean, you were always ugly, but this is on a completely different level.”

“Say’s the half Lion half Eagle,” Rainbow chuckled. “Well, I guess we’ve got some time. I’ll give you the condensed version…”

***

Many Hours Later

***

“…and so here I am, trying to find ponies for a team to fight a darkness that I know nothing about. For all I know it could be another Tyranid splinter fleet, or Necrons trying their undead hands at the webway again, or it could even be just corrupted creatures from this planet under the influence of Chaos. I just…I don’t know Gilda.”

“You’re doing all you can Rainbow,” Gilda assured her, rubbing her cheek and making sure all the tears she had shed had dried in to her feathers properly. “It’s all anyone can ask of you.”

“But is it enough?” Rainbow sighed. “I want to do this, I want to keep everypony safe, but to do that I need to put ponies in harm’s way. Training soldiers to protect ponies, it seems wrong G, like I’m just training up meat for a grinder.”

“Coming from a much more militant society than you ponies, I’d say you’re doing well Rainbow,” Gilda smiled. “A soldier’s life does unfortunately often boil down to being a living shield for others to hide behind. And because of that, they’re laying their lives on the line Rainbow.”

“I know what a soldier is G,” Rainbow sighed. “I fought with enough of them, and I learnt enough from the Imperium to know what a soldier’s life is, and their life is to die. That doesn’t mean I have to like it though, especially when I’ve trained the soldier’s and guards myself.”

“The fact that you’re so worried about this shows that you’ll be a good leader,” Gilda pointed out. “Care for the ponies in this new squad, fight your hardest to keep them alive, and they’ll do the same for everything they fight for.”

“I guess you’re right,” Rainbow nodded, before taking a deep breath in, contemplating her next move. “So…Gilda, what are you doing at the moment? As in for work. Do you have a job? Or are you just….” She trailed off, trying to think of something to say.

“Relax Rainbow,” Gilda chuckled. “I’m working the rogue weather shift back in the Dominion. We get free reign to travel, and I may have exploited that a bit to come to Ponyville.”

“Well, we do have the Everfree,” Rainbow smiled. “Doesn’t get much more rogue than that.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Gilda nodded. “Still, that’s what I’m doing. I think I can work out what you’re going to say next, but go on, I want to hear you say it.”

“Do you…I don’t know, do you want to come and work with me?” Rainbow asked hesitantly. “I have the final say over who I train, I could easily swing it with Celestia if I had to, and you’d definitely bring some muscle to the team.”

“You’d want a griffon on an Equestrian team?” Gilda smirked.

“Not just any griffon no,” Rainbow shook her head. “But you’re not ‘just any griffon’ G, you’re my friend. And anyway, The Guardian didn’t tell me that a darkness was coming ‘for ponies’, he just said that the darkness was coming, and the planet would need strong warriors, for its inhabitants to be ready. That doesn’t mean just ponies G, so if you want, there’s a space open on the team.”

“I’ll think about it,” Gilda yawned, before looking towards the door. “You said something about a spare bedroom?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow nodded. “Use it for as long as you like.”

“I may take you up on that offer,” Gilda smiled, before making her way out of the room and up to the spare bedroom, Rainbow quickly following behind her, darting into her own room, and falling into a dreamless sleep.

***

Three Weeks Later.

***

Rainbow let out a low whistle as she looked at the building arrayed before her. She had to admit, construction in Equestria was second to none when it came to getting stuff done quickly, and when two immortal princesses were on side, pushing through planning consents and helping to speed production up, things got done pretty quickly.

“So, how did you get it nearly identical to the one of Saim-Hann?” Rainbow asked, turning to face Celestia and Luna.

“Simple,” Luna smiled. “I am the princess of the night, it is my job to survey dreams, I simply found dreams you had of your old temple and replicated them here.”

“Well, you’ve done a really good job,” Rainbow smiled. “How’s the research coming along?”

“Very well,” Luna smiled. “We have already made several discoveries that may help us, and have even started working on some small scale prototype Arc-Tech.”

“Arc-Tech?” Rainbow asked.

“Twilight Sparkle came up with the name,” Luna beamed. “Arcane-Technology. We can’t replicate all of the technology you gave us, but we can use magic to help give of the same effects when combined with our level technology. Thus, Arc-Tech. We may even be able to begin work on a prototype armour system soon. Don’t expect anything near the level you have though, I don’t think we’ll be there for years, if not decades, even with reverse engineering your gear.”

“Sounds like you’ve got your work cut out for you then,” Rainbow smiled, before looking back at her team. “Anyway, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna. May I introduce the ponies I have chosen to train?”

“Yes, we read the files you sent to us,” Celestia nodded, casting her gaze over the ponies, as well as Gilda. “You are sure about these choices? One of your students is practically still a Filly, and another is…”

“A Griffon, I know,” Rainbow finished for her. “They are the ones I will train, and each one of them have joined willingly. With your approval, I will begin basic training immediately.”

“Are you absolutely sure this is necessary?” Celestia asked. “Some ponies in Canterlot, especially those in charge of finance, are worried that the cost of this team and the equipment will far outweigh the usefulness of the team. They believe that the Wonderbolts are a good enough deterrent for most threats, and that a peaceful solution is more practical and desirable.”

“Peace isn’t my profession Celestia, it’s yours,” Rainbow said softly. “War is my profession. If you ever fail in your profession, my team and I will not fail in ours. I promise you, this team will make things safer, all around the planet, for every species, not just ponies.”

“Then go Rainbow, you have my blessing,” Celestia smiled, before nodding to her sister.

A second later, both of the Alicorns lit their horns, before vanishing, leaving the Rainbow with her five new students.

Grinning, she walked towards the temple, pushing the door open and sighing as memories of home came rushing back to her.

“Swooping Pegasi! Welcome to your new home!” she roared, before making her way inside. She had a lot of work in front of her, but something told her that this would all be worthwhile in the end.

The Greater Good

Applejack

Applejack gasped for air as she woke up, feeling as if she hadn’t breathed for a life-time as she lay on the soft bed she found herself in, panting heavily, before finally bringing her breathing under control and looking around.

The room was circular, every surface smoothly flowing into the next without any sort of sharp edges or corners to speak of. In between the yellowish colour of the walls were strips of pulsing blue light, each one running around the room before disappearing from sight. Applejack slowly got out of the bed she had been laid in, placing a hoof to her head as she realised that she was no longer wearing her hat, before catching sight of it on a table.

As she pulled it on once more, Applejack began to try and figure out where she had been cast by Twilight's wayward spell. It didn’t look like anywhere on Equestria, even in the most advanced places in Equestria. That left one possibility, and Applejack felt a chill go up her spine as she put two and two together, coming up with four.

She was shaken from her inner monologue when the door to the room slid open with a soft hiss and two figures made their way inside. Both stood up tall, and had strange flat faces, the blue skin pulled tight across their skull. They wore strange yellow body armour, and carried long ceremonial halberds, both of them regarding Applejack with interest as she shrank back slightly, before she stood up tall once more.

“A-are you…Eldar?” she asked softly, looking between them. They didn’t look anything what Rainbow had described, but she also hadn’t mentioned any blue skinned aliens either.

The two warriors looked at each other, before smiling slightly and shaking their heads.

“It is not our place to make first contact with you,” one said, his voice low and rumbling. “If you would follow us, we will take you to one who may.”

Without another word, the pair stood to attention on either side of the door, holding their halberds at their sides as they flanked Applejack. Forcing herself to remain calm, Applejack made her way out of the door, the two warriors following behind her, making sure she went the right way, as they finally reached a large set of gleaming white doors.

“When you proceed inside, do not approach the Ethereal,” one of the men spoke. “Do not make any sudden movements, answer the questions put to you truthfully. Do you understand?”

“Ah do,” Applejack nodded, before taking a deep breath and walking towards the doors as they slid open.

The first thing she noticed about the room was how tall it was, the ceiling stretching upwards before finally ending in an open hole, allowing the sunlight to stream through onto the man in the centre of the room. Unlike the two warriors, this one wore long flowing robes and stood upon a strange floating dais, regarding Applejack with a curious gaze.

The two warriors took up their positions beside the central figure, who Applejack assumed was the Ethereal they had spoken of, before the doors slid closed once more, sealing Applejack in the room with the three men.

“Do you know where you are?” the Ethereal asked, his soft voice echoing around the room as he spoke, looking down at Applejack.

“N-no,” Applejack shook her head. “Are…are y’all Eldar?”

“Do not ask questions of the Ethereal,” one of the warriors said slowly, before being silenced by the Ethereal, who let out a soft chuckle.

“Eldar? No, we are not the dying race. We are young. We are vibrant. We are Tau.”

“Tau?” Applejack asked in confusion. “Ah don’t think Rainbow ever mentioned…no wait, are y’all those creatures she said were in the galactic east or…somethin’?”

“Rainbow?” the Ethereal asked, cocking his head to the side. “I fail to see how a rainbow could speak. A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon caused by reflection and refraction of light.”

“No, not 'a' rainbow, Rainbow's a name,” Applejack shook her head. “Rainbow Dash. She’s mah friend, and...well, she came to this universe four years ago.”

“Interesting. So there are more of you then?” the Ethereal asked. “And yet, only one of your number has heard of our empire?”

“Rainbow is the only one to ever leave our planet,” Applejack pointed out. “Well, was the only one. Ah guess ah’m here too.”

“Yes,” the Ethereal nodded. “What, if you don’t mind me asking, do you call yourself?”

“Ah’m Applejack,” Applejack nodded. “A pony. Who are you?”

“You were told not to ask questions,” one of the warriors pointed out. “Please stick to this rule.”

“It is alright, this Applejack, does not know our ways, and she has the right to know who we are,” the Ethereal looked down at his warrior, before back at Applejack. “I am Aun’Va, the Ethereal Supreme of the Tau Empire. It falls to me to initiate first contact with a new species if at all possible, as it was in your case. On behalf of my Empire, I bid you a formal welcome to T’au, birthplace of my kind. You are the first of your kind to make contact with my race, Applejack of the Ponies, it falls to you to begin negotiations.”

“Umm….ah don’t think ah’m qualified fer this,” Applejack said hesitantly. “Ah…ah want to go home, so if y’all could just help me get into the webway and find mah…”

Applejack was cut off as Aun’Va began a slow laugh, looking at Applejack with a bemused expression.

“The webway? We are not Eldar Ms. Applejack, we do not make use of their transport networks, even if we wish we could.”

“But, how will ah get home?” Applejack asked softly.

“I do not know where your home is, and neither do I know how to breach the Eldar webway. If I did, it would benefit my kind immensely,” Aun’Va smiled sadly. “I cannot offer you a way home, and for that I am sorry.”

“It’s…it’s not yer fault, Aun’Va,” Applejack said softly, shaking her head. “Mah friends know where ah am, they’ll figure something out. It may take a while…but…I guess ah’ll have to wait.”

“And I am sorry that you must,” Aun’Va nodded. “But like I said, you are the only one of your kind to make contact with the Tau, it falls to us, to make the arrangements of your survival. My kind and your kind can prosper, as T’au has prospered, if we work hand in,” he paused, looking down at Applejack's hooves, before back at her face, “hoof. Other races have joined us, from the insectoid Vespids to the avian Kroot. Both races have prospered while working with the Tau, striving towards the Greater Good, to create something far more powerful and long lasting than the sum of its parts. That is what I now offer to you. I offer you and your kind…”

“Harmony,” Applejack finished simply.

“Exactly,” Aun’Va nodded with a small smile. “Harmony binds us together Applejack, it makes us stronger than when we stand alone. Do you know what makes for a harmonious existence?”

“Honesty, Loyalty, Laughter, Kindness, Generosity,” Applejack smiled back. “When those five unite, the spark reveals Magic. Friendship and harmony are born.”

“Well, clearly you understand the concepts of harmony better than most races of this galaxy, although I do not believe magic is a part of it,” Aun’Va nodded. “I am taking it that by your knowledge of the workings of Harmony that it is a part of you culture?”

“Yeah, I think you could say that,” Applejack chuckled softly. “Ah’m an Element of Harmony, Honesty to be specific.”

“An Element of Harmony?” Aun’Va asked in confusion. “What are they?”

“They’re a powerful force on mah home world, Equis,” Applejack began to explain. “Six gems, wielded by six friends, each representing one aspect of harmony. Mah friend Rainbow, she holds Loyalty, and she tore up the galaxy tryin’ ta get home when she came here, which is why ah know that she’ll come lookin’ for me.”

“Clearly you know of the power of harmony then,” Aun’Va nodded. “I believe you will find this story interesting then. Many years ago, the Tau were much like the humans, violent and suspicious of each other. Wars were constantly being fought between what would eventually become the castes of our society, and fire burned its way through the water, earth and air. On the plains of Fio’taun, an alliance laid siege to the last bastion of the builders. For five years this continued, before the first of my kind appeared. Not even we know where or how we arrived, but together, the Ethereals put a stop to the war, uniting the warring factions, and securing peace that has lasted on our home ever since. We are united behind one tenant, one guiding light of harmony, and in that time of war, amongst the dead, the Great Good was born.”

“Sounds like yer kin did well for themselves,” Applejack smiled. “So this Greater Good, what is it exactly?”

“The Great Good guides us, it governs our actions, and defines two roles with which we must comply. One is to expand our empire for the Greater Good, to bring the light of harmony to all those who would wish it, and to make the galaxy safe. The second is to absorb other races and their cultures into our own, adapting both us and them so that we may work together. The ideal of the Greater Good is appealing to some races, and even some of the humans have accepted that we have a stronger ideal than they do. I would offer you the same place in our empire, a place to stand side by side with us as we go forth into the unknown.”

“But ah just met y’all,” Applejack pointed out.

“And?” Aun’Va asked. “Why does that mean you cannot promote a harmonious accord between our two cultures? You clearly understand the merits of harmony, so why would we resist you joining?”

“Well ah guess when y’all put it like that it’s hard to argue against,” Applejack reasoned. “But ah am gonna go home when mah friends come for me. If y’all will allow me ta do that, I think that it would be stupid of me ta not work with ya.”

“If your friend comes for you, you may leave,” Aun’Va nodded. “Perhaps we will be able to arrange for a more formal meeting of our species. I would be interested in meeting a culture that holds harmony as highly as we do.”

“Then ah accept yer offer Ethereal Aun’Va,” Applejack bowed deeply, before standing back up and looking at Aun’Va.

“Then by the power of the Ethereal caste, and afforded to me by position of Ethereal Supreme, I decree that Applejack of the Pony race shall be inducted into the Greater Good. She will abide by our laws, and we shall respect her customs while we share our own. Together may we go forth and spread harmony to those who have none.”

As he spoke, Aun’Va reached out with his odd staff, placing it gently atop Applejack’s head, before looking to one of his honour guards.

“Go, bring Applejack to the representatives from the castes. We must find a place for our newest member.”

“Of course, noble Ethereal,” the honour guard bowed, before walking towards Applejack. “This way Ms.”

Applejack followed the honour guard, walking beside him as they made their way through the empty corridors of the building. Finally, Applejack decided to try and break the silence.

“So, do yer have a name?” she asked hesitantly.

The man stopped and looked down at her for a second, before nodding and continuing on.

“This one has the honour of being Shas’El Fi’rios.”

“Shas’El?” Applejack asked, before forcing herself to smile. “That sounds…nice. A nice ring to it.”

“My name is not Shas’El, it is my title,” he pointed out.

“Fi’rios then,” Applejack smiled.

“Fi’rios is my home world,” he continued. “I am bound to the service of the Ethereal, it is my calling to the Greater Good.”

“Yer mean y’all don’t have a name?” Applejack asked in confusion.

“I did once, and I still do to some people, but I am not at liberty to divulge the information to anyone not of the El or O rank in the Fire caste or an Ethereal. I’m sorry.”

Once again the pair lapsed into silence, Applejack softly marvelling at the devotion that this man must have had towards the Greater Good, before they reached a door and emerged into the open air.

Instantly, Applejack was blinded by the sudden brightness, and had to pull her hat down low over her eyes, before she slowly adjusted to the light and managed to look out at the world of T’au.

Like the inside of the building, the buildings were smooth, flowing gracefully from the floor to the apex of the top. The streets were lined with hundreds of Tau, some wearing robes while a few wore sleek yellow armour, kind of like what Rainbow’s Swooping Pegasi used, complete with black helmets and strange stubby looking weapons.

“Law enforcement,” Fi’rios pointed out, noticing her gaze.

“What?” Applejack asked, shaking herself out of her little trance.

“The Fire Warriors you are looking at, they are law enforcement. Black helmets donate their status, just as white helmets show a veteran status.”

Nodding, Applejack caught sight of four Tau standing before a building, each of whom wore different outfits, and seemed to have actual physical differences as well. The first, the one who looked like he had the most muscles wore the same yellow armour as the law enforcement, but lacked any sort of helmet. The other three Tau all wore tight fitting body suits with varying degrees of robes and embellishments on their person.

Walking towards the four Tau, Fi’rios bowed low, before addressing them.

“Noble caste representatives. I present to you Applejack, a Pony who has embraced the light of the Greater Good. By the decree of our Ethereal Supreme, Aun’Va, she is to learn of the castes, before picking her own. I must leave you all now, my charge is elsewhere.”

With that, Fi’rios turned and walked back towards the massive spire that looked like it was at the centre of the vast city, all roads leading towards it. Turning away from him, Applejack found herself under intense scrutiny by the four Tau.

“A quadruped? Interesting,” the armoured Tau mused. “I have not met many quadrupeds with higher brain functions. From her body I would say she has a high muscle mass, could be of use to the fire and earth caste.”

“Um…ah right here Sugarcube,” Applejack said, scratching the back of her head awkwardly, before sticking her hoof out. “Ah’m Applejack.”

“Yes we know,” one of the Tau nodded, gently placing her hand against the end of Applejacks hoof. “Greetings from the Water Caste. I am Por’Ui Krayma, a delegate from the diplomatic ‘O’. He sends his regards, and regrets he could not be here in person to welcome a new species into our fold.”

“It’s a pleasure ta meet ya Krayma,” Applejack smiled, putting her hoof down. “So…is yer home Krayma, or is that your actual name?”

“Krayma is my name. Unlike the honour guard, we have kept our names after our ranks and titles,” the woman smiled, before turning to face the other three representatives. “Allow me to introduce my fellows. Shas’Vre Mank of the Fire Caste, Fio’Vre Ti’mer of the Earth Caste and Kor'Vre Karrer of the Air Caste.

“Nice to meet y’all,” Applejack smiled.

“Your accent, it reminds me of a human one,” Mank cocked his head to the side as he looked at Applejack. “One they refer to as a ‘redneck’ or a ‘hick’. I wonder if you share any of their characteristics as well as the accent.”

“And you sound vaguely neighponese,” Applejack muttered under her breath, going unheard by the Tau before her.

“Maybe she does, maybe she doesn’t, the matter is inconsequential,” Krayma pointed out. “We are here to present our race to the newest member of the auxiliaries, and I believe we should get started.”

“Indeed,” Ti’mer nodded. “Applejack, allow us to show you around our colony while we talk.”

“Fine by me,” Applejack smiled, before following the four Tau, trotting alongside them as they began to explain about the caste system.

“When the Ethereals appeared to us, they brought with them the idea of the Castes, each one taking on a different role,” Krayma began. “My own sub-species of Tau became known as the Water Caste, and we now serve the Tau Empire as traders, merchants, public servants, bureaucrats, administrators, diplomats, and ambassadors. Like water, we bureaucrats of the Water Caste fluidly move between other Castes and alien races incorporated within our Empire making sure everything flows smoothly, and debates are settled fairly. Before the Fire Caste starts their work, the Water Caste starts their’s, and ours continues long after the Fire Caste has finished their tasks.”

“The Fire Caste is also responsible for cleaning up any mess that the Water Caste may make,” Mank allowed a tiny smile to form on his lips as he spoke. “We are the warriors of the Tau, we are the strongest, the fastest, the best, and when all else fails, we don’t. We spread the Greater Good to the stars, and we are the ones who die to preserve it.”

“So that’s Fire and Water, what about Earth and Air?” Applejack asked, looking between Ti’mer and Karrer.

“The Air Caste is simple,” Karrer said simply. “We man the fleet, both merchant and military. We can be messengers or pilots, or anything that requires us to be within a form of aircraft or spacecraft. After today you will not see many Air Caste, we usually live aboard our space stations, keeping an eye on the vast nothingness that lies beyond our planets.”

“And the Earth Caste holds everything else together,” Ti’mer shrugged indifferently. “Manufacturing, industrial production, construction, art, agriculture. Everything that holds the Empire together beyond military and diplomatic interests.”

“Agriculture?” Applejack asked with a smile.

“Yes, agriculture,” Ti’mer nodded. “You know something about farming?”

“Ah’ll say,” Applejack chuckled. “Ah was a farmer back at home, Sweet Apple Acres, best apples in all of Equis. Never find better.”

“I’m guessing that is why you have apples tattooed on your body?” Krayma asked, looking at Applejacks cutie mark. “A mark of your profession?”

“Kinda,” Applejack nodded, looking at her flank. “This here is mah cutie mark, it shows our special talent, and we usually get the direction for our lives from them. Not always, but mah whole family worked the farm before me, ah wasn’t gonna let them down.”

“Interesting, your culture brands you with your profession before you take on the profession?” Krayma asked.

“It doesn’t sound too dissimilar to our own Por’Ui,” Mank cocked his head to the side. “We are destined to our Caste from birth.”

“Indeed we are, as I believe Applejack here is destined to hers,” Krayma nodded, before stopping and turning to face Applejack. “So, now you know what each of our Castes does for the empire, you must make a choice as to what auxiliary force you become a part of.”

“Y’all are mentioning an auxiliary,” Applejack said slowly. “That’s like a…a support group isn’t it?”

“Indeed it is,” Krayma nodded. “Those non-Tau members of our empire our grouped with their own kind where possible, to promote morale through camaraderie. You may present some difficulties, being the only one of your kind documented, but I believe that you will find your place amongst the empire in one way or another. All that remains is where you will chose to go.”

“Earth,” Applejack replied simply. “Ah’m no smooth talker, and ah’m far too honest to be a politician or a diplomat, ah don’t want ta fight if I can avoid it, and ah’m fine keeping all four hooves on the ground.”

“You are sure?” Ti’mer asked, stepping up beside Applejack.

“As long as you’ve got farmin’ ta do, I’m your pony,” Applejack nodded.

“Very well then,” Ti’mer nodded. “As the representative of the Earth Caste, and acting as the voice of the Fio’O, I welcome you to the Earth Caste, Applejack of Equestria. I bestow upon you a title fitting your new Caste, and name you Fio’Saal Applejack, apprentice of the Earth caste.”

“It was nice meeting you Fio’Saal,” Krayma smiled, before bowing deeply.

“Likewise,” Mank nodded slowly.

“Maybe we shall meet again Fio’Saal Applejack if you ever move off world,”

Karrer turned as he spoke, and the three representatives walked away, disappearing into the crowded streets, leaving Applejack alone with Ti’mer. Looking up at the Earth Caste member, before scanning the streets, noticing that most of the Tau she could see looked a lot like his sub-species of Tau.

“Come Fio’Saal, my O will want to meet the new auxiliary,” Ti’mer spoke softly. “Follow me please, we can assign you to an agricultural team quickly, and you can begin to learn the subtleties of farming.”

“Learn about farmin’?” Applejack deadpanned. “Sugarcube, ah’ve been farmin’ mah whole life. I think I know enough about it ta get by.”

“That remains to be seen,” Ti’mer nodded, before striding off, Applejack hot on his heels.

She knew Rainbow would come for her one day, she would lead her team back into the universe she had left behind just to find her. She would just have to wait, no matter how long it took.

Author's Note

Okay, so first things first, did I go overboard on Applejack's accent in this chapter?
Second, did the Tau seem in character? As far as I can tell from most source material (Dawn of War) they seem to be a very feudal Japanese based culture, although I may be wrong.
Lastly, I have some references for you all so you understand what some of the characters look like. I'll try and put some of these in when they are needed.

Aun'Va, the Ethereal Supreme of the Tau Empire, flanked by his two honour guard.

The Spire of the World

Applejack

“So what are we going to be doing?” Applejack asked, looking up at Ti’mer.

“Okay, first things first, I have a title, Fio’Vre,” Ti’mer explained. “Now that you are Fio’Saal, you will be expected to use titles as well, that goes double for Fio’O Gvend.”

“Sorry, Fio’Vre,” Applejack nodded slowly, realising she would have to get used to the odd Tau words quickly if she was going to fit in until Rainbow found her. “Where are we going sir?”

“The Earth Caste headquarters is in the most important city to my people, Fio’taun, where the Ethereals first appeared to Tau kind. We’ll be taking a transport across to the Spire of the World where you will meet the Fio’O.”

Applejack nodded as the pair continued to walk towards a large white building, its surface shining in the alien sun like some sort of glorious jewel. Inside were scores upon scores of Tau, each one lithe like Karrer, and wearing light blue, form fitting bodysuits as they flitted between some strange looking vehicles. Applejack was instantly reminded of Rainbow's bike as she looked at them, and although they were completely different machines, she could tell that this thing was going to be fast.

“A civilian pattern of the Fire Caste piranha,” Ti’mer walked towards one of the vehicles, nodding to the members of the Air Caste as he clambered inside. “The original craft was a scout vehicle, but it has since become wide spread amongst our colonies as a rapid transport system. Now please, sit.”

Applejack nervously climbed into the vehicle behind Ti’mer and sitting down on one of the squishy seats, the gel like substance moulding around her and holding her in tightly, making sure she wouldn’t fall out.

“Er…Fio’Vre...are you sure that this is safe Sugarcube?”

“Perfectly safe Fio’Saal,” Ti’mer assured her as he took his own seat, the gel seat moulding around his back and holding him steady as he took the wheel.

“It’s just…ah’m not a big fan of flyin’ is all,” Applejack chuckled nervously. “I prefer mah hooves bein’ on the ground.”

“You sound like a Bentu'sin,” Ti’mer chuckled softly. “They like to keep their stubby feet on the ground as well.”

“A what?”

“Bentu'sin, a Demiurg in the common tongue. Now, if it helps you should close your eyes.”

Applejack nodded slowly, closing her eyes and dropping her head down, placing a hoof on her hat to make sure it didn’t come off. A few moments later, the craft lifted off the ground, leaving Applejack's stomach with it as they lurched forward. It was a good thing Applejack hadn’t eaten recently, or she was sure she would have redecorated the craft with the contents of her stomach, but as it was, she just felt extremely queasy.

“How long?” Applejack asked softly as she felt the wind whip through her hair.

“We should be in Fio’taun shortly, do not worry Applejack, we will soon be back on the ground.”

“I…hope so,” Applejack groaned.

True to his word, Ti’mer soon brought the craft into land in another structure nearly identical to the one they had taken off from, and Applejack breathed a sigh of relief as the gel went soft again, allowing her to leap from the craft and onto the solid floor.

“I assume you are happy then Fio’Saal,” Ti’mer chuckled, climbing out of the craft and passing the activation stud to one of the Air Caste engineers as he lead Applejack into the city. “Now, you have seen the capital of Aun, allow me to show you to a much older and more majestic city. Welcome to Fio’taun.”

Applejack gasped as she walked into the city, looking around at the buildings in awe. Unlike the last city she had been in, or ‘Aun’ as she know knew it, this one did not look modern at all. All of the buildings were fashioned out of a dull brown rock, each one sporting straight walls with large metal poles sticking out of them, supporting large sheets of fabric that provided shade to the Tau walking around the city. As she looked around, she saw that the entire city was ringed by a high wall, and she quickly remembered what Aun’Va had told her about the history of this place. Clearly they had kept the wall to remind them of the past.

Even more curious were the other creatures walking around. They were bipedal like the Tau, but they had long sharp snouts, giving them a much more reptilian or avian type look than the Tau. Applejack briefly wondered if these were humans, before snorting at the idea, realising that they looked nothing like what Rainbow had described.

Ti’mer looked down as she gasped slightly, smiling as he caught sight of her gaze. “The Kroot, the most numerous aliens in the Tau auxiliary. Very few operate with the Earth Caste, most of them prefer the Fire caste, but we get our fair share. But come, we have kept Fio’O Gvend waiting long enough. He will want to see you before we run the necessary medical tests.”

“Medical tests?” Applejack asked as she continued to walk through the streets, drawing the occasional glance as she walked past.

“Of course. You did not think you would just appear out of nowhere and be treated like you have always been here did you?” Ti’mer smiled. “You are an undocumented species, we will need to run biometric tests, take blood samples, check for any foreign pathogens you may unwittingly be carrying. You were screened for anything major when you first arrived I would imagine, but this shall be a more in-depth test.”

“They won’t hurt will they?” Applejack laughed nervously as they neared the large spire like castle in the centre of the city.

“It depends on your perception of the pain caused by needles Fio’Saal. I am sorry, but this is the way it must be. There is no other way.”

“Ah guess that’s reasonable,” Applejack nodded. “Jus’ don’t be pokin’ around too much.”

“I won’t be conducting the procedures, but I will inform the medical drone,” Ti’mer assured her, before stopping in front of the massive castle like structure. “Fio’Saal Applejack, welcome to the Spire of the World, one of the oldest buildings on the planet, and certainly the largest creation from before the time of the Ethereals. Please, follow me inside.”

Applejack found herself being led through the building, marvelling at the simple yet beautiful sculptures that dotted the hall. Contrary to what Rarity may have thought, she actually did have a taste for art, it was just much more basic than the fro-frooy stuff that Rarity called art.

“Is something funny Fio’Saal?” Ti’mer looked won as Applejack began to snigger under her breath.

“No sir, just thinkin’ of a friend from back home. Well, all of my friends from back home,” Applejack let out a heavy sigh as reality once again sunk in. “Sorry, didn’t mean to bring down the mood. Just…I know that I can get home, but…it could be a long way off.”

“I understand,” Ti’mer assured her, before pushing a door open and striding inside, walking towards a large banks of computers at the far end of the room and the Tau standing over them. Compared to Ti’mer, this Tau was massive, his muscles rippling beneath his skin. It was not just the size of the Tau that caused him to dominate the room, but also the aura he seemed to emit, projecting an air of authority about him as he worked. Floating beside him were a pair of odd disk like machines, flitting around his head seemingly with a life of their own.

“Fio’O Gvend,” Ti’mer said in a low voice, dropping to a knee and placing his clenched fists onto the floor as he looked away from the Fio’O. Applejack quickly followed his lead, dropping to a front knee and looking away from the Fio’O as if he was one of the princesses. “The new auxiliary you instructed me to meet has chosen the way of Earth and Stone I present her to you now.”

“You may rise Fio’Vre Ti’mer,” Gvend responded, turning round to face the pair and looking down at them. “And you. Please state your name.”

“Fio’Saal Applejack Fio’O Gvend,” Applejack said quickly, keeping her head bowed.

“I see you have already informed her of her rank,” Gvend noted, looking at Ti’mer. “That is good. You may rise Fio’Saal Applejack.”

Nodding, Applejack got back to her hooves, looking up at the Fio’O.

“I’m going to ask you some simple questions, please give simple answers,” Gvend gently massaged his temple with his hand before continuing. “You have sworn to accept the Greater Good?”

“Ah have,” Applejack nodded.

“You wish to learn the ways of Earth and Stone?”

“Ah do.”

“Did you have a profession before you appeared on T’au?”

“An apple farmer.”

“You wish to serve the empire by providing help with agriculture?”

“With farmin’ yes.”

“That is all I need for now,” Gvend turned to face Ti’mer. “You shall take the Fio’Saal to the medical lab for evaluation and processing, then you will return to me.”

“Yes Fio’O,” Ti’mer bowed. “Fio’Saal, follow me please.”

Applejack nodded, bowing again to Gvend, before exiting the room with Ti’mer. Gvend waited until they were gone, before turning to one of the drones.

“GH-5642, bring up the auxiliary deployments on T’au at the moment. Prioritise agriculture units. Transfer findings to GH-5643.”

“Acknowledged,” the drone said, its mechanical voice ringing out around the room.

“GH-5643,” Gvend turned to the other drone. “Upon completion of GH-5642’s task, you are to make accommodation arrangements for Fio’Saal Applejack. You will check with medical first to ensure that her merging into our Caste goes smoothly. Use the data from GH-5642 to choose an auxiliary unit to post Applejack with. You will then show her to her quarters and bring in the auxiliary unit so she can meet her new posting. Inform them that they are to bring her knowledge of the empire up to scratch.”

“I will make it so,” the drone bobbed up and down, before heading towards the door after Applejack and Ti’mer.

***

Applejack lay on a large flat table as Ti’mer began to type away on a keyboard in the corner, occasionally glancing over to Applejack, before finishing and pressing a final key. Instantly a hatch in the wall opened and another one of the strange disk machines floated over to Ti’mer, this one painted in a bright white with a red stripe down the middle.

“Medical unit ready. Standing by for orders,” it said in a loud monotonous voice.

“Applejack, this is Medical Drone M-23,” Ti’mer explained, before turning back to the drone. “Initiate first contact medical protocol, subject designation Fio’Saal Applejack, species to be stored on file as pony. Run species diagnostics and store biometrics on file, then forward the findings to the Fio’O and myself. Applejack, I must leave you now.”

“Of course Fio’Vre,” the drone acknowledged.

“Will I see you around Fio’Vre?” Applejack asked, not taking her eyes off the medical drone.

“If the Greater Good demands it,” Ti’mer nodded, before turning and leaving the room.

“I am medical unit designation M-23,” the drone told her as it floated towards her, hovering beside her head. “Medical test begins.”

The drone began to unfold a series of arms as it neared Applejack, each one ending in a syringe or some type of scanning device that reminded Applejack of some of the lens that Rainbow Dash and the Swooping Pegasi had on their armour.

“Running preliminary medical scans. Preparing to map out nervous system and blood vessel tracts. Brace for minor tingling.”

‘Minor’ turned out to be a very soft hearted way of putting it as a faint blue light ran over her body multiple times, making her fur stand on end, before falling limp as the light faded. Over the next fifteen minutes, the drone continued to probe her, taking small blood samples here and there, before running yet more scans on her saliva and…other bodily fluids. Yet more scans were taken of her body, ranging from her eyes to her hooves, each one of the findings being stored in the drones’ memory banks, before presumably being sent off to the Fio’O and Ti’mer.

Applejack mused that she probably should have been more worried than this that she wasn’t on Equis anymore, but then again, she at least knew more about where she was than Rainbow had when she had appeared, and compared to her, Applejack had had a much gentler introduction to the universe, rather than being dropped off in the middle of the invasion.

That being said, she was still worried about her friends, especially Twilight and Rainbow. Twilight would probably be holding herself accountable for the whole mess, which wasn’t unfair considering the fact that it was her fault, but she would be beating herself up over it much more than Applejack would have liked. Rainbow on the other hoof would now have to come and find her, which meant she would have to return to the universe of war and violence. While Applejack knew second hoof what the universe was like, Rainbow had seen it for herself, and would have to willingly walk back into it, which was something Applejack doubted she wanted to do. But she would, and nothing anypony did would be able to stop her being loyal to her friends.

Eventually the drone bobbed back towards the wall as it began to empty the various vials of liquid into receptacles built into the room, and Applejack pushed herself off the table and onto the floor, grabbing her hat and placing it on her head as she walked towards the drone.

“So…are the results good?”

“Results are being processed. No infections present harmful to the Tau or auxiliary species. Physical evaluation is needed to gauge strength and durability of Fio’Saal Applejack.”

“Ya mean like liftin’ weights type training?”

“Weight lifting will be required yes. Please accompany me to the evaluation room.” The drone hovered towards the back of the room, a door sliding open as it approached, leading into a small bland room with a few large weights dotted around for use by the drone and the occupant.

“Error. Quadruped status and lack of fingers conflicts with standard weight lifting procedures. Contacting superior for instructions. Please wait,” the drone droned, before stopping in mid-air, holding stock still as a small red light pulsed on its head.

“You can jus’ put the weight on mah back if that helps,” Applejack offered.

“Command concurs with your suggestion,” the drone bobbed over to one of the weights, lifting it towards Applejack and gently resting it on Applejacks back. “Inform me when you are at your limit. Do not push past it.”

Applejack nodded as weights were slowly added to her body by the drone, but she kept standing even as more and more began to pile on. Eventually she had to concede as her legs began to shudder.

“S-stop now. Ah can’t hold much more.”

“Affirmative,” the droid began to remove the weights, placing them back on the floor. “All testing complete, results indicate strength level of Demiurg auxiliary species. Forwarding findings to Fio’O Gvend. Please await further instructions.”

Even as it spoke, the door to the medical lab slid open and another drone entered, moving over to M-23.

“Liaison drone GH-5643 reporting as ordered by Fio’O Gvend. Requesting transfer of data pertaining to subject known as Fio’Saal Applejack.”

“Data transfer begun. Data transfer complete.”

“Requesting exchange of responsibility of Fio’Saal Applejack.”

“Exchange verified and confirmed. Protocol dictates you are now responsible GH-5643.”

“Affirmative M-23,” the drone turned to face Applejack, lowering itself so it was at her eye level. “Please follow me Fio’Saal. Medical data is being cross-referenced with auxiliary data as we speak. By the time we reach the auxiliary accommodation the chosen unit will have been notified.”

Applejack was slightly taken aback by the drones’ sudden proclamation, before she nodded with a soft chuckle, following GH-5643 out of the room and further into the Spire of the World. More than once Applejack debated trying to start a conversation with the drone, before thinking better of it. How did you go about talking to a seemingly emotionless machine to do anything except to give it instructions? Not having a suitable answer, Applejack followed after the drone, the only sound coming from whatever mechanism kept it in the air, and her own hooves as they clopped against the hard stone floor.

“Data processed and match found,” the sudden nose startled Applejack, but the drone didn’t seem to notice, or wasn’t programed to care, and instead simply continued its data stream. “Medical results match you with records of human equine species known as a horse. Biological match in the empire is negligible. Strength tests put you on par with Demiurg auxiliary. Strongest match with Demiurg work party designation epsilon gamma-7. Contacting work leader.”

“Umm…who are the Demiurg?”

“Data will be easier to process with your own eyes. Please follow me to your new accommodation.”

Slightly perplexed by the suddenness of the drone’s announcement, Applejack continued to follow it, before finally reaching a small iron door. The drone hovered before it for a second, a small blue laser darting between it and a control panel beside the door, before the door slid open, allowing them to enter the room and look around.

Unlike all of the other rooms she had seen in her short time on T’au, this one was basic and looked for all the world like something she could have found on Equestria. Were it not for the drone and the slight abundance of technology in the room, she could have forgiven herself for thinking that she had somehow got home.

“Ah yer blasted bucket of bolts,” a deep voice rang around the room, reminding Applejack of a cross between a Scoltish accent and Iron Will’s accent. “What are yer doin’ pullin’ me team in from the fields? Don’t cha’know that we’re shippin’ out in a few days?”

“Affirmative auxiliary Koghad,” a drone buzzed as it entered the room. “Your deployment status is locked into my memory banks. You are to be assigned a new team member.”

“Ya mean one of me kin decided to follow me and me lads into farmin’?” the voice asked, before an odd creature walked into the room, followed by two others.

Like every other creature Applejack had seen on T’au, these creatures were bipedal, but unlike the Tau or the Kroot, these creatures, the ones Applejack reasoned were Demiurg, were short and stubby, almost being on eye level with her. Their entire face was different from the Tau as well, with a big fat nose taking up most of their faces on their rock like dark pink skin.

“So where’s me kin?” the front Demiurg asked, looking around the room, before catching sight of Applejack and looking at the drone expectantly. “Is this supposed to be dinner?”

“Dinner?” Applejack asked in alarm, taking several steps away from the stocky creatures.

“Whoa, it’s a lass,” the Demiurg chuckled. “And a talkin’ one at that. What’s the lass here for?”

“Koghad, please meet Fio’Saal Applejack,” GH-5643 explained. “She has been assigned to your unit by order of the Fio’O.”

“The Fio’O? Well, looks like we don’t get a choice eh lads?” Koghad sighed, looking at his fellows.

“I guess not, but we can at least get rid of the drones,” one pointed out.

“Good point,” Koghad nodded, turning back to the drones. “Well you heard him, you can leave us. We’ll take good care of Applesnack.”

“Jack,” Applejack corrected. “Applejack, not Applesnack.”

“Sorry lass, my mistake,” Koghad apologised. "Point still stands though yer tin can. You can leave Applejack here with us."

“Very well auxiliary Koghad, I will leave you. Under orders from the Fio’O, you are to answer Fio’Saal Applejack’s questions if possible, before helping to facilitate her merge into the Empire.”

“Yeah, I understand yer flying clanker, just leave us.”

The pair of drones seemed to exchange a glance, before turning and bobbing out of the room, mumbling something softly, and leaving Applejack alone with the three Demiurg. For a while the trio simply stared at Applejack, before one of them finally broke the tension.

“If we’re coming off the fields for the rest of the day, I’m taking this off,” he indicated the heavy looking work overalls that he had on, before reaching up and beginning to detach some of the tubes that attached the metal collar to the rest of the outfit.

“Good idea Mata,” Koghad nodded, before glancing at Applejack. “Wait, you don’t mind do yer lass?”

“No, go ahead,” Applejack shook her head.

“No problem lass,” the final unnamed Demiurg grinned, his voice higher that the other two, before he too began to strip down. Eventually they had discarded their work clothes, clad in tight short sleeved bodysuits that just about covered up their lower regions, reducing them to small bulges.

“So…Applejack?” Koghad asked, grabbing a small metal chair and sitting down heavily on it, before bawling his hand into a fist and extending it towards Applejack. “I think introductions are in order. I’m Koghad, leader of this here auxiliary team, this here’s Mata, and the squeaky bastard’s Lofeg.”

“Pleased ta meet y’all,” Applejack nodded, raising a hoof, tapping it against Koghad’s fist.

“Finally, another species who understands a good greetin’,” Koghad laughed. “You know what, before we start, I think I’m going ta need a drink.”

“Way ahead of you boss,” Mata smiled, tossing him over a bottle, which Koghad deftly caught, before pulling the top off and taking in a deep breath.

“Ah, I love the smell of Amasec in the morning,” he sighed happily. “I never will understand how you get human stuff like this Lofeg.”

“I have my ways,” Lofeg chuckled, grabbing four mugs and handing them out, pausing as he passed one to Applejack. “Ugh…how do you…you know, pick stuff up?”

“With mah hooves,” Applejack offered, taking the mug from Lofeg. “A low level telepathic…no wait, telekinetic field, around my hoof. Or something like that, I don’t really know how it works, or what it is.”

“If it works it works,” Koghad shrugged, before pouring each of them a mug full. “Oh and Applejack, this is strictly hush hush, yer understand? Amasec’s technically classed as contraband, so don’t go tellin’ everybody. Cannae do that for us?”

“Er…maybe?” Applejack said slowly. “Ah don’t like lyin’ to anypony.”

“Don’t think of it as lying,” Mata grinned, taking a swig from his mug. “Think of it as…selective truth telling.”

“Ah don’t know, still seems like lyin’ ta me,” Applejack warily sniffed the contents of the mug, recoiling slightly at the strong smell.

“Trust me on this, the Demiurg know a thing or two about selective truth telling when it comes to the good hooch,” Mata assured her. “Just, don’t say anything unless asked. How’s that?”

“Ah guess ah could do that,” Applejack nodded slowly, before taking a tentative sip of the Amasec, before spluttering a coughing as the liquid burnt her throat.

“Looks like ye can’t take yer booze Applejack,” Koghad laughed, downing his own mug and pouring himself another mug.

“Hay’s teeth that’s strong,” Applejack spluttered with a soft smile.

“Yeah, no point in drinkin’ weak hooch is there?” Lofeg chuckled. “So. Why don’t you tell us a bit out where ya used to live, then we can fill you in on where ya live now. Sound good?”

“Sure,” Applejack nodded, passing the mug to Mata, who eagerly downed the alcohol. “Ah’m from a place called Ponyville…

***

“So let me get this straight,” Koghad crossed his arms as Applejack finished her story. “Yer species can use ‘magic’, these princesses of yers move the sun and the moon, and yer the second of yer kin to come to this universe?”

“That’s the truth,” Applejack nodded. “Rainbow Dash came here a few years back, only she was found by Eldar, not Tau. She managed to get home, and we started to experiment with the stuff she’d brought back with her. One of the experiments went wrong and…here I am.”

“Well, at least you were found by the Empire,” Koghad pointed out. “Sounds like this Rainbow Dash of yers had a hard time fittin' in wi' those Eldar Gits, buncha flighty backstabbers, and if she'd be found by humans…well, I doubt she would have gotten home quite so easily, or at all really.”

“Yeah, ah guess,” Applejack nodded. “Yer turn now. Ah know next to nothin’ about the Tau, save for what Aun’Va told me.”

“Well it’s pretty simple for the most part,” Koghad sighed. “The Tau are in charge, and they let us live alongside their empire. It’s…pretty good I guess. At least we’re not shot on sight like the Dark Imperium does, that counts fer something. Plus the Tau are more advanced, almost at our level. They like ta think that they’re good with their technology, but they couldn’t even harness Ion tech before we came.”

“So wait, do the Tau treat yer like equals or not?”

“Most of the time,” Koghad nodded. “We’re part of the auxiliary, so we’re not quite part of the command structure, but we still get treated pretty well. Free food, warm beds, plus thanks to Lofeg over here we can get all the hooch a happy Demiurg can drink.”

“How do y’all get it?” Applejack asked, looking at Lofeg.

“Not tellin’, ya might tell someone how I get it,” Lofeg shook his head. “Or you’ll start bringin’ in yer own stuff and put me out of mah line of work.”

“I thought you were a farmer?” Applejack asked in confusion.

“Secondary line of work then,” Lofeg sighed.

“Speaking of farming, you say you have a lot of experience Applejack?” Koghad cut in.

“Born and raised on a farm mah whole life,” Applejack nodded with a smile. “You want apples, Sweet Apple Acres is the place fer you.”

“Don’t get many apples on T’au,” Koghad shrugged. “A few, but not many. Apparently we sometimes grow them out in the colonies. Who knows, maybe we’ll grow them when we get ta Styro.”

“Styro? What’s Styro?”

“’Where’s Styro’ would be more accurate,” Koghad corrected her. “Apparently it’s an advanced warning colony we’re setting up. Somethin’ about wantin’ a deep space invasion platform or something, I’m not really sure. All I know is that we’re shippin’ out to it in a few days.”

“Shipping out as in…leaving T’au?” Applejack asked, shrinking back slightly. “As in…going on a ship type shipping out?”

“Well duh,” Lofeg chuckled. “Not much of a new colony if we don’t leave T’au now is it. What’s the matter with leavin’?”

“Ah don’t like flyin’” Applejack groaned. “Why can’t we just stay in one place? Works fer most ponies.”

“There isn’t much of a call for auxiliary farmers of T’au,” Koghad shook his head. “The Tau prefer their own kin to do the farming on their home. Something about pride in the past or some such nonsense. Fer such a young race they always seem to be both lookin’ to the past and trying to grasp the future.”

“A young race? What in the hay is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that they’re only around six thousand years away from being barbarians,” Mata chuckled. “They just had some quick advancing is all. We Demiurg are much older, plus we live fer longer than the Tau’s sixty years. If they're lucky”

“Wait, they can only live fer sixty years?” Applejack asked in surprise. “That seems so…”

“Short?” Mata offered. “Yeah, chances are we’ll outlive this Fio’O as well. We did the last one at any rate.”

The trio of Demiurg lapsed into silence as they continued to guzzle down the mugs of Amasec, offering another one to Applejack, just in case she wanted to try again. Not wanting to seem rude, she took the offered mug, taking another sip. Once again, she had the same burning sensation as she drank the alcohol, thinking back to the stuff that Rainbow had said she’d drunk when she was on Saim-Hann.

As this thought entered her mind, she steeled her thoughts and took another sip of the drink. She didn’t want to let Rainbow out drink her, she’d never be able to live it down if she found out.

“Looks like ye found yer motivation for takin’ yer drink lassie,” Koghad chuckled.

“Just a friend,” Applejack muttered, feeling her head start to spin. “She wouldn’t let me live it down if she beat me.”

Applejack's mood began to darken as she drank more and more Amasec, her thoughts drifting back to Equestria and to Twilight. She was ashamed to say that they began to darken slightly as she began to debate laying the blame on Twilight, even when she got back, before managing to push the thoughts away as Koghad took her mug away.

“Much as it would interest me in seein’ how much ye can drink, I think we all best turn in pretty soon. Got a long day ahead of us bringing ye up to scratch in preparation for shippin’ out. Got to make sure yer up at the standard of the rest of the team and work well with us.”

“Remember this day Applejack,” Lofeg chuckled, grabbing the mugs and the bottle and placing them back under his bed. “You don’t often get Koghad sayin’ we should stop with the hooch. Usually the only reason he stops is because he’s passed out on the floor or the hooch runs out.”

“Don’t speak of such blasphemy,” Koghad chuckled, before looking towards the beds. “We got a spare bunk above me Applejack. Ye can bunk there if yer want.”

“Thanks sugarcube,” Applejack nodded, looking up at the bunk. “Er…ah don’t suppose yer could give me a hoof up?”

Before the words had even finished coming out of her mouth, Applejack found herself being lifted up onto the bed by Mata. True to the words of the drone, he did feel strong as he grabbed hold of her, almost as strong as Big Mac.

Lying down on the bed, Applejack allowed her eyes to close as memories and images of her family floated into her mind, ranging from her sister and brother to her granny, before she began to see the whole of her family in front of her mind’s eye. They would all probably be worried sick, but at least they would have some form of knowledge as to where she was this time around, rather than it being like Rainbow where she just disappeared.

Still, she knew that neither Big Mac nor Applebloom would take this well, but they would have to find a way to keep moving. Applebloom would no doubt talk to Scootaloo before Rainbow and the Swooping Pegasi figured out how to come after her. She just hoped that would be enough to tide her over until she managed to come back.

“Night Applebloom, night Big mac, night Granny,” she whispered softly, before slipping off to sleep.

Author's Note

Demiurg look like this:

Return

Rainbow Dash

Rainbow slipped on the last piece of her armour, the breastplate sealing itself to the bodysuit underneath with a soft hiss. Considering the armour had been taken apart by Twilight and the other Arc-Tech scientists a few years ago, the armour had stayed remarkably strong and functional, almost to the point of it being exactly the same as it had been before they had taken it apart. There were some minor performance losses, but nothing that would seriously affect her in the field, and the benefits far outweighed the losses.

Thanks to their study, Twilight and Luna had been able to manufacture five other suits of armour, each one custom fitted to the member of the team it had been made for. It was impressive really, and represented the largest leap forward in technology the planet had seen in years.

Attaching her helmet to her waist, Rainbow quickly made her way into the armoury, watching as the rest of the Swooping Pegasi donned their own armour, each suit being subtly different, but similar enough to tie them all together. The biggest difference was clearly Gilda’s suit, the armour being larger to accommodate her larger flame, each plate also being thicker than any of the other armour, allowing Gilda to survive places where even Rainbow's more efficient armour may have cracked and broken apart.

“Come on, let’s get moving guys,” Rainbow walked between the team, checking parts of their armour that they wouldn’t have been able to reach. “I called final deployment readiness ten minutes ago.”

“Yeah, well you try getting into this armour,” Gilda muttered, hoisting her breastplate up and clipping it to her armour, before the Arc-tech took over and sealed the pieces together in a slow version of Rainbow’s purely technological armour.

“Gilda, I got into mine quickly,” Rainbow chuckled, tapping her armour.

“Yeah, but ours is heavier than yours,” Scootaloo pointed out.

“The weight difference is minimal, it shouldn’t make this much of a time difference,” Rainbow chuckled.

“I’ve got to agree with our Exarch here,” Spitfire nodded, being the only one of the team to have finished getting ready. “Plus we’ve had three years’ experience, you should be better at getting your armour on my now.”

“Alright keep your feathers on you two,” Lightning chuckled, finishing suiting up and twisting her legs experimentally, checking that the armour wasn’t pinching anywhere, before nodding in satisfaction. “So, you never did tell us why we’re deploying. I thought we had a few weeks of leave.”

“Change of plans,” Rainbow sighed. “I know I promised you all two weeks without any sort of missions or training, and I’m sorry I’ve got to cut this short, but this is the most important mission that’s come our way.”

“What, even more important than stopping the Hippogriffs and Minotaur’s going to war?” Wavechill scoffed. “I doubt that.”

“This is no longer a matter of the security of two nations, this is planet wide,” Rainbow explained. “Tell me, what’s the strongest defence for this planet?”

“Us,” Gilda replied firmly.

“Close, but no,” Rainbow shook her head. “It’s the Elements of Harmony. They are strong, and they can do more than just kill their foes, they can make them stronger.”

“Ok, fine,” Gilda nodded. “And considering the fact you still hold loyalty, we can say that this team is the strongest as we have the ability to use that weapon.”

“Why are you telling us this?” Spitfire asked. “Joint operation?”

“Not quite, but I’ll explain after we finish suiting up and getting our weapons. I don’t want this taking even longer now do I?”

“Fine, let’s get going then,” Spitfire nodded, walking towards the armoury. “Short deployment?”

“Long,” Rainbow said grimly. “Very long, so make sure you pack everything needed for weeks in the field.”

“Bikes?” Scootaloo asked excitedly.

“Yes, and make sure to pack the extra rations. I’ve got a plan, but I don’t know exactly how it’s going to work, so we need to be ready for anything,” Rainbow replied, before chuckling. “Still, hopefully this will all be me overreacting and we’ll be able to get back quickly. But if it’s not…”

“Better to be overly prepared than not prepared enough,” Spitfire nodded, opening the door to the armoury and walking inside, walking towards the rack of her personal weapons.

When the team had first formed, Luna and Twilight had only created basic weapons for each of the team’s members, a simple sword and a version of her own las-blaster. As time went on however, and the missions that the Swooping Pegasi were called upon became more and more varied, Rainbow had realised that unlike the Swooping Hawks squad, they’d have to be able to handle any situation on their own.

Now however, each of them carried vastly different weapons, each one tailored to each individual’s skills and physical ability. It had quickly shown itself to be useful almost immediately, and the team had become more efficient as a whole almost overnight. The only weapons that had remained constant were the weapons that Rainbow herself had decided were useful for the team, their blades, both the ones strapped to their rear hooves or paws, as well as the ones on their wings and the single sword they each wore.

Other than that, each member was armed in a completely different way. Spitfire for instance, being one of the oldest and most patient of the team, had seen fit to arm herself with much longer ranged solid shot weapon. Rainbow had tried to talk her out of it, to preach the benefits of light based weaponry in terms of both long range accuracy and weight of the ammunition, but she’d insisted. Rainbow had grumbled about it, but she hadn’t been able to fault her idols performance in the field, and she’d owed her life to Spitfire’s deadly accurate shots more than once.

Then there was Gilda, the almost exact opposite of Spitfire’s combat technique. While the older Pegasus liked to stay back and pick off vulnerable targets, Gilda was the tank of the team, wearing the heaviest armour and carrying two devastatingly effective weapons on either side of her body. They were almost like the melta weapons of the Fire Dragons, and they’d felled the heaviest targets that nopony else’s weapons would even penetrate, Rainbow still shuddered slightly as she remembered that rouge rock golem in the south.

Spitfire and Gilda were the biggest differentiating members of the team, the others using fairly similar weapons, but still slightly different. Scootaloo for example used a slightly larger and heavier fully automatic laser weapon she had attached to her side, while Lightning and Wavechill both preferred the more standard approach, using slightly modified versions of their original weapons.

Rainbow smiled as the others began to strap on their weapons as she grabbed her own, running her hoof along the power sword she had been given a lifetime ago, before grabbing her old las-blaster and turning to face the others.

“Right then, we get our bikes and we head to Ponyville, the library to be exact.”

“You sure this isn’t just an excuse to show off in front of your friends Dash?” Gilda teased, lightly hitting Rainbow on the head with her wing.

“Oh totally G,” Rainbow chuckled. “I did all of this just to show off that I’ve got command of a kickass team of warriors.”

“Hey Rainbow, do you think I can see the crusaders before we go?” Scootaloo asked, following the others towards the garage where the bikes were kept.

“Sure, can’t see any reason why not,” Rainbow nodded, looking at her sleek bike before sliding her legs over it, waiting for the others to get on their much bulkier versions. “I need to organise a lot of things anyway, but I needed you all ready to move as soon as they are done.”

“Are you going to tell us the plan? Or at least what’s happened?” Wavechill asked as the rest of the team prepared to lift off.

“I guess,” Rainbow sighed. “You know Twilight was working on that new Arc-tech machine? The MAOM?”

“Yeah, the Compensator,” Gilda smiled.

“She hates that name you know,” Rainbow chuckled.

“Why do you think I use it?” Gilda smiled. “But yeah, go on.”

“She’s finished it, and it works far too well,” Rainbow sighed, slipping her helmet on. “Full head gear this time by the way.”

“Do we have to?” Lightning groaned as the others pulled on helmets.

“What, afraid it’s going to mess up your hair?” Spitfire laughed, staring her bike up with a roar. “Just put your helmet on Lightning, listen to your Exarch.”

Rainbow cringed inwardly as Spitfire called her by her official title again. Very few ponies called her by that, mostly limited to the Princesses when she was on a mission, Spitfire herself, and most foreign dignitaries. She had turned down the title of Phoenix Lord, and would have been happy just as Captain at Arms, but both Luna and Twilight had managed to persuade her that if she was going to run a team outside of the military structure, she’d need a proper rank system. Thus, Rainbow had become an Exarch, while the rest of her team became Aspect Warriors. Each one above and beyond the military, answerable only to the Princesses themselves, and whoever Rainbow decided to work with.

Lightning grumbled softly under her breath, but complied with Rainbow's orders, slipping the helmet on and activating her locator, adding her green icon to the other four in Rainbows modified HUD.

“Alright, stay tight everypony,” Rainbow called over the roar of the engines.

“Awesome, I can do what I want then,” Gilda shot back with a chuckle.

“And every Griffon!” Rainbow roared, before pushing her Jetbike forward and shooting out of the temple, the roar from the engines of the six bikes echoing around the Everfree Forest as the Swooping Pegasi soared towards Ponyville.

Even with Gilda’s slightly slower bike, they quickly reached the outskirts of the town before landing just in front of the library. Quickly dismounting from their bikes, the Swooping Pegasi formed up in front of the library, before Rainbow turned to address the team, removing her helmet.

“Scootaloo, you can go and find Sweetie Belle and Applebloom if you want to, but come back here to have your conversations, and keep your communicator on in case I need you to return quickly.”

“Will do Rainbow,” Scootaloo nodded. “I’ll be back in half an hour at most.”

With that, Scootaloo took to the skies under her own wing power, as the others all filed into the library. Celestia, Luna, Twilight and the rest of Rainbow’s friends had moved upstairs from the basement, although they were all still in varying stages of sobbing their eyes out, Twilight seemingly taking the loss hardest, for good reasons.

They all looked round as Rainbow entered, what little conversation there had been dying in their throats as the room went silent, save for a single soft ‘eep’ from Fluttershy. Rainbow sighed, but she really couldn’t blame the timid Pegasus. She had struggled just hearing about what Rainbow had been through while she was away, and now there was a whole team of Pegasi and a Griffon, who Fluttershy was already scared of, who were capable of doing much the same thing.

“Exarch Dash,” Celestia nodded, looking at the team. “You’re an Aspect Warrior down? Where is Scootaloo?”

“She wanted to go find her friends, and in light of recent events, I told her to make the most of it,” Rainbow replied, before looking at Rarity. “Do you have any problems with Sweetie Belle listening in? I told Scootaloo to bring her friends back here so I can brief my team all at once.”

“No, not at all,” Rarity shook her head, her voice sounding horse from the sobbing, her make-up smudged across her face. “She should be around the Carousel.”

“I thought she would be, I’ll tell Scootaloo,” Rainbow nodded.

“You should probably tell her to get Big Mac and Granny Smith as well,” Fluttershy whispered.

“I’ll tell her, thanks,” Rainbow agreed, before slipping her helmet back on and opening a link to Scootaloo's helmet communicator. “Scootaloo, bit of an update. Sweetie Belle is likely to be at Carousel Boutique, and I reckon Applebloom will be a Sweet Apple Acres. When you get to the farm make sure to bring Big Mac and Granny Smith back to the Library with you.”

“Will do Rainbow, I’ve already got Sweetie Belle and I’m on my way to the farm. Be back in ten. Scootaloo out.”

“She’s on her way,” Rainbow turned back to the others, removing her helmet and looking at Twilight, before glancing at Celestia and dropping her voice. “How’s she taking it?”

“Not well,” Celestia sighed. “I’m sure with you here though, we’ll be able to formulate a plan that will help to set her mind at ease.”

“I have a plan, and as soon as Scootaloo gets back, I’ll tell you what it is.”

Celestia nodded, before turning back to Luna, exchanging a few hushed words with her sister while Rainbow looked over at her friends, sighing heavily as she tried to work out what her next step should be. She wanted to go over and talk to them, especially to Twilight, and try and offer some comforting words, but every time she thought about doing that, her stomach back flipped and made her feel sick to her core.

She was about to propose something that she never thought she have to face, and not only expose herself to the harshness of the forty first millennium again, but had to lead five others into what could easily be called a mortals version of tartarus. She would never admit it to anypony else, but she was terrified right now, and while the others would no doubt be scared when they knew the plan, they didn’t know what was coming for them, and had the bliss of ignorance. She, on the other hoof, knew exactly what was waiting for her.

“I’m back,” Scootaloo called, walking into the library, followed by the old Crusaders, Big Mac and Granny Smith. “Sorry it took a while.”

“It doesn’t matter Scootaloo, please fall in,” Rainbow sighed, steeling herself for what she was about to say.

“Ah don’t get it,” Applebloom started, looking around the room at Twilight and the others. “Where’s Applejack?”

“Applebloom, Big Mac, Granny Smith, you may want to sit down for this,” Rainbow said softly, looking at the trio, before glancing at her team. “Alright, here goes nothing. An hour ago, there was a malfunction with the MAOM testing. The amplified spell went haywire when the teleportation test was run.”

“Only a few apples,” Big Mac shrugged.

“No, it wasn’t a few apples Big Mac, it was one,” Rainbow replied slowly. “Applejack is...missing, transported through the webway.”

“What are ya’ll talkin’ about?” Granny asked slowly, walking towards Rainbow.

“I mean that right now Applejack could be where I was six years ago, which would mean the remains of Hannibal. In no conceivable way could this be good. Hannibal was destroyed by the Tyranids and reoccupied by the humans. It won’t be good for her if she’s there,” Rainbow closed her eyes as she shuddered slightly, before continuing. “But I have a plan if you’ll hear me out.”

No one replied straight away, the Apples looking like their world had just be torn in two, which on many ways it had, while the rest of the Swooping Pegasi just looked shocked. Finally, Spitfire managed to find her voice, croaking out like a dying frog.

“W-what’s the plan?”

“The MOAM still works, and although we had a problem, the theory is there,” Rainbow replied simply. “What I’m proposing is that we follow Applejack, we go through the webway and we get her out. With luck, she’ll be on Hannibal alive and well, or she’ll have been picked up by the Eldar.”

“And if she hasn’t?” Lightning asked softly.

“Then we find her,” Rainbow replied simply. “We go to Saim-Hann, they have archives there, vast repositories of knowledge. We will find her, I promise you Apples, we’ll find Applejack.”

“You’re overlooking one thing Exarch,” Luna said softly, placing a wing on Rainbows back.

“I’m not overlooking anything,” Rainbow replied, turning to face the Alicorn. “This is what we were made for, without Applejack, we don’t have the Elements. A darkness falling over the world.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Luna shook her head. “No, you have overlooked the fact that this spell was random, it cannot be recreated.”

“I know that Luna. But either you, Celestia, or most likely Twilight can recreate another spell, using data from four years ago. Do that, and I know exactly where we’ll come out. We’ll be on Hannibal, and after that, we’ll make our own way to find Applejack, wherever she is.”

“You’re sure of…” Celestia began.

“I’m not sure of anything!” Rainbow groaned in frustration. “All I know is that this is the only way. I survived through luck and chance, can you say with certainty that Applejack will do the same? I don’t doubt her in any way, but I know the universe, and I’ve trained my team in the way I was trained. We are the only ones who have a chance. I don’t want to do this Celestia, I wish there was another way, but we don’t have a choice here. I won’t risk Applejack’s life because I was…scared.”

She trailed off weakly, looking down at her hooves as she broke eye contact with the princesses, before she felt a presence move up beside her.

“I’m with Dash,” Gilda announced firmly, walking up to Rainbow and standing beside her. “She’s trained us well. If she says we should do this, then we should.”

“I am too,” Scootaloo nodded, joining Rainbow and Gilda.

The rest of the team quickly followed the lead of Scootaloo and Gilda, standing beside Rainbow and facing the assembled ponies. Rainbow's let out a sigh of relief as her team stood beside her, dismissing the doubts that had been creeping into her mind. She wouldn’t have held it against any of them if they had decided not to follow her, and yet here they all were, ready to face down the howling darkness, with heads held high.

“You have your answer Celestia, we stand ready to face the fire,” Rainbow proclaimed, looking over at her friends.

“Then I give you my blessings, and offer you the services of the guard. They’re trained by your hoof, surely they…” Celestia began.

“I told you when I built this team that the Guard weren’t suited for this type of mission Celestia. My team goes alone.”

“You’re sure?” Luna asked.

“Come on, let’s get on with it,” Gilda groaned in exasperation. “Where is this MOAM anyway?”

“It’s…downstairs,” Twilight sniffed, getting to her hooves and moving towards the doorway. “I can…I can operate it if you want.”

“If you’d like to, I’m happy to allow you,” Rainbow nodded, before turning to face the others. "Get the bikes in, we need to find a way to get them downstairs."

"Allow me," Celestia murmured softly, before her horn lit up for a few brief seconds. "There. They should be waiting for you downstairs."

"Thank you," Rainbow nodded, glancing out of the doorway and assuring herself that none had been left behind, before turning back to Twilight. "Twilight? We heading down?"

“Maybe with this I can make up for some of the damage I’ve done,” Twilight sighed as she walked down the stairs, the rest of the ponies following her.

As soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs, Rainbow led her team towards the MOAM, checking her weapons as they formed up, Twilight once again donning the helmet. The rest of the Swooping Pegasi were likewise preparing themselves, checking weapons and making sure their helmets were sealed to their armour, just in case the atmosphere of Hannibal had degraded even further, before moving their Jetbikes together and straddling the saddles, locking themselves in place.

“Rainbow, darling…are you sure about this?” Rarity asked, putting a comforting hoof around a silently sobbing Sweetie Belle.

“I don’t have a choice Rarity, I can’t leave her out there.”

“Scoots?” Applebloom asked softly.

“Yeah AB?” Scootaloo asked, her voice slightly muffled by her helmet.

“Find mah sister, bring ‘er home.”

“Don’t worry Applebloom, we’ll find her,” Scootaloo assured her, before turning and nodding to Rainbow.

“Twilight, do it,” Rainbow grunted, slipping her own helmet back on and sealing it to her suit as she sat down on her own bike.

Twilight sighed, before turning the machine on, the loud howl of the mechanisms filling the room as Twilight's horn glowed brighter and brighter, filling the room with the lavender light. For a second, the glow seemed to turn the purest white, before suddenly compressing into a single beam, shooting out at Rainbow before enveloping the rest of the Swooping Pegasi.

Rainbow felt an odd tingling in her body, her entire mane standing on end beneath her helmet, before her vision compressed into a multi-coloured spiral, the library disappearing from sight as the Swooping Pegasi left Equestria, entering the war torn universe of the forty first millennium.

Author's Note

Rainbow's Jetbike looks like this:

While the rest of the team is on something more like this:

Boneyard

Rainbow Dash

Rainbow let out a hiss of pain as her helmet lens adjusted to the harsh sunlight that was streaming into them, quickly darkening in response to the conditions and allowing Rainbow to look out at their landing area. She sighed as she saw Hannibal, a tear threatening to spring to her eye. She hated what had happened on this world, and the losses that she suffered on it, but that was of little consequence to her anymore, and she couldn’t allow it to affect her mission.

“Swooping Pegasi! Sound off!” Rainbow called out, activating her helmet comm to make sure they heard her across the barren world.

“Spitfire reporting in Exarch.”

“Gilda here, I copy.”

“I’m here too,” Lightning chipped in, her voice sounding weaker than normal.

“Scoots checking in.”

“Wavechill reporting in, team reports five by five, we’re all here.”

“Good,” Rainbow nodded, twisting to check over her warriors and watching as Lightning clutched her stomach. “Lightning? What’s the matter with you?”

Lightning didn’t respond, instead jumping from her Jetbike and tugging her helmet off. A split second later, she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the floor, retching she tried to get around the feeling that was building up in her stomach.

“That’s it Lightning, get it all out,” Rainbow sighed, jumping from her bike and moving towards the stricken Pegasus.

“Can’t handle a bit of transdimensional jumping?” Spitfire scoffed, taking her own helmet off.

“With all due respect, screw you Spitfire,” Lightning groaned, retching again, before looking up at Rainbow and smiling crookedly.

“Stop it, both of you,” Rainbow warned. “Take your helmets off, we’ll recover for a few moments before moving on.”

The others nodded, pulling their helmets off and sliding from their Jetbikes to stand beside Rainbow and Lightning.

“So this is Hannibal?” Wavechill asked as he looked around.

“The same planet I landed on when I first came here, yeah,” Rainbow nodded slowly.

“Are you ok Dash?” Gilda asked softly, placing a wing on Rainbow's back.

“Yeah G, I’m fine,” Rainbow sighed. “Just a lot of memories is all. Still, it won’t affect what we do.”

“And what are we going to do?” Scootaloo asked.

Rainbow pondered for a moment, before coming up with a plan. “Prep you bikes, I want to check them all over and make sure they all survived the journey properly. See to your personal wargear as well, I want everypony to be ready if we get jumped.”

“I thought you said this was a dead world,” Scootaloo pointed out, walking back towards her Jetbike.

“Don’t remind me,” Rainbow sighed, checking her own bike. “But a dead world doesn’t mean dead inhabitants. The Tyranids could survive here, the Mechanicus can. I don’t want surprises.”

“Makes a change,” Gilda muttered with a smirk. “I remember when you were all about surprises back at Flight Camp.”

“And I remember when you were cool,” Rainbow shot back with her own smirk.

“Yeah, I bet you do,” Gilda chuckled.

Rainbow rolled her eyes, turning away from the Griffon as she got back to looking over her bike, the red glow of the setting sun helping to mask the slight blush upon her cheeks. For a few minutes, the team was silent, each member checking over their bikes and weapons, making sure that the teleportation hadn’t broken or damaged them.

Eventually, Rainbow had finished the checks on her own bike, all systems showing up green as she ran a final systems diagnostic, before turning back to the others and walking towards Lightning and Wavechill.

The stallion had already finished checking his bike, completing the checks even faster than Rainbow herself, and had already moved onto helping Lightning. If there was a member of the team that understood Arc-Tech as well as Rainbow, it was him, and he often was the one to repair the rest of the team’s equipment if it ever got broken in the field. It was odd that after he had revealed this particular talent, Lightning’s gear had been getting more and more ‘malfunctions’.

Smiling slightly, Rainbow passed the pair by, knowing that Wavechill would ensure both machines were working at optimum capacity, heading instead towards Spitfire. Her idol being on the team had never quite felt natural to Rainbow, and even after all this time, Rainbow still wasn’t one hundred percent used to the idea of being in command of her.

“Oh come on!” Spitfire shouted suddenly, giving her bike a solid kick.

“You realise that won’t help fix it yeah?” Wavechill quipped.

“I think it helps,” Spitfire grumbled, kicking her bike again. “Bucking technology.”

“Already Spitfire, what’s the problem this time?” Rainbow sighed, standing beside Spitfire.

“The port side stabiliser isn’t operating properly, and the engine is seizing slightly at around ninety percent power.”

Rainbow nodded, running a hoof along Spitfire’s bike as she walked around to the offending stabiliser. Like her weapon, Spitfire’s bike was unique, designed for her exact needs by some of the best egg-heads in the Canterlot R&R department. Extra stabilisers, a new fin design, and smoother engines all came together to provide the most stable firing position possible for the sniper, at the expense of speed and ride bumpiness. The one time Rainbow had ridden Spitfire's bike, she could have been forgiven for believing she was just flying, rather than riding. Suffice to say, it took all the fun out of the ride, and Rainbow hadn’t used Spitfire's bike since.

“Yeah, the secondary intake cluster is misaligned,” Rainbow pointed out, looking at a small collection of nozzles on the side of the stabiliser. “Run the realignment program, setting Gamma. It will sort it out.”

“And the engine?” Spitfire asked.

“Just some dust and small rocks is all,” Rainbow shrugged. “You could clear it out by hoof, but a real full burn as opposed to a simulated one should clear it out.”

Spitfire nodded, working on the bike and doing what Rainbow had told her to do as Rainbow walked towards Scootaloo, the young Pegasus flitting around her bike as she checked everything was working on her own labour of love.

Scootaloo’s bike had originally been designed to the same standard specifications as Lightning’s’ and Wavechill’s, but that had been before she’d had been tinkering on it for three years. The bike had undergone a lot of modifications since she had got it, ranging from a larger engine to the multitude of extra thruster nozzles dotted around the bike, all capable of drawing power from the engine and propelling the bike in a completely different direction. Those were minor compared to the main one on the bike however, and the one that had impressed everypony when she’d unveiled it.

The modification had stemmed from the grav-module that Rainbow had given Scootaloo when she had first returned to Equestria. Scootaloo had gotten used to it, but when she’d joined the team, it had been too exposed to attack, and after months of weighing up the options, she had undergone surgery to insert it sub-dermaly in between the bones where her wings met her spine. That hadn’t been enough for her however, and after she had got the bike, she had travelled to Canterlot with a request for Twilight herself. It was amazing just what Twilight could do when it came to Arc-Tech and advanced spell-weaving, allowing Scootaloo’s grav-generator to sync with her Jetbike perfectly. It wasn’t true artificial intelligence, but it was certainly closer than any of the others had, and her Jetbike had almost taken on a rudimentary personality of its own, albeit one at the level of an animal rather than a pony.

“How’s the bike?” Rainbow smirked.

“She’s doing great,” Scootaloo beamed, stopping her mad dash around her bike and staring at Rainbow. As she spoke, the bike flared into life, seemingly supporting what Scootaloo had said.

“Good, just make sure to keep ‘her’ operational,” Rainbow smiled, patting Scootaloo on the head. “Remember, it’s a bike, it can be fixed up, but if it’s not working, then your pet will get you killed.”

“Yeah, I know,” Scootaloo nodded. “But if she does, she’ll get me killed in an awesome way.”

Rainbow chuckled, rolling her eyes at the energetic Pegasus’s attitude, before moving on to check on the final member of the team. Gilda was without doubt the most laid back member of the team, never acting as if she really wanted to be here, and certainly never bothering with what she called ‘boring professionalism’. Rainbow knew though that beneath all of the cavalier attitude, Gilda did actually enjoy being on the team.

“How’s the tank?” Rainbow asked, tapping Gilda’s back.

“It’s fine Dash,” Gilda nodded. "Everything’s working as far as I can tell, just need to run some actual checks."

Rainbow nodded as she watched Gilda climb onto the bike and start it up, her talons making using the bikes controls much easier for her than hooves did. Like Spitfire’s bike, Gilda’s had been designed specifically for her, mostly due to her sheer size compared to the rest of the Pegasi on the team, but also due to her preference to get herself into the most dangerous situations possible on any battlefield she found.

The main difference came from the extra armour on the bike, just like her aspect armour, able to take punishment that would have wrecked other bikes five times over. Coupled with the retractable blast shields that could cover the pilot and protect her from fire, albeit it's at the expense of some visibility, Gilda’s bike truly was more of a human weapon than an Eldar one. Eldar believed the best way to survive an attack was to simply not be there when it landed, using speed as their biggest defence, while humans made sure to slap as much armour on their vehicles as was physically possible. Both had their merits and short falls, and as long as Gilda could continue to keep up with the others at travel speed, Rainbow wasn’t going to complain.

“Everything good G?” Rainbow asked as the blast shields lowered, allowing Gilda to slide off her bike.

“Everything’s working Dash,” Gilda nodded. “We have a plan of action?”

“Kind of,” Rainbow replied, before turning to face Wavechill and Lightning. “Wavechill?! How are Lightning’s and your bike looking?”

“Solid, kind of like flying bikes,” Wavechill shot back with a goofy grin.

“Are they working?” Rainbow reiterated with a groan at his attitude.

“Yes, they’re both working,” he nodded. “Personal wargear too.”

“Good, gather in then,” Rainbow called, the team gathering around her. “Alright, here’s the plan. Applejack has maybe a day on us in terms of how long she’d been here. Food’s short, she’d know that she’d have to find some, so she’d have walked off somewhere. We need to spread out and find her, as well as figuring out a way off this planet.”

“Ideas then?” Lightning asked.

“Wavechill, Scootaloo, I want you to scan the west and north from this position, no more than fifty miles out, Gilda, Spitfire, I want you to do the same on the east and south. Check for footprints or any signs of life. I don’t know how much drift this kind of teleportation has, but if it’s more than fifty miles, we’ll need to get a proper search pattern up and running.”

“And you and Lightning?” Spitfire asked.

“I don’t want Lightning flying just yet, and I’ll stay with here till you return, we’ll work on getting a beacon up and running. With any luck there will be some Rangers or Corsairs that we can contact,” Rainbow replied. “And don’t engage any enemy’s you find, the Mechanicus were here, and for all I know, there could still be the odd Tyranid roaming around here. If you see anything, return and signal the others. Understand?”

“Don’t worry Exarch, we’re not all as reckless as you,” Spitfire smirked.

“True,” Rainbow chuckled. “Still, get to it.”

The others nodded, slipping their helmets back on and hopping onto their bikes once more. Rainbow watched with a smile as they sped off, before Lightning let out a soft cough to draw her attention.

“Why didn’t you allow me to go?” Lightning asked pointedly.

“Like I said to Spitfire, you just threw up, I don’t want you flying straight away ok?” Rainbow replied simply.

“Oh come on, it was a bit of sick, but I’m fine,” Lightning defended herself, her wings flaring slightly.

“Possibly, but I’m not risking it while we don’t have access to outside medical support or a friendly population. Plus I need some help setting up the beacon.”

“I didn’t even know you had a beacon, let alone how to set it up,” Lightning grumbled, before pointing after Wavechill and Scootaloo. “I want to be out there with Wav…with the team.”

“With the team huh?” Rainbow asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’ll get your chance Lightning, I promise you that, but not yet, that’s an order.”

“Fine,” Lightning grunted, turning back to her Jetbike and looking over it. “Tell me if you need help, otherwise I’ll be working on this.”

Rainbow sighed at Lightning, remembering just how difficult she could be, as well as how stubborn she still was, before turning back to her own bike, looking for the parts she had brought along for the beacon. It wasn’t going to be pretty, nor was it going to be very effective or long range, but it may just be able to reach an Eldar ear. All Rainbow had to do was remember Eldar emergency signal wavelengths, and make sure that it would be hidden to meddlesome humans.

The minutes ticked by, both Pegasi engrossed in their work as they tinkered on the machines, before Rainbow's ears suddenly stood straight up. She was instantly alert, straining to hear anything that could be a threat to her. Lightning didn’t miss the signs, and walked towards Rainbow.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, standing beside Rainbow and looking out across the rough terrain of the planet.

“Shh,” Rainbow whispered softly.

“But…”

Shh,” Rainbow repeated, more forcefully this time, before slipping her helmet on. “Weapons, now.”

“I don’t…”

“Just do it,” Rainbow hissed, picking up her own weapon and creeping towards her Jetbike. She rested her rifle across the saddle of her Jetbike as her ears began to pick out a soft hum in the distance. Activating her helmet comm, Rainbow opened a channel to the rest of the team.

“Guys, back to my position now, unknown bogey closing in now.”

“Hostile?” Gilda asked.

“On this planet? Probably,” Rainbow hissed, before allowing the helmet comm to go dead as the hum turned into a low rumble. “Lightning? You ready?”

“What are we facing?” Lightning asked, her rifle readied like Rainbow’s.

Lightning’s question was answered before Rainbow could even open her mouth as an shot rang out, impacting the dirt just in front of Rainbow's bike as ten vehicles loped towards the pair. Each one was propelled forward by two long back-jointed legs, their open cockpits allowing Rainbow to see a single human at the controls of each one.

“Scout Sentinels!” Rainbow roared, snapping off a shot as she ducked a blast from yet another one of the machines heavy bolters, the shell mercifully flying high. “Lightning, get airborne now!”

Rainbow didn’t wait to see if Lightning was following the orders as she jumped on her own bike, speeding into the air as more shells tore up the ground where she had been a moment before, the pilots finally finding their range mark.

“What are those things?!” Lightning roared, flying next to Rainbow.

“Imperial Scout Sentinels,” Rainbow grunted. “They’ll be the first wave, we could have armoured ones inbound any second. Keep clear of their weapons and aim for the pilots.”

Lightning nodded, before rolling her bike over and diving towards the vehicles, spinning as she avoided the shots firing up at the pair. Rainbow followed behind Lightning, her bikes weapon spitting out shurikens as she went, the micro-disks slicing into the armour of the sentinels. More than one pilot cried out as they were hit, but none of them dropped from the inaccurate fire, and Rainbow quickly shot past, banking hard as she looked out the way the sentinels had come from, seeing more dust clouds rising as yet more vehicles approached.

“Lightning! We’ve got more incoming, watch for additional fire!” Rainbow roared, before speeding beneath one of the sentinels, grasping her sword in both hooves and hacking at the walker’s legs. They were too thick for her to slice through completely, but the hydraulics cables weren’t, and the machine came to a grinding halt, before pitching forward at its gyro stabilisers failed.

“Where are the others?!” Lightning roared, dodging yet more fire.

Even as she spoke, one of the sentinels exploded as a bulky Jetbike slammed into its back, the thin armour offering it no protection against Gilda’s bikes mass. Even as the vehicle exploded, another ground to a halt, the pilot’s head suddenly containing more metal than was healthy as Spitfire cycled the bolt on her rifle, lining up another shot.

“Nice of you to drop by,” Rainbow quipped, spinning away from a gout of flame. “Where are the others?”

“Eta fifty seconds,” Wavechill replied over the comms. Heads up, looks like you’ve got more inbound.”

“What sort of things?” Rainbow asked as a shot rang out, pinging off the armour of a Sentinel.

“Look like some weird metal boxes, five in total, tiny turrets on the top, possible troop carriers.”

“Their hiding in metal boxes!” Gilda roared, her weapons roaring with her, a vehicle exploding in reply. “WE should take away their precious boxes!”

“Don’t get cocky, they’ll be Chimera!” Rainbow roared. “Transports, a squad in each. Fifty Guardsmen may actually be able to do something!”

Rainbow banked round again, her weapons roaring in conjunction with Lightning’s as the pair sped towards a Sentinel, the pilot within shuddering as his body was peppered with laser blasts and shuriken. Against the scout sentinels, they could easily win, but with the arriving Chimera, Rainbow didn’t rate their chances nearly as high.

“We need to withdraw,” Spitfire seemed calm as she put a shot between the eyes of a Guardsman as he exited the Chimera.

“As soon as the others get here,” Rainbow agreed.

“Like hell!” Lightning grunted, swooping low over the heads of the Guardsmen. “We’re winning.”

“For now,” Rainbow replied.

“Watch your heads,” Wavechill shouted as he let out a burst of fire, Scootaloo flying beside him.

Unlike the rest of the team, Scootaloo didn’t sit on her bike, insisting that the hoof locks were good enough to allow her to stand up, while her modifications allowed her to still steer her bike, allowing her to get a better shot with her weapon. Without a moment’s hesitation, Scootaloo opened fire, peppering the Chimeras with heavy laser fire, sending the men scurrying for cover. Another shot rang out, taking the head off a Sergeant, followed quickly by another solid shot, and another.

“Spitfire! What’s going on?!” Rainbow roared as three of the remaining Sentinels ground to a halt, their pilots dead.

“That’s not me,” she replied, before taking another shot, forcing the final Sentinel to grind to a halt, no long able to move without a living pilot.

“It was us,” a voice came over the communicator in Rainbow's helmet.

“Identify yourself now,” Rainbow quipped, the team forming up behind her as they banked over the Guardsmen, raining shots down on them and dodging the return fire.

“Ranger Yeria, affiliated with Saim-Hann Rainbow Dash, my team and I are set up one mile west of your position. Please hurry, I wish to be gone from this place.”

The helmet comm went dead, and Rainbow turned towards the general direction Yeria had said, watching as five tiny flashes preceded five deadly accurate shots.

“Come on, we’ve got reinforcements, let’s take them down!” Gilda roared, her heavy weapons firing at a Chimera, punching a hole through its armour.

“No! There are too many, we’re linking up with the Rangers and leaving,” Rainbow retorted.

“What about Applejack?” Scootaloo asked.

“If she’s here, the Rangers will know more, if not, then we need to get to Saim-Hann anyway. Now form up on me and let’s go.”

The team quickly complied with her orders, although Rainbow could hear Gilda’s grumbling about retreating, forming up behind her as they sped away from the humans. The occasional shot came near them, but the range was now far too great from the Guardsmen, and the shots that did get through barely did more than cause the paint on the team’s bikes and armour to blister slightly.

“Ranger Yeria, please confirm your position,” Rainbow called over the comm.

“Drop to the deck, continue on current heading for ten seconds then turn five degrees portside, you’ll see us.”

Rainbow didn’t question the orders, complying with them, and quickly catching sight of a small shimmering patch of light in the distance. It didn’t take them long to reach it, and the six jetbikes touched down, facing the five Rangers.

“Rainbow Dash?” one of the Rangers asked, his face almost completely covered by his cloak. “I am Yeria, it is an honour to meet you.”

“Why are you here?” Rainbow asked, casting a quick glance over her shoulder to check that no humans had followed them.

“We received word from the farseers of Saim-Hann that a disturbance on Hannibal was about to return. We were asked to investigate. Please, here is not the place to discuss such matters. If you would follow me and my team into the Webway.”

Yeria turned and quickly walked towards the glowing light, stepping through and disappearing into the portal. Rainbow began to follow him, only for Gilda to lay a talon on her shoulder.

“You sure this is safe Dash?”

“They're Eldar, they say they were given a mission from Saim-Hann, and they’re offering us a place off world, I’d say they’re safe,” Rainbow nodded, before grinning beneath her helmet. “Plus, if they’re not, we’ll be close to them, Rangers are long range, we have swords. We’ll be fine.”

With that, Rainbow followed Yeria into the portal, the rest of the team following her lead and entering the webway once more.

Author's Note

Ok, I officially hated writing this chapter. Not sure what it was, but I couldn't seem to get it the way I envisioned it. This is about the fifth time I've rewritten it, and it's the only time I'm happy with it.

Also, thanks to Rakaziel for coming up with the ideas for the Jetbike modifications. Hope they go down well with everybody. :twilightsmile:

Surviving the Wastes

Applejack

Applejack’s chest burnt as she continued to gallop forward, her hooves feeling like they were going to disintegrate under the intense pressure she was putting on them. They were already bleeding as her hooves cracked, but still she kept running, until finally she could move no more, collapsing in a heap, her chest rising and falling as she panted heavily.

Eventually, she managed to get back her breath enough to raise her head off the floor, looking around the desolate landscape. She didn’t know how long she’d been running for, but she did know that she was a long way from the attackers. She just had to hope that they wouldn’t bother coming after a few stray farmers.

With that thought in her head, Applejack began to look around herself for any signs of Koghad, Mata or Lofeg. Instead, she saw a very small blip on the horizon floating towards her, a tiny haze underneath it signifying the presence of an anti-grav generator. She managed to force herself back to her hooves, wincing slightly as the cracked surfaces hit the ground, but she walked forward regardless, finally managing to make out the figure of the drone.

“Fio’Saal Applejack, sensors indicate that we are thirteen point two four miles due east of the farming plantation. Suggest returning to quarters and awaiting further instructions.”

“W1? Is that you?” Applejack asked, peering up and trying to make out the drones serial number through the dust and mud caked across its hull.

“Affirmative,” the drone bobbed up and down to signify its compliance.

“Do you know where the others are? Koghad and the team?”

“Affirmative, Fio’Saal Koghad and Fio’Saal Lofeg are approaching this position. They are currently one point six miles away from your current position.”

“Lead me to them,” Applejack ordered.

“I’m afraid…” W1 began.

“That’s an order W1,” Applejack cut it off.

“Affirmative Fio’Saal. Reverting to secondary program. Assigning myself to Fio’Saal Applejack in lieu of any higher ranking members of the Earth Caste.”

“Good, lead on,” Applejack nodded, walking after the drone, wincing slightly as she went.

“Are you medically fit Fio’Saal?” W1 asked.

“Just worry about getting me to the others,” Applejack grunted. “I’ll be fine.”

“Affirmative.”

The pair lapsed into silence as they walked, her hooves causing her discomfort, but she pushed through it, focusing on putting one hoof in front of the other, the pain anchoring her in the present, and not allowing her to think about the past, and the death. Eventually, Applejack saw a small outline of a building, and silently wondered how she missed it, before walking towards it and making her way inside, W1 following after her.

She was immediately tackled to the floor, a heavy weight pinning her town as she got a whiff of stale breath.

“Get off me Koghad,” she coughed, grunting as she pushed her cracked hooves against the Demiurg’s chest and rolling him off her.

“Oh, sorry lass,” Koghad apologised, getting back to his feet, before placing his hands on his knees and wheezing heavily. “You sure can run. We thought we’d never catch up with ya. Then old W1 appeared, said it was looking for ya.”

“Loyal things drones,” Lofeg nodded with a smile. Unlike the others, Lofeg didn’t seem nearly as tired, staring out of what looked like a window, but had long since crumbled away enough for the glass pane to fall out. “Loyal and pre-programed. They don’t eat, they don’t sleep, and they don’t care if they get destroyed. The perfect little helpers.”

“Yeah, seems like it,” Applejack nodded at W1, before looking around the small one-roomed building they were in. “Where’s Mata?”

Neither of the others answered, exchanging a sad glance with each other, before Koghad simply shook his head. “He’s with the ancestors now Lass.”

Applejack froze as Koghad spoke, her throat seizing up yet again, before she managed to find her voice again. “S-so, where…where are we?”

“Beats me lass? I just thought it would be a good place to lay low fer a while,” Koghad shrugged.

“It’s an old way station for human miners,” Lofeg finally explained, his soft voice breaking the silence. “We’re out in the far mining belts now, completely empty, nothing of worth is out here, which is why this place is abandoned.”

“How do you know that?” Applejack asked, walking towards Lofeg.

“Because I read about the planet in my down time,” Lofeg replied simply. “What its climates like, what it used to be, anything I could get my hands on.”

“So what did this planet used to be?” Koghad asked. “A human world?”

“Yes, under the protection of the Ultramarines,” Lofeg nodded. “I would guess that’s why they came back to attack the planet. We were just unlucky that our farm was by the Fire Castes barracks. I doubt they would have sent that force for just some farmers.”

“Or lucky, considering the fact we were still in the fields,” Koghad muttered, looking across at Applejack. “Maybe it was good that you wanted to take a little extra time. If you didn’t then we might have…”

“Don’t say it,” Applejack cut him off.

“Don’t say what?”

“Just…don’t talk about…that,” Applejack shuddered.

“But…”

“Don’t!” Applejack roared. “I won’t talk about it! I won’t accept it! It hasn’t happened! Mata’s still…”

She trailed off weakly as the others seemed to be taken aback by Applejack's sudden outburst, backing away from her as she turned to stare out of the open doorway. Eventually, Koghad walked forward, standing beside her and reaching towards her hat.

“Touch that and I’ll kick you again,” Applejack warned, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I was just getting something off it for ya lass,” Koghad assured her, reaching across and tentatively plucking a large chunk of blueish grey flesh from the brim, flicking it out the window. “Applejack…I know what you’re going through. Witnessing your first death, it’s never easy.”

“I said don’t talk about it,” Applejack growled again, before turning to look at the corner of the room, her eyes settling on the bed there.

“Lie down for a while,” Koghad urged softly, taking her by the hoof and leading her towards the bed.

Applejack allowed herself to be led across the room, numbly following Koghad’s lead as she was lain down on the bed. Koghad slowly went back to the others as an eerie quiet fell across the room, the two Demiurg sitting in a small circle in the centre of the room, W1 floating silently by the door, and Applejack lying in bed.

She wanted to sleep more than anything right now, but every time she closed her eyes, she saw the Fio’La right in front of her, screaming at her to move, before the bolter round slammed into his head, forever silencing him. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shake the images from her head, but keeping her eyes open didn’t seem to help either. Even in the silence, she could hear Mata’s voice, his cocky attitude towards finding contraband and bending the rules. She couldn’t process everything yet, her mind rebelling against her every time she even tried to rationalise what she had seen, and what she had not seen.

Instead she resolved herself to simply lie on the bed, not moving, not thinking, barely breathing.

Time ticked by, second by agonising second, the silence itself threatening to crush Applejack as she lost herself in her own thoughts, before finally she was torn from her trance like state by an odd, melancholy singing voice. It was scratchy, and Applejack couldn’t tell who was singing it, but the slow words seemed to wash over her, filling the silence.

Come drink up my lads, raise a cup in his name,

And drink yourself stupid to remember his fame.

He lived his life as he owned his death,

Swimming in drink, and drowning in debt.

He’s past on now, but he’s with his old kin,

Raising a cup, and causing a din.

There’s no way you’d hear, if we said goodbye,

But who gives a toss, we can damn well try.

So drink up my lads, and drink to his fame,

You’d damn well remember, Mata was his name.

I wish I had told him, what I want to say now,

But I don’t think I’ll do it, cause I don’t rightly know how.

So drink up my lads, drink till you’re free,

Drink till you’re swimming in the hooch with thee.

Who’ll call his round, whose wallet is heavy?

How many pints can this tummy here levy?

The song began to die out as Applejack rolled over, looking across at Lofeg and Koghad, the pair holding two mugs as they swayed from side to side, looking back at her. Applejack couldn’t help but notice that there was a third mug was laid on the ground. Both of the Demiurg had stopped singing, and were now staring at her, silently imploring her to come and sit with them to properly honour their comrade.

With a nod, she slid out of the bed, trotting over and slipping her hoof around the mug, raising it to her muzzle and giving it an experimental sniff, ascertaining that it was cider rather than Amasec. She had been getting slightly more used to the bitter human drink, but given the chance, she’d always prefer cider for the connections it drew to home.

Allowing herself a weak smile, Applejack took a sip of the cider, before tilting it further up as the other two began to drink. With the unspoken words signalled, the three downed their drinks, the sounds of their gulping echoing round the silent room, before Koghad slammed his mug down, followed swiftly by Lofeg and Applejack. And like that, the sombre mood was broken as both Koghad and Lofeg launched into yet another verse of the song, this one changing it from a melancholy tune to an upbeat dancing jig.

Pour another cup, mine appears to be dry,
Don’t say there’s no more or you’ll see a grown man cry!
All sing along now and sway side to side,
No single voice is too ugly to hide!

Applejack allowed her hoof to snake round Lofeg’s shoulder, while her other one clutched her mug as Koghad refilled all three from a small cask he had kept in his work pack. She was hardly surprised that the Demiurg had decided to pack his work bag with alcohol rather than tools, but right now she didn’t really care about that, as once again they all raised their mugs and downed them in silence, before slamming them to the floor. Again and again they repoured the cider, only to down it in one and repeat the cycle, before finally, Koghad’s cask ran dry.

Applejack thought that the song had ended, before Lofeg began to beat his fists against the floor, starting a quick rhythm that Applejack quickly caught on to, clopping her hooves against the concrete floor as Koghad grabbed hold of Lofeg’s pack, ripping it open to reveal yet another cask. Not hesitating for a moment, Koghad raised the barrel high, pulling the cork from the end and upending the barrel over his mouth, the amber liquid inside falling in a beautifully appley cascade.

Drink! Drink! Finish in one!
Down! Down!
Until it’s all gone!
Drink! Drink! Finish in one!
Down! Down!
Until it’s all gone!

The chant continued as Koghad chugged the contents of the barrel, his Adams Apple bobbing up and down as he sought to swallow as much as he could. Applejack had no idea how much was left in the barrel, or how strong the cider inside was, but it must have been strong as she was already feeling slightly dizzy. How Koghad could continue was beyond her, but that didn’t stop her joining in with Lofeg to egg him on.

Drink! Drink! Finish in one!
Down! Down!
Until it’s all gone!
Drink! Drink! Finish in one!
Down! Down!
Until it’s all gone!
Drink! Drink! Finish in one!
Down! Down!
Until it’s all gone!

The chant finally finished as Koghad let out a roar, throwing the barrel against the wall where it broke open, revealing the few remaining drops inside. With a raucous laugh, Koghad lunged forward, tackling Lofeg and pinning him to the floor, aiming blows at the Demiurg’s head and body.

Applejack immediately thought that the drink had gone to Koghad’s head, and made to push him off Lofeg, before she saw that Lofeg was laughing too, even as Koghad’s fists rained down on him. With a roar of his own Lofeg kicked Koghad off him, before rising to his feet and grappling with the other Demiurg.

Realising what was happening, Applejack let out a roaring laugh of her own, her inhibitions lowered by the alcohol. Without thinking properly, she dived forward, crashing into the pair and driving them to the floor.

All three continued to laugh as they pummelled each other, drawing blood as they sought to work out their frustration over the situation. Applejack was amazed at how therapeutic this actually was as she brought her hoof into Koghad’s stomach, winding him, before being driven to the floor by Lofeg.

Eventually, the trio stopped fighting, collapsing onto the floor and wheezing heavily, trying their best to get their breath back, as well as nursing their wounds. Applejack could feel some blood trickling from her muzzle, but forced herself to look at Koghad anyway, her vision swimming before her and her voice slightly muffled from the blood and booze.

“Is…is that how all…Demiurg funerals usually…go?”

“No, if this were a proper one, there would have been hic a lot stronger hooch, more of it, more singing, more dancing, more fighting, and ya probably would have ended the evenin’ with a baby in yer belly. If we’re compatible that is, who knows?”

“No, bad Koghad,” Lofeg reprimanded his fellow, lightly swatting him over the head without looking up. “We don’t make…pretty with the pony girl…unless she wants to.”

“No…thanks,” Applejack shook her head weekly, before leaning back on the hard cold floor and sighing, her eye lids slipping closed, and thanks to the alcohol, revealing nothing save for sweet sweet darkness.

***

Applejack groaned as she woke up, her hooves flying upwards as she clutched onto her head, trying to dull the throbbing behind her eyes. She was no stranger to this feeling, and she had often had nights like this on the farm after a particularly stressful day, or at one of Berry Punches fabled ‘After Pinkie Parties’. Nothing however compared to this, and she rolled over to see Koghad and Lofeg in much the same position.

Eventually, Applejack staggered to her hooves, moving over towards W1.

“W1, how…how long were we out?”

“Sixteen hours forty three minutes and sixteen seconds,” the drone replied instantly. “In that time I have picked up thirteen coded Tau messages that I do not have authorisation to listen to, as well as one unencrypted message with human origins.”

“Play the human message,” Applejack groaned, before sliding down the wall as she clutched her head again. The drone bobbed up and down, before a deep voice boomed out of its speaker grill.

Lord Commander Imperialis Aleuton Maxamius, Sixth Company Captain Jorel, the Legio Invicta greets you both. Know then, that Legio Invicta is here to cleanse this world of the Tau filth. Know then that the Legio Invicta will walk upon Styro.

“No more messages have been recorded Fio’Saal Applejack,” The drone said after the message had finished.

“Drop the Fio’Saal stuff for now ok? Just call me Applejack, and that’s an order,” Applejack turned back to Koghad and Lofeg, the pair propping themselves up against one of the tables, looking through the various falling down cupboards, presumably looking for something to eat. “Did you guys get that?”

“Some Legio thing,” Lofeg muttered.

“Who knows what it is,” Koghad agreed.

“Trouble most likely,” Applejack muttered, walking towards them. “Find anything to eat?”

“Stale bread and a box of caffeine cubes,” Lofeg smiled weakly, pulling a loaf of bread down from the cupboard, followed by three dark brown cubes.

“That bread looks horrible,” Applejack noted sourly.

“Beggars can’t be chooser’s lass,” Koghad sighed, grabbing the loaf and tearing it into three roughly equal parts. “We’re lucky to have anything at all. Plus caffeine is good for hangovers.”

Applejack nodded, knowing her was right, as she grabbed hold of the bread, blanching as she felt just how solid it actually was. Koghad was already gnawing at his piece, while Lofeg was busying himself trying to make the caffeine. From the smell, Applejack could tell it was something near to Equestrian coffee, and she grimaced slightly at the acrid taste, before trying to take a bite out of the bread.

“Well, at least if any humans come along we’ll have a way of defending ourselves,” she joked weakly, before managing to take a mouthful and swallowing.

“Now you’re getting it,” Lofeg chuckled, before passing out the mugs again, this time filled with steaming black liquid rather than golden cider. “Drink it while it’s hot, it will do wonders for the headache.”

Applejack nodded, taking a sip of the hot liquid, before following Koghad’s lead and dropping a piece of stale bread into it to soften it up slightly.

“So lass, got a bit of the guilt out of yer system this morning?” Koghad asked, plucking the soggy bread from the caffeine and chewing on it thoughtfully.

“A bit,” she nodded, surprised that she actually had managed to get around a death quickly.

“Good, and when we get back to civilisation, we’ll find some other guys and have a proper funeral for all our kin who died,” Koghad declared. “Then ya can feel even better. Sooner ya learn that it’s not yer fault, sooner ya get over it. Plus if you have any grudges to settle, it’s a great time to get them over and done with.”

“It’s an odd way of grieving, but it’s how our ancestors did it, and their ancestors before us,” Lofeg assured her, downing his cup and finishing off his bread, before pulling down another couple of loafs. “Any more?”

“No, we should save it,” Applejack shook her head. “We’ll need it for the road.”

“Hark on to the lass,” Koghad chuckled. “Who put you in charge?”

“No one,” Applejack shook her head. “But I do know if we don’t move, we could be found by humans.”

“I think we should sit tight and wait for rescue,” Koghad shook his head.

“And if rescue doesn’t come?” Applejack pressed. “We have two loafs of extremely stale bread and about four cubes of caffeine. Besides, we have no more alcohol, so unless you want to…”

“So where do you think we should go?” Koghad cut in quickly, his face visibly draining as he contemplated sitting in the room with no alcohol.

Applejack took time to contemplate the question, before turning to face Lofeg. “Lofeg. Any ideas Sugarcube?”

“May I suggest we look at a map first?” Lofeg asked. “There was a hastily drawn one at the back, pre-colonisation by the Tau.”

Lofeg moved towards the back of the room, rifling through a bunch of detritus left at the building by its previous occupants, before finally grabbing hold of a scroll and unfolding it, laying it out on the floor to reveal a large map. Lofeg quickly got his bearings, before pointing to a small valley, marking it with a small piece of charcoal he had brought with him.

“We should be around here. Now the Tau captured the capital city here and repurposed it, hopefully they’ll hold that for the longest.”

“Ah wish Twi were here,” Applejack murmured softly, before looking over the map. “Here, we can cut across the plains here. Should take us closer.”

“Or into enemy hands,” Koghad pointed out.

“Stay here then,” Applejack shot back, rolling up the map and placing it in one of her work bags along with one of the loafs of bread and a dented half full bottle of tepid water, before heading towards the door. “I’m heading out. You coming?”

Koghad and Lofeg exchanged glances with each other, before shouldering their packs and grabbing the remaining food and drink, packing it away safely before exiting the house after Applejack. Koghad leant down as he walked back outside, picking up three large metal poles and offering them round. Lofeg took the improvised weapon with a nod, sizing it up.

“Applejack. You want this?” Koghad asked, proffering her the last pole.

“No,” she replied flatly, before turning to look back at the house. “W1? You coming?”

“Affirmative,” the drone bobbed out of the building.

“So, where to now Applejack?” Koghad asked, dropping the spare pole.

Applejack stood still for a second, unrolling the map and looking it over, laying it on the floor as she traced her hoof between the building and their destination, before rolling it up once more and staring off into the distance.

“West. We go west.”

Author's Note

Yay, so I finished this chapter, whic was originally going to have something else in, but I decided that I'd split it into two chapters to make the next one a bit more action packed. Hopefully it goes well.

Also, a song. That was hard to write, but hopefully it came out ok.

Another Scale of War

Applejack

Applejack trudged forward across the barren landscape they had found themselves in, the hard, sun scorched earth being a far cry from the lush fertile fields she had been in the day before. Every step sent small sparks of pain flaring through her hooves, reminding her of where she was, just in case she had forgotten.

As if she could forget.

It was true that Koghad and Lofeg were on to something when they said that their way of mourning the dead was more of celebration of life, and that it was pointless to mourn the dead for long, and while it may have helped, Applejack couldn’t just forget Mata and all those who fell alongside him.

The cocky Demiurg had always been the nicest of the three diminutive people, acting as a liaison between Applejack and Koghad when the team leader was being pig-headed, which was far too often for Applejack’s tastes. Koghad was nice enough, and when he was told to stop, he usually stopped, but he had the nasty habit of simply pushing too far and keeping a joke alive long after the sheet should have been pulled up over its head.

Lofeg was a little better, but there was still something about him that Applejack couldn’t quite pin down. He seemed calm and reserved at some points, and energetic verging on mild sociopathic tendencies. Not to mention his penchant for smuggling and other forms of kleptomania didn’t sit right with Applejack, and while he had never done anything against her, she still found it hard to get along with him fully.

Mata had been the closest to a constant friend in the team Applejack had got, the little man making sure that she was always well settled, as well as being the one to teach her more about the universe she was no in. Now that he was gone, it was like a void had been opened up in her life, joining the other one that had been ripped open when she had been teleported away from her friends. Applejack suddenly realised that this must have been how Rainbow felt when she watched Elarique die, magnified by one hundred.

For the first time since the attack, Applejack allowed her mind to drift to her Pegasus friend, remembering everything she could about Rainbow's story, and how she described the humans that she met up with. Unlike Rainbow, she had no training, no experience in fighting, and no chance to talk to them. The humans had attacked without warning, without mercy, and would probably continue to do so until they were all dead.

“So Applejack, what’s going on underneath the hat?” Lofeg asked, walking up beside her.

“What do you mean?” Applejack asked, slowing her pace to walk beside him.

“You’re not a very subtle creature Applejack,” Lofeg smirked. “I don’t know how ponies usually look when they’re thinking, but you’re fairly easy to read. So, what are you thinking about?”

“Mata,” Applejack admitted. “Him and all of the others who died at the farm.”

“Still thinking on the dead?” Lofeg sighed.

“The umm, funeral thing helped,” Applejack replied, trying to think of the best way to summarise the drunken singing that they had done last night. “But I can’t just stop thinking about it. Ya can’t tell me that yer fine with yer kin dying.”

“Fine with it? Not in any way,” Lofeg shook his head. “Accepting it? That is a much better way of describing it.”

“But you seem so calm,” Applejack looked at Lofeg in slight confusion.

“Being hysterical about it now won’t make a difference now,” Lofeg shrugged. “If we get back to Tau lines, then Koghad and I will mourn him properly.”

“More drinking?” Applejack raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, but there may also be a more solemn bit,” Lofeg nodded. “When we aren’t in mortal danger, we can afford to brood slightly.”

Applejack nodded, glancing across at Koghad who was trailing along at the back, before changing her pace to walk beside him.

“Oh and Applejack?” Lofeg called after her, leaning down to whisper in her ear. “Don’t bring it up with Koghad, he’s fine, but scratch a scab and it can still bleed a lot.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Applejack nodded, before glancing up at W1. “How you doing W1?”

“I am operating a ninety nine percent capacity Fio’Saal, thank you for asking,” the drone replied simply.

“Not really what I asked, but I guess for a drone it will do,” Applejack sighed, before looking up at Koghad. “How you doing big fella?”

“All things considered, I’m pretty good lass,” he nodded, ruffling her mane slightly, being careful not to knock her hat from her head. Men weren’t supposed to have bruises where he’d got bruises after he’d stolen the Stetson from her for a joke. “We still going the right way?”

“Should be, as long as we find a valley soon,” Applejack nodded. “We can walk down there and reach the plains. Once there, should be fairly easy ta get ta the capital.”

“What’s to say that we won’t run into anyone in this valley of yours?” Koghad asked, crossing his arms.

“What’s to say we won’t run into anyone out here?” Applejack countered. “Listen Sugarcube, you can stay here and hide, or y’all can stop bein’ such a big baby and just come with me. I know ya like being in charge, but this time y’all need ta listen. If ya want to stop and go back to the hut then ah won’t stop ya. Promise.”

“I’ll follow ya lass,” Koghad sighed. “Ah just don’t want to see us blunder into a trap.”

“Neither do I,” Applejack admitted with a shudder, before her ears picked up a distant booming sound. “I don’t want to see anyone else get hurt, which is why we can’t stay out here, especially if there’s going to be a storm coming tonight.”

“If we stay still out here, we won’t be found,” Koghad reasoned. “The humans won’t come out here, we can ride this thing out, and as for a roof over our heads, we could always go back to the shack again.”

“And if the humans win?” Applejack whispered.

“What was that lass?”

“I said what if they win?” Applejack repeated, louder this time. “Ya saw the Space Marines. Mah friend Rainbow Dash fought alongside them once. She described them as pretty much gods, next ta unkillable. Do ya really think…”

“We will push them back,” Koghad snapped. “That’s final.”

With that, Koghad lengthened his stride, catching up with Lofeg and leaving Applejack behind, staring after the irate Demiurg. She let out a soft sigh, before W1 approached her, its anti-grav generator ruffling the fur on her back as it passed over her.

“Fio’Saal Applejack, my scanners indicate that the entrance to the canyon is located two miles west. Should I perform a preliminary scouting run?”

“Yeah, ah think that’s a good idea,” Applejack nodded, before glancing up at the sky. “See if ya can find some shelter. Looks like we’ll be needin’ a place ta stay when the sun goes down and that storm hits.” Her final words were punctuated by yet another booming crash of thunder, followed by a flash of light off in the distance. It was funny, it didn’t look like a traditional storm, but then again, this wasn’t Equestria, so who was to say what was normal here.

“Affirmative Fio’Saal,” W1 bobbed in acknowledgment, before darting off towards a rising wall of rocky hills and mountains, heading for a slightly lower patch that was likely the entrance to the canyon.

“Come on, W1 found the entrance,” Applejack called, trotting up beside Koghad and Lofeg. “Let’s pick up the pace, ah want ta try and find somewhere ta sleep before night fall.”

“Sure,” Koghad grunted, before setting off in silence towards the mountains.

“Smooth going,” Lofeg muttered, looking down at Applejack. “He doesn’t enjoy anyone talkin’ about the Tau in less than favourable terms.”

“It’s true though,” Applejack replied, looking up at him. “Ya saw the Space Marines. Do ya really think anything can stop them?”

“The Fire Caste took this world from under the protection of them once before,” Lofeg reasoned. “Who says they can’t do it again?”

“But…”

“I won’t speculate on something that I know nothing about,” Lofeg cut her off. “We’re not soldiers Applejack. I have no idea how to fire a weapon or command a battle, nor do I know how to tell if we’re winning. Idle speculation isn’t healthy.”

“Silence then,” Applejack quipped, before trotting forward, heading towards the mountains, and the canyon beyond.

***

“This is the place?” Applejack asked, looking up at W1.

“Affirmative, the plain lies just ahead of us,” W1 bobbed up and down. “The canyon pass is guarded by an old village. It appears that it has been abandoned for a long time. Most likely from fire damage, given the condition of the remaining buildings.”

“Anywhere that we can stay indoors?” Applejack asked.

“Possibly. I will lead you to there and you can decide Fio’Saal.”

With that, W1 floated forwards, leading Applejack and the others further down the rocky canyon in silence. They hadn’t broken words since they had entered the mountain pass, and Applejack was beginning to regret her earlier pessimism. She didn’t have time to dwell on it too much however, as the ruined village finally came into view.

Like W1 had said, it looked like most of the buildings had suffered some sort of fire damage, to a greater or lesser extent. Some of the buildings had almost been completely reduced to nothing, save for a few walls that would come up to Koghad’s chest, while others, most notably a large barn like building, seemed to have escaped fairly unscathed. A soft wind kicked a dust devil up before Applejack, and she watched it blow towards the ruined buildings, before wrinkling her nose up as she got a wiff of burnt wood.

“What do you think happened here?” Applejack asked, turning to face the other

“A fire,” Koghad deadpanned.

“Very funny,” Applejack quipped, before sighing. “Listen, Koghad…”

Applejack was cut off by a loud boom somewhere off in the distance, the entire ground shaking, threatening to knock Applejack, Koghad and Lofeg from their feet and hooves.

“What in the hay…” Applejack began again, before the ground shook once more, and this time she didn’t manage to stay standing, crashing to the floor, a rock digging painfully into one of the many cuts on her side.

The booming became louder and louder as Applejack forced herself back to unsteady hooves, keeping low to the ground as she hurried towards one of the burnt out walls of a crumbling house, steadying herself on it as Lofeg and Koghad staggered up beside her. Every boom was louder now, a crashing cacophony of sound that had the regimented mark of some kind of footfall, and Applejack felt her blood run cold as she tried to envision what manner of beast could possibly cause such loud sounds just by the simple act of walking.

“What’s going on?” she asked, looking across at Lofeg and Koghad, the pair looking as shocked and confused as she was.

“I don’t know lass!” Koghad roared, having to shout to be heard above a new whining sound that seemed to pierce Applejack's brain.

Rocks began to tumble from the steep sided cliffs, landing on the outskirts of the village, and Applejack watched as a flock of birds took to the skies, blotting out the setting sun for a brief second, before allowing its illuminating glow to shine forth once more as an aircraft shot over the cliffs behind the birds. For a moment the glorious blue paintwork of the Pa’Laa sept was surrounded by the sun’s rays, the cockpit glinting as it reflected the light, and for the briefest of moments, Applejack was in awe of the mighty vehicle.

Unlike the crafts she had seen, the civilian Piranha and the Orca, this vehicle was smooth and curved, its hull sweeping back from two massive protruding spikes. It was as beautiful as it was ominous, and Applejack instinctively knew that this was no transport or civilian ship, this was a ship of war. She also knew that no matter how loud the whine of the engines were on the craft, it couldn’t be making the stomping sound that was still getting louder, and that thought was the one that brought her crashing back to reality.

As if to confirm Applejack thought, a brilliant beam of red light shot into the sky, searing the afterimage into Applejack's eyes as it narrowly missing the Tau aircraft as it banked to the side, before turning sharply and unleashing two blue beams of light from the spikes on the front of its hull. Applejack still couldn’t see the aircrafts quarry, but that was about to be rectified as the booming finally reached a crescendo, and a massive metal foot came into view around the end of the valley. Half surrounded in the dust it had kicked up, Applejack could barely make out the large cylindrical shin-like plate and the three toes that jutted off from it, before she tripped on her own tail, sprawling on her back, her eyes fixed open.

Applejack was gripped in terror as the foot gave way to yet more of the towering monstrosity, another leg striding forward and pushing more of the machine in to view. It, whatever ‘it’ was, towered above Applejack and the others, eclipsing even the size of the Orca as it took another shuddering step forward. The thing looked almost like a Tau, a metal head protruding from its chest, beneath a massive pod mounted upon the top of its main carapace, large holes that were clearly meant to hold something now devoid of anything, save for small cone like protrusion.

Its right arm ended in a massive fist, the sheer size of the weapon almost being beyond belief, and if Applejack had not been there to see it first hoofedly, she would never have believed that it could exist. Its left arm was what gave Applejack the most fear as it rose towards the sky, the three barrels following after the aircraft with a speed that was belied by the machines size, before three red beams burst forth again, and this time, the aircraft didn’t manage to avoid the shot.

In a bright explosion, the likes of which Applejack had never seen, the aircraft was ripped clean in two, one of the wings tumbling towards the floor, while the main hull and the second wing began to spin as it powered towards the ground. Applejack finally broke the terror that gripped her as she looked at the vehicle now turning back towards them, and raised her voice in a panicked scream.

“Run!” and with that, she bolted from the burnt wall, galloping as fast as she could away from the machine, not daring to look back to see if Koghad and Lofeg were following her.

Her ears were assaulted by a deafening cry of a deep horn, before the ground once again rumbled, the tremors causing Applejack to stumble, but she forced herself to keep going. Part of her knew that anything that size would easily be able to keep up with her and that running was futile, but that part was being squashed by the sheer terror that pervaded the rest of her mind. Her lungs burnt as she ran, before her ears picked up, another high pitched whine filling the canyon.

Two blue beams once again lit up the sky, and Applejack looked up to see another aircraft soar overhead, avoiding the towering monstrosity as it banked around for another attack. The monster had been staggered by the attack, an odd rippling white light now covering its hull where the blows had struck, before fading as the vehicle twisted at the waist, traversing to try and bring its terrible weapon to bear upon the new aircraft.

It managed to turn itself half way around before another pair of shots slammed home, the white light of whatever shields the towering vehicle had glowing white, before disappearing with an audible ‘pop’, the pressure wave buffeting Applejack. Even so wounded, the massive machine managed to retaliate, the cone launching from the box on its back on a tongue of fire, and Applejack realised that it was a huge missile, like the ones that Rainbow had told her the humans used, but in the same impossible scale as the rest of the machine.

The missile arced through the air, chasing after the aircraft as it veered to and fro, attempting to shake the missile while staying out of the war engines sights, eventually pulling off a sharp turn near the ground, the missile unable to follow and impacting with the floor. Dust was kicked up as a fiery pillar erupted from the missiles impact zone, and even though it was hundreds of meters away, Applejack could still feel the heat produced by the flames before they died away.

“Applejack! Get over here!” Koghad roared from further down the canyon, and Applejack turned to flee towards him, crouching in the doorway of a ruined barn as they watched the vehicle continue to turn, its war-horn blaring as if in anger.

“What is that?” Applejack squeaked as another red beam was shot towards the aircraft, thankfully missing it as the pilot artfully rolled the craft around the laser.

“Must be that Legio thing we heard about,” Lofeg panted, his eyes wide as he watched the fight. “It’s not a Space Marine, it’s not a Guardsman. That’s the only thing it can…”

Applejack didn’t hear what Lofeg was about to say as the aircraft fired again, the beams slamming home just below the right shoulder of the vehicle. With a screeching tearing sound of metal on metal, the beams seared through the armour plating no longer protected by the shields, severing the limb and sending it crashing to the floor, sending shockwaves through the canyon.

The war engine let out a bestial howl, sounding like it would come from an animal that had experienced more pain than it had ever known. It was clear that it was wounded now, and Applejack was beginning to make out the sheer amount of damage on the machine as it turned away from them, trying to keep the aircraft in its sights as it tried to raise its left arm once more. There were scorch holes across most of its hull, peeling paint away and pockmarking the surface that had once been smooth with thousands of black dimples, while faint blue smoke guttered out of the massive exhausts on its back, joining the black smoke the billowed out from the top of them.

Its arm screeched and groaned in protest as it was raised once more, sounding as if the gears within were fighting against the arm in a battle to determine the fate of the engine. It had stopped moving now, its head seeming to hang lower as it tried to raise its weapon, swaying slightly as it finally brought it to bear just as the aircraft began another strafing run towards it.

Both vehicles fired at the same time, the three red lasers arcing upwards towards the aircraft, while the two blue ones streaked downwards towards the war engine. Both found their mark in the exact same instant, the aircrafts wing being torn off, while the shots from the aircraft slammed through the war engines chest.

The engine staggered backwards, its one remaining arm flailing slowly as it weakly tried to keep its balance, taking a shuddering step backwards in a vain attempt to stay upright. The aircraft however was still speeding forward however, now spinning out of control with only one wing.

With a sickening sound of metal crashing into metal, the aircrafts one remaining wing clipped the war engines head, showering metal down towards the ground as the engine was forcibly spun round so it was facing Applejack and the others. The aircraft continued to spiral towards the ground, gouging out a great furlough as it hit home, but Applejack didn’t care about that, transfixed as she was by the visage of the machine in front of her.

The engine began to topple forwards as if in slow motion crashing to its knees first and sending out shockwaves strong enough to pitch Applejack from her hooves once again. It stayed like that for a few seconds, its ruined face looking up towards the sky as if it was praying to something, before it began to topple forward once again.

It fell like a dead weight, no life remaining anywhere in its battered and broken body, and Applejack realised where it was going to land. With a painful cough, she tried vainly to crawl away from it, before a hand caught her hoof. She turned, only to see Koghad staring at her with fearful eyes.

She moved towards him as the engine blotted out the sun, wrapping her hooves around him as they sheltered by a massive rock.

She held onto Koghad, squeezing him so tightly she swore her hooves were turning white as he return the favour, pulling her into a bone crushingly tight hug.

She held Koghad so tight.

Pickup

Rainbow Dash

“Find anything?” Rainbow called out, hovering down from the top layers of databanks she had been accessing moments prior.

The room that Rainbow was in was huge, buried deep at the centre of the craftworld, and running almost the entire length as well, right down the wraithbone spinal cord that connected every tiny part of the infinity circuit to the wider system. Within the walls and data-ports of this room was every scrap of data, every date a webway portal was activated. Whenever a ranger on a mission for Saim-Hann picked their nose, it was recorded here. If you looked hard enough, and the Craftworld had anything to do with it, you could find it here. Eventually.

“Would you believe me if I said I’ve found a hundred percent more than the last three days of searching?” Wavechill sighed, glancing over at Rainbow.

“We haven’t found anything yet, so a hundred percent of nothing is still nothing,” Rainbow sighed, landing and sitting down on the floor, checking on the rest of the team.

Other than Wavechill, who sat down beside Rainbow and let out a small chuckle at Rainbow retort, the rest of the team were all silent, their eyes rolled back slightly in their heads as they merged to the best of their ability with the wraithbone cores of the record banks of Saim-Hann.

They’d been on the craftworld since the Rangers had brought them before the council. Rainbow still found that particular conversation fun to remember.

***

Five Weeks Earlier

***

Yeria stopped in front of the shimmering patch of light, the portal shining out brightly, even when compared to the shining walls of the portal itself, and turned to face the team. Both they and the rangers had been on the move for the past three hours, and Rainbow would have been lying if she said she wasn’t impressed with the speed that the Rangers were jogging along the solid wraithbone pathways towards their destination.

“I would suggest you power down your weapon systems before moving through the portal, unless you want to see why not even our dark kin attempt to attack Saim-Hann.”

“I’ll power down my weapons when I die,” Gilda snarled, squaring up to Yeria. The rest of the team, bar Rainbow herself, seemed to agree with Gilda, subtly preparing for combat if the need would arise.

“You can either power them down, or relinquish them, but it must be one or the other.”

“I’ll relinquish one shot,” Gilda snapped, her weapon readying to fire. “Where do you want it?”

“Stand down!” Rainbow snapped, pushing past Gilda, standing between the two groups. “For Celestia’s sake, they’re Eldar and we need them. I will not have you shedding Eldar blood, period. There’s not enough of it as it is anyway.”

“I’m glad one of you see’s sense,” Yeria nodded. “Power down, or give them up, it makes no difference to me.”

One by one, the Swooping Pegasi deactivated their weapons, removing the power cores or magazines, depending on the weapons they used. Finally, even Gilda deactivated her weapon with a slight growl, before nodding to Rainbow.

“Thank you, now, if you would follow my compatriots, I will remain here. My exile forbids me from setting foot upon the craftworld until my task is done,” Yeria let out a near imperceptive sigh at this, walking away from the group and reading his rifle.

“What task?” Rainbow whispered to one of the Rangers.

“Some things are better left as mysteries,” the Ranger replied, before gesturing to the portal. “Come, let us see if the Craftworld still remembers you, Rainbow Dash.”

With that, the Rangers stepped forward into the shimmering portal, disappearing from the arterial pathways of the webway back into the material realm. With a quick glance around the team, Rainbow followed after the Rangers.

Once again, she experienced the odd sensation of traversing from the Webway to the body of a Craftworld, before she felt her hooves touch solid ground once more, and she blinkingly opened her eyes once more to see masked guardians, their weapons raised and pointed at her and the rest of her team as they too passed through the portal.

“What is that?” one asked, glancing at the guardian Rainbow assumed to be in charge of the guard detail from her slightly different armour.

“Impossible,” she breathed, kneeling down and looking straight at Rainbow, allowing her to see the sigils on the armour.

“Nar-Bok?” Rainbow asked with a smile, removing her helmet.

“Theoline Nar-Bok, at your service Rainbow Dash Nar-Bok,” the woman smiled, removing her own helmet and placing two fingers on her forehead, before touching them to Rainbow’s in a gesture of peace. “Lower your weapons, she is no stranger to the ways of Saim-Hann, although her compatriots…”

“My team can be trusted. Right Gilda?” Rainbow asked forcefully.

“Yeah, sure Dash,” Gilda nodded.

“If you vouch for them, and the Rangers of Yeria vouch for you, then I believe I may at least be able to take you before the council. They will be able to decide if you can stay on the Craftworld or not.”

“Thank you Theoline, I believe I can find the way, unless you have to escort us?”

“Rayameere, take your bike and ensure they reach the council swiftly and unmolested by any other guards,” Theoline ordered, turning to face a short male Guardian.

“Right away,” the man nodded, straddling his bike. “Come on, the cycle is drawing closer to its end, we would do well to arrive before the council before the night cycle begins.

“Lead on,” Rainbow nodded, getting back on her own bike and taking off after Rayameere.

***

“My lord council members,” Rayameere announced, bowing deeply as entered the council chambers. “May I announce…”

“Rainbow Dash,” one of the council members finished with a curt nod. “It has been some time by your lifespans counting that a pony has stood in our halls, much less five, and one Griffon.”

“It is an honour to stand before this council once again, Seers of Saim-Hann,” Rainbow replied, bowing deeply and gesturing for the others to follow her lead, which they did with various degrees of compliance, Lightning and Gilda seeming to hesitate the most.

“Rayameere, you have performed your task, now, return to the portal, and watch over our gates with ever-keen eyes,” the Seer on the far right ordered.

“At once my lord,” the man bowed, before turning and exiting the room, leaving the Swooping Pegasi alone with Seer council.

“Rainbow Dash, it is good to see that you survived your foray into the webway, and judging by your company, I will assume that your search was a success,” the middle Seer murmured, using the warp to project his soft voice around the room.

“It was,” Rainbow turned to point at each individual member of the team. “Scootaloo, Lightning Dust, Spitfire, Gilda and Wavechill. They’re my team, the Swooping Pegasus.”

“The runes were true,” the right most Seer turned to face his companions. “The stranger to our land would found a shrine to call her own. Is your own world really in such dire peril that you require a team armed with what looks like bastardised Eldar technology?”

“It is bastardised tech,” Wavechill nodded, moving forward. “When you have access to the stuff Rainbow brought back as well as some high level magic users, you’re bound to come up with some interesting inventions.”

“Such as your jetbikes?” the middle Seer cocked his head to the side.

“Hey! What’s wrong with our bikes?” Gilda scowled indignantly.

“Calm down G,” Rainbow muttered.

“If you’re attempting to replicate your own training Rainbow, I would suggest teaching your team to control their emotions,” the middle Seer suggested.

“Rainbow teaches us just fine,” Spitfire cut in. “She’s the best Exarch the shrine could ask for.”

“Maybe,” the right Seer nodded. “Or maybe not, her competence is still to be seen. But that is not why you are here is it? No, the question that remains is what you are doing back here on Saim-Hann if you returned home.”

“The tidings of your return are not fortunate ones are they?” the left Seer asked in a soft, almost mournful tone.

“No, they’re not,” Rainbow sighed. “Like we said, technology is advancing back on Equestria, but…”

“Not all advances are good,” Lightning finished for her.

“Precisely,” Rainbow nodded. “A mare called Applejack, she’s one of my friends, she met with an accident, and we divined that she ended up in this universe.”

“You want to access our databanks to see if there have been webway distortions anywhere in known Saim-Hann space similar to when you arrived in our universe, and see if you can find where your friend has landed before plotting your next course of action?” the middle Seer asked.

“Spot on,” Rainbow nodded, taking a step forward. “I know that the databanks of Saim-Hann are highly classified…”

“That is an understatement Rainbow Dash,” the Seer on the left scoffed softly. “Outsiders do not get access to our records.”

“I know that, and I accept your position council, I really do.” Rainbow took another step forward. “But I beg you, if my year and a half of service has ever counted for anything, please, let me do this. I want…I need to know what happened to Applejack. I promised I’d find her, and I came back to the universe where all my nightmares come from. Please don’t be the ones to stop me from finding her. Please.”

For a long time, the three Seers looked between Rainbow and their compatriots, presumably communicating via the warp or their helmet communicators.

“Do you think they’ll listen?” Spitfire whispered, moving up beside Rainbow.

“They better,” Gilda growled in response. “I’m not giving up because they won’t help us.”

“Stand down G,” Rainbow hissed. “We’re not fighting them, even if we could win, which we really couldn’t.”

“There’s three of them and six of us,” Lightning pointed out.

“In the time it would take us to power up our weapons, they’d have killed at least one of us, then they’d have called reinforcements and we would be outnumbered and outgunned.”

“That didn’t stop you when you first came here,” Gilda smirked.

“I didn’t have a choice,” Rainbow snapped. “The point is moot, we’ll respect the Seer council, no matter their decision.”

Even as she spoke, the three Seers turned back to face the team, the middle seer taking a step in front of the other two. He slowly looked between each member of the team, resting his eyes on everyone, lingering on Rainbow for the longest, before he finally began to speak.

“In light of your service to both the Swooping Hawks shrine of the Floating Assault, as well as your membership of the venerable and honourable Wind Rider clan of Nar-Bok, this council has decreed that you will be granted access to a portion of the Craftworld’s databanks, specifically those records pertaining to the distortion and monitoring of webway tunnels underneath our command. Do not abuse this right Rainbow Dash, Exarch of the Swooping Pegasi, it is a great honour to have been allowed access. Especially considering your species, and how different it is from our own.”

“Heh, funny you should mention that,” Rainbow smirked under her breath, before raising her voice. “Thank you Seer council for this great honour. Know that it won’t be squandered.”

“Go then, and we wish you luck.”

***

Present Day

***

One by one, the rest of the team’s eyes rolled forward in their heads as they came back from the spirit realm, walking back towards the centre of the room where Rainbow and Wavechill were patiently waiting. Unlike Rainbow, and to a certain extent, Wavechill, the rest of the team were still not quite used to the unfamiliar sensation of entering a living network of consciences such as the infinity circuit. Rainbow had learnt quickly under the tutelage of Makhutar, but they had received no such help, and so Rainbow had been teaching them on the fly. It was good enough to allow them to search through the databanks, but it wasn’t perfect.

“Remind me again why every time I come out of there my head feels like Spike tried to stack books on it?” Scootaloo grunted, cradling her head in her wings.

“Because you still don’t know how to regulate your neural pathways to limit the feedback loop from the infinity circuit to your own central nervous system. This…” Wavechill began.

“I was being sarcastic,” Scootaloo groaned. “So…anyone find anything this time?”

“Nope,” Rainbow shook her head.

“Nothing,” Wavechill sighed.

“Nada,” Lightning added.

“I thought I found something,” Spitfire began, drawing a hopeful glance from Rainbow. “But then I cross referenced with other data and found five other signatures within nanoseconds of each other.”

“So us then,” Gilda rolled her eyes. “We found sweet fuck all. Again. At this rate we’ll…”

“It’s getting late,” Rainbow interrupted. “We should get back to the clan home.”

With that, Rainbow turned and began walking towards one of the many exits that would eventually lead to the Craftworld’s transit system, leaving the others milling around in a lose circle.

“That was stupid,” Wavechill admonished Gilda, smacking her head with a forehoof.

“Do that again, and I’ll break your hoof off Wonderbolt,” Gilda snarled in reply, grabbing the hoof to make sure she didn’t try anything again while balling one of her talons into a fist in lieu of having her weapons with her, Rainbow insisting that they leave all weapons secure with their bikes, saved for her power sword that never left her side.

“Get off her Gilda,” Lightning moved up, pushing Gilda back. “You were the one who was about to remind Rainbow that we’d not made any headway.”

“Oh don’t act like you know Rainbow like me,” Gilda snapped.

“All of you, shut it,” Spitfire interrupted. “Yes we had a bad day, but fighting within the team won’t help, so stow it, and let’s go. Rainbow will be waiting.”

Letting out a huff, Gilda pushed past the team, moving after Rainbow and disappearing from sight as the rest of the team followed her, albeit at a slower, more leisurely pace. Rounding the corner, they watched as Rainbow and Gilda boarded the train together, engrossed in conversation.

“I still don’t know why she’s on the team,” Lightning huffed. “She’s always so quick to get angry. Plus she isn’t exactly a ‘team player’.”

“And you are?” Spitfire smirked. “She’s on the team for the same reason we all are.”

“Military training?” Lightning turned to face Scootaloo. “Well, military style cardio training.”

“A love of speed would be more accurate,” Scootaloo pointed out.

“Devilishly good looks?” Wavechill laughed.

“Kind of, kind of, and that doesn’t apply to you,” Spitfire shook her head. “We’re here simply because Rainbow picked us, so if she want’s Gilda on the team, she’s got as much right as any of us to be here.”

“Come on, the train will be leaving soon,” Wavechill gestured with his head. “And I’ll have you know I am very good looking Spitfire.”

“Everyone look out, it looks like Discord’s up to his old tricks again,” Rainbow laughed as the others boarded the pod-like train. “There’s no other way someone would be able to believe such a massive lie.”

“Yeah yeah, laugh it up guys,” Wavechill grumbled as the others burst out laughing. “The first native creatures we see that aren’t Eldar and aren’t trying to kill us, they’ll make a beeline for me, mark my words.”

“Yeah, of course,” Rainbow nodded as the train began to quickly pick up speed, propelling the team into a dark tunnel and across the Craftworld.

***

Rainbow placed the mug down on the table again, steadying herself against the wraithbone surface with both of her forehooves as she braced herself. The others all watched her intently, moving back slightly to get out of the way of what was about to come. Opening her mouth, Rainbow took a deep breath, before letting out a resounding belch, the sound travelling around the courtyard, drawing cheers from some of the aspect warriors who were milling around the bar.

“Ten mugs of Re’ka and not even down. That’s how we do that,” Rainbow grinned, swaying slightly.

“Good for you, the stuff’s horrible,” Gilda grimaced as the smell of the drink wafted out of Rainbow's mouth towards her.

“Oh? And I suppose that stuff you smuggled into Junior Speedsters was better?” Rainbow asked.

“Yeah, much,” Gilda nodded.

“Wait, you managed to smuggle stuff into Junior Speedsters?” Spitfire asked in disbelief. “I never managed to do it.”

“But you tried?” Wavechill asked. “Looks like Spitfire isn’t quite as clean as we all thought guys.”

“That must have been a long time ago, for an old bird like you,” Lightning jibed.

“Hey! We may technically be the same rank, but don’t push it Lightning,” Spitfire threatened lightly.

“So you guys all went to Junior Speedsters?” Scootaloo sighed. “Looks like I’m the only one who didn’t.”

“And yet you’re here anyway,” Rainbow pointed out, putting a hoof around Scootaloos neck. “Tell you what, when we get back, and it won’t take long, I’ll make sure you’re enrolled as an advisor. How about that?”

“Sure, I’ll hold you to that,” Scootaloo smiled.

“So, now you’ve proved that you can drink Re’ka…for the fifth time this week, are we heading back?” Wavechill asked.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Rainbow nodded, getting up and making sure her sword wasn’t digging into anything, before heading off in the direction of the Nar-Bok clan home, the others following behind her.

“That was quite a display of endurance Rainbow Dash Nar-Bok, just as your Swooping Pegasi are a sight to behold,” a soft voice came from behind the team, causing Rainbow to whirl around, coming face to face with a lithe Eldar female, a gunmetal mask covering over half of her face.

“Thank you,” Rainbow nodded. “You know who we are, but who might you be?”

“Oh, my name is long and complicated, and quite impossible for a non-Eldar to pronounce, but you may call me the Architect,” the female said with a flourish, showing off her flowing robes.

“Show off,” Gilda muttered. “Why don’t you take the mask off and then we can talk.”

“I’m afraid that my visage underneath is horrific to behold. Plasma burns. But enough about that, I must say it was a surprise to see you here again, I assumed you would never return. Although, I am glad that you did, the galaxy grows brighter by your return,” the Architect smiled.

“Ok, thanks, but whatever you want, buttering me up isn’t going to help,” Rainbow smiled, before turning to walk away.

“Even if I offer information on Applejack?” her voice rose as she asked the question, all other noises seeming to die away.

“What did you say?” Rainbow froze, not daring to look around.

“You search for Applejack do you not? An Earth Pony from Ponyville? The Element of Honesty? She was taken from your home, and you came to get her back,” the Architect’s smirk was obvious even beneath the mask.

Rainbow let out a snarl, diving at the Architect as her sword flew to her neck, quivering as Rainbow breathed heavily.

“What do you know about Applejack?” Rainbow snarled softly.

“Nothing,” the Architect admitted. “But, I do know people who might, if you are willing to search beyond the Craftworld.”

“Rainbow, we should go,” Spitfire whispered, but was quickly shushed by a glare from Rainbow that could have melted ice.

“Go on,” Rainbow muttered, glancing at the other Eldar, who didn’t seem to notice that Rainbow had her sword to an Eldar’s throat.

“There's is a city, one many would condemn because of some…less than savoury acts that take place there. But if you’re willing, there are groups who could help you. The All-Seeing eye for one.”

“You’re speaking of a Kabal in Commoragh?” Rainbow asked softly.

“I am,” the Architect nodded.

Instantly, Rainbow sheathed her sword, before taking off, flapping her wings hard as she angled herself towards the Nar-Bok clan tower. Momentarily taken aback by the sudden disappearance of their leader, the rest of the Swooping Pegasi quickly took to the skies, following after Rainbow, and leaving the Architect alone.

With a single nod, she turned, walking back the direction she had come from, walking in the shadows, before darting into a small accommodation unit and locking the door. Letting out a sigh, she made sure the door was secure, before allowing her robe to fall to the floor.

Beneath the beautiful embroidery was a pulsating mass of blue-tinged flesh, small flickers of light moving beneath the skin as it traced out the veins beneath the mutated flesh. With a soft cry of pain, the Architect tugged the mask from her face, bits of skin sticking to it as she pulled it away from the wet muscles beneath.

As she sunk to her knees, she opened her second eye that had been beneath the mask, followed by her third, and her forth, and her fifth, all eyes focusing on a small crystal in front of her.

Picking up a knife, she held it against her chest, tracing out a writhing symbol that almost looked like a half crescent moon, before plunging her hand inside the quickly mutating symbol and pulling out another glowing crystal that seemed to cause the other crystal to pulse in perfectly matching bursts.

“M-My lord, the deed is done,” she whispered, bowing before the crystal. “Rainbow has been set upon the path you laid out for her, my task has been completed.”

“Excellent my servant,” a voice echoed around the room, sounding like it was both female and male at the same time, yet was also something completely different at the same time. “You have done well.”

“Thank you my master,” the Architect breathed a sigh of relief, placing her face on the floor in reverence before the crystal. “I live to serve you and you plans.”

“I know you do,” the crystals voice's emanated, before a shimmering patch of blue light erupted out of it, one that the Architect quickly stepped through, disappearing from real space.

As the portal faded and the crystal began to collapse in on itself, the voice spoke one more time.

“Everything is going just as planned.”

Author's Note

Wow, that was a long break, sorry about that guys. I was busy fighting off an invasion of giant axe throwing squids from Mars.
And for those of you who want the truth, I was being lazy.
Sorry. :twilightblush:

Anyway, the Architects mask looks something like this:

Departure

Rainbow Dash

Rainbow landed heavily on the lip of the hanger in the Nar-Bok tower, striding past her Jetbike as she headed for the main hall. Behind her, the rest of the Swooping Pegasi formed up, Spitfire hurrying to catch up with her leader, placing her hoof on Rainbow’s back.

“Rainbow, hold up,” Spitfire smiled, removing her helmet with a wing.

“I want to get moving quickly Spitfire, we’ve already been here for weeks and we’re no closer than we were when we arrive,” Rainbow sighed, but she did slow her pace slightly, removing her own helmet. “Spitfire, in my first week in this universe I saw a planet die, I saw friends die, bloody hell, I almost died.”

“I know you did, you had one hell of an initiation,” Spitfire nodded, subtly beginning to lead Rainbow back to the garage bays that the team had been allocated.

“Which is why I want to find Applejack quickly,” Rainbow replied, sitting down on her Jetbike. “I’m not saying she’s weak or anything, truth be told she’s the only one of my friends who I think could survive alone in this place, ‘cept maybe Twi, but I survived because I was lucky to be found by the Eldar. If Applejack popped up on a planet populated by humans, or Orks, or goddess forbid, chaos worshippers, well I don’t rate anypony’s chances too highly.”

“Well, other than us six,” Lightning smirked, leaning her head back and resting it on Wavechill’s shoulder.

“Cocky,” Wavechill whispered with a smirk of his own.

“But totally true,” Gilda called out, flaring her wings as she reared up on her hind legs.

“And you can all stop showing off now,” Spitfire shot a scathing glare at Lightning and Gilda.

“But I wanted a chance to do something snazzy,” Scootaloo pouted.

“Don’t worry Scoots, I’m sure G and Lightning will try and show off again,” Rainbow smirked. “Now, we’ll slow up a bit, catch our breath, then we’ll leave. Everypony understand?”

“Yes Rainbow!” came the unanimous reply.

“Right then, fall out and make yourself useful. We’ll meet up again at dinner then we’ll leave in the morning.”

With that, Rainbow got up and began to walk towards the central hall once again, the rest of the team going about their preferred tasks, whether that was tweaking their bikes, disrobing from their armour into more comfortable attire, or in Gilda’s case, following after Rainbow.

“You going to the ring?” Gilda asked with a smile, rolling her neck in a series of audible pops.

“Got to keep fit now don’t we,” Rainbow laughed. “Why, thinking of having another go?”

“You never know, I might get lucky this time.”

“Not if Ravenous and I have anything to say about it,” Rainbow pulled her large sword from her scabbard, twirling the blade with a wing. “You really think your little claw blades can keep up.”

“We’ll see,” Gilda narrowed her eyes as she accepted the challenge, readying herself for yet another sparring session.

***

Rainbow grunted as she skidded back across the floor, before standing up straight and looking at the small cut on her side, smirking slightly and beginning to cockily circle with Gilda. Gilda was panting harder than Rainbow was, her beak curled into the annoyed snarl it always took when she wasn’t winning by miles, and despite the size difference between the pair, there was a reason why Rainbow was in charge, not Gilda. Nevertheless, Gilda had never been one to back down from a hopeless situation, and her tongue had always been sharp, regardless of the situation.

“You’re getting slow there Rainbow, that strike never would have gotten through five weeks ago,” she sneered, scraping one of her claw blades on the floor menacingly. “Is the pressure too much for you?”

“Nah, I just thought I’d let you have a free one,” Rainbow shot back, dropping into a defensive stance. “Now, come try to get another.”

Gilda growled softly, before leaping forward, the assembled Eldar whooping as she used her wings to propel herself forward, her claw blades aimed directly at Rainbow. With her size and weight, Gilda would most likely smash through any defence Rainbow could put up, barrelling her over and winning the upper hand in the combat match, and if this had been her first time in the ring, Rainbow may have tried to stand her ground and lost just like that. As it was however…

Just before Gilda grabbed hold of her, Rainbow flapped her wings upwards, pushing herself to the floor and underneath Gilda’s legs. As she slid, she aimed a kick upwards, impacting with the sensitive area on her friend, before springing back to her hooves and bringing the flat of her sword down on Gilda’s back.

Letting out a high pitched screech, Gilda fell to the floor, clutching her stomach as Rainbow stood over her, placing the sword against her neck and smiling.

“You…tricky…bitch,” Gilda gasped.

“Watch the vertical as well as the horizontal dodge, and one day you may actually have me Gilda,” Rainbow smiled, dropping her sword and offering a hoof to her fallen friend.

“Yeah, one day,” Gilda smiled.

“Looks like the fight is over!” the announcer roared, thumping his fist on the podium he had watched the fight from. “Once again, Rainbow is victorious against her team mate! Is no one, or no pony, going to stop her rampage?”

Dozens of hands went up as Rainbow’s shoulders sagged a little. It was all well and good being known as a ring fighter of some skill, and she never had to look far for some friendly competition, but it also meant that if she didn’t want to lose face, she could end up staying in the arena for hours on end. Reluctantly, she picked up her sword once more, resting it over her back and looking out into the crowd.

“You,” she called, pointing to a wiry male Eldar in the front row as Gilda slunk out to freshen up. “Get your gear, get in here, and get ready for a beating.”

***

Many hours later, Rainbow finally was thrown to the floor, her body battered and bruised. She shakily tried to get back to her hooves, her biological wing weakly grasping for Ravenous, before she felt a foot push down on it, a small knife being held against her throat.

“I believe the match goes to me Rainbow,” Juhani chuckled, removing the blade.

“Yeah, after I’ve fought like, seven other guys,” Rainbow reasoned, panting slightly as she rolled over and looked up at her former team-mate.

Out of all the Eldar in the clan, Juhani was the one with the highest number of victories against Rainbow. She wasn’t the only one by a long shot, but very few of the others managed to pull one over on her more than once, as she learnt their styles and weaknesses. Juhani on the other hoof was a lot better than most other Eldar, owing her skill to serving in both the Swooping Hawks and the Howling Banshees before joining the clan. Every time Rainbow thought she had found Juhani’s weak spots, a gap in her technique, she changed her style, just enough to cover the old flaws. She opened other ones in doing so, but by the time Rainbow figured them out, they changed yet again.

In the short five weeks that Rainbow had been back with the clan, she and Juhani had racked up the second highest number of fights against each other, only just behind Rainbow and Gilda. It kept the pair of them sharp and on their proverbial toes, as well as elevating them in the eyes of the clan. Even if she was an Eldar, Rainbow would have been one of the most well-known members of the clan, and considering her youth, that was saying something.

“True, but we both know I can beat you when you’re fresh Rainbow,” Juhani smirked, pulling Rainbow up.

“Half the time,” Rainbow corrected her, panting slightly and rubbing some of the bruises, before picking up her sword. “Come on, I need to get cleaned up and meet the rest of the guys for food, you and Tar’nek should be there too.”

“Progress in your search?” Juhani asked eagerly, smiling widely.

“Something like that,” Rainbow nodded. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get showered and changed. Eldar are still…finicky about us walking around without clothes.”

“And that’s not going to change anytime soon,” Juhani reminded her. “Get to it then, I’ll find Tar’nek and the rest of your team, see in what, ten?”

“Make it twenty,” Rainbow groaned, arching her back to try and relieve some of the stress. “You know you can go a bit easier sometimes.”

“And where would be the fun in that?” Juhani asked, before turning and walking away from Rainbow, leaving the Pegasus to limp towards the hygiene blocks to try and get some feelings other than aching pain.

***

Rainbow finally made her way to the great hall, clad in the old leather bodysuit she had received when she had first join the Swooping Hawks. Entering the loud hall, Rainbow quickly scanned the inhabitants, getting a few raised mugs as people noticed her, before she finally caught sight of Juhani, and using her as a reference, saw the others. Like her they had forsaken their armour for more comfortable clothes, save for Tar’nek and Gilda, Tar’nek due to his duties as an honour guard, and Gilda through personal preference.

Sitting down, Rainbow gave a quick nod to the others, before reaching for a platter of vegetables and digging in, pausing only to pour herself a mug of ale from a large oaken barrel, gulping it down greedily.

“Our fearless leader everypony,” Spitfire smirked.

“How much of a beating did you say you gave her again?” Tar’nek asked, turning to Gilda and Juhani.

“I gave her quite a severe one,” Juhani shrugged.

“And I got her warmed up for you,” Gilda agreed.

“I am right here guys,” Rainbow muttered between mouthfuls, before swallowing. “And anyway Tar’nek, I don’t see you stepping into the ring all that often, maybe you should try going against Juhani.”

“I’m not stupid, remember?” Tar’nek chuckled. “I know for a fact that she’ll beat me every time, why would I try to prove anything different?”

“Ha, maybe Gilda should try taking on that attitude,” Wavechill looked across at the Griffon. “She’s been beaten so many times I’m surprised she can still see straight without having little stars around her head.”

“Anyway,” Juhani interrupted, “I thought you had some news for us Rainbow. Finally find something in the archives?”

“Not exactly,” Rainbow shook her head. “More like a tip.”

“Tips can be true or false,” Tar’nek pointed out.

“Yeah, but what if the tipper knew exactly who you were looking for without even being told?” Scootaloo cut in.

“What do you mean?” Juhani asked, her brow furloughing slightly.

“We were coming back here after searching the archives,” Spitfire began. “There was this Eldar, a mask covering half her face due to plasma burns or something. Called herself the Architect.”

“Never heard of her,” Tar’nek shook his head. “Sounds like some Ranger or Harlequin wannabe. It still doesn’t mean that she was telling the truth.”

“And the fact that she instantly knew who we were searching for, and facts about Applejack only we’d know?” Spitfire countered. “

“Alright, you’ve piqued my interest, what did this ‘Architect’ say?” Tar’nek asked as he crossed his arms, a small disbelieving smirk sneaking onto his face.

“For one, he called Applejack an Earth pony,” Rainbow began. “I think I used that term once on the first day I got to the Craftworld, so the chances of her hearing that particular term is minimal. That in my mind gave her enough credence to be listened to.”

“And what did she say that brought you back here then?” Juhani asked.

“To seek out the All-Seeing eye,” Rainbow looked straight at Tar’nek, trying to read his face.

“And you know where they are?” Tar’nek shot back, leaning forward. “Because if that sounds like the name of what I think it is, I…”

“Commorragh,” Rainbow interrupted him.

The effect of the single word was instantaneous as Tar’nek’s eyes went wide in shock. Juhani too looked shocked, as the conversation around them died down, the Eldar staring directly at Rainbow. Finally, Tar’nek found his voice, his expression grave as he looked directly at Rainbow.

“Tell me I just heard you wrong Rainbow, tell me…”

“I said Commorragh,” Rainbow reiterated. “The Dark City of the Webway.”

“Do you even know what lies in that evil place?” Tar’nek snapped. “What horrors are inflicted upon the unwary or the unfortunate?”

“I’ve heard the stories,” Rainbow nodded, keeping a straight face. “And yes, they’re not the nicest, but it’s a lead, and it’s all I’ve got. Do you know how much useful information we found in the archives?”

“Rainbow…” Tar’nek began.

“Do you know?” Rainbow snapped.

“Nothing,” Tar’nek sighed.

“Five weeks, not even a whiff, and I knew what I was looking for this time,” Rainbow continued. “Five weeks where Applejack has been alone who knows where! Yes she could have found hope like I did, but if not… I will not fail in my mission. I will find Applejack, then the Black Library, again, and then I’ll go home, and smash that bloody machine of Twilight’s into a million little pieces.”

“Rainbow, I wouldn’t advise this,” Juhani cautioned, placing a hand on Rainbows back.

“That makes two of us,” Tar’nek agreed.

“Can you make that three?” Spitfire asked.

“Not you too Spitfire,” Rainbow sighed in exasperation.

“I’m sorry Rainbow, and you know if you go I’ll follow you, but from what little you’ve said of the place…it just sounds dark and twisted.”

“It is,” Rainbow nodded. “All the accounts say it’s worse than they can describe. If you asked not to come Spitfire, or any of you for that matter, I wouldn’t judge you, but I’m going tomorrow. We’re both element bearers, but more than that, we’re friends. I will find her and bring her back to her home and to her sister.”

“Oh for the love of the Goddess, don’t be so melodramatic Rainbow,” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “I’m with you.”

“I’m with you too Rainbow,” Wavechill nodded.

“I’m going then,” Lightning smiled, looking at Wavechill. “Someone’s got to look after this lug, might as well be me.”

“I don’t agree with you Rainbow, but I’ll go with you,” Spitfire nodded.

All eyes turned to Gilda, the griffon inspecting one of her claws nonchalantly, before she looked round and chuckled.

“Come on Dash, look who you’re talking to here. Like I’d chicken out and stay here.”

“Looks like that’s all of us then,” Rainbow smiled, turning to face Tar’nek and Juhani once more. “So…would you reunite the Floating Assault again for this?”

“My duty is to the clan and to the craftworld Rainbow,” Tar’nek shook his head. “I helped you get home, but I can’t help you with this. I’m sorry.”

“I can’t Rainbow,” Juhani sighed. “I just…can’t.”

“It’s fine, she’s not your friend,” Rainbow smiled. “Regardless though, the Swooping Pegasi and I are heading out tomorrow.”

“To the Dark City?” came a booming voice from behind the group, causing them all to turn around.

“Lord Nar’bok,” Tar’nek said hurriedly, getting to his feet and bowing slightly, followed closely by Juhani and Rainbow Dash.

“Oh, sit down the three of you,” Nar’bok shook his head, taking a seat himself and grabbing the barrel of ale, forgoing the use of a mug and drinking straight from the cask. “Honestly, I love all the pomp and circumstance crap sometimes, but I sometimes wonder if it wasn’t more fun to be just an honour guard in another clan. Now, I hear you’re talking about travelling to the Dark City Rainbow, am I correct?”

“To Comm…” Rainbow began, before Nar’bok roughly grabbed her muzzle, clamping it shut and bringing his face right next to hers.

“The Dark City, never use it’s real name. Understand?” He asked, his voice dripping with venom, Rainbow quickly nodding.

“Good,” Nar’bok let go of her muzzle, going back to drinking the ale. “Now, I’m not going to encourage or discourage this course of action, that’s for you to decide. What I will give you is three pieces of advice.”

Rainbow massaged her muzzle as she reached for her own mug, looking at the barren interior, before Nar’bok smirked and refilled it.

“First of all, find some allies,” Nar’bok began. “Never trust them mind you, but you’ll need someone, especially if you wish to catch the attention of the All-Seeing eyes Archon in a good way. Start small, the bigger clans will kill you, enslave you…or worse.”

“Second, never let your guard down. When you think you’re safe, when you think no one can touch you, that’s when your enemies will strike. Watch them, and watch those beneath you, excluding your team of course. In the Dark City, honour is a laughable ideal. They respect power above all.”

With that, Nar’bok stood up from the table, turning to walk back towards his throne at the front of the hall.

“And the third?” Rainbow called out after him.

Nar’bok stopped, not turning round for a second, before continuing on. “Never fucking lose.”

With that, Nar’bok pushed through the hall, finally getting back to his throne and sitting down, surveying his clan with a small smile, before calling over a platter of food and digging in once again.

“Well, that’s it,” Rainbow announced, standing up, the team taking this as a que and getting up as well. “Unless there are any objections I say we leave now, before the rest of the clan gets wind of this. I don’t want anyone else trying to talk me out of it.”

“Well, if you’re set on going, then I can at least tell you that the city isn’t hard to find if you can get into the webway. Trust your instincts, if a way feels filled with horror, you’re going the right way,” Tar’nek sighed.

“You’re really not keen on this idea, are you?” Rainbow asked.

“No, and I didn’t think you would be either,” Tar’nek countered. “I’m sure you remember what Elarique asked you.”

Rainbow sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing her temple with a hoof. “I know what he said Tar’nek, and I know I’m breaking my promise.”

“Wait, which promise?” Spitfire asked in confusion. “Applejack wouldn’t be happy with you…”

“Applejack isn’t here, that’s the problem,” Rainbow cut her off. “I promised Elarique the one place I wouldn’t go in the webway was Commor…the Dark City. But this is different. Suppose that’s where Applejack is, suppose she’s a slave. We need to save her, and we can’t do that without going there. So even if it means breaking my promise, I’m going, right now. Still coming with me.”

The team gave a unanimous nod, causing Rainbow to smile, before she held a hoof out to Tar’nek, who shook it, before Juhani pushed it out of the way, pulling Rainbow into a hug.

“Hurry back Rainbow, I’m going to be training every day, and I’m going to want a rematch.”

“You’re on,” Rainbow smiled, before turning and trotting towards the hanger, the Swooping Pegasi in tow. “We leave in an hour. Finish up anything you need to do, we might not be back her for a long time.”

***

Rainbow sat on her jetbike, the twin engines purring as they ticked over, getting ready to propel her forward at a moment’s notice. Beside her, the others waited in perfect formation, all staring out of the hanger at the beautiful stars that were passing by the Craftworld’s protective dome. They were witnessing a star dying, something very few creatures in the universe could actually say they had witnessed, and lived to talk about it. For most, the visage of the once mighty celestial object entering its death throes would be a cause for alarm, or at the very least a sad sight, but not for the Eldar.

Thousands of solar sails and radiation scoops had opened up all along the Craftworld’s hull, absorbing the decaying blood of the great star, using the power to support the craftworld for another hundred years.

Watching such a phenomenal event before they departed was a stark reminder of what they were about to leave behind once they entered the webway. The team was ready, and they would follow Rainbow if they had to, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t have doubts about their destination, especially after they had used the hour mostly to find out more about the dark place.

“Hey, I heard Commoragh has a star of its own,” Scootaloo offered weakly.

“It’s got two,” Spitfire corrected her.

“Both of them stolen,” Wavechill added in.

“Wonder if the systems were inhabited?” Lightning asked.

“Are you kidding, have you read anything about the Dark Eldar?” Gilda let out a soft chuckle, trying to reassure herself. “Course they probably were.”

“This isn’t helping,” Rainbow whispered, her voice easily travelling over the helmet mics. “We…we need to go.”

“You sure about this Rainbow?” Spitfire checked for what felt like the millionth time.

“Yeah,” Rainbow nodded, taking a deep breath, and steeling herself for their journey. “Yes, I’m sure. Follow me.”

With that, Rainbow gunned the engines on her bike, shooting out of the hanger and towards the webway portal they had chosen to exit the craftworld through. The rest of the team quickly followed suit, Spitfire, Wavechill and Lightning exchanging a single silent look, before setting off into the fading light of the dying star.

Wrecks

Applejack

Applejack gasped as she came round, her eyes snapping open, only to be met by inky blackness. Panicking, Applejack tried to sit up, only to slam her head painfully into something above her, before falling back and slamming the back of her head into the rocks. Applejack let out a scream as the airless space seemed to press down on her, her nostrils being invaded by a smell of burning fuel as the reality of her situation set in. She was buried alive, alone, and no one knew where she was.

“Help!” she screamed, trashing from side to side, before stopping as an intense pain shot through one of her rear legs, forcing her to slow down, panting as she looked up at the darkness.

“Ok Applejack, keep yourself together, panicin’ won’t help nopony,” she whispered to herself shakily, gritting her teeth as another bolt of pain slammed into her, concentrating on the pain. Working on the farm had taught her that while pain was bad, having no pain after an accident was even worse. Pain meant you were alive, and she had to focus on that.

Blindly, she slowly reached up until her hooves came into contact with the top of her tomb. It was metal, the cold smooth surface feeling good against her tingling hooves. Feeling around, she found that there was very little space around her, which would be why she had slammed into her surroundings, but it also revealed that the metal wasn’t fixed in place. With a grunt, Applejack pushed against it, her muscles straining with effort, and her back leg screaming in protest, but she was met with a small sliver of light as the sheet metal moved slightly.

Emboldened by her success, Applejack continued to push, until she had finally made a big enough hole to squeeze through. Grunting, she pulled herself out of the hole, digging her way out from under a mountain of tangled metal and machine parts, before unsteadily rising to her hooves and staggering away across the strewn debris, her head spinning from the shock of standing up.

The small village that had been in the canyon was nowhere to be seen, probably crushed beneath the mass of the Imperial titan, bits of which were now spread as far as Applejack could see, small fires burning as bits of debris fell onto the metal, causing loud clanging sounds to echo around the deathly silent grave of the massive machine.

Turning round, Applejack let out a cry of pain, collapsing to the floor as her rear leg collapsed from beneath her. Screwing up her face, Applejack let out a roar, before glancing at her leg, not wanting to see the damage. Even a glance at it was too much however, the snapped bone sticking through her hide causing her to empty the contents of stomach onto the metal around her.

“…ug…gusting…uck!” came a muffled roar from somewhere beneath Applejack, and she slowly moved over, looking between a small gap in some armour plates.

“Koghad!?” she called down into the darkness.

“Applejack?” Koghad coughed as he looked up at her. “Bloody hell lass, you’re a sight for sore eyes. Ya hurt?”

Applejack resisted the urge to look back at her leg, before shaking her head. “Can you move?”

“Barely lass, this stuff’s heavy,” Koghad grunted back.

“Give me a sec,” Applejack muttered, forcing her forehooves in between the metal plates. Grunting, she began to move them slightly, before slipping between them and pushing with her back, keeping her broken leg bent and using the other three to force the metal apart.

With help from Koghad, she had soon made a big enough gap for the large Demiurg to clamber out of, and he collapsed beside her, panting heavily.

“You cut your head,” Applejack noted, looking at Koghad, before wrapping her hooves around him.

“Whoa, what’s this…” Koghad began with a slight laugh, before looking down at Applejack’s leg. “Applejack. You’re hurt, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Needed to help you, couldn’t have you panicking,” Applejack winced as Koghad touched the top of her leg, gritting her teeth. “Don’t…touch it.”

“We need to do something about that, it looks nasty,” Koghad insisted.

“We find Lofeg first,” Applejack shook her head, before looking around. “Did you see where he went to ground?”

“Aye, but…it’s not exactly easy to pinpoint it,” Koghad looked around, before pointing. “I think it’s that way.”

“Let’s go,” Applejack grunted, hobbling forward.

“Come here,” Koghad reached down, laying a hand on Applejack’s back. “Now, I don’t know how you’d usually do this, but trust me here.”

Lifting Applejacks forelegs up, Koghad wrapped one around his neck, taking her weight. “Ok now, just…you know, hop like you have two legs.”

“I know how to walk like this,” Applejack told him as they hobbled forward. “Some can do it better than others, ya should see Lyra do this. She can do it fer hours.”

“Well, you need to get used to it for now,” Koghad muttered. “That won’t be healing for a while, even with Tau medical techniques.”

“If we get back in one piece,” Applejack shot back.

“We will,” Koghad assured her. “Now, come on, we need to find Lofeg.”

It didn’t take them long to find the other Demiurg in the area, finding him spread-eagled on a protruding rock. Apart from a few cuts and bruises, he didn’t actually look that bad, and after a few nudges from Koghad’s foot, he slowly woke up, staggering to his feet.

“How the fuck do we always get caught up in things like this Koghad?” he muttered. “I thought we retired from being combat engineers to avoid crap like this.”

“Yeah well, crap seems to always find us doesn’t it,” Koghad sighed, resting Applejack down and looking over Lofeg. “Now, stand still and let me look at yer, then we can set about…doing whatever it is we’ll be doing next.”

Applejack let the two talk as she looked out at the devastation wrought on the valley. She could just about make out what she assumed was part of the Tau vehicle, and turned back to the others, stomping on a metal plate to draw their attention.

“We should check for survivors, maybe they’ll have a better plan than we can make?”

“As good an idea as any I guess,” Koghad nodded, walking past Applejack and looking at the Tau vehicle in the distance, allowing Applejack to see his injuries. “Looks like the main fuselage is there.”

“Someone else can do it,” Applejack whispered, turning away from Koghad.

“Do what?” Koghad asked in confusion.

“Be in charge,” Applejack sighed. “Ah’m no leader. This is stupid. Someone else can do it.”

Lofeg nodded at this, crossing his arms. “Good thinking, Applejack. For once.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Koghad asked, rounding on Lofeg.

Lofeg took a step forward, sneering slightly. “Applejack led us into this crap. She’s not leading us anymore.”

“Shut your mouth,” Koghad snapped. “She didn’t do this. Bloody hell if I thought she had the power to call in one of those I think I’d be a lot more scared of her. Neither of us would do any better.”

“Neither of us could get us anymore fucked either!” Lofeg roared.

“We’re not dead are we?!” Koghad roared back. “Someone has to be in charge, and in light of everything, I still say Applejack is the leader.”

“I don’t want to be in charge,” Applejack snapped. “I don’t…I can’t…”

“See!” Lofeg shouted. “She doesn’t even want to be in charge!”

“Then who does? You?!” Koghad clenched his hands into fists.

“Maybe! But not that stupid…”

Koghad lashed out, striking Lofeg in the chest and doubling him over.

“Koghad!” Applejack shouted indignantly, trying to make her way towards him, but forgetting that her leg was fucked and sprawling across the floor.

“Fall in Lofeg,” Koghad snapped, pushing Lofeg to the floor and placing a foot on his chest. “You are not in charge here, so you will follow orders.”

Lofeg looked like he was about to say something, before the area was lit up by a bright green light. Looking up in the sky, Applejack quickly caught sight of a large green flare, the light arcing down towards the ground over the Tau wreckage.

“Looks like we have survivors,” Koghad noted, before hauling Lofeg to his feet. “We will continue this later.”

Turning, Koghad grasped hold of Applejack, helping her onto her one good back leg. Much to her surprise, Lofeg also helped her, wrapping her other foreleg around his neck, and together, they made their way through the wrecks towards the origin of the flare. They eventually got to what looked like a wall of rebar, stumbling slightly and causing a loud clang to echo around the site.

“Whoever is behind that strut better come out slowly and with their hands up,” a voice ordered as they neared the plane. “Unless you want plasma where your brains should be.”

“Alright, but hands up might be hard,” Koghad called back, before slowly moving round the corner, setting eyes on a Tau pilot, his lithe body clad in a skin-tight flight suit, while a small pistol was grasped in one hand, pointed right at Applejack and the others. “Friendlies, ok?”

“Thank the Ethereals,” the Tau breathed a sigh of relief, allowing the pistol to drop to his side. “Never fired in anger before, didn’t know if I’d actually be able to do it, especially against one of those techno-monsters of theirs. But enough of that, I am Vre’Halra. Who are you?” his gaze lingered on Applejack, and he cocked his head to the side. “And what are you?”

“A pony,” Applejack grunted, her leg struggling to keep the cocked position it was in.

“You’re hurt,” Halra observed quickly, moving over to the trio and taking some of Applejack’s weight. “Come on, help me get her down on that flat plate there.”

Nodding, Koghad and Lofeg heaved Applejack onto the flat piece of metal, careful to avoid laying her leg down too heavily.

“I hope you know more about this sort of thing than I do,” Koghad looked at Harla imploringly.

“A bit,” Halra nodded, pulling out bandages and what looked like a long cylinder. “You,” he pointed at Lofeg, “I’ll need a brace for the leg to keep it straight, and you,” he looked at Koghad, “find something for her to bite down on.”

“Why do ah need that?” Applejack asked in confusion.

“This should probably be done with anaesthetic,” Halra explained, before showing her a few broken shards of glass. “Of course, guess what broke in the landing? Plus, I have no idea what your biology is, Tau medicine could easily kill you.”

“Ok sugarcube, ah understand. Do ya worst,” Applejack nodded, panting slightly in anticipation and taking the proffered piece of burnt wood that Koghad was holding in front of her. It tasted horrible, but she bit down on it hard regardless.

“You never did tell me your names,” Halra spoke as he checked over the limited medical supplies he had, especially the odd cylinder, pressing a few buttons so the three clear tubes around it filled with a blue liquid.

“Fio’Saal Koghad,” Koghad replied, before looking at Applejack. “This is Fio’Saal Applejack and Fio’Saal Lofeg. We’re farmers. You were the pilot?”

“No, I was the gunner,” Halra shook his head. “I managed to eject before…well, before we crashed our Tiger.” He ran his hand over the remains of the hull lovingly, before looking up at Koghad and placing both his hands on Applejacks leg. “Hold her down.”

With a nod of confirmation, Koghad pushed down on Applejack, as Halra pushed down on the protruding bone, straightening Applejack’s leg out. Applejack let out a scream, muffled heavily by the piece of wood, but still piercing through the near silence that was over the rest of the wreck. She continued to scream, although quieter now, as Halra took a piece of scrap metal from Lofeg, quickly binding it to Applejack’s leg, before slipping the glass cylinder over it, sealing it on, before filling it with a pale blue liquid that seemed to sooth the pain slightly

“It’s not a permanent solution,” Halra warned her, checking over the medical equipment. “And to be honest it may not set the same way, you may have a limp in the future, but it will hold for now.”

“Thanks,” Applejack grunted, spitting the wood out and rolling over, testing the strength of her leg. It still hurt, and she couldn’t bend it at all, but it was better than it was before. Hobbling up and down a bit, Applejack finally came back to Halra and the others, cocking her leg to take the weight off it and leaning against the fuselage.

“So, how did you three get caught up in all this?” Halra asked, pulling out a few rations and handing them out.

For the next few hours, Koghad recounted their story, while Lofeg poked around the wreckage of the Tiger Shark for anything of use. Eventually though, Koghad had finished retelling the story with a little help from Applejack, and the three made their way over to Lofeg.

“Find anything useful?” Koghad asked, tapping the other Demiurg on his back.

“A few bits of wire that may come in useful,” Lofeg shrugged, pointing at a couple of spools of wire he’d stacked near a rip in the vehicles hull. Most of it’s smashed beyond repair though.”

“Annoying, but hardly unexpected,” Halra shrugged, before looking between the three of them. “You never told me which one of you is in charge. Who is it?”

“Applejack,” Koghad answered instantly.

“I told you, I don’t want to do it,” Applejack shot back.

“As you can see, that’s up for debate,” Lofeg rolled his eyes in exasperation.

“I can see,” Halra nodded. “But, as I am the highest rank, I believe it would be prudent for me to take charge. Any objections?”

“It works for me,” Applejack nodded, letting out a small sigh of relief.

“Higher rank, more experience, you won’t hear me complaining,” Lofeg agreed.

“Then it’s settled,” Halra nodded. “Applejack, are you fit to move?”

Applejack nodded, testing her leg and brace another time. It was still painful, but it was a lot better than before. “Ah can walk on it, long as ya don’t expect me to move very quickly.”

“We’ll go at your pace where possible Applejack, and carry you if we need to move faster,” Halra assured her, before pulling out a small datapad. “Now, as for a plan, we need the rest of the crash kit. For that we need the pilots’ cockpit. It’s broadcasting its location half a kilometre…” he took a minute to get his bearings, before pointing, “that way.”

The four began to carefully make their way over the remains of the Titan, avoiding the large plumes of smoke and fire that were still burning, as well as the remains of what looked like a mix of organic and technology, a horrid melding of the flesh and machines.

“What are those things?” Applejack asked, trying her best not to look at the morbid sight, but at the same time wanting to see more of it.

“Weapon servitors of the Adeptus Mechanicus,” Halra replied, taking a knee and closing the servitor’s eyes. “These poor souls are used to control the small systems on their war machines. Criminals or anyone who fell through the cracks, they end up like this.”

“That’s barbaric,” Applejack said in an appalled tone.

“No, that’s the Imperium of man,” Koghad muttered sullenly. “I fought these things before, mindless beasts made to carry weapons that should break them. This fate, it’s a mercy for them.”

“Still disgusting,” Applejack shook her head, before looking towards their destination. “I think I see a piece of the cockpit. Whatever’s left of it.”

“There can’t be much, Ralof, the pilot, made sure to take the titan down with him,” Halra smiled softly. “He always was one for bold tactics. Can’t think of being much bolder than that.”

“I don’t suppose…you don’t think there’s a chance he survived, do you?” Applejack asked hopefully.

“None,” Halra sighed. “He refused to eject, he wanted to ride it in.”

“Then we can at least try and find the crash kit,” Koghad responded, leading the way forward.

They reached what remained of the cockpit in short order, finding the twisted metal of the titans chest wrapped around the sleek, but no less twisted, metal of the Tiger Shark. It was plain to everyone that Ralof hadn’t survived, but that didn’t stop them from all looking for the briefest of moments. It didn’t take long for Halra to find what was left of him.

“You stubborn bastard,” Halra chuckled, looking down at the head and part of a torso. “Still, you brought the flank time, and you saved three others. You’ve done the greater good proud.”

“Ah’m sorry,” Applejack limped up beside Halra.

“Thank you,” he nodded, before taking a deep breath. “Come on, we need to find the crash kit, if it survived. Should be in a heavy metal box. Protects it from most things. Maybe even this.”

Spreading out, they began to clamber over the wreckage, combing anything that looked like it had been designed by the Tau for any sign of the elusive crash kit. Many times, Lofeg asked if they should stop, but each time Halra refused, insisting that without it, they would have next to no chance of finding friendlies before Imperial troops investigated the wreck. Deciding to check further away from the main body of the cockpit, Applejack slowly clambered up a pile of earth and metal, before gasping, almost falling over as she took a step back.

“Applejack? Are you ok?” Koghad called up, dropping the armour plate he was carrying and scrambling towards her.

“Y-Yeah, but you may want to come and look at this,” she called down.

“What is it?” Koghad asked, panting as he finally reached the top.

“Do…do ya think he’s alive?” she asked hollowly, pointing with a hoof.

“By the Ethereals,” Halra whispered, stepping up beside Applejack and Koghad, looking at the scene before them.

The head of the titan rested before them, the massive metal cockpit half embedded in the dirt. As impressive a sight as that was however, it was not what Applejack was pointing to. Hanging from hundreds of cables and wires was a single man, strung up like some sort of executed criminal. It looked like some disgusting mechanical intestines spilling from the mouth of the mighty machine, swaying slightly in the breeze in a perverse mockery of life.

“Do ya think he’s alive?” Applejack asked again, breaking the silence.

“What does it matter?” Lofeg asked, not looking away.

“What do you mean?” Applejack asked in confusion.

“Why should we care if he is dead?” Lofeg reiterated. “That machine was trying to kill us, why should we care if he died instead?”

“I’ve got to say, I’m with Lofeg on this one,” Koghad nodded. “Humans are the enemies, and any who drive a machine that big have to be high up in the military. One less of them is a good thing.”

“I can’t believe you,” Applejack looked up at Koghad disbelievingly. “He could be alive, and you won’t even…”

“Applejack, lass,” Koghad cut her off. “I know what you’re trying to do, and it’s cute and all, but I will not help a human. They abandoned my kind in our hour of need, grudges are not forgotten. Lofeg,” he turned to face the other Demiurg. “Back to searching.”

Without another word, the two dwarfs began to clamber back down the wreck towards the Tiger Shark, leaving Applejack alone with Halra. Applejack looked up at the Tau, silently imploring him to help, but he too shook his head.

“Applejack, if he was alive, maybe, but right now we have to find the crash kit,” he reasoned. “I’m sorry, it’s not that he’s a human, it’s just prioritisation.”

With that, he began to follow Lofeg and Koghad, before turning and looking at Applejack. He didn’t say anything, but his eyes quickly moved between her and the swaying body, before he turned and headed back to the search.

“He is the priority,” Applejack whispered to herself, before scrambling towards him, careful not to bash her leg against anything as she finally reached him.

As she got closer, she managed to get a better look at the body, it being even more grotesque and horrifying up close than it had been from far away. His skin was wrinkled and pulled tight as if he’d stayed too long in a bath, pruney as Rarity would probably have called it. Tatters of electronic dreadlocks trailed from his head, some of them shorn off, others stretched taut up into the insides of the titans head, suspending him in mid-air. Further bits of machinery sprouted from his forearms and spine, and Applejack was immediately reminded of the servitor she had found earlier.

For a moment, an anger took hold of her, and she debated taking Koghad’s view and leaving the body, dead or alive, before she banished the thought. What had been done to the human turned servitor was monstrous, but she would never be able to live with herself if she turned away from anyone in need, no matter what they might have been a part of.

Reaching up, she touched his cheek, trying to find some sort of warmth or pulse or anything. His head was slack, and he was naked except for a shredded bodyglove. Applejack sighed, allowing her hoof to slowly slide off his body. It had been a long shot, but a part of her had hoped that he’d somehow survived.

She froze as her hoof slipped off his neck, and she quickly placed it back on, trying to feel what she desperately wanted to find. His skin was cold and clammy, feeling like it was covered in oil, but she ignored that, concentrating on one things. She let out a gasp as she felt it once again. It was weak, and she could have easily missed it, but she knew it when she felt it. She felt it herself when she worked hard, and she felt it in others when they did the same thing.

A pulse.

“He’s not dead!” she roared, grasping hold of him, trying to take some of the weight off of the wires suspending him. Her leg roared in protest at the added weight, but she didn’t relent, refusing to give in. “Halra! Koghad! Lofeg! He’s not dead! Ya hear me?! Get over here now!”

In a few seconds, she could see Halra scrambling towards her, followed closely by Koghad, with Lofeg bringing up the rear with decidedly less haste. They quickly reached her, Koghad taking hold of some of the weight that Applejack had been holding while Halra looked over the man.

“What are ya waiting for?” Applejack grunted. “Take him down already.”

“You don’t understand,” Halra responded. “I’ve heard of these modifications, these bio-plugs. They plug straight into the nervous system and the brain, if we just pull them straight out, he could suffer major trauma, he could never wake up.”

“I think he’s already suffered major trauma,” Koghad grunted. “Pull the bloody things out now.”

Nodding, Halra took hold of a bundle in the mans head, slowly easing them out, before travelling down his spine, taking great care with each one, before finally he was unplugged, his full weight falling on Applejack and Koghad, forcing the pair to the floor.

“Bloody hell this guy’s heavy, what do they feed him?” Koghad grunted.

“Get him off me,” Applejack grunted, rolling out from underneath him and looking down at him. “Halra, can we stabilise him.”

“Possibly, but we only have a few supplies left,” Halra explained.

“We can’t use limited resources on a hu…” Lofeg began, before Applejack slammed a hoof into his stomach.

“Shut, up!” she roared. “Halra! Stabilise him now! Koghad, did we find anything useful?”

“We found a few drones, I was trying to reactivate them,” he replied quickly.

“Go back and get on it, they can carry him,” Applejack ordered, before turning on Lofeg. “You stay down unless you’re going to help. Understand?”

Lofeg snorted, before getting up and following Koghad, not looking directly at Applejack. Turning back to the human, Applejack watched as Halra began to thump the man’s chest, drawing out spluttering breaths with each blow, flecks of liquid spurting out each time, before finally his chest started to rise and fall on its own.

“He’s breathing, but I have no idea if he’s going to wake up or not,” Halra turned to Applejack. “This guy looks like he hasn’t walked under his own power for years, and he’s got a lot of tech inside of him.” He emphasised the final point by shaking his hands, grimacing in pain from where he had been hitting the sub-dermal metal.

“Is he going to survive?” Applejack asked, her face hard and unflinching.

“I’ve done everything I can,” Halra nodded. “All the injections I have that could help a Tau in similar situations could easily be toxic to a human. It’s the same reason I didn’t give anything to you.”

“Fine, just…” Applejack began.

“Fio’Saal Applejack, it is good to see you again,” W1 chirped, bobbing up beside Applejack. “It appears you are hurt, do you require medical assistance?”

“Hey W1, you made it,” Applejack chuckled, before becoming serious again. “We all need medical help, right now your priority is him though.” She pointed at the human. “Carry him, you are in charge of making sure that he makes it back to the Tau for medical treatment.”

“But Fio’Saal, scans indicate that he is a human, and he is not in my databanks as one of the converts. Surely…”

“I gave you an order! Don’t question me, we save him,” Applejack snapped.

“Yes Fio’Saal,” W1 bobbed neared to the human, small arms extending as the drone slowly took hold of the human, taking his weight with ease, even more so when the second drone returned with Koghad, quickly moving to help its fellow machine.

“Did we have any luck finding the crash kit?” Applejack asked him.

“Halra, is this it?” Koghad asked, holding out a large metal box.

“It survived?” Halra asked with a slight smile. “I honestly didn’t expect it to.”

Halra quickly opened the box, pulling out a small disk and pressing a few buttons on the side, a map bursting into life above it.

“We’re in business,” he smiled. “This is an IFF beacon, it has two functions, and luckily, both are working. First of all, it broadcasts that we are friendlies to Tau, and second, it maps out the nearest Tau unit and directs us towards it.”

“So? Where’s the nearest unit?” Applejack asked.

“Fifty two kilometres west of here,” Halra responded after consulting the device. “Looks like an armoured convoy. We can only hope that they hold their position or move closer.”

“We best get moving then,” Applejack nodded. “Koghad, Lofeg, you two ready to move?”

“Yes,” Lofeg replied curtly, not looking at her.

“You’re the one with the gamy leg lass, if you can I’m behind you,” Koghad laughed.

Giving the drones a quick check, Applejack turned to Halra. “Well, you’re in charge. Lead the way.”

“I don’t feel in charge,” Halra shrugged. “Koghad, what do you think?”

“Only one of us has the passion for it,” he agreed. “Sorry Applejack, but looks like that ‘someone else’ is still you.”

Applejack sighed, closing her eyes for a moment, before shaking her head and opening her eyes once more. “Fine. Let’s just move.”

Armoured Column

Applejack

“Is that your wing mate?” Applejack asked softly as she looked at yet another twisted wreck of a Tiger Shark buried half in the dirt at the foot of the mountain range they had only just exited. From the looks of things it had hit somewhere up the slope of the mountain, but thanks to its speed and weight of what remained it had rolled for almost half a mile until it finally came to a rest where it was now.

Halra sighed, nodding as he pushed a piece of debris out of the way and found what had to be the pilot and the gunner of the ship. “Yeah it’s my wing mate,” he nodded, scrutinising their bodies closely.

The pilot was still reflexively clutching a Pulse Pistol, while the gunner was splayed out over one of the support struts of the plane, his chest ruined by some sort of explosion and a Pulse Carbine lying near him. It didn’t take much to figure out what had happened to the Tau after they had crawled out of the wreckage of their craft.

“You don’t think whatever did that is still around do ya?” Koghad asked, bending down and picking up the Pulse Carbine, offering the pistol to Lofeg.

“I’d rather not find out if it’s all the same to you,” Lofeg shot back, checking over the pistol and glaring at Applejack. “What does our fearless leader think?”

“That y’all has made yer point,” Applejack sighed, limping past the Demiurg and looking at the black box, before setting off once more.

***

Applejack grunted as her leg snagged on yet another rock, knocking the tube against her wound. Had been almost two weeks since they had left the crash site of the Titan, and things were looking even bleaker than before as the planets summer was approaching, and an already hot desert was becoming even more unbearable. On top of that the black box tracker had updated itself a few hours after they had left the crash site. A hard fifty kilometre march had turned into a five hundred kilometre nightmare.

It hadn’t been all bad though, and so far they’d not been found by any Imperial forces, they’d even run across yet more refugees in their travels across the desert. Like Applejack and the others, they were almost all civilians, and were a mixture of Kroot, Vespid and even a few Tau. Their little group numbered about twenty three now, two Tau, two Demiurg, twelve kroot, six Vespid and Applejack.

The newcomers had brought new supplies with them, which had at least allowed the group to survive the scorching days and the freezing nights, but even they were beginning to dwindle now. To make them last longer, the food and water rations each of them were assigned each day had been steadily shrinking as they ate less and less each day. Tensions had been rising steadily since the first announcement of reducing the rations, particularly when it came to dealing with the group’s prisoner.

"I'm tellin' ya lass, we need to get rid of ‘im!” Koghad fumed in the usual debate that has been going on since the Capture of the Titan Pilot. “He's takin' up valuable food an' water we need t' take care o' ourselves!"

"Ah’m, not deaf, I heard ya’ll the first time, two weeks ago, and every bucking day since!" Applejack yelled back. "I'm sorry if ya’ll consider me to be a soft hoof, but ah am not gonna leave him behind to die, and that is final!"

"I can tell ya lass, he wouldn't have given you the same mercy if he’d found us. Unless you're a magical orang-utan that can make things for the Inquisition or a midget workin' for' the Dark Angels, yer wormfood t' them lass."

"So, we should sink to their level then?" Applejack countered. "Be no better than them? And ah’m sure that’s what they say about us all the time, so if we keep acting on assumptions, nothing will ever change. An eye fer an eye make the whole world blind."

Koghad sighed, placing his arm round her neck. "Applejack, this is a survival situation. Believe me, we do try t' be good people in this Galaxy, but it just won't let us. When you’ve lived here as long as I have and made some of the choices I have, then you’ll understand.”

"Ah've offered t' give ya leadership several times and ya’ll have turned it down every time Koghad," Applejack shot back while pointing an accusing hoof at Koghad. “So don’t give me this horsefeathers about ‘your experience’, because ya’ll want me ta stay in command, so you can follow my commands. Understand?”

"Aye, I know Applejack," he replied as he stroked his beard and looked away. "Nonetheless, I think this is a big mistake."

The debate was broken up the approach of the two Tau in the group. The first, and highest technical rank, out of the group was Vre’Halra, while the second one was Fio’Saal Kra, an Earth Caste worker who had been on the farm during the attack as well.

“Koghad, Applejack. The camp is almost packed up and ready to go. We should be ready to move out when night rolls around,” Halra announced. “Rations have been distributed for the day, here’s your share.”

“This debate isn’t over,” Koghad took hold of his rations before walking off towards the few beasts of burden the group had.

“Yeah, I know it isn’t,” Applejack took her own box and peered inside, sighing as they saw the meagre contents within. The food they were on was barely even half of what they had started their rations with, and it was nowhere near what they had enjoyed back on the farm. Applejack hated to admit it but if they didn’t find friendly Tau soon, simple hunger may turn to starvation.

Once again the validity of what Koghad and Lofeg had been trying to convince her of hit home, and she momentarily toyed with the idea of getting rid of the princeps. She had the thought at least once every day, and each time it became slightly more convincing to her, but as always she managed to fight the urge and turn to Kra.

“Has our prisoner been fed yet?”

“No, you can do it if you want to,” Kra shot back, handing her a second box and glaring at her. “A lot of people are going hungry because of this.”

Applejack rolled her eyes before pushing past Kra, walking towards the back of the group and approaching a kroot, the large bird-like alien staring out into the desert, his large rifle held tightly in his grip. He was one of the few warriors of the group, alongside some of the Vespid, and other than the few side arms and the pulse carbine, had one of the few weapons, as well as knowing how to use it. More than that though, he was the only one of the group who cared as much for the human as Applejack did, or she assumed he did. So far he’d only ever responded in nods or shakes of his head, staying silent at all times.

“Any trouble Harok?” she asked as she approached. The kroot looked down at her, cocking his head to the side, before looking to the Princeps and shaking his head slowly.

Applejack nodded at this and moved closer, sitting down beside where the drones were deactivated beneath him, saving what little power they had left. Opening the box she had been given for the princeps, she pulled out the small bit of stale bread he got and set about opening his mouth, placing the bread inside and helping the unresponsive man to chew.

“Ya know, ya not making it easy to keep ya’ll around,” she told him as she moved his mouth to make him chew. “Ah hope ya appreciate what we’re doin’ for ya, plus ya’ll can help me prove mah friends wrong. Goddess for once ah want them to be wrong.”

As always she received no reply, and she sighed as she got back to her hooves, passing the small bottle of water to Harok. “Make sure he drinks this alright?” As always the kroot nodded his agreement, and Applejack began to eat her own meagre rations, watching as the others went about their various tasks.

A few of the Vespid were packing up the last of the supplies onto the animals, while the majority of the others were gathering what little personal belongings they still had as well as eating their rations. Halra and Kra were busy dividing up the food once more, packing yet smaller amounts into boxes for tomorrow.

“Alright everybody, grab your gear, we’re moving out,” Applejack called in a hushed tone, her voice carrying to everyone in the group but hopefully not being loud enough for anyone else who might be nearby, specifically the Imperium.

Even as she spoke, her eyes picked out a shooting star streaking across the sky, and she instantly felt her fur stand on end as she remembered the pods that the Space Marines had rode in when they had first struck the planet. She knew it hadn’t been that long ago, but it felt like it was in a whole other life to her.

“We need to get a move on,” she muttered, checking some of the ropes on the supplies as the first of the group set off, following after Halra and his Black Box.

“You know for once, I actually agree with you there,” Lofeg replied, hoisting his backpack onto his back and setting off with the group. Applejack cast one more glance at the shooting star, before hurrying after the others.

Several kilometres away from the group the shooting star slammed into the ground, the dust settling around it to reveal its true nature. The metal of the drop pod was still sizzling even as the explosive bolts blew out, propelling the door away from the main body of the pod and allowing its occupants to dismount. Unlike the drop pods of the Space Marines, this one wasn’t adorned with any bright colours or livery to identify it. The pod, like its usual occupant, was designed for stealth.

The Vindicare assassin scanned his surroundings through the scope of his tank-killing rifle, before quickly checking his ammunition and supplies. Behind him came the rest of his team, five snarling dogs enhanced with holy cybernetics from the Adeptus Mechanicus. Normally he wouldn’t need or want the help, his own expert tracking skills being more than sufficient for the task ahead of him, but the Adeptus Mechanicus had insisted, and considering the gravity of this mission, the Officio Assassinorum had caved to their desires. He could feel the cyber-dogs whispering in his mind, their cybernetics and his interfacing perfectly to allow him to command them as if they were his own body, and with a mental command he ceased their snarling, sending them bounding off in different directions as they searched for the scent as he reflected on his mission.

A titan crew member, a princeps no less, had been captured and was moving with what could only be assumed to be a hostile force considering the fact that no unit was supposed to be in that area. His task was simple, track down the princeps and bring him back to the Mechanicum. If those with were Imperial, he was to escort them back as well, and if they weren’t, he was to eliminate them all. Maximum prejudice.

“This is Operative R-C-one niner niner,” he spoke calmly into his helmets vox-caster. “Pod hull down in sector epsilon Utah seven. Proceeding with the mission.”

***

“How much further?” Applejack whispered to Halra trotting along beside the Tau.

“Four and a half kilometres, unless this thing is playing up again,” Halra replied, checking the black box again. “At the very least we seem to be reaching the edge of the desert.

Applejack nodded, looking around the environment they were currently traipsing through, a small smile gracing her lips for a second before it was replaced by the frown she’d worn since fleeing the farm. After almost two weeks, Applejack and the rest of the group seemed to be finally reaching the edge of the desert. The change hadn’t been instantaneous, and Applejack had initially missed the signs of the life as the odd cactus appeared on the horizon. Now though they all knew that they were heading out, more cacti, shrubs, grass and even the odd tree were appearing as they walked. They had even left the vast majority of the sand behind them, now walking on coarse grass, even if it was various shades of tan and brown rather than the vibrant green that they all knew and longed for.

Still, it could have been far worse, and if things worked out as they were supposed to, they may finally find some friendlies and get out of this nightmare. While she outwardly told the others that she was sure of it, inwardly she doubted her own words. It was hard for her to tell what may have been a lie, but what choice did she have? If they lost faith, they might as well give up all hope of getting out of here.

Staring at the horizon, Applejack could already see the sun starting to rise, before tilting her head to the side, making sure her hat didn’t fall off her head. She was sure that it wasn’t the end of the night already, and there was something else bugging her as well that she couldn’t quite put her hoof on.

“Halra? What direction does the sun rise from?” she asked, turning back to the Tau.

“The west. Why?”

“Because that ain’t west,” Applejack pointed at the sunrise, Halra following her hoof before cursing.

“And that isn’t a sunrise Applejack, that’s a battle between tanks.”

“Aren’t we headin’ towards a tank group for rescue?”

“Yep,” Halra deadpanned, staring into the distance. “We need eyes on the battle before we approach. Val’Nor’Kad!”

As he called a vespid buzzed over, his mandibles clicking in the incomprehensible language they all spoke, clicking softly as it stared at Halra.

“Scout out what’s happening over the horizon,” he pointed at the light as the Vespid instantly moved off.

“We’ll need the communication helmet,” Applejack pointed out.

“Power supply is almost dead,” Halra reminded her.

“Yes, but it should have enough charge left to allow him ta tell us what’s there before completely dying,” Applejack replied. “Go and get it, otherwise we won’t know what he saw and this will be a pointless exercise.”

Halra nodded, before walking back towards the rear of the group, going into one of the bags being carried by the animals and pulling out the strange helmet, before walking back past the other members of the group, most of whom had taken a seat when Applejack and Halra had stopped.

Halra returned to Applejack with the helmet just as Val’Nor’Kad landed again, clicking and pointing, before taking the proffered helmet and slipping it over his head, the clicks slowly turning into something more legible.

“Two tank forces, Tau and Imperial, are engaging each other,” Val’Nor’Kad began again. “They’re fighting just outside a destroyed town, looks like it’s been shelled heavily recently but I think it was destroyed long before this war.”

“Good work,” Applejack nodded. “Take the helmet back and make sure it’s switched off, we can’t waste the power.”

Val’Nor’Kad turned and heading away from Applejack as Koghad approached. Between him, Halra and Applejack, they seemed to command the most respect of the group, and they had been acting as advisors to Applejack, but they both refused to be anything more. The only one who would be in charge or got the votes from the others was Applejack, which meant she had final say.

“What’s going on?” Koghad asked.

“The tank force we’re tryin’ ta link up with is fightin’ Imperials,” Applejack sighed.

“Well shit,” Koghad muttered. “Ah’d rather not get involved in a tank battle on foot if it’s all the same to you lass.”

“Fer once we’re agreeing on somethin’,” Applejack smirked. “Now ah say we hold here until we know more about what’s goin’ on over there.”

“We can’t stay here,” Halra pointed out. “If the tanks move we’ll be sitting ducks for both sides.”

“If we move away, and the Tau win, we’ll have to move back, and we aren’t all strong enough ta do that,” Applejack replied. “We’ll lose members of the group, and ah won’t have that if ah can avoid it.”

“And if the Tau don’t win?” Halra asked.

“Then we’re all dead anyway,” Applejack sighed. “Can’t move forward, can’t move back, so we stay here. Ya’ll have a better idea, speak your piece, else start spreading the bad news to the rest of the group. Might as well distribute rations too, one way or another we…”

Halra fell to the side, a massive hole appearing in his face and in the back of his head as blood splattered across Applejack. A second later a loud crack rolled around the surroundings, before the group erupted into screams as everyone started to scramble to move.

“Sniper!” Koghad roared, diving at Applejack and pulling her to the ground as another shot rang out, Kra dropping the same as Halra. “Fuck, they’re picking us off!”

“We need to move!” Applejack roared, another bullet digging into the chest of a Kroot. “Everyone! Get to the ruins!”

“Are you mad?! There’s a tank battle over there!” Koghad roared.

“And there’s a sniper here!” Applejack roared back. “Move!”

Applejack didn’t wait to see who was following her lead and who was staying still, getting to her hooves and sprinting towards the battle. For the second time in a month, Applejack found herself running for her life, her hooves eating up the ground before her, expecting a bullet to slam into her at any minute, but with every step she found her confidence growing. The ruined buildings soon came into sight, and Applejack pushed herself even harder, her leg screaming at her as she smashed it into the ground again and again. She was probably going to never get it set properly again, but it was either walking with a limp for the rest of her time or getting a bullet in her back.

Shots continued to ring out as she ran, but eventually she reached the town and dived into a nearby building, skidding on the rubble as she scrambled deeper into the town, finally falling down into a large trench, landing in what must have been the old sewer system from the smell. Panting hard, Applejack pressed herself against the wall of the sewage trench, praying that the sniper couldn’t still see her. She could hear the sounds of the tank battle now, massive booms and sharp buzzes of plasma weapons rolling around the town and threatening to deafen her, but the only sound she cared about was the crack of the sniper.

A scrambling sound drew her attention, and she whipped her head to the side, breathing a small sigh of relief as Koghad, Harok, one of the drones bearing the princeps and a few other members of the group slid down into the sewage trench with her.

“How many other were behind you?” Applejack demanded, panting hard.

“This is it,” Koghad shook his head, looking at the seven survivors. “I’m sorry lass, I…”

A low growl cut off Koghad as a dark shape dived into the trench, landing on top of one of the few remaining Vespid and biting down hard. The insectoid-alien screamed for a second, before the metal dog cut the scream short, blood covering its teeth. Letting out a high pitched screech, Harok dived forward, spinning the kroot rifle he was still holding round, the blade on the end slicing into the dogs head.

The cyber-dog dropped like a lead balloon, but there was no time for celebration as yet more howls cut through the sound of tank shells fireing.

“Run!” Applejack screamed, getting back up and thundering down the sewage trench, footsteps and screams emanating from behind her, as well as snarls and howls of the dogs. She heard a shot from Harok’s rifle, followed by another, before the kroot let out a roar of pain. She didn’t hear another shot after that.

As she rounded a corner in the sewage trench another one of the cyber-dogs jumped in front of her, snarling. Without thinking she span on her forelegs and lashed out, delivering a double hoofed kick straight to the beasts face. Cybernetics shattered and flesh split beneath her hooves, even as she let out a scream of her own, the tube that was helping her leg shattering and spraying the injured limb with broken plexi-glass. The pain was indescribable as she put weight on it again, but she pushed on, only caring about getting as far away from the dogs as…

An explosion blossomed behind her as a tank roared in the distance. The pressure wave slammed into her, lifting her clean out of the sewer trench and slamming her into the rubble strewn ground at the base of a building. She shakily raised her head as she tried to stand up again, only to see a red dot shining on her chest. Following it along its path, she saw a dark figure down the far end of the street and growled softly. She knew she couldn’t move as time slowed around her, and instead she waited for the inevitable.

The red dot suddenly disappeared, and Applejack managed to make out why. Harok had appeared on the roof of the building, his body bloody and his movements ragged, and yet he was still fighting. Somehow he had managed to get hold of the pulse carbine they had found earlier, and sprayed wildly at the assassin before diving forward to meet him hand to hand.

Applejack had seen Harok fight before, the ferocity that he possessed that could be brought to bear to rip men limb from limb, and she let out a soft cheer as the two clashed. The smile was wiped from her face a second later though, when the man seemed to simply glide around Harok’s attacks avoiding them like they were nothing, before drawing a pistol.

“No!” Applejack yelled, extending a hoof towards the pair, but it was too late.

A single shot rang out as the assassin’s pistol fired a massive round into Harok’s head, popping it like a melon as the Kroot toppled backwards, his body hitting the ground hard as the assassin readied his sniper again, Applejack trying to crawl to the cover in front of her.

A loud crack echoed around the buildings, and Applejack braced herself for the pain that would come from the snipers bullet, clenching her eyes tightly shut, waiting for the inevitable.

Waiting.

Waiting

Applejack slowly opened her eyes, glancing around as she tried to find where the sniper had hit if it wasn’t her, before she looked up at the building where the man had been, and saw only a freshly smoking ruin. Another loud crack rang out, followed by a blue explosion, pounding the roof top once more, before one of the walls of the building exploded, a host of figures making their way through the smoke.

“Hey!” Applejack yelled, waving a hoof weakly as she recognised the blue and red armour of the Pa’Laa sept. “Over…here.”

She closed her eyes and let her head fall to the floor again, her breathing becoming more and more ragged even as she heard footsteps rushing towards her.

“We’ve got a live one here, a member of the auxiliary too!” one of them roared, but the sound was becoming muffled to Applejack’s ears. “She’s hurt bad.”

“Find…others,” Applejack managed.

“Others?” the first voice asked. “Spread out and look for survivors. Keep low and get them out of here.”

“Got…a…Princeps…too,” she muttered, but she didn’t hear the reply, her mind slipping away into unconsciousness.

***

Applejack gasped in pain as she came round, her head shooting up, only to find a soft hand pushing it back down. Looking up the arm, she saw a Tau looking over her, a smile on his face

“Welcome back to the land of the living Ms… Applejack I believe?” he nodded.

“Where…where am I?” Applejack managed.

“You’re going home,” the Tau assured her. “You and your friends.”

“All… safe?”

“We found six survivors, plus two drones carrying a Titan Princeps of all things,” the Tau sounded impressed by this. “They’re all being taken back with us to central command. I’m sure there will be a lot of people who want to have a word with all of you.”

“Six?” Applejack asked weakly, sorrow welling up inside her. “But…twenty three. I… they…”

Applejack let out a long sigh as she slipped back out of consciousness as the group of Devilfish bore her and the survivors safely across the planet.

Central Command

Applejack

Shas'O Pa'Laa Shan'Ta, commander of the Pa’Laa sept and the so-called 'Lord of Pa’Laa', stood to attention as he watched an Orca descend through the small clouds that were floating above the command base of the Fire caste, his crisis battlesuit locking into position, making sure he stood as still as a statue. The ship bore the obvious signs of battle, panels were dented and smoke was drifting out of the tertiary engines exhaust port, but it was still flying smoothly and was in functional shape.

“Good,” Shan'Ta nodded to himself, his honour guard staying silent beside him.

Shan'Ta had been against this visit since it was first announced, and had done everything in his power to sway the decision of the High Command, but it was useless, and the decision had been made regardless. The battle damage on the ship only served to showcase how close to destruction the ship had come breaking through the human fleet in orbit around the planet. Still, Shan'Ta was not in the habit of disobeying orders, and he would follow any that were given to him, driving the humans back, before being placed back in stasis once more, his mind and body preserved to serve the Greater Good in their time of need.

All thoughts of his disagreement with his orders were banished from his mind as the Orca touched down, the ramp cranking down as six honour guard quickly filed out, their large honour blade axes held at attention at their sides as their charge walked down the ramp beside them.

“Ethereal Aun'Vesa, it is an honour to receive you on Styro,” Shan’Ta came forward, his battlesuit only making the slightest odd noise to tell of its recent repair from battle. “I trust that the voyage from T’au wasn’t too long, just as I hope that the damage to your orca is superficial.”

“The honour is mine commander,” Aun’Vesa replied, his voice heavily accented as he turned to his honour guard, signalling for them to move away from the ship. “I am however most anxious to ensure my ship is repaired before I leave.”

“It will of course receive the highest care Ethereal,” Shan’Ta bowed deeply. “Now, if I may ask, what is the purpose of your visit to Styro? High Command would not favour me with a straight answer when I asked, even when I pointed out the danger that inserting one such as you into a highly volatile war zone would present.”

“I am afraid that I am not at liberty to discuss my primary mission commander,” Aun’Vesa replied simply. “However, I do wish to make an inspection on the members of the expansion force who are based here, with your permission of course.”

“You of course have it,” Shan’Ta nodded, turning and leading Aun’Vesa deeper into the camp, the Ethereals cloak blowing behind him in the soft breeze.

“It is an impressive base you have here commander,” Aun’Vesa noted as they continued to walk. “Compared to what I was lead to believe was the state of this planet, this base is a big surprise.”

“It’s one of the few places on the planet that would cause you to say that sir,” Shan’Ta shook his head. “My forces are being overwhelmed on almost every front. We have neither the man-power required to match the gue’la Imperial Guard, nor do we have enough operational battlesuits and airpower to match the Space marines and the Titan Legion that are arrayed against us. This base is the last bastion of uncontested Tau territory on Styro. Every member of a caste not directly involved in the war is housed here, from farmers to miners, and all wounded are treated her as well, just as prisoners are held here. Per your request the captured princeps is already being prepared to be transferred to your transport. He is in the medical lab.”

“I see,” Aun’Vesa nodded slowly. “I did attempt to speak to my mentor about committing more members of the Fire Caste to this theatre of war, but he declined.”

“And you are not in a position to make any such decisions on your own merit?”

“My mentor, Aun’Shi, believes not,” Aun’Vesa replied simply. “If he believes that Styro cannot warrant a more severe presence of Fire Warriors, then who am I to say otherwise? I am sorry commander. If it’s any consolation, I do not understand it completely myself, I am simply here to complete my appointed task.”

“Of course sir,” Shan’Ta nodded tersely.

“I fear that I have insulted you commander,” Aun’Vesa stopped walking, Shan’Ta stopping a split second afterwards and looking down at the Ethereal, his helmet hiding his glare, before he finally replied with a perfectly level voice.

“No, not at all Ethereal.”

“I am not a fool commander, and I know when I may have overstepped a line, I am still new to being in a position of command, rather than a shadow,” Aun’Vesa apologised. “I will not keep you commander, if the war is progressing as you say, I would not want to take one of our finest military minds away from the battlefield for longer than is needed. I am sure I can find my own way around.”

“Very good Ethereal,” Shan’Ta nodded, bringing his gun up before his face is a salute, before turning and walking away, his honour guard following him while Aun’Vesa was left with his own guards.

“I fear I may have offended him by saying his battle was not of pressing concern,” he sighed, turning to one of his guards.

“He will come around Ethereal, he must. Unity comes to all things in time,” the guard replied.

“Yes, so the saying goes,” Aun’Vesa sighed. “Still, we have our own goals to achieve on the planet, just as he does. Now, we must find the auxiliary quarter’s medical lab. I wish to see the princeps before he is moved, as well as those who brought him in.”

“Of course,” the guard nodded, taking a moment to consult the mapping system in his helmet, before gesturing. “This way Ethereal.”

“By all means, lead on,” Aun’Vesa smiled. “I do not believe that my code forbids me from walking behind a member of my own honour guard.”

“Of course sir,” the guard nodded, a slight smile of his own crossing his lips as he turned and walked further into the camp, eventually stopping outside of the building marked with the signs of healing.

“Please, wait outside, I will be out momentarily,” Aun’Vesa ordered, before opening the door and walking inside.

The faint smell of disinfectant hit Aun’Vesa’s nose as soon as he entered, but he reasoned that having a slightly clinical smell filling his nostrils was better than being overwhelmed by the smell of blood that would surely be overpowering the facility otherwise. Looking around, Aun’Vesa noted that he was alone for the first time since he had left his ship now in high orbit, and allowed himself some brief respite, sitting down on one of the chairs and sighing into his hands.

What he had said to Shan’Ta was true, he was sorry that he could not do more to help this world, and all worlds for that matter, but he simply could not go against Aun’Shi. There was a reason he was known as ‘the aged wonder’ by many of his fellows, and to be chosen as his personal apprentice was the highest honour he could ever hope to achieve, and yet it still did not shake the feeling that Aun’Shi was holding back from his full potential, a feeling that had only gotten larger when Aun’Shi had refused to accept the mantle of the Supreme Ethereal.

“Is this why Farsight left?” he whispered softly to himself, the questions that filled his mind once more swimming to the forefront. Why had Commander Farsight left the T’au and struck out on his own? Why did he now have to conceal the idea of this ‘warp’ from the other races? Why did it seem now more than ever that the bonds that had held the castes of the Tau together for centuries now seemed more tenuous than ever?

So many question filled his young mind, each one burning to be answered, and yet he had answers for none of them. He was sure that Aun’Shi did know the answers to some of these questions, which was why it was he who was chosen to lead an expedition to the Farsight conclaves, and yet his mentor had never shared any with his apprentice.

Aun’Vesa was shaken out of his thoughts when he saw a drone bob through one of the doorways, stopping just before him and beeping a few times, before its modulator kicked in, sounding like it had clearly seen better days. It stammered, sputtered and hissed as it spoke, parts of its speech being slowed down to the point where it seemed like it was trying to communicate with a child, while other parts were so fast that Aun’Vesa nearly couldn’t keep up.

“G-G-G-G-Greetings Ethereal. It is a pleasure for this one to be in your presence. Will you be requiring medical assistance?”

“Ummm, no,” Aun’Vesa shook his head, slightly bemused at the drones voice, before another voice cut through the silence.

“Damn it ya tin can, get back here before I break ya down into scrap metal.”

A Demiurg strode into the room, proving to be the source of the voice, before freezing as he lay his eyes upon Aun’Vesa, his entire body tensing up.

“Oh fuck, I just swore in front of an Ethereal,” he muttered, his voice sounding hollow as his mouth hung open, before he cursed himself again. “Oh bugger! Ah did it again. And again! Ah ya stupid git, shut yer trap before…”

He eventually clapped his own hands over his mouth, groaning into them as Aun’Vesa rose to his feet, chuckling softly at the Demiurg’s antics.

“Be at peace,” he assured the stocky man, raising a hand towards him. “It was an accident, and I do not believe that the expletive was being aimed at me in any case.”

“Of course not,” the Demiurg shook his head quickly, “Ah would never swear at one of yer kin Ethereal. It just must have slipped out as it were.”

“I’m sure,” Aun’Vesa smiled, before looking at the drone. “This drone belongs to you?”

“Ney Ethereal, it belongs ta one of me friends. The lass just asked me ta try fixing him up a little, which the little bas…the drone isn’t making easy fer me.”

“I can see,” Aun’Vesa chuckled softly. “I am to take it then that you are not a doctor?”

“No. Fio’Saal Koghad at yer service Ethereal.”

“And I am Aun’Vesa,” he replied softly. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Koghad of the Earth Caste. Not that I do not wish to speak to you, but is there someone around here that can help direct me? I fear that you are too preoccupied with the drone to be of assistance.”

“Of course Ethereal,” Koghad nodded, casting a glance back down the corridor he’d come from. “There should be someone comin’ right about…”

“Koghad!” a Tau shouted as she ran into the room.

“Ethereal,” Koghad hissed to her, pointing at Aun’Vesa.

“Oh my stars,” she quickly bowed as she turned to face Aun’Vesa. “Please accept…”

“Your apology has been accepted,” Aun’Vesa assured her. “Not that it was needed, you were only doing your job after all.”

“Thank you Ethereal,” the Tau nodded, before looking at Koghad. “You are not supposed to be running around yet Koghad.”

“Ah told yer lady, ah’m fine,” Koghad huffed. “Just leave me be and help those who need it.”

“Go back to bed,” she replied sternly.

“Bah! Fine,” Koghad huffed, walking past her. “Come on W1, let’s see if we can’t get ya fixed up nice and clean again.”

“Y-Y-Y-Yes sir,” the drone responded as it bobbed after Koghad, leaving Aun’Vesa with the Tau woman.

“Now, before we have any more interruptions, I must ask you to lead me to the human that has recently been brought in,” Aun’Vesa said quickly.

“Of course Ethereal, please step this way,” she motioned down as corridor, leading Aun’Vesa through the corridors of the hospital, before finally stopping outside of a room flanked on either side by Fire Warriors, both of whom stood to attention as the pair approached.

Entering, Aun’Vesa quickly inspected the prone form of the human on the medical table in the centre of the room, his various cybernetics hooked up to various machines that were regulating his life support. Around him were a few simple drones, each one making last minute adjustments before he was moved from the room to the Orca.

“Is he stable?” Aun’Vesa asked, turning to the woman.

“As far as we can tell Ethereal,” she nodded. “His physiology is completely different from that of a normal human, and it does not make for an easy operating environment.”

“I’m sure,” Aun’Vesa nodded. “Ensure he is ready for transport please, but first, I would like you to lead me to another one of your patients. The one known as ‘Applejack’.”

“The pony, Ethereal?” the woman clarified, before nodding. “Of course, this way.”

Once again Aun’Vesa found himself being lead through the hospital, before finally coming to a halt at a viewing window, on the other side of which was Applejack and a pair of medical drones. This was the first time that Aun’Vesa had seen the pony in the flesh, but he still remembered the first time he had heard about her like it was yesterday.

***

T’au. Seven weeks earlier

***

Aun'Vesa accompanied Aun'Shi as they walked towards their latest meeting with the other Ethereals. They barely had been given enough time to clean up from Honour Duel Practice and put on fresh robes after they got the announcement of a surprise meeting, but they had managed nonetheless. Whilst the message did not state that the meeting was an emergency per se, Aun'Va was rather insistent that the higher-ranking Ethereals contact him for some recent information he acquired. Normally Aun’Vesa would not have been invited along to such a meeting, but Aun’Shi had insisted.

Eventually the pair reached the Central meeting dome of the city, and after various inspections and examinations by drones and Fire Warriors, the pair were permitted entrance. Due to the sacred nature of the place, only the Highest Ranking Officials of the other castes were allowed entry, and only then with the consent of the Ethereals via majority vote. Indeed, Aun'Va himself has only been to this Dome a few times in the past, due to his status as a relatively young member of the Ethereal Caste, and it was only on Aun’Shi’s insistence that he was allowed entry today.

Upon entry into the main meeting area of the Ethereals, Aun'Shi and Aun'Vesa noticed that the other Ethereals were already engaged in conversations with each other, trying to pass the time away while waiting for the arrival of the Aun'Va. Aun'Vesa followed Aun'Shi as he proceeded to walk over to the area that had been set aside for them, a patch of floor with only two simple straw mats. While they could've insisted on getting better seats like some of the Ethereals had, Aun'Shi had declined, considering them to be "frivolous", and preferring instead the simple lifestyle he had gotten used to on the frontier, what the humans would refer to as a 'Spartan living'.

"Aun'Shi, do you have any idea what the nature of this meeting is about?" Aun’Vesa asked, looking at his mentor as the pair sat down, crossed legged.

"A little,” he nodded. "It is supposedly about a new species of sentient life found by a local Pathfinder team. Nonetheless, we will know soon enough it seems."

As he spoke, he pointed over to a large set of double doors that were beginning to open. In walked a small retinue of Honour Guards who accompanied Aun'Va on his Anti-Grav Dias and Chair, who were in turn accompanied by high ranking members of the Earth, Fire, and Water Castes, each one clad in formal garb and holding dataslates, no doubt to give what information they could that would be pertinent to this meeting.

"Fellow Ethereals and distinguished guests, if you will please be seated, we can commence with the meeting," Aun'Va politely requested, watching intently as the various Tau went to their assigned seating areas. After the crowd quieted down and the various people took their seats, he started to speak once again.

"Just shy of two solar days, one of our Pathfinder Teams went to investigate a large flux of Warp Energy that was detected by one of our Sensory Outposts in sector Mal’caor. Upon their arrival, they found this lifeform, unconscious, but for the most part unharmed, other than what we are assuming to be some minor concussions and bruised ribs. The creature, who we believe to be a she, holds no items on her person, save for a hat, which bears an uncanny resemblance to the human Stetson. Whether this means she has been in contact with the Imperium of Man or not is unknown, but considering the gue’la’s fear of aliens, I believe this to be unlikely."

As the Ethereal spoke, the large holoprojector’s in the room came to life with a soft purr, showing the room a large image of an equine creature, orange of fur and with what looked like three apples on its rear, as well as a very human Stetson beside it.

"From what we can tell, it seems that this creature somehow travelled here via means similar to that used by the Eldar, the signal we received that lead us to her originally was believed to be an incursion by their kind. Brain Scans and the size of her cranial region seems to indicate that she is capable of a level of sentience on par with that of the average Tau and most other Auxila races that are under the Tau Banner, while her teeth mark her as a herbivore. However, despite the similarity in appearances, we do not at this moment believe she is related to any known equine we have encountered, even the Terran Horse, which seems to look the most similar.”

“Alas, while the Medical Teams have done what they can and assure me that this creature is stable, she is presently unconscious as she has been since arriving on T’au, and they are uncertain as to when, or even if, she will wake up. We presently have armed guard outside of her patient area to ensure both her protection as well as that of the Staff at the Medical Facility if she turns out to be hostile."

"I wonder what the reasoning behind this meeting was." Aun'Vesa whispered to Aun’Shi as Aun’Va spoke. "Running into sentient life is fairly common for our Empire, and I do not recall hearing of meetings such as this when we discovered the kroot or the Demiurg."

"It's probably due to the nature of her arrival,” Aun’Shi whispered back. “Since it indicates the use of stable warp technology, one of the few things our Fleets still lack. Only the Demiurg ships can travel at speeds matching the gue’la ships, and they too long since forgotten how to replicate the technology. Perhaps Aun’Va hopes that if we can establish good relations with these beings, this could be the breakthrough we've been looking for."

The meeting continued on for hours, Aun’Shi paying close attention as various people took the floor to give their own statements. The Leader of the Pathfinder Team that had found the creature was first, giving an eye witness report of what he had found before being replaced by the Doctor in charge of the medical treatment of the being, who was doing some of his own preliminary exams using blood samples he acquired from the quadruped. After their testimony, Aun'Va once again held the ear of the room.

“As I'm sure you are well aware, I would not call you here if it was not important. After all, we have encountered many races during our travels, diplomatic liaisons with newly discovered races are not new to us. Nonetheless, it's the circumstances of her arrival that make this different.”

“Told you,” Aun’Shi whispered with a faint smile.

“As I said earlier, we believe that she arrived in much the same way as the Eldar travel, creating what can only be equated to as a ‘rip’ in their so-called ‘webway’. Sadly, we have not found a full portal into that realm, and all we have to study is the data received by the sensor outpost, which has not given us anything we have not already recorded in our past encounters with the Eldar race. However, while the Eldar have always guarded the secret of their travel from us, this creature may not. If it is true that she came through the webway, then perhaps her race also has access to its tunnels, and will be willing to share it with us. If they can, it could mean the difference between simply preserving some of the races of the universe and saving them outright. Speed has been our enemy before, but with the potential technology from this species, we may defeat the final technological enemy we have to face.”

Aun’Va paused as he looked between the faces of everyone present, flitting between the Ethereals and Tau as if he was trying to assess how they were processing this new information, before he finally continued.

“This meeting is to be kept above Top Secret in classifications and as such, is not to be discussed with anyone not currently in this chamber, until further notice and instructions on how to handle the matter have been decided upon. I will personally interview the being, along with select members of the Water Caste upon her awaking, after sufficient checks by both the Medical and Security Teams assuring me it is safe to do so. I will keep the attendees of this meeting updated on the matter. You are dismissed. Believe in our mutual destiny."

"Five Castes, Multiple Races, One People. Tau'n Provides," the room replied as one as the meeting came to a close.

***

Styro

***

“Tau’n provides,” Aun’Vesa whispered softly, before looking to the Tau medical officer. “Thank you, but I wish to speak to Applejack alone.”

“Of course Ethereal,” the woman nodded. “If you need anything, the drones will be more than happy to provide it for you. I only ask that you be careful, her wounds are only just healing.”

Nodding, Aun’Vesa watched as she turned and walked away, before walking towards the door, the soft hydraulics sliding it open with an almost completely silent hiss and allowing him entry. Applejack instantly looked over, the drones scattering as she pushed them away, doing her best to get to her feet.

“E-Ethereal,” she stammered.

“Please Applejack, I have had enough of the pomp and circumstance since I arrived, I would ask you to not stand on ceremony,” Aun’Vesa shook his head with a small smile.

“How do y’all know mah name?” Applejack asked, cocking her head to the side.

“I am an Ethereal, I know many things,” Aun’Vesa chuckled. “Now, if you sit down and rest, I will explain everything.”

Applejack nodded, pulling herself back onto the gurney and allowing the drones to get back to work on her leg, wincing as they began to try to negate some of the damage from the break. She had already been told by doctors that she would likely never walk without a small limp again, but it wouldn’t be too much of a hindrance.

“Now, your question. My name is Aun’Vesa, an Ethereal under, sorry, formerly under the tutelage of Ethereal Aun’Shi. I know your name because I was sent here to retrieve you.”

“Retrieve me? Why would ya need to retrieve me?”

“You mean asides from the human invasion that is threatening to overrun the Fire Caste stationed here?” Aun’Vesa asked, his voice seeming to waver just a bit. “The reasons will be explained more on route, but I am afraid that the debriefing must wait until we are out of immediate danger. I realise that you probably have a lot of questions to ask, just as I have questions to ask of your, pertaining to your recent actions during the invasion, but I would ask you to wait.”

“Fine, ah guess a few more hours isn’t that much to ask,” Applejack shrugged, before looking at the drone. “Ya done yet?”

“Yes Fio’Saal,” the drone bobbed up and down in confirmation. “Although I would advise that you do not put excess strain on it for the next few days.”

“I will personally ensure that she rests it,” Aun’vesa chuckled softly. “Now, we must be heading back towards my ship, I do not know how long the fleet I arrived with will be able to keep the hole in the Imperial battle line open, and I do not wish to miss our opportunity to leave.”

Applejack nodded as she once again slid off the gurney, doing her best to keep her weight off of her leg and drawing the eye of Aun’Vesa. “Would you prefer me to requisition a hover-chair for you Applejack?”

“No thanks Ethereal,” Applejack shook her head. “Ah’d prefer to walk, try and get used ta walking on mah leg properly again.”

“I can respect that,” Aun’Vesa nodded, before sweeping his arm towards the door. “Please, after you. And call me Aun’Vesa, Ethereal is a title, not my name.”

“If ya insist, Aun’Vesa,” Applejack managed a small smile, slowly walking past Aun’Vesa, before stopping suddenly, the Ethereal almost tripping over her.

“What is the matter Applejack?”

“Ah was just wondering where the others are? They already outside, Aun’Vesa?”

Aun’Vesa looked at Applejack with some confusion. “What others? I was sent here to pick you up, the extraction fleet is still a week away.”

“Whoa whoa, are ya saying that ya came here just to take me away but not the others?” Applejack asked in disbelief.

“It was my intention yes,” Aun’Vesa nodded. “I was asked to retrieve you, I’m sorry but I do not know if I can extract anyone else.”

“Well then, Aun’Vesa, I am sorry, but I’ll have to decline,” Applejack shook her head. “Ah didn’t leave mah friends on Equestria ever, ah didn’t leave them when we were out there either, so ah can’t leave them now.”

“Applejack, we don’t have time for this,” Aun’Vesa sighed. “As I said, I’m sorry.”

“And as ah said, ah’m not leavin’ without mah friends,” Applejack shook her head, her expression falling to a small frown. “There aren’t many left, but ah’m not leavin’ if they’re not too.”

“You are not going to compromise on this are you Applejack?”

“Ah wasn’t an Element of Harmony for nothin’,” she shrugged.

“You will have to explain what this ‘Element of Harmony’ is in transit before we go into stasis,” Aun’Vesa smiled. “I’m sure your friends will be just as interested to hear about it. I will allow them to come with us, if only because I was told to do what I had to do to ensure you were taken off world before anything happens to you.”

“Somebody out there cares for me that much?” Applejack asked in surprise, before her eyes widened. “It’s…it’s not Rainbow Dash is it? One of mah kin?”

“I’m afraid not,” Applejack’s face fell as Aun’Vesa spoke, before she regained her composure.

“Ah guess that would be too much ta hope for.”

“Indeed, but we must always keep hope, Applejack,” Aun’Vesa smiled, walking beside Applejack, keeping to a slow pace to allow her to keep up. “Now, we must make contact with your associates and make haste to my Orca, I would be done with this world as soon as possible.”

“Ya won’t hear any complaints from me or the others, Aun’Vesa,” Applejack smiled.

“From what I have heard of your exploits, that is hardly surprising.”

Author's Note

So, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, it took me a bit longer than I would have liked to put it out, but I was distracted by the dastardly curse (read as 'awesomeness' :rainbowdetermined2: ) of both Warframe and the Shadow of Mordor. I apologise.

Also, I'm going to start putting the names of the pony the chapter pertains to at the beginning. Hope that doesn't take anything away from the story for you guys. :twilightsmile:

Training in Fire

Applejack

Applejack stared at the screen in the room she and her friends had been left on, a real-time image of Styro retreating into the distance showing clearly across its surface, captured from one of the ships many external cameras. Even from this distance, Applejack could make out the small shapes of other ships, some human and some Tau. It would have been beautiful, enchanting even, if it had not been for the lances of light that shot through the void of space, marking the furious battle that was still being fought above the planet, just as it was on the ground.

Applejack could hardly say that she was sorry to be leaving, but she would be lying to herself if she said she didn’t feel a pang of guilt for being extracted while others died in droves. She didn’t know why she felt the kinship she did, having not known the majority of those on the planet, but it went beyond simply not wanting to see others be hurt, she was just yet to put her hood on it.

She was broken out of her inner thoughts by the sound of the door hissing open, her ears flicking back a moment before her head turned, her eyes resting on Aun’Vesa. Koghad, Lofeg and W1, the only others from Styro to join her, also turned to looked at the Ethereal.

“Greetings once again,” he bowed his head slightly, matching the gazes of the others in the room as they bowed in return. “I apologise for my quick departure when we arrived on board, but my duties called me to the bridge. I trust you have not encountered any problems?”

“None that need be brought up here Ethereal,” Koghad shook his head.

“Very good. Now, before we go into stasis, I feel that it is right for me to inform you of events forward of this point in time. First, our destination is Pa’Laa, the world from which the Fire Caste on Styro are from, as well as my most recent station. Secondly, our plan upon arrival. It had been my intention that I would only be transporting Applejack here, but no matter. The main reason for your extraction is still the same, and that is safety. Until we can arrange transport back to a first sphere colony, the three of you will remain close to those able to protect you. When the time comes, you will be moved back away from the frontier and towards a safer…”

“Yer babyin’ us,” Applejack murmured softly.

“I’m sorry?” Aun’Vesa asked.

“You’re babying us,” Applejack enunciated better, speaking louder this time.

“The analogy can hardly be used here,” Aun’Vesa shook his head. “My orders are simply to retrieve you and ensure that you are safe.”

“By moving us so far away from the frontier where we were actually doing a good job,” Applejack insisted.

“Lass, be careful,” Koghad warned, but stepped back as Aun’Vesa came forward.

“It is quite alright Koghad, she is within her right to question, as are all in my presence. It is our fundamental right as living beings is it not? That being said, I wonder if you could give Applejack and I the deck. I have a feeling that a discussion like this would be best served with only two participants. There is a mess hall down two levels if you wish?”

“Of course Ethereal,” Koghad bowed. “Ah haven’t had much decent grub recently anyhow. Come on Lofeg, let’s git out of the Ethereals way.”

Aun’Vesa and Applejack watched the pair leave, before the Ethereal gestured towards a chair. “Please, sit. I was advised to keep weight off of your injured leg for the near future.”

Nodding, Applejack sat down, Aun’Vesa facing her. For a long time the pair didn’t speak, the back-drop of space on the screen adding to the calm nature of the room, before Aun’Vesa finally spoke once more.

“So? You believe me to be babying you?”

“Ah don’t mean ta be rude,” Applejack shook her head, Aun’Vesa shaking his with a smile.

“Please, I understand that you are not trying to be so inclined. Consider this an open conversation. Present what ails your thoughts, and I will do my best to put these worries at ease.”

“Ah don’t want ta be put on some world where I won’t be doin’ anypony any good. We were needed badly on Styro, and it felt good to work t’wards somethin’.”

“And you fear that is I place you on a world that is already established, your skills will be underappreciated. Correct?”

“Well when ya say it like that it makes me sound like ah’m blowing mah own trumpet a bit loud,” Applejack blushed slightly. “It’s not that ah think ah’m better than anyone else or nothin’, it’s just ah like to know that what ah’m doin’ is usin’ mah abilities for the best possible cause.”

“It is an understandable concern,” Aun’Vesa nodded slowly. “But look at it this way, would you not want the safety inner colony could provide? Your time on Styro, while brief, was not uneventful by any stretch of the word. A Space Marine attack on the military outpost beside your farm, a falling titan, even an assassin sent to find you and retrieve the life you saved. I must commend you on having the fortitude to save the Princeps in the face of what I hear was contentious opposition from your own allies. All lives are precious, even those of our enemies. Though they fight against us, we should not be so quick to turn them away.”

“There’s always good in ponies, and people,” Applejack shrugged. “Ah know that ya just want mah safety, for whatever reason, but ah don’t want to feel like ah’m being given special treatment.”

Aun’Vesa nodded, before leaning forward slightly. “You are holding back on me Applejack. There is something else, isn’t there?”

“Ah don’t know,” Applejack shrugged with a sigh. “Ah can’t shake the feelin’ that ah’m runnin’ away before ah should. Like ah should still be down there.” She gestured towards the screen with her hoof.

“Interesting,” Aun’Vesa mused. “Tell me more about this. You wish to be out in the desert still?”

“Oh no,” Applejack amended quickly. “No, ah mean on the planet in general. There are so many fightin’ and dyin’ down there, me getting to skip out early seems cowardly and dishonest.”

“You were only a farmer,” Aun’Vesa pointed out. “It is not your job to fight the battles of the Fire Caste.”

“And back in Equestria ah was an Element of Harmony,” Applejack reasoned. “We were the ones that helped ta defeat those who threatened the country.”

Aun’Vesa nodded, his eyes slowly drifting Applejacks form as he lost himself in deep thought, before finally speaking, slowly and deliberately. “Applejack, are you familiar with the idea of a crucible of fire?”

“Ah don’t think so, no,” Applejack shook her head.

“It is an old idea, one that stretches back to the very beginning of the Tau’s history,” Aun’Vesa began. “If you survive a crucible, you only grow the stronger for it. Whether that is physically, mentally or emotionally, the idea behind it remains the same. Crucibles can tale many shapes, but in this case, it was one by fire, and was characterised by your ordeal on Styro. The guilt you feel comes from knowing you can do something, and yet sitting by and doing nothing. You were a protector of your world once, and for better or worse, you want to be one again, am I right?”

“Ah guess so,” Applejack nodded slowly. “Plus when Rainbow came back, she’d been through hell so she could get home. Ah don’t think things will be any easier this time. If ah could have done somethin’ to get ready for things, and she gets hurt, ah’d never forgive myself.”

“Very well then,” Aun’Vesa stood up. “We must be heading to stasis soon, but before we do, I would like to extend to you the right to change castes, from Earth to Fire. If you accept, you will be enrolled in basic training when we arrive at Pa’Laa, and if you pass that, then you will once again be the guardian you once were.”

Applejack’s resolve faltered for a second as what she was actually asking caught up with her. She had the opportunity to be safe, to ride out the storm that was the universe she found herself in in relative comfort, and yet she was rejecting it to purposely through herself into the fire. She wrestled with herself mentally for a few seconds, before she managed to steel her resolve once more, quashing the negative thoughts as she took a deep breath.

“Ethereal Aun’Vesa, ah accept.”

***

Applejack took a shuddering breath as the formation finally came to a stop, bottles of water flashing out of pouches on the mock armour they had all been given, and she was no different, retrieving the bottle of tepid liquid and greedily guzzling it down.

She had been on Pa’Laa for weeks now, and had been training in the Fire Caste for almost exactly the same amount of time. She had gone into stasis not long after she had accepted Aun’Vesa’s offer, meaning that she still had to officiate the transfer, as well as convincing Koghad and Lofeg to join her, which had certainly not been an easy task. The fruits of her efforts however were clear, as both Demiurg stood beside her, bent double and wheezing hard.

“Ah thought ya both used to be combat engineers, or somethin’,” Applejack managed a slight chuckle as she looked at the pair.

“Aye, long time ago,” Koghad panted. “Plus, that didn’t require as much runnin’.”

Applejack had to concede to him on that point, the run they had been on today was nothing short of suicidal. They had been woken up at the crack of dawn, just as the sun had first started to crest the horizon, which was a full four hours before the time they had been informed would be morning revile. In a sleepy haze they had donned their training armour and gear for the day, save for their weapons, which were all safely left back at base.

“Fire Warriors!” Their training Shas’Ui, a scarred and grizzled Tau by the name of Karias, bellowed, and in an instant everyone was back up and in formation, water bottles once again being slipped inside their respective pouches. “We have ourselves a visitor today, all the way from the other side of the planet, Shas’Ui Tra.”

The Tau who Karias had pointed to nodded, beginning to walk up and down the lines of Tau, as well as the small axillary contingent that was attached to the unit. “Soldiers of the Greater Good,” he called, his voice considerably more raspy than Karias’s, showing his age. “I was told by Karias that this is one of the more promising units in the current training cadre, that you’ve all done superbly in your training up until now. Is this correct?”

“Sir, yes sir,” was the almost instantaneous reply.

“Bullshit, I can’t hear you!” Tra bellowed. “Sound off like you mean it!”

“Sir! Yes sir!”

Tra nodded, continuing to walk down the line, before stopping in front of a Tau and glaring at her. “You, what makes you think that you’re better than the other trainees to deserve the praise Karias has been giving you? You look like every other Fire Warrior I’ve seen in my life, you think you’re above that?”

“Sir, yes sir,” the woman nodded.

“Bullshit. I’ve seen air caste members who are more intimidating than you are,” Tra smirked, before moving on, finally approaching the auxiliary section and stopping before Applejack, leering down at her as she forced herself to keep looking forward as she had been drilled to.

“Now what the hell are you? We don’t let farm animals into the Fire Caste.”

“Sir, I’m a pony, sir,” Applejack replied.

“A pony?” Tra laughed. “Tiny creature like you won’t last a day in real war. What makes you think that you’re good enough to be here?”

“Sir, give me a chance to prove myself, sir,” Applejack replied, biting back a retort, knowing that it would not only land her in the shit, but the rest of the unit to.

“A chance to prove yourself?” Tra asked, crossing his arms, before taking a few steps back and addressing the whole unit. “That’s fine, you’ll all get a chance to prove yourself today, and you can start by marching back to camp, curtesy of your short little friend here. It seems that you all stupidly left your weapons behind.”

As one, the unit turned their heads to look back up the hill they had just come down. The run that had been sprung on them had been hard enough, but marching back up to retrieve their weapons that they had been specifically told to leave behind was certainly not what any of them had expected. A collective groan emerged from almost every set of lips, before Karias silenced them with a roar of his own.

“Did Tra fucking stutter, or are you all afraid of a little exercise? Now start marching, or I will personally send you all back to training with the children!”

Sluggishly, the unit turned towards the hill, before beginning to march forward, Tra and Karias marching alongside them, occasionally calling out directions or ensuring that the formation stayed tight. It was going to be a long day.

***

Applejack let a half breathe slide through her teeth, before holding what was left of the air in her lungs, just like she had been taught. She was lying down flat on her belly, a small optic slotted over her right eye, attaching back to the weapon that was currently attached to the series of straps she wore.

When she had first started training there had been a few teething issues, mostly when it came down to classifications of her species in the auxiliary, manufacturing new gear for her species, and making sure that she got what she needed nutritionally from the food she was served, which luckily did not take too much time to sort out. The biggest challenge by far however was how she could fire a weapon.

When Rainbow Dash had told her about how she fired her rifle when she was here, she had spoken about using the magical field on her hoof to use it, which was all well and good if the user could stand on their rear legs for an extended period of time, or could use wings to travel, thus freeing up their legs. Applejack however had never been very good at standing on two legs, and clearly had no wings, so a new method had to be devised. In the end, Applejack had been presented with a custom built harness system, complete with the targeter she now wore, which held the weapon close to her side, and allowed her to fire with a simple chip that was placed on the inside of her mouth, requiring specific movements to activate, and ensuring that there were no misfires when she didn’t want them.

Currently she had a pulse rifle by her side, and after making the final adjustments to her aim, moved her mouth slightly, the technology working its magic and firing a small blue bolt at the target down range, scorching the metal plate there.

“Good shot pony girl, we’ll make a warrior out of you yet,” Tra smirked as he looked at her target. The words were so simple, and yet they made Applejack’s heart sore as if they had been spoken by Celestia herself.

***

Applejack puffed her chest out as she brushed a few flecks of dirt off of her dress uniform, making sure she looked presentable for the coming events. For once her Stetson was found off of her head, her mane instead flowing down her back in a tight braid, bound with strips of leather at regular intervals to ensure that it would not flow wildly in any breeze that caught it. Satisfied with her appearance, Applejack turned back towards her bunk and cupboards, making sure that both were equally as organised, only turning away once she was certain that even Twilight would have been impressed.

Her new set of armour, the custom suit only recently released from the workshops of the Earth Caste, was stowed carefully in the footlocker at the end of the bed, the blue plates resting atop one another in such a way so as to ensure that they wouldn’t be scratched before they had to be. The only part of the armour that wasn’t in the foot locker was her helmet, which was sitting in the middle of her bed, the single eye piece polished to a shine. Beside that rested her weapon, a rail-gun squad support weapon. She had been the obvious choice to be the designated carrier of the weapon, its size and weight usually meaning that the bearer was slowed down considerably, but with her stocky frame and four legs, she could carry it with relative ease, as well as having a constantly stable platform to fire it from.

Turning around, she looked at the rest of the squad she had been placed in, each one of them doing similar things to her, primping and preening themselves in preparation for the upcoming pass-out ceremony. It had been a long time coming, and it certainly hadn’t been easy, nor had it been without dropouts, Koghad and Lofeg to name but a few, but she personally had done it, and she couldn’t be more proud of herself. The squad, including her, numbered five new unbloodied Fire Warriors, as well as one Shas’Ui who had recently passed his trial by fire, and while they had yet to meet him, every single one of them was raring to go, their bodies having been transformed into springs of coiled muscle and reflex memory, ready to spring into action at any moment.

It was a strange change of pace for everyone for her to be in this squad, being a member of a species other than Tau. Usually members of the auxiliary were grouped together with other members of their species in specialised squads, but this clearly presented a problem for Applejack. In the beginning, she had been placed with the Demiurgs, like she had been in the Earth Caste, her strength and natural tenacity marking her as suitable for the rigors of close quarter combat that the Tau were loath to commit to, but as time went on she had begun to exhibit more and more tendencies of a true Fire Warrior, save for the few outbursts and bucking fests she enjoyed when given free rein on the training field, which had almost seen her placed amongst one of the many Kroot packs within the Pa’Laa sept.

Nevertheless, she had eventually proved that she was on par with Tau, and after much deliberation, the commanders of the training camp, with the blessing and backing of Ethereal Aun’Vesa, had passed a new standing order, stating that from this day forward, Applejack would no longer be considered part of the auxiliary for terms of classification. She would earn prestige, advance through the ranks, and for all intents and purposes, be treated exactly as if she had been born a Tau, not a pony.

“Well, don’tcha scrub up nice, lass,” came a familiar voice, and Applejack turned to see Koghad walking into the room.

“Ya know you’re not supposed to be in here,” Applejack pointed out, a small smile spreading across her lips. “‘Specially not this close to the parade.”

“Yeah yeah, ah know it girl, doesn’t mean ah can’t come to congratulate mah friend.”

“I’m sorry ya didn’t make it, same goes for Lofeg too,” Applejack sighed.

“Don’t be, lass, we only agreed to this hare-brained scheme because of you, not ‘cause we wanted it as badly as you seem to.”

“I’m not going to be helpless again,” Applejack responded defiantly.

“No, you’re not,” one of her squad mates agreed, walking over to the pair and looking down at Koghad. “Now please, this is a moment for the Fire Caste. I would ask you to wait until later to speak to it’s newest member.”

“Aye, I getcha,” Koghad nodded. “Ah’ll see ya around, Lass. Drinks are on me tonight.”

“Ah’ll hold you to that,” Applejack snorted, watching as Koghad left the room, before returning to making sure she looked smart enough to do the Fire Caste proud.

***

“Honour. Obedience. Duty. Self-sacrifice. These are the central tenants of the Code of Fire. For some of you, today marks the culmination of a lifetime of active training, while for others, it marks the end of the intensive training that we have provided here,” Aun’Vesa boomed out, technology amplifying his voice across the parade ground, ensuring none of the assembled Fire Warriors and on lookers would fail to hear his words.

“There stands no greater glory than that earned in service of a cause greater than one’s self, for when we strive together, so many hearts beating towards a singular purpose, there is nothing we cannot achieve. Those stood before me today are testament to this claim, each one of you relying on your new brothers and sisters of fire to strengthen your resolve beyond what it could claim to be absent allies. To this end, I forever strike the title of Saal from you all. Bend a knee and cleanse yourself of your fears and doubts.”

Applejack instantly fell to her front knees, bowing her head reverently, and fixing her eyes upon the bowl of water that had been placed before each and every one of those now upon the parade square. At an unspoken command, she reached her right hoof forward in perfect synchronisation with those around her, picking up the bowl and pouring the contents over her head. She could almost hear Rarity screaming in horror as the water soaked her dress uniform, the mental image only causing a slight flicker of a smile on her otherwise stoic face.

The bowl was quickly drained of water, and Applejack placed it back on the floor before her, waiting for Aun’Vesa to continue.

“No longer shall you bear the title underlings in your caste, but shall be known as Shas’La, soldiers of the Greater Good. Arise again, Fire Warriors.”

Quickly getting to her hooves, Applejack and the other assembled Fire Warriors looked up at the raised platform Aun’Vesa stood upon, raising their own voices in reply.

“For the beginning! For the end! The Fire Caste stands tall!”

The parade ground suddenly seemed to become very quiet, Aun’Vesa taking a step back, allowing a Fire Warrior, his identity hidden behind his gleaming armour, to take centre stage.

“You are all dismissed. Your time is yours until tomorrow. It is an honour to call you all my brothers and sisters, in arms and fire.”

With a sound likethe thunder of the gods themselves, the assembled Fire Warriors brought their feet, and hooves, together, coming crisply to attention. A second later, a fist or hoof came crashing into their chests, held there for a few seconds, before falling back to the floor, those on the parade square quickly making their way towards the edge of it now that the presentation was finished.

For her part, Applejack refrained from cheering as many of the others did, returning any congratulations she got with a smile, a nod and a ‘thank you’, before she felt a familiar weight land on her head, the brow of her Stetson once again coming into the top of her field of view.

“There we are, lass, ya look like yerself again,” Koghad chuckled.

“Ah feel it too,” Applejack chuckled, finally breaking out of the dour demeanour she had adopted for the parade and smiling coyly. “Now, I do believe that you said drinks were on you tonight, correct?”

“Yer gonna hold me to that one, aren’t ya lass?” Koghad sighed, looking across at Lofeg with a crestfallen expression.

“Did ya expect anything else?” the other Demiurg smirked. “Looks like yer mouth finally made a promise that your pocket couldn’t keep.”

“Yer clearly don’t know how deep my pocket stretches,” Koghad retorted good-naturedly.

“Well then, if that’s the case, ya’ll shouldn’t have any problem with getting in a round,” Applejack smirked. “Come on, ah’m sure with a nose as big as yours ya can sniff out a place to get some decent cider around here.”

With that, Applejack set off at a trot through the crowd, Koghad and Lofeg exchanging glances, before hurrying after her.

Author's Note

So, there's this. :twilightoops:

I'm still not sure what to think of this chapter. I've never been a big fan of training chapters, they usually end up to be boring and monotonous, as there's only so much time you guys probably want to hear about Applejack missing a target or getting shouted at for getting a drill mover wrong.

I hope you guys don't think this is a cop out or anything by having things condensed like this. I can promise that the next chapter will have more substance.

Oh, and as I apparently forgot to mention it, Aun'Vesa belongs to Brother Malachai

Landing

Rainbow Dash

“This is it,” Rainbow muttered to the others, her helmet communicator transmitting the soft sound across the distance that separated them. Each of the Swooping Pegasi were arranged around her in perfect formation, sitting on their bikes with every muscle tensed up and ready to spring into action. They all knew what lay beyond the next jump, they’d known about it for almost a week now, and yet it still unnerved them, chilling them to the core.

Before them stood a gateway to the Dark City of Commoragh, home of the Dark Eldar, the impossible architecture seeming to stretch on forever before them, and yet if reports were true, this was only a grain of sand compared to the magnitude of what lay beyond.

“Rainbow,” Scootaloo whispered, fighting to keep her nerves in check. “We’re too exposed here, we should pull back.”

“We didn’t come here to chicken out now Scoots,” Rainbow chose her words carefully, knowing that they would get an instant reaction from the young Pegasus, and she was not disappointed.

“Then let’s get moving then,” Scootaloo activated her jetbike and looking round at the others. “What’s the play, Rainbow?”

“Follow my lead,” Rainbow finally spoke after a moment’s deliberation. “Keep quiet unless you absolutely need to talk and pray that they don’t decide to just kill us instantly.”

“And if they do try and kill us instantly?” Spitfire asked.

“Then we don’t play heroes, we scram and devise a new plan.”

With that, Rainbow began to move her jetbike forward, the others following close behind her as they picked up speed, soaring between the dark, jagged spires of the jump gate. “Keep the speed up, less we get looked at before we find the portal the better.”

“Speed is your answer to everything, RD,” Gilda smirked beneath her helmet.

“Radio silence from now,” Rainbow ordered, before banking hard so she was flying on her side, allowing her to pull off an otherwise impossible turn, approaching what looked like a heavily guarded and deactivated gateway. Activating her jetbikes brakes, Rainbow and the other Swooping Pegasi came to an abrupt halt, drawing their weapons as they were almost instantly surrounded by warriors wielding horrendously sized swords.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here then boys?” one asked, this one holding two slightly smaller swords across his shoulders in an X, rather than the one larger ones. “Looks to me like something took a wrong turn. Their mistake.”

“Yours if you move any closer,” Rainbow spat back, dismounting her jetbike and looking directly at the Dark Eldar, drawing Ravenous from her back and resting the sword against the ground. “Incubi?”

“Of the Obsidian Maw,” the leader sneered, his twisted smile obvious even beneath his helmet as he brought one of his own swords down, reversing his grip on it and planting the point on the floor before Rainbow. “Now, explain to me why I shouldn’t gut you here and drink your pain, and that of your friends?”

In an instant his second sword was whipping through the air, stopping an inch away from Rainbow’s neck, scraping softly against the armour. Rainbow could hear the other bristle behind her, as well as the movements of the other Incubi, and without turning knew that each of her friends were in a similar situation to her.

“Your contract, to kill any who try and get through the gate?” Rainbow continued, not reacting to the blade at her neck.

“To guard it from aggressors,” the Incubi corrected, pushing the blade slightly harder, and forcing Rainbow to take a step backwards. “Those who would threaten the kabal of the Barbed Heart.”

“And we threaten it?” Rainbow scoffed. “I think not. If we were a threat, we’d be exchanging blood now, not words. We seek access to the Dark City, we have no quarrel with the Barbed Heart.”

“Yet,” the Incubi removed his sword from Rainbow’s neck, leaving the other still stuck in the ground, before signalling for the rest of his warriors to do the same. “Why should I allow you, whatever you are, to enter?”

Without a word, Rainbow reached a hoof into a pouch on her armour, the sword flying out to her neck once more. Slowly, and deliberately, Rainbow removed the hoof, bringing out a strange spike pyramid and holding it out towards the Incubus.

“I, Rainbow Dash, survivor of the human purge of my world, do present this soul-trap to the Shrine of the Obsidian Maw so secure passage through the gate to Commoragh. A total of one hundred souls.”

Somepony behind her gasped, a quick glance at her helmets readout showing it to be Spitfire, before she felt the soul-trap being lifted from her hoof, the Incubi inspecting it closely, before breathing in deeply, as if sampling what the trap had to offer. Eventually he stopped, chuckling slowly as he placed the soul-trap on a barb cord hanging from his belt.

“Impressive, Rainbow Dash, the Hierarchs will be most…interested to hear of this. Your offering is acceptable, for an Eldar. You though do not share our likeness, yet your armour does, as do your steeds. What are you?”

“I am a Ygal, as are most of those with me, save for the Kar,” Rainbow continued, hardly missing a beat. “A human explorator fleet found our planet and began to cleanse it, very few of us escaped. Us six were rescued by a small band of your kin, Corsairs. We wanted revenge, they wouldn’t allow it, so their souls were the first in the trap, before we headed here.”

“You killed, no, drained, a Corsair?” the Incubi asked, scepticism evident in his voice. “I doubt that, little Ygal, I doubt that very much.”

“Where do you think this came from?” Rainbow shot back, thumping a fist against her armours breastplate. “My kind know how to repurpose technology, even that of the Corsairs. Our equipment comes from them, save for this,” she moved her sword, placing it over her back and showing the pommel and hilt. “This is from a captain of the Blood Ravens.”

The Incubi inspected it for a moment, before nodding, turning his head slowly to inspect every member of the Swooping Pegasi, before turning back to Rainbow. “I will allow your passage Ygal, but make no mistake, killing a Captain of the human Space Marines will not prepare you for what lies beyond.”

“We’ll take our chances,” Rainbow sheathed her sword as she spoke, mounting her jetbike once more as the portal flared into life, the shimmering mucky light filling her with far more dread than the gateways on the craftworld ever had.

As she rose back into the air, the others following her lead, the Incubi took a step backwards, before turning as one, taking up positions in front of the gate once more, standing stock still as Rainbow soared through the portal.

***

Gilda emerged from the portal last, taking almost a full second to take in the situation before her before firing her weapons, joining the dogfight that was already in progress. Spitfire was busy trying to shake off an odd winged dark eldar who was matching her every move, while Scootaloo, Lightning and Wavechill were busy exchanging shots with five more of their number sometimes pursuing their enemies, before being forced to double back as they were turned upon. The only one who was unaccounted for by Gilda was Rainbow, their leader being nowhere to be seen.

With a roar, Gilda gunned the engines of her jetbike, her weapons spitting death as she dived after Spitfire and her pursuer, forcing whatever it was to split its attention, leading to Spitfire quickly and calmly placing a shot between its eyes, the things body going limp as it plummeted towards the spires below.

Gilda’s bike suddenly shuddered as something landed on the back of it, and she instinctively ducked, before throwing the craft into a roll, dislodging the attacker for a second, before they managed to get a foothold on the front of her bike, pulling themselves up and raising a sharp knife above their head. Reaching for her pistol, Gilda began to bring it to bear, before a blur collided with the dark eldar, blood erupting from the cut as Scootaloo soared past, her jetbike high above her. Pausing only to give Gilda the slightest of nods, Scootaloo flapped her wings once more, shooting upwards towards her bike once more.

The rest of the skirmish became a blur of shots and slashes, and more than once Gilda felt shots hit her bike and armour, which by the greatest mercy held strong, protecting her from harm as she continued to cut through the flying creatures. Finally the last one fell, and Gilda turned her attention upwards, the lack of battle noises allowing her to finally pinpoint Rainbow Dash, and the foe she was duelling with.

Every strike Rainbow gave was expertly blocked by her aggressor’s long spear, the winged dark eldar seeming to dance around Rainbow, avoiding everything Rainbow threw at him, using the jetbikes size against her. Gilda snarled, gunning her engines upwards, shooting past the others who were quick to follow her, even as Rainbow’s bike began to lose altitude.

“I’ve got it!” Scootaloo called, breaking off from the assault as she rolled backwards, shooting downwards again before leaping to Rainbow's empty bike. Rainbow herself was still doing battle with the dark eldar, but the dynamic had changed now, and she was on the offensive, every stroke drawing blood, before she finally delivered a decapitating blow, the eldar’s head plummeting towards the ground, followed swiftly by the rest of his body.

Panting slightly, Rainbow drifted back towards her jetbike, groaning as she landed on it, before looking at the others.

“Anyone hurt?”

“No, but your vitals aren’t looking so hot, Rainbow,” Scootaloo hopped off Rainbow’s bike, heading back to her own.

“Yeah, I’ve been through worse,” Rainbow stretched her mechanical leg out, grimacing as she saw the damage that had been done to it. “Probably just painful feedback, but we can’t check it out now, we’re far too exposed. Make for the lower city, we’ll clear out a place to lay low for a while. Spitfire, see any potential spots?”

“A few,” Spitfire nodded, looking away from her sniper scope and over to Rainbow. “We need to talk though Rainbow, I want some answers.”

“Later,” Rainbow replied simply, starting to move forward again, only to have Spitfire swoop in front of her, forcing her to stop.

“Exarch! Answers,” Spitfire shouted, doing away with the radio link for the cry.

“I said later, Aspect Warrior,” Rainbow roared back. “You deserve answers, and you’ll get them, but considering the fact that we were just under attack and could be again at any moment, they will wait. Understand?”

“Yes, Exarch,” Spitfire grumbled, moving her bike back into the V formation they had adopted as they dived towards the ground, or what could be called ground in Commoragh.

If Rainbow and the others had thought that the gateway had been impossibly large, this was on a whole new level. Everywhere Rainbow looked, she could see sprawling piles of spires upon spires, erupting out from each other, seemingly without rhyme or reason. In an odd way, it almost seemed like the entire city looked like a group of sea-urchins, albeit on an unprecedented scale and being far too numerous to ever be able to count.

They continued to dive towards one of the larger nodes, seeing snatches of impossible sights as they went. Hundreds of the winged dark eldar duelled with other jetbikes, or with eldar riding hoverboards, while yet more piloted sleek jets, eclipsing the speed of all those around them as they screamed past. What really drew Rainbow's eyes however, were the stars.

The two massive orbs were suspended in what could possibly be described as the centre of the city, although for all Rainbow knew this could have just as easily been one of the farthest flung corners of the city. Both of the stars were dull and tiny, and Rainbow instantly recognised the similarities between these stars and the star that she had watched die on her last moments on Saim-Hann. The only major difference between these was that while the death of the star in realspace had been beautiful, the majestic end to the life giving orb, the death of these stars was tainted by the lecherous green energy that snaked across their surface, sucking them dry, and further reinforcing the message that hope was something that could not exist for long in the dark streets of Commoragh.

Forcing herself to look away from the stars, Rainbow slammed the brakes of her bike on, pulling a turn that would have torn lesser pilots in half and skimming above a street illuminated by the odd, flickering glow sphere, showing the rubble strewn streets in all their dilapidated glory. The light of the sun barely reached here, and Rainbow suspected that this area existed in near permanent twilight, meaning it was perfect for their goals.

“Stay close,” Rainbow ordered. “Slums are rarely the safest places at the best of times, these are bound to be worst. I want to find somewhere we can defend easily and get some rest while we plan our next move.”

“Roger that,” Wavechill replied. “Got something coming up, looks like a factory of some sort, I think, hard to tell what anything is with this architecture.”

“You heard him then. Gilda, take point and lead us in, slowly and carefully.”

The team fluidly moved into position, Gilda taking the lead as she activated the armoured shroud on the front of her jetbike, protecting her from the worst damage. Getting closer, Gilda brought the bike in to land on one of the struts of the factory, just by the main body of the spire that went straight through the building, or perhaps originated from it, it was impossible to tell which.

“I don’t like this, it’s too quiet,” Lightning muttered.

“Agreed,” Rainbow nodded, dismounting from her bike and approaching one of the doors and pushing it open.

The smell hit her instantly, causing bile to rise up in her throat as she looked at the scene of blood that lay before her. Hundreds of rotting corpses littered the floor of the building, covering it like a carpet. Cages of various shapes and sizes were dotted around the room, while yet more bodies hung from chains, suspended high up in the rafters.

“We…we need to go,” Spitfire wretched as she looked inside, forcing herself not to throw up so as to not have to remove her helmet. The rest of the team looked like they were in similar situations, Scootaloo having failed to hold it in, as well as not being able to get her helmet off in time, sick dribbling through the grille as she finally ripped it off, spluttering out any that was left in her mouth.

“Go where?” Gilda asked, her voice sounding hollow. “Not to sound dour or anything, but we all read the stories, this is probably going to be a common occurrence, especially if we’re in the slums.”

“Are you crazy?” Spitfire hissed, before pointing a hoof at Scootaloo. “She’s just a kid, and you want to stay here?”

“Want has nothing to do with it,” Gilda retorted. “Rainbow’s leg is damaged, we’re tired, we’re in a new and extremely dangerous place, we can’t afford to be picky over places we check out. We should search it and see if it’s defensible.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Spitfire growled, before turning to Rainbow. “Exarch, talk some sense into her, please.”

“Come on Dash,” G cut in before Rainbow could reply. “You know it’s the right choice.”

“Rainbow?” Spitfire asked incredulously when Rainbow sighed and shook her head. “You can’t seriously be…”

“I am,” Rainbow nodded. “Scoots, I want you, Spitfire and Wavechill to stand guard outside, make sure nothing gets through the door. G, Lightning, you two are with me, I want to search this place and make sure there are no surprises.”

Spitfire snorted once, before turning on her hooves and striding out of the room, putting a hoof around Scootaloo as she went and half leading, half dragging, her from the room, the door closing behind them.

“Well she’s in a foul mood,” Gilda observed.

“Yeah, I’ll talk to her,” Rainbow sighed, before drawing her sword. “Come on, let’s check it out.”

***

It wasn’t long before Rainbow and the others returned to where Spitfire was waiting, stepping outside and coughing heavily.

“You still want to be in there?” Spitfire asked as Rainbow spat of globule of spit through her helmets grille.

“Bodies are gone,” Rainbow replied, her voice slightly hoarse . “Creative use of melta guns.”

“It’s a start I guess,” Spitfire sighed. “Short term though, I’d really feel better if we could find somewhere not filled with bodies, cages and chains.”

“You’re in the wrong place for that, Spitfire,” Rainbow managed a chuckle. “Bring the bikes inside, we have things to talk about.”

“Yeah, that we do,” Spitfire nodded, climbing onto her jetbike and slowly bringing it through the door, Rainbow waiting until the end before coming in, closing the door behind them.

“Help me move this,” she indicated a heavy metal shelving unit, laden with whips and other torturous devices that Rainbow quickly swept onto the floor.

With a group effort, they managed to push it in front of the door, blocking the entrance and providing them with a small amount of extra security. “We sealed all the other doors a lot more permanently,” Rainbow explained as they pushed. “If they can break down those doors, then they would be able to destroy the walls just as easily.”

“If you say so,” Spitfire nodded, before turning back to Rainbow. “Now, you have some answers for us.”

“I suppose I do,” Rainbow nodded, trotting over to where they had arranged their bikes in a ring formation and sitting down inside it, motioning for the others to do the same. “So? Which questions the biggest? I think I can guess.”

“The soul-trap,” Wavechill spoke first.

“Agreed,” Spitfire nodded. “You said, you said a hundred souls, and the dark eldar…”

“The Incubus,” Rainbow corrected her.

“Fine, the Incubus, he seemed convinced,” Spitfire continued.

“That’s because I didn’t lie,” Rainbow sighed. “I’ve read a lot about the Dark City, both the first time I came here and this time. Everything here runs on souls and backstabbing, where anyone will kill you for nothing more than amusement. If they’d been kabalite warriors we’d have had to fight through them anyway, but they were Incubi, so I could go with my original plan. They wanted a gift, souls. Finding a soul-trap wasn’t that hard actually, one of the dark eldar we killed in the webway had one on them, and getting the souls…”

“I knew that we didn’t search for supplies in the aftermath of that battle by chance,” Spitfire growled.

“In my defence, it was a good place to search, a lot of the guardsmen still had rations and supplies on them,” Rainbow reasoned. “But yes, I went there to fill the trap. I didn’t kill a hundred people to fill it if that’s what you’re asking.”

“I suppose it worked,” Spitfire nodded slowly. “I just…no, I’m sorry for doubting you Rainbow.”

“Don’t be, you’re always free to ask questions, Spitfire.”

“As we’re asking questions, why did you invent the new story?” Scootaloo asked, her face still looking slightly pale.

“Because they needed to think we were strong,” Rainbow shrugged. “If I told them we came from a place called Equestria and we were called ponies, they would have most likely killed us on the spot, the names are hardly intimidating. Even dark eldar don’t want to die, so I spiced up the story, made it seem like we were more dangerous than our names would suggest.”

“Hence the name change?” Gilda guessed. “Ygal and Kra?”

“A bit more intimidating than pony, don’t you think?” Rainbow chuckled. “I could probably have got away with Griffon, but I wasn’t sure. It’s just Draconian.”

“You speak Draconian?” Lightning asked in amazement.

“About seven words, maybe ten at a push,” Rainbow shrugged. “I picked a few things up from Spike, and I disliked having a translator when we went to the Dragon Badlands.”

“So, we’re going to keep using those words?” Wavechill asked.

“I think so,” Rainbow nodded. “Plus try and drop everypony. Use everyone and the like, if you can. Anything that slips up about our less than intimidating nature, especially in beginning, could be very dangerous.”

“Agreed,” Spitfire nodded. “So, what’s our plan of action then, Rainbow?”

“I’m still working on the details, but first we have to learn more about the Dark City,” Rainbow began. “We need to learn where we are, who the All-Seeing Eye are, where they are, and how best to approach them. Plus, as much as it pains me to say this, I believe we’ll need allies, like Nar’bok said. I want to know about any small kabals, cults or the like nearby. Don’t try and approach them, I want reconnaissance only, am I clear?”

“Empire clear,” Wavechill nodded, before moving closer to Rainbow. “First though I want to look at your leg, the rest of you should get some shut eye, Rainbow and I will take first watch.”

“Hey, I thought I was in charge,” Rainbow joked.

“Fix your own leg then,” Wavechill laughed.

“Fine,” Rainbow relented. “What he said, we’ll take two hour shifts, everyone agreed?”

There was a general murmur of approval from the others, before Spitfire, Gilda, Scootaloo and Lightning lay down, removing their bed rolls from their jetbikes, and quickly falling into a much needed rest. Wavechill on the other hand pulled out his tools from his bike, setting about looking over Rainbow's leg, while Rainbow herself held her rifle tightly, her mind racing as she tried to think of a workable plan.

The Cult of the Lightning Fang

Rainbow Dash

Rainbow experimentally moved her back leg, something she did a lot of when she was under pressure or nervous, which she certainly was as she looked over the ragged map she had drawn up from all the scouting reports they had been bringing for the past few days. So far they had been lucky and not drawn much attention to themselves, those who had come sniffing around had been poorly armed and desperate, and had quickly been dealt with, but Rainbow did not want to bank on their chances holding forever.

So far they had found three very small kabals based nearby, but Rainbow still had her doubts that the team would be able to find what they sought in a simple Kabal, nor did she believe the others were ready for what she had heard about the homes of the mainline Dark Eldar warriors. The Wych Cults and the Reaver clans seemed like a much smarter option to her, but only if there was one willing to even consider taking non-dark Eldar, something she feared many would not.

There was a sudden banging on the door, and Rainbow whirled around, her rifle at the ready as Gilda powered up her own weapons, both of them aiming at the door. They had reinforced the structure since they had first arrived, and had come up with a code to let them know that friendlies were approaching. Two taps with a ten second gap between them, followed by three quick ones. That had been one.

Ten second later, a second one echoed through the room, and Rainbow allowed herself to untense slightly, signalling for Gilda to get ready to unlock the door.

“Identify,” she called out as Gilda placed a talon on the lock.

“Spitfire, Lightning Dust and Scootaloo,” Spitfire called, and Rainbow nodded to Gilda to open the door, still keeping her rifle trained on it, just in case.

She needn’t have bothered, as the three members of the Swooping Pegasi were alone as they said they were, and Gilda quickly relocked the doors as Spitfire headed over to the table.

“What news?” Rainbow asked, looking at the others.

“So far nobody has any knowledge that we killed those Scourges, but there have been a few warriors down here, most of them looked like they were from the Black Heart Kabal,” Spitfire reported quickly.

“We’re still safe then,” Rainbow nodded slowly.

“I think safe is a strong word, Rainbow, we are still in the Dark City,” Wavechill muttered from underneath his jetbike.

“Regardless, did you find anything useful?”

“Possibly,” Scootaloo moved forward. “If I may, Spitfire?”

“You saw them first, you did most of the leg work, you can give the report,” Spitfire nodded, moving aside.

“Thank you. There is a new Wych Cult just starting up, an offshoot of a much larger cult that was broken up in a recent war. They’ve got an arena and quite a few Wyches, but they want riders in their daily spectacles. They don’t have any bikes of their own or enough men and women to ride them and to fill their ranks, so they’ve opened themselves up for trials. All they need is for those with bikes to apply, other than that they don’t care about race.”

“Good job,” Rainbow nodded, a smile playing across her muzzle.

“There’s more,” Lightning cut in with a smile. “There was talk of something called the Torn Scar open, a massive race event hosted by the Torn Scar Kabal. This thing sounds huge, multiple cults from all over the city type huge, and as far as we can tell, anyone can enter it as long as they have a big enough reputation to draw in the crowd.”

“So it’s a big race, so what?” Gilda scoffed.

“Because of the first place prize,” Lightning smirked. “An audience with the Archon of the All-Seeing Eye Kabal.”

“You’re sure?” Rainbow looked between Spitfire, Scootaloo and Lightning Dust.

“We are Rainbow,” Spitfire nodded. “A hundred percent.”

“Then saddle up, we move out at first cycle tomorrow,” Rainbow grinned, turning to face Wavechill. “How are the bikes doing? It sounds like they’re going to get quite a bit of use tomorrow.”

“They’re doing well, some of the technology we managed to scavenge was easy enough to be installed, but I don’t know enough about most of it to install the rest. Mostly I’ve just installed newer and sharper blades on the bikes and tuned up the engines and installed newer parts.”

“And these upgrades are safe?” Rainbow checked, looking over the other bikes, her own set apart and unmodified by any hoof save her own.

“As safe as I can make them,” Wavechill nodded. “They’re faster than they were in Equestria, and should be able to take just that extra bit of punishment before failing.”

“Good, they are going to be put through the ringer tomorrow,” Rainbow sighed. “So will we for that matter, so get some rest and food in you, we need everything we have tomorrow.”

“Do you think that we’ll actually manage to pull this off?” Wavechill asked, his voice taking on a hushed tone.

Rainbow always got an odd feeling when she spoke to Wavechill, one she still couldn’t quite sum up. It seemed to be something in between calmness and wariness. All she knew was she could be frank with Wavechill, even more than with Spitfire or the rest of the team. The stallion was a realist, he never dressed up the truth to make it seem nicer, or shied away from doing what needed to be done. She knew she could rely on any member of the team to follow her orders and would put her lives in any of their hooves, but when she needed to voice any doubts she had, it was always to Wavechill.

“You know my thoughts, we’re just six ponies in one of the most dangerous places in the universe, surrounded by killers who have centuries of experience on us. If we make one mistake, slip up on even the tiniest of details for more than a fraction of a second, someone will die. I don’t want to lose any of you, but truth be told I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep that promise here.”

“You’ll do your best Rainbow, you always do,” Wavechill comforted her. “And if the worst does happen…well, then we’ll face that like we face everything else. Together.”

“Thanks,” Rainbow smiled weakly. “Now come on, we should get some rest.”

“You want me to take first watch?”

“Nah, I’ve got it,” Rainbow holstered her rifle as she spoke, walking back towards the door. “See you in two hours.”

***

Rainbow was awoken from her sleep by an almighty crash, followed by a roar of pain and the familiar sounds of weapons discharging. Ina an instant she was alert and on her hooves, her rifle left by her bed in favour of Ravenous, the massive sword flaring into life as she lunged at one of the attackers, getting her first look at them.

The one she had just plunged her sword through was an Ork, its skin marked with countless scars to the point where its original green colouration was almost completely obscured. Its cry lasted for a fraction of a second before Rainbow pulled the sword free, nearly cutting the creature in half.

“How many are there?” Rainbow roared as she ducked beneath the crude home-made weapon of a human, still wearing some chains from his days serving, before she twisted and bucked the man hard, sending him staggering him back into Gilda’s talons to be quickly torn apart.

“Can’t be more than ten or so,” Lightning grunted as she was rushed by a pair of humans, before pushing them off and firing two shots.

“Just a work party then,” Spitfire called out, cycling her rifle and chambering a new shot.

Rainbow nodded as she dived at the last attacker, placing a hoof on top of what looked to be a severely deformed Eldar.

“Kill me,” the thing muttered softly, not looking up as it let its weapon drop to the floor.

“Rainbow, you can’t just kill an unarmed slave,” Spitfire hissed.

“And we can’t leave them alive either,” Wavechill countered. “If word got out to anyone we may have slighted…”

“I’m sorry,” Rainbow sighed, placing her rifle against the Eldars head. “I wish there had been another way.”

The shot rang out, before Rainbow got off the dead body, heading towards her jetbike. “We move out now. Killing escaped slaves is sure to bring whoever their masters were down on us. Erase any trace of our presence here and take all your gear. One way or another we’re not coming back here.”

“That was…unpleasant,” Spitfire muttered as she prepared her Jetbike. “You really think there wasn’t another way?”

“We could have knocked it out, left it here,” Rainbow shrugged. “Then it would have probably been killed in a much more painful way or been put back to work. It was a kindness. A brutal one, but it was the best option.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Spitfire nodded, before Scootaloo pulled alongside the pair.

“You all set, Scoots?”

“Yep, I’ll take point, Rainbow.”

“Form up on Scootaloo, stay in tight formation and stay fast. When we get to the arena reform on me. If anything happens you scatter and move to rally point Saddle. Acknowledge?”

“Moving when you’re ready,” Gilda nodded, the others forming up around Scootaloo.

“Let’s go then,” Rainbow nodded, before shooting out after Scootaloo.

***

Rainbow stiffened slightly as she landed on the raised platform, casting a quick glance back down at the undercity they had just come from, barely visible through the smoke and fires that raged in its war torn streets. Other than the very first time they had come to Commoragh, this was the highest they had been in the city, and yet the city still stretched upwards, further than the eye could see.

There was no rational way to describe it, the city’s very design threatening to drive Rainbow mad. Instead she looked back at the massive walls of the arena arrayed before her, and the scores of Dark Eldar watching her and her team, each one clad in a form fitting suit that accentuated their form and carrying vicious looking weapons, from swords to knives to bladed nets, and every other sort of sharp implement Rainbow could think of, and more than a few that she couldn’t.

“Rainbow,” Spitfire hissed softly.

“Just, stick to the plan and follow my lead,” Rainbow hissed back as one of the Wyches stepped forward, her red hair flowing behind her as the large spear she carried scraped along the floor, carving a tiny gouge as she walked, before stopping in front of Rainbow.

“So, more…volunteer racers,” her voice was as smooth as ice, and about as comforting as she slowly stalked around Rainbow, before looking at the others. “And not my kind, how interesting. What are you?”

“Ygal and Kar, our race is not what makes us, our skill in the saddle is,” Rainbow replied.

“Skill?” the Wych scoffed. “We will see. Do I assume you speak for your group?”

“I do,” Rainbow nodded. “You are leader of…”

“Succubus,” she corrected. “Leader of the Lightning Fang Cult. I do not care for your name, and you shall not be favoured with mine, unless you prove your worth. Your worth is your speed and your ability to incite the crowd. Beyond that, you are nothing.”

“Then let us prove our worth,” Rainbow adopted a cocky grin. “Because when it comes down to speed, I can beat anyone you put me up against with my own wings, the bike just helps.”

“Arrogance is only desirable when backed up by skill,” the Succubus smirked, before looking at the other Wyches and nodding so slightly that if Rainbow hadn’t lived on a craftworld for two years she would have missed it.

In an instant the Wyches had sprung to life, leaping across the gap between them and the rest of the Swooping Pegasi. Blades were pressed against throats as the Succubus raised her spear to point directly at Rainbow.

“You’re making a mistake,” Rainbow growled.

“I am securing your service,” the Succubus replied matter-of-factly. “You lead these Ygal and Kar, that makes you the only one who can save them. Five groups came to the Lightning Fang, you make six. There will be a race. Win, I will grant you a place in the Lightning Fang, and a place for your associates. Loose, and they will thrill the crowd by dying to my blade.”

“Done,” Rainbow smirked, leaning forward so the spear was right in front of her. “If you wanted me to race, all you had to do was ask.”

“Take them,” the Succubus looked at the Wyches holding the rest of the Swooping Pegasi, who quickly dragged the team from their bikes and into the arena. A few of them, especially Gilda and Scootaloo, were struggling against their captors, but for the most part they were complying. Rainbow silently prayed that they would hold to good reason and not do anything to jeopardise the next stage of the plan.

“Come then, the race is to be held tomorrow, you must make ready,” the Succubus turned on her heels as a pair of Wyches moved towards Rainbow.

Slowly dismounting her bike, Rainbow began to push it forward, following behind the Succubus into the arena.

***

Gilda growled as she slammed a talon on the black metal gate that was keeping them penned in, before letting out a hiss of pain, recoiling back and clasping her talon.

“Bloody hell,” she cursed.

“How many times are you going to do that?” Spitfire asked from where she was sitting. “What was it this time? Burning sensation? Electricity?”

“Argh, it just hurts,” Gilda snapped, clenching her talon tight. “What’s Rainbow playing at? Leaving us here?”

“We’ve gone over this, a lot of times,” Scootaloo snapped. “Do you really think she just ‘left us’? She was left without a choice.”

“She didn’t even put up a fight,” Gilda retorted.

“Be quiet,” Spitfire muttered. “Of course she didn’t put up a fight, she would have got us all killed, or worse. She asked us to trust her, we have to give her this chance.”

“Thank you, Spitfire, and you, Scootaloo,” Rainbow smiled, approaching the gate and standing a few feet away from the ominous spikes. “Thanks for the vote of confidence Gilda.”

“Sorry, Rainbow,” Gilda sighed, before cocking her head to the side. “What are you wearing?”

Rainbow had shed her armour and her sword, instead wearing a tight black bodysuit. Her wings stuck out from two holes on the back, but even then the leading edge of them was covered in the same black material that was stretched across the rest of her body.

“it’s my old bodysuit from…” she began, before looking around and sighing, “from before. If this is a race then I need to keep weight down, even if it’s only by tiny proportions. My armour was far too heavy, as is my sword and rifle.”

“Why would you be taking weapons to a race?” Lightning asked.

“This isn’t a Wonderbolt derby, this is an arena for gladiatorial fights,” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I don’t know what the plan is but there will be violence as well as speed.”

“All the more reason for you to carry weapons and wear armour then surely?” Wavechill pointed out. “Going out there unarmed and unarmoured seems like an invitation to be killed.”

“I’ve got weapons on my jetbike, and my jetbike itself is covered in blades,” Rainbow pointed out, before sighing. “I’ve been researching a lot of things. Old Reaver champions, common practice between the cults. It’s not just the other racers I have to watch out for, it’s the arena, and the crowd. This is a race, and there are only two positions, winner or loser, no second places, no runners up. If you aren’t first, you get nothing save scorn. I have got to go fast for that, and the fact that if I don’t, the traps on the arena floor will get me.”

“There’s also the matter of my opponents,” Rainbow continued. “There’s five of them. Two are young and brash by Eldar standards, which means they won’t have fear or good sense, which makes them dangerous. The other three have been doing this for centuries in other clans and now want to lead here, they know what they’re doing and they are good at it, and I’ve got to beat them in front of a crowd of thousands.”

“You can do it,” Spitfire reassured her. “Flying is in our blood, all of us. We have wings, they had to make theirs. That gives us an advantage that they can never have.”

“Yeah, I know,” Rainbow nodded, sounding half-hearted as she spoke.

“What’s the matter?” Spitfire asked, going to slip her hoof through the bars before remembering Gilda and pulling it back.

“I haven’t been in front of a crowd for a long time,” Rainbow admitted. “Sure I’ve stood in front of military parades or battle lines or whatever, but the last time I was in an arena in front of a crowd was at the Wonderbolts tryouts.”

“Don’t tell me that you of all p...Ygal, have stage fright,” Lightning smirked. “That would be too rich.”

“Shut up,” Rainbow gave her a deadpan stare as she spoke, before relenting. “Ok, so maybe there’s some truth in that. The last time I was in front of a crowd was before any of this happened, and it directly caused this. I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”

“Well you better use the next few hours carefully then, hadn’t you,” Gilda sauntered over. Rainbow, your whole life you wanted to be in front of a crowd of thousands calling your name, every dream you had at flight school was about it, every waking thought you had was dominated by it. You’re going to do fine. No, scratch that, you’re going to do better than fine, you’re going to do great. You’re going to win the race, then we are all going to make this cult big enough to enter the Torn Scar Open, then we are going to see the Archon of the All-Seeing Eye, and then, then we will find Applejack, we will go home, and we will never have to return here again. Do you understand me?”

“Yeah, I hear you,” Rainbow chuckled nervously, before looking around. “Look, I’m sorry but I’ve got to go. I don’t think they really wanted me to talk to you guys, and I don’t want to push my luck any further. I just needed to talk to you all, I’ll get you out of here, promise.”

“Promise shomise, just go win the race,” Scootaloo laughed.

“Sure thing, Scoots,” Rainbow smiled, before turning and trotting away.

“Good speech,” Wavechill remarked as Gilda sat back down. “I always forget you two got way back.”

“Yeah, well, if I can’t convince her to go out in front of a crowd of thousands all screaming for blood in an attempt to find a single pony in a huge galaxy, then what sort of friend would I be?” Gilda asked, before laughing. “Really, that’s like rule one of friendship.”

It was an odd situation to suddenly find themselves in, laughing as hard as they did. They may have been prisoners, their lives hanging in the balance and depending on the outcome of a race more violent than any they had ever borne witness too, but they were also together. Together they would see themselves through the dark, and they would all overcome, as comrades in arms, and as friends.

Author's Note

Hi guys, sorry about the extremely long wait for this chapter. Been searching for a job for the past month and it kind of killed my enthusiasm for writing. Now that I have a job it seems to have come back, so hopefully you should be seeing chapters a bit more regularly. :pinkiehappy:

Try Outs

Rainbow Dash

Rainbow looked down onto the arena floor, a lump rising in her throat as she saw its floor for the first time since arriving at the arena of the Lightning Fang. It was huge, easily big enough to fit the Canterlot derby stadium within it four times over. Blades were dotted along every surface of the surrounding walls and much of the floor, so static, while others looked like they would be able to spring to life at a moment’s notice, allowing blood from any unlucky enough to be caught on them to spray directly on the crowd.

“Splash zone,” Rainbow muttered sullenly, walking down towards the front rows of seats.

As she walked, her hooves made soft clicking noises on the floor, and instantly her ears picked up as she heard a fifth footfall. Whirling around, she was just in time to see a Dark Eldar slashing down at her with a knife.

Rainbow let out a cry of surprise as she turned her body, shielding herself with her bionic wing. The small knife cut deep into the wing, before sticking, allowing Rainbow to rip it from the Dark Eldar’s grasp, the sudden movement unsticking it and sending it flying onto the arena floor.

Undaunted, the Dark Eldar lunged forward, catching Rainbow off guard as the pair tumbled towards the arena floor. The impact of hitting the sand sent them bouncing away from each other, both of them winded, and allowing Rainbow to get a better look at her adversary.

Like her, he was wearing a form fitting bodysuit, one that looked like it was supplied by the cult rather than being his own, marking this as one of the younger applicants, rather than one of the more experienced riders. She didn’t have much time to look at him however, as he was quickly on his feet as Rainbow got to her own hooves. Years of hoof to hand combat flooded back into her mind as she strengthened her stance, preparing for the charge.

The Dark Eldar lashed out with a speed Rainbow had rarely seen, only for the blow to be blocked by her forehoof, allowing her to propel herself forward with her wings, slamming into the Dark Eldar’s chest and pushing him backwards.

Before he could recover, Rainbow turned and bucked hard, her bionic leg slamming into his knee and snapping it back with a sickening crunch.

Rather than a scream though, the Dark Eldar let out a guttural chuckle. Confused by the Dark Eldar’s apparent lack of pain, Rainbow was unprepared for the sudden barrage of attacks, harder and faster than before, forcing her to go on the defensive, some of the blows still getting through. Every time she got hit, it seemed to reinvigorate the Dark Eldar, making her getting return blows in even harder.

Flapping her wings backwards, Rainbow opened the gap between the pair again, panting hard as they began to circle, Rainbow using the time to analyse her opponent. While he may not have been reacting to the pain of his knee, the injury was certainly still there, and he was limping with every step he took. His face was bruised from the few blows she had got in there, making one of his eyes swell up, hopefully obscuring his vision on that side.

In an instant, Rainbow formulated a plan and dived forward, breaking into a gallop almost instantly, using her wings to give her extra propulsion power. The Dark Eldar also began to sprint at her, running with an odd gait, but more than ready to receive the charge. The instant before they clashed, Rainbow dropped to the floor, rolling so she slid on her bionics and didn’t strip the skin from her back, before lashing out underneath her opponent.

Usually she would have aimed for the crotch of an opponent in this situation, and for most that would have been enough, but she felt that here it would only help her opponent. Instead, she slammed a hoof into his already damaged knee, snapping it to the side, shattering yet more bones.

Her slide took her out of reach of an instant reprisal, and she quickly turned to face her hobbled opponent. The Dark Eldar snarled as he turned round, every step making him stumble.

“Come on,” Rainbow taunted, using her wings to help her stand on her hind legs, beckoning for him to try again with a forehoof.

The Dark Eldar let out a bestial roar, running at her in a blind rage. Just before he hit, Rainbow jinked to the side, slamming a hoof into the back of the Dark Eldar’s head, propelling him forward faster onto the spike her body had been shielding from view.

The barbed metal slid through the Dark Eldar’s shoulder, impaling him and sticking him there as he let out his first cry of real pain. He tried to pull himself off, but it was useless, every time he moved the barbs ripping more of his flesh apart, as Rainbow slowly trotted over to the knife that had been dropped at the beginning of the flight, before heading back to the Dark Eldar, twirling the blade.

“This is what you wanted to kill me with?” Rainbow scoffed, moving in front of his good eye. “I’ve trained to fight against bigger than this toothpick. If you’re going to pick the wrong fight, at least pick the right weapon.”

The Dark Eldar began to say something, but Rainbow cut him off, ripping the knife through his throat, allowing the arterial spray to cover her face. A roar filled her mind as she drew the knife back to strike again. Before she struck however, she faltered, memories of the war mask flooding back. The knife quickly fell from her hoof as she dropped back to the floor, panting hard.

“Well done,” an icy voice rolled around the arena, accompanied by a slow clap.

Looking up, Rainbow quickly caught sight of the Succubus in charge of the Cult, surrounded by who Rainbow guessed were her Bloodbrides. Each of them were armed with a variety of knives, spears and nets, and Rainbow slowly bent down, picking the knife back up again.

“He attacked me first,” Rainbow called back.

“It was…an interesting kill,” the Succubus nodded slowly, before turning and walking away, the Bloodbrides following after her, leaving Rainbow alone in the arena.

She stood there for a long time, panting as she looked between the knife and the dead body, before starring up at where the Succubus had been standing. It wasn’t the fact she had killed the Dark Eldar, she had no qualms about killing their kind, it was the fact that he had attacked her out of the blue, and worse, she had almost given back into the war mask.

She hadn’t thought about that for a long time, her fragmented mind barely troubling her when she knew she was entering a place where a fight could happen at any moment. Stupidly she had lulled herself into a false sense of security now she was getting ready for the race, believing that the Cult would keep them from fighting, not critique it. Now she knew she recognised her mistake, she was going to have to be on guard at all times, and would have to work even harder at suppressing the madness of the war mask.

The sound of a foot on the sand broke her out of her deep thoughts, and she sprung back, the knife in her hoof as she pressed it against the throat of her perceived aggressor.

This time however, it was not a Dark Eldar, but a human, although to call the gaunt, chained figure before her a human would be pushing the word to its very limit. Bones pressed against the flesh that was stretched tight around his body, as scars criss-crossed almost every inch of him, some still fresh and bleeding. The chains on his wrists and ankles were attached by manacles, the metal cuffs clearly being too tight as they cut into the skin, and the massive collar seemed like at any moment it would crush him under his weight.

Rainbow couldn’t help but gasp as she saw a Dark Eldar slave up close for the first time, not on a reconnaissance mission or through stories. She had seen, and killed, desperate slaves who had escaped when they had tried to swarm their ad-hoc base, and each time she had felt guilty, but after looking at the dead look in the human’s eyes, she knew that death would be a kindness.

For a moment she considered putting the human out of his misery, before sighing and putting the knife in her belt. If she was going to fit in, she would have to harden herself to these sights. She would never like them, but she didn’t have the luxury of helping them. As she turned to walk away, she saw the slave pull a heavy meat hook from his belt, sticking it into the dead Dark Eldar, before attaching a chain to it and beginning to drag it out of the arena. He was clearly struggling under the weight, but Rainbow couldn’t afford to look for much longer, and took to the air, heading back towards the cells where the rest of the team was being held.

***

Rainbow had regained her composure as she approached the cells, walking with an arrogant strut she had adopted recently to throw off some suspicion, the few slaves that she passed scattering and cowering as she walked past. As she got closer to the cells, the number of slaves lessened, before disappearing completely.

“You look like you had fun,” Gilda noted wryly as Rainbow came into sight, making sure to stay away from the bars.

“Yeah,” Rainbow scowled as she touched a hoof to the blood covering her face. “One of the Dark Eldar thought they’d get an early advantage by thinning out the competition.”

“I’m going out on a wing here and guessing their plan didn’t go as they wanted,” Gilda chuckled.

“It’s me standing here, so no, unless their plan involved dying of course.”

“And here I thought this was just going to be a walk in the park,” Spitfire shook her head, walking towards the bars. “The others are catching some shut eye, though I’ll wake them if you have something they need to hear now.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Rainbow shook her head. “I just needed to see some familiar faces.”

“What did you see?” Spitfire asked suddenly, her eyes darting around as they scanned Rainbow’s face. “Something’s shaken…”

“Keep your voice down,” Rainbow hissed, glancing around, checking that there were no easily visible eyes, before turning back to the others. “I just saw a slave is all, up close. Poor wretch didn’t even blink when I put a knife to his throat.”

“Why the hell would you put a knife to his throat?” Spitfire hissed.

“I thought it was someone else sneaking up on me,” Rainbow snapped. “I didn’t know it was a slave.”

“It must have been something to shake you, Rainbow,” Spitfire shook her head. “I told you that…”

“Does it matter,” Gilda cut in suddenly.

“What do you mean? Of course it matters,” Spitfire turned to face Gilda. “It’s sick.”

“So?” Gilda shrugged. “Yes, it may be sick, but does it actually change anything. This isn’t a shock for any reason other than the fact we haven’t seen it before. It doesn’t change our mission, or how we’re going to accomplish it.”

“But…” Spitfire began, her voice rising slightly, before Rainbow cut her off.

“No, she’s right, Spitfire. It shouldn’t have been this much of a shock as it was, I just…I had come and see you guys. Reaffirm a few things. I’m sorry if I woke you.”

“You didn’t,” Gilda shook her head. “Just because we’re in here doesn’t mean no watch. I don’t trust these Wyches.”

“It’s probably for the best, making you smarter than I was,” Rainbow shrugged. “I’ll be seeing you again tomorrow, and you’ll all be out of here. Promise.”

With that, Rainbow turned and headed towards her own quarters, ready to get a night of uneasy sleep before the big race tomorrow.

***

Rainbow let out a grunt of effort as she tightened the fuel feed on her bike, sliding out from underneath it as she checked everything she could think of. She had quickly dismissed the cluster of slaves that had been in her hanger, apparently there to provide menial labour, explaining to the Wych who had dragged them back to her in a rage that she preferred to do her own mechanical work.

She had to work very hard not to flinch when the Wych slapped a slave on her way past, the blades on her gauntlets cutting deep into the man’s face as he let out a mixture of a scream and a whimper, before hurrying after his master.

Turning her thoughts from the casual sadism, Rainbow quickly finished her checks on her jetbike, just as the door opened again.

“I said I don’t need slaves to touch my equipment,” she snapped, turning, her eyes settling on the cult’s Succubus. “Unnamed Succubus.”

“Ygal,” the Succubus nodded back. “Or is it Kar? I forget when the lesser species come to Commoragh.”

“Ygal,” Rainbow shot back. “Kar and Kra are the same thing, but they’re not me.”

“The big one then?” the Succubus murmured. “When you fail in this race, she may make an interesting opening fight in the arena.”

“I’m not going to fail,” Rainbow snarled, an unexpected amount of venom slipping into her voice as she hovered in front of the Succubus’s face. “I will win this race, and my team and I will be the riders for this Cult. I’ve already killed one of my opponents, the others are going to lose just the same.”

“You are certainly not lacking for confidence in your own abilities,” the Succubus nodded slowly, before putting her hand a few inches away from Rainbow’s neck, not quite grabbing hold just yet. “But I wonder if your aims are elsewhere?”

“My aim is to become a member of this Cult,” Rainbow didn’t glance down at the hand. “You wanted riders, no, you wanted the best riders. You could kill me here, and have one of those other riders take that title, but I promise you now, if you want the best, you go for the ones who have biological wings, and who have been flying since birth.”

“All except for you,” the Succubus pointed out, lowering her hand.

“Meaning?”

“You are close to insulting me, Ygal. You think that I cannot spot an augmentation when I see one, or smell wraithbone.”

“I…” Rainbow began.

“Do not speak,” the Succubus hissed. “I do not care for your words, just as I do not care for your name. I have yet to see you race, you think you will win, and I will reserve judgement. Win, and I may decide not to ask how a creature such as you came to possess a custom wraithbone wing replacement. Fail, as I believe you will, and I will make sure to extract every single one of your secrets, one by one, an iota of pain at a time, until you are begging for death, which I will not grant.”

“Then I best win,” Rainbow spat.

“Yes, that would be best for you,” the Succubus nodded, before gesturing, the wall behind Rainbow opening up onto a large hanger, a starting grid carved into the floor. “You take the last position. The race is one hundred laps. Finish first, or be the last alive. Those are the only requirements.”

“Weapons free?”

“I will leave that up to you to figure out.”

With that, the Succubus turned and left, her razor sharp high heels clicking on the floor as Rainbow moved her jetbike out onto the starting position. The other riders were all doing the same, and Rainbow caught a few glares from some, while others paid here no heed, mounting their jetbikes and slipping visors on.

Rainbow was dimly aware of a low roar echoing around the hanger, one she quickly recognised as a roaring crowd, before the end of the hanger slowly opened, light streaming in as the roar grew exponentially to a deafening level.

Putting her doubts and fears aside, Rainbow started her bike, before pulling on her helmet, the only part of her armour she was wearing. If she could, she wouldn’t even wear that, but she needed the HUD to see her bikes systems. Even so, she had been working hard on it last night. Any sharp lines had been smoothed over and everything that wasn’t needed had been removed to make it as light and streamlined as possible. Activating the bikes systems, she did one final check on each one, including the auto-mapping systems that represented one of the few Equestrian upgrades to her bike.

A slave shuffled towards the front of the line-up, this one looking just as pitiful as the first one Rainbow had seen. He slowly raised his arms as Rainbow heard a voice she recognised as the Succubus. She was clearly counting down, but Rainbow couldn’t accurately say what numbers she was saying.

Then the slave dropped his arms, and Rainbow gunned the jetbikes engines.

The other Dark Eldar did the same, shooting forward into the light. The slave didn’t stand a chance, being ripped apart by the first rider in the line-up, but Rainbow simply didn’t have enough time to spare him a thought as the race began.

The arena was packed to capacity, all screaming for blood, even as the arena floor seemed to move and convulse, the blades that had be still yesterday slicing through the air with terrifying speed. Large rings were floating seemingly unaided in the air, marking out the track, the first rider already passing through it, much to the pleasure of the crowd.

Rainbow pushed the throttle down on her bike, the speedometer getting closer to the small red zone that represented the speed she needed for a Rainboom, her bike shooting forward and allowing her to overtake the first rider, flipping over him and coming within a few meters of his head.

The crowds roar grew as she finished the trick, members of the audience noticing that one of the riders wasn’t their kind. With the sudden growth in confidence given to her from the crowd, the fact that this was a race truly set in for Rainbow. She was going to win this, and she was going to enjoy every moment of it.

The number of laps began to rise quickly as they hurtled around the arena, every rider managing to keep control at the ridiculous speeds. That all changed on the twenty seventh lap. As Rainbow went for an overtake, the rider jinked to block her, glancing back to ensure that she wasn’t planning to fire at him. Just before she could do just that, she saw a blade arcing down and shot upwards to avoid it. Assuming that she was trying to get around him, the rider did the same, looking forward again just in time to see the blade slice through the front of his bike.

With a scream of rage he leapt from his bike, trying to reach Rainbow. Before he could though, Rainbow twisted the machine, one of the blades now aiming at his neck. He desperately tried to move out of its way, but it didn’t save him as the bladed bike cut through him, the two halves falling to the arena floor, the strange beasts that now prowled the sands setting upon the corpse, drawing howls of pleasure from both them and the crowd.

The whole encounter had probably taken less than five seconds, but it was like a switch had been flipped. The crowd was now worked into a frenzy at the sight of blood, the beasts below were howling as they realised that those above were also their dinner, and the riders unleashed their weapons.

The laps continued to pass, Rainbow having to work hard to stay in the running and to dodge the blades and splinters aimed in her direction. Her bike may have had two engines, and was probably far faster in a straight line than the other riders, but she could never open the throttle fully before she had to break hard to turn. For once, she envied Scootaloo’s bike, the more manoeuvrable craft would have been perfect in this race.

The next few laps were uneventful, the riders doing everything they could to gain a position, or hold it for very long. Rainbow fluctuated between every position, even as she did her best to stay in the lead. Then, on lap seventy nine when she was holding a narrow lead, a red light flared into life on her bikes dials as the auto-mapping software completed its analysis of the track.

“Ok, time to get creative,” she muttered to herself, beginning to activate various systems while shutting down others. Her bike bleeped a few times, before the red light turned green.

Grinning savagely, Rainbow pulled out the knife she still had from the day before from the leg sheath she had picked up from the armoury they were allowed access to, holding it tightly as she took a deep breath.

Then she opened her wings and left her bike, the wind catching them and ripping her backwards. The sudden change in speed felt like it was going to tear her wings from their sockets, before she landed on the first Dark Eldar’s bike.

The woman looked surprised as she suddenly stood on the front of her, balancing on the front of her jetbike. The surprise was short lived however as Rainbow flipped over her, the knife cutting through her jugular and windpipe as she went.

Before the bike could spiral out of control, Rainbow had leapt from it, landing on the next. A splinter struck her helmet, deflecting off the rounded surface, barely even leaving a scratch. Before the rider could get a second shot off, Rainbow struck, the knife plunging through his eye and into the brain beyond.

Again, Rainbow leapt from the dead riders bike, landing on the final racers, only to find her knife met with the riders own blade.

The pair began to trade blows, doing all they could to find a gap in each other’s defences, pulling every trick they could think of. The rider was clearly one of the older ones, his experience showing, while Rainbow fell back on her times in the Nar’bok duelling ring. Finally, Rainbow found an opening in the rider’s style and took her opportunity, bringing the knife down into the bikes control centre.

Smoke poured from the fragile mechanics as they began to lose height, Rainbow leaving the bike moments before it ploughed into the sand. The rider was not so lucky, being flung from his vehicle, his weapons burying themselves in the sand, far away from his reach. He was quickly on his feet again, glaring at Rainbow as he crouched low, preparing to continue the fight.

Rainbow never found out what he was going to do, as three of the beasts dived at the Dark Eldar, catching him off guard. In a matter of milliseconds he was ripped to shreds, Rainbow hovering in the air, safe from reprisals. For a moment she watched the gory display, before the sudden realisation of what she had done.

A few quick modifications to her helmets subroutines brought her bike back to her, and she quickly mounted it. The crowd was going wild, screaming for more as Rainbow raised a hoof into the air in victory. It did not take her long to complete a victory lap, before she finally came to a halt in front of the main box of the arena where the Succubus and her Bloodbrides had been watching the race.

“I, won,” Rainbow grinned, before turning and raising her hooves in victory, basking in the glow of the admiration of the crowd. All her fears of being in front of a crowd again evaporated as the familiar feeling of winning came back to her.

“Looks like I am going to be the head of your Cults new Reaver clan,” she laughed, removing her helmet. “And the name is, Rainbow Dash. Do not forget it.”

“And I am, Succubus Ilithia Avatus,” She stood up, approaching the edge of the box where Rainbow hovered. “Your team will be released to you, and our armouries will be opened for you. They will be taken to the garages and the launch bay, their bikes returned to them and the garages ready for them to work on their machines. You are to come with me, we have much to discuss."

***

Rainbow stood on the left side of Ilithia in one of the long trophy galleries, the black marble floor transmitting the sound of approaching footfalls of two radically different Dark Eldar. The figures swept past the many heads, weapons and other trophies that lined the room, the trophies clearly not being new to them.

The one on the left was the more normal of the two, although that wasn’t difficult. He, or possibly she, was clad head to toe in overlapping segmented armour that had the colour of arterial blood, while the eyes on the helmet looked like twin black holes. Horns dotted the helmet, while two savage looking swords were sheathed on her, or possibly his, back.

The other approaching figure defiantly cut more of a figure however. While the first Dark Eldar looked just like an armoured warrior, albeit clearly clad in higher quality gear than was standard, this one was wearing long flowing robes and an intricate breastplate. The robes did not touch the floor however, as three long, spinally spiders legs kept him a few feet off the ground at all times, scuttling forward in an unnatural and unnerving manner. Yet more arms sprouted from his back, ending in all manner of spikes, pincers and clawed hands. His face was a pale white and pulled taut around his face, and upon closer inspection, was actually held onto a metal helmet by large staples, giving Rainbow the chilling thought that it might not actually be his real face.

The thing that disgusted Rainbow the most however was the platter that he held in his left hand, eyeballs piled high upon it. As she watched, one of the spindly arms came down, spearing one of the white orbs and moving it towards the Dark Eldars mouth, where he daintily took it, chewing slowly, as if he was savouring a gourmet meal.

“My lords,” Ilithia bowed deeply as they approached, Rainbow simply bowing her head.

“My lady,” the armoured Dark Eldar spoke, a deep male voice coming out from behind the helmet.

“My dearest Ilithia,” the disgusting creature bending down as he was lowered to the floor, taking one of Ilithia’s hands and planting a soft kiss on it. “You are as radiant as the last time I saw you.”

“Eloquent as always, Eethron” Ilithia smiled, Rainbow struggling not to make a retching sound.

“Your beastriders caught you a new pet?” the armoured Dark Eldar boomed, petting Rainbow’s head hard. “And you have even dressed it up. How quaint of you and your Wyches. Did you find a team for your new Reaver clan?”

“Take your hand off, before I break it off,” Rainbow growled, flapping her wings and raising herself to the eye level of the two new arrivals.

“It talks?” the strange Dark Eldar, Eethron, cocked his head to the side as he spoke, one of his arms extending towards Rainbow. His voice unnerved Rainbow even more than his horrific appearance did, Eethron speaking slowly and deliberately, seeming to ponder each word before he spoke it, his tone making him sound both impossibly sad and yet morbidly excited at the same time.

“What would it take as an offering for me to be allowed to study it, Ilithia?”

“Enough,” Ilithia raised a hand, Eethron instantly dropping his. “My friends. This is, Dash, a Ygal. She won the trial race, by all the rules we set, she and her team are now the progenitors of our new Reaver clan.”

“You allowed one of the lesser species to take the place over true Dark Eldar?” the unnamed Eldar growled, reaching for one of his swords.

“This, lesser species, killed…” Rainbow began.

“I was not talking to you!” the Dark Eldar roared, drawing his sword, bringing it towards her neck, only for Ilithia to step between the pair, almost casually turning the blade outside.

“You would come between an Archon and his kill?” he snarled, getting closer to Ilithia, the Succubus letting out an exasperated yawn.

“No, Ale’ri, I would stop you from killing my new Reaver Champion,” Ilithia explained simply. “Before you so rudely interrupted her, Dash was telling that she won not on speed, which she excelled at, but by the blade, something that I am sure you can appreciate.”

Ale’ri let out a snarl, before sheathing his sword and taking a step back, leaving Ilithia to speak some reason, Eethron seemingly content to watch Rainbow closely. Ilithia looked between everyone present, before speaking, pointing to Eethron and Ale’ri in turn.

“Archon Ale’ri, of the Barbed Heart Kabal, and the Ancient Haemonculus Eethron, the leader of the Covern of Mutilation. Together with the Cult of the Lightning Fang, we form the Triumvent of Half-Formed Hope.”

“A triumvent with four constituent parts?” Rainbow pointed out.

“You are part of my Cult, you are not a fully-fledged member,” Ilithia pointed out.

“Plus you are not part of our species,” Ale’ri pointed out, his sneer obvious even behind his helmet.

“I believe you may have been too harsh on this Ygal,” Eethron turned his gaze on Rainbow, extending one of his real hands towards Rainbow and running a finger underneath her chin, causing her to recoil. “She has much potential, if you ever find yourself no longer in need of her services, I am sure we can find a use for her at the Covern of Mutilation. I can think of clients who would pay handsomely for wings such as those.”

“Leave my wings alone,” Rainbow snapped, slapping Eethron’s hand away, before looking at Ilithia. “Is there a point to me being here? Or am I simply to be paraded around one of the beasts of the arena.”

“You would never survive in a Kabal with an attitude like that,” Ilithia chuckled to herself, the laugh sounding like nails on a chalk board, rather than something comforting. “But in the Cult of the Lightning Fang, we do not bother ourselves with politics. Here the strongest reigns, as long as you remember that, and your Reaver Clan and my Cult may be able to work together.”

“Then tell me, how are we to work together?” Rainbow asked.

“As I told you after the race, the armouries and garages are open to you and your kin. I am not going to micro-manage your clan, recruitment, maintenance and even the majority of the races you organise will be controlled by you.”

“That’s a lot of independence,” Rainbow said slowly. “I expected…”

“Interrupt me again and I will allow Eethron to take you,” Ilithia cut her off causally. “As I was saying, the only rule that will be set out for you is this: Your colours will be changed to match the Light Fang’s.”

“And as the triumvent demands, if the Kabal, the Clan or the Covern should go to war, you do not get a choice to not come along,” Ale’ri added. “You will fight when called upon, which shall be often, the Triumvent of Half-Formed Hope does not sit idle for long.”

“I expected little else,” Rainbow nodded. “Now if I may, Succubus, my team will be wanting to see me. Am I still needed?”

“I will send instructions to your quarters, until then you are dismissed,” Ilithia nodded, before sighing. “I must also tell you that due to your victory in the race and your new position in this Cult, you have earned the title of Arena Champion. Bear it well, and when your time comes, die the same.”

Rainbow nodded, turning and walking towards the exit. Before she could reach it however, the spider like Eethron moved towards her, laying a claw on her back to stop her. Groaning, she turned towards the Haemonculus.

“What is it now? Are you wanting to prod me more? Inspect me? What?”

“All of those,” Eethron nodded, an unsettling leer stretching his face across the metal skull. “But it was not the reason I stopped you. I have no doubt that Ilithia took time to notice your wing, and your leg, and I doubt that Ale’ri has bothered to look, but it took me mere moments to smell the disparity of flesh.”

“Do you have a point?” Rainbow glowered at him.

“Rash, hot headed, and seemingly skilled. It is little wonder you and Ale’ri have not seen eye to eye immediately, and not simply because of his helmet, and your height,” Eethron purred. “But you will in time, no doubt, become better acquainted. He was like you at the beginning, now he is simply tempered with experience. His Kabal does well under his rule, your Clan may well do the same.”

“Get, to, the, point,” Rainbow enunciated each word.

“If you ever wish for your wing to be made of flesh, not wraithbone, and your leg to return to you, seek me out,” he bent down to her. “My Covern specialises in the moulding of the body. If you ever wish it, I am sure we can discuss a suitable price.”

With that, Eethron turned and left, his mechanical legs carrying him away far faster than he would have been able to move normally, leaving Rainbow slack jawed. She had never entertained the idea of leaving her bionics behind, never knowing that there was even a way to do so. Now that there was such a tantalising offer before her, she was reeling slightly. And all it would take was a price set by the Haemonculus. Surely that wouldn’t be too…

She slapped herself hard at the thought, shaking her head and dismissing it. She had not come to Commoragh to enter into deals with that particular devil. However, even as she turned away, the offer whispered in her head, speaking softly in her ear as she headed towards the hanger bay.

Author's Note

Succubus Ilithia Avatus:

Archon Ale’ri Xandrath:

Haemonculus Eethron:

Skitarii

Applejack

Applejack turned her helmet over in her hooves, inspecting the blue surface, checking that none of the dents in it were anything more than cosmetic. Satisfied that the helmets integrity hadn’t been compromised she placed it with the rest of the checked armour and glanced outside. They had occupied one of the human barracks, their gear taken away for disposal or study by the Earth Caste, allowing Applejack and the others to have a place to rest their heads for the night.

Outside the sun was already setting fast, those chosen for the first watch activating large spotlights to keep the perimeter secure from the counter attack that would surely come. No one was looking forward to the reprisals that were sure to come, the forces arrayed against them unnerving even the hardiest of Fire Warriors.

“You going to check the armour again, or is seven times enough?” Hurnak asked, looking up from the datapad he had been studying.

“Never hurts to be too careful, Sugarcube,” Applejack smirked, before picking up her own datapad. “Maybe ya should check yer weapon too, might make you shoot straight.”

They had been issued while they had all been in stasis, giving more details on the Imperial military forces that they were likely going to be facing, ranging from their standard combat strategies to the known weak points in their vehicles. So far they had only encountered regular Imperial Guard, not Mechanicus Tech Guard, but they could still be out there, along with a host of others. One in particular made Applejack shudder every time she looked at it; titans.

The datapad had allowed her to finally know what had attacked her on Styro, a Reaver-Class titan, but it also made her realise that the titan she saw was nowhere the largest class, dwarfed by the Warlord and Imperator-Class. Worse still, there was a Legion stationed on this world, and even though it was believed to be a small one, it was more than enough to bring back memories of being buried alive.

“Applejack.”

Ala’s voice caught Applejack’s attention, and she looked up at the squad commander. “Yes, Shas’Ui?”

“First watch is about to come to an end, start getting your armour on, Freynat should be coming back soon, and I won’t see two of my squad being late for duty. Valnoth, you’re up as well.”

Nodding, Applejack began to buckle her armour on, ignoring the slightly musky smell of sweat that now clung to it, leaving her rifle till last. As was standard for Tau doctrine, two members of every squad in the cadre would be placed on guard at any one time, meaning the perimeter was always guarded, but if something did happen, an entire squad wouldn’t be out of commission. Applejack wasn’t sure if the system worked perfectly, but she was not about to question it, lest she have another lecture from Freynat about the Greater Good.

As if she had heard Applejack’s thoughts, Freynat turned a corner, almost walking straight into Applejack, the pair grinding to a halt, momentarily confused by the sudden appearance of one another, before Applejack regained her composure.

“All quiet out there?” she asked, ignoring how easily she was just startled.

“There is no sign of anyone coming to attack us if that is what you are asking,” Freynat replied. “We did have some deserters from the Imperial Forces stationed here return, surrendering themselves to the Greater Good.”

“Turncoats?” Applejack asked, genuinely surprised. “I thought that y’all said that the humans hated non-humans.”

“They do, but sometimes their blindness is cured and they turn to us,” Valnoth shrugged.

“And that’s allowed?”

“Not for me to say,” Freynat shrugged. “I just round them up when they come in. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I would like to get some rest before tomorrow.”

Applejack nodded as Freynat disappeared into the room, before exiting the building, emerging into the cool night, glancing up at the moon and smiling, momentarily thinking of Luna, before looking around for other Fire Warriors on patrol. It didn’t take her long to find some, and she made a bee line for them, each one getting their orders from a Crisis suited Shas’El.

“You are the two from Shas’Ui Ala’s squad?” he asked, the battlesuits speakers causing his voice to sound mechanical, but still conveying emotion.

“We are, Shas’El.”

“Good, then that means we are back up to a full contingent of watchful eyes,” the Shas’El gestured towards the far side of the base, where the perimeter wall faced the nearest city. “Take up positions on the south east wall, if an attack comes, it is likely to come from there.”

“Yes, Shas’El,” Valnoth nodded.

“For the Greater Good,” he placed a fist to his chest piece.

“For the Greater Good,” Applejack and Valnoth both responded without a second’s pause, before turning and quickly making their way to the wall, looking out at the city beyond.

For the first time, Applejack managed to get a good look at what human civilisation looked like in this universe, and she let out an involuntary gasp as the sheer size of what they were fighting against hit her. Buildings spread across the landscape as far as she could see, ranging from small rectangular buildings to massive towers that pierced the clouds. Applejack wasn’t sure if they continued up into the atmosphere, but she wouldn’t say that it was impossible for a building on earth to end in space. Smoke clogged the sky around the towering structure, spewed forth from thousands of factories and manufactorums that characterised the Forge World.

“It’s an interesting sight, is it not?” Valnoth asked, gesturing towards the city.

“Yep, that it is,” Applejack nodded slowly. “Them humans certainly know how to build things big.”

“Yes, it is a characteristic of their race,” Valnoth chuckled softly. “What they lack in technical expertise, they certainly make up for in tenacity, and sheer numbers.”

“Yer sound like ya admire them,” Applejack pointed out.

“Admire? Respect? Maybe even envy in some respects,” Valnoth corrected. “I’ve have fought them numerous times, each time feels like a failure on everyone’s part. One side is desperate to fight at every turn, and the other is more than willing to aggressively defend themselves.”

“Which one is which though?” Applejack murmured.

“That’s the spirit,” Valnoth laughed. “Warriors though we may be, we fight for peace, and every time we fire our weapons, we have failed in some respect. Doesn’t mean we don’t fire them though, we leave those decisions up to the might of the Ethereals and the Greater Good. It is our task to carry their light forth.”

Applejack smiled beneath her helmet, Valnoth’s attitude comforting her that others in the cadre saw killing as a last resort, rather than the first option. She realised she hadn’t actually talked to Valnoth that much since joining the squad, and made a mental note to rectify that.

“What are you thinking underneath that helmet, Applejack?” Valnoth asked, when Applejack’s silenced stretched towards a minutes.

“What?” Applejack shook her head. “Oh, ah’m sorry, ah was just thinkin’, must have got lost in mah own thoughts.”

“You should be more careful,” Valnoth chuckled. “I’m sure someone like yourself could get lost for quite a while inside…”

Valnoth stopped short, suddenly looking out into the desert, gripping his rifle slightly tighter. Applejack turned her gaze towards the city as well, her helmets systems enhancing various parts as she looked at them, trying to figure out what Valnoth was looking at.

“What is it?” she hissed, before gasping.

A massive titan appeared from one of the huge buildings in the city, its size evident even over the great distance between them and it. It was larger than the one on Styro, matching her datapads entry on a Warlord-Class. Suddenly, a wave of sound physically hit her, a terrifying, bestial war horn sounding out from the titan.

Applejack was about to cry out for reinforcements, to warn the others of what would soon be upon them, before Valnoth placed a hand on her back.

“Wait, I do not believe we have to worry about this one.”

True to Valnoth’s word, the Titan slowly began to turn its side towards them, beginning to stride off. More titans appeared from the hangers, until there were eleven in all, the small Warhounds roving ahead of the main group, while the Reavers formed up around the Warlord like pilot fish around a shark.

“Where are they going?” Applejack breathed softly, awestruck by the display of power arrayed before her.

“Our main attack force was tasked with eliminating Factorum Secondus to clear the way to Factorum Primus, I believe that it’s in that direction,” Valnoth replied after a moment’s thought.

“They’re going to be in for a long night,” Applejack murmured. “Ah’ve seen what one of those things can do, let alone eleven.”

“Let’s just be thankful that they haven’t decided to march on us, obviously we’re not a big enough threat to warrant their god machines, which is good. We have precious little air support as it is. I just hope the Cadre’s holding Factorum Secondus can hold out against that amount of firepower.”

“If the Greater Good wills it,” the Crisis suited Shas’El startled both of them as he stopped behind them. “Any sign of movement towards us?”

“None,” Applejack shook her head. “The only movement so far has been their titans marching off, but they’re not coming this way.”

“Unless the swing around,” the Shas’El pointed out. “I want you two to keep an eye on them, if any of them look like they’re turning, place us high alert. We will need time to scramble a response.”

“Aye, Shas’El,” Valnoth nodded. “Come on, Applejack, we best keep an eye on the titans.”

Applejack nodded, her and Valnoth slowly walking around the perimeter of the base, making sure to keep the convoy of titans in their sights at all times. They were slowly getting further and further away, and it wouldn’t be long until they were lost from sight, before one of the Warhounds dropped back.

“Is it just me or is that one slowing down?” Valnoth asked, craning his neck to get a better view.

“Maybe it’s broken down?” Applejack suggested.

“Maybe, but I think we should be ready, just in case.” Valnoth muttered. “Go and find the Shas’El, let him know.”

Applejack nodded, giving the titan one last glance, before freezing as it turned, bounding back towards them, moving far faster than anything its size had any right to. In a matter of moments, it had covered a quarter of the distance between them, its war horn blaring, and while it wasn’t quite as loud or as terrifying as the Warlords, it was still enough to freeze the blood in Applejack’s veins.

“Sound tha alarm!” Valnoth roared, grabbing Applejack’s hoof and pulling her along, breaking her from her stupor. “Go to the Shas’El, he’ll give out orders, I’m going to wake alert others.”

Applejack didn’t need to reply as Valnoth headed towards the centre of the camp, other guards already scrambling as they either heard Valnoth’s warning or saw the titan approaching. Skidding to a halt in front of the Shas’El, she took a second to catch her breath, before giving a stuttering report.

“A…A Warhound has turned around and is coming straight for us, it will be on us in minutes.”

“Are there any others?” the Shas’El asked, his voice remaining calm.

“Not that I saw,” Applejack shook her head. “The others are still heading for Factorum Secondus.”

“I must alert the Air Caste, if we can scramble Barracuda’s we may be able to eliminate it,” the Shas’El announced. “Everyone else is to load onto the Manta’s, we may lose the base but the cadre will survive. Return to your squad, now.”

As he finished speaking, the Shas’El took to the skies on a tongue of blue fire, leaving Applejack to turn and head back towards her barracks, only to stop as she heard a large amount of heavy footsteps.

She had learnt what Tau sounded like when they walked and ran, and even knew what Kroot and Demiurg footfalls sounded like, and these weren’t them. These were heavy, slamming down in perfect synchrony. Not even the most well drilled Tau could do that, and Applejack was again frozen in fear as a trio of…things walked around the corner.

They were big, easily as big as the Space Marines she had seen on Styro. Unlike them though, these were fusions of flesh and metal, their muscles bulging, before pistols and gears took over. Their arms ended in various vicious looking weapons, each one sporting a ranged weapon of some sort, as well as horrific close combat swords, claws and fists.

Applejack immediately thought of the servitors she had seen before, but these were different. They did not look like they were tortured souls, or that they were mind controlled automatons, these were fully aware, living creatures.

“Target acquired,” the lead one growled, its voice was grating and robotic, but it had a savage undertone to it. “Moving to apprehend.”

Applejack turned to run, before something slammed into her. It didn’t hurt as much as it wrapped around her hind leg, before suddenly coming alive, electricity coursing through her leg. That part did hurt.

Applejack screamed as the power surged through her leg, all her muscles seizing up for a split second, sending her sprawling to the floor. She could feel her heart beating erratically as the three creatures approached her, her hind legs kicking out as the electricity continued to shock her. All of her armours systems were going haywire, flashing and glaring, threatening to blind Applejack, before going dark, the lens allowing her to still see, but not much else.

“Target apprehended,” the lead one spoke, the one who had fired the electrical cable leaning down to pick her up, tossing her over its shoulder like she was a sack of potatoes. “Returning to base. All units, eliminate this base, purge the xenos. Praise the Omnissiah.”

“P-P-Ple…ase,” Applejack managed, her teeth chattering and her tongue barely obeying her instructions.

The creatures didn’t respond, striding through the base with an air of indifference to the fact that they were in the middle of an enemy stronghold. Soon, Applejack knew why they acted like they did, any Tau coming across them being cut down without a seconds thought, their gun arms nearly deafening Applejack each time they fired, making her thankful that her helmets sound-dampening filters still worked without power.

The trio of creatures headed towards the perimeter wall that Applejack had first been stationed on, passing by more of their kind as they slowly and methodically advanced into the base, silencing all that opposed them. As they reached the parapet, they stepped off as casually as if they had stepped out from a vehicle, uncaring about the ten meter drop.

Applejack screamed as they fell, scrunching her eyes tightly shut as her cries reverberated around her sealed helmet, painfully assaulting her already sensitive eardrums. The next thing she knew she was hitting the ground, bouncing as she was dropped.

Her first instinct was to run, and she managed to make it halfway to her hooves before electricity slammed into her body once again, forcing another scream from her lips, her tongue going fully numb as the surge subsided, rendering her mute, save for a few unintelligible moans.

“Careful, please,” a soft, nasal voice chastised the creature, the figure it belonged to moving into view. “We do not wish to damage the specimen too much before we can examine it.”

The new speaker was definitely more human than the creatures it spoke to, but it was by no means unaltered. Metallic implants covered a good portion of its face and hands, the rest of its body obscured by flowing red robes, bearing the cog symbol of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Two large metal arms protruded from its back, one ending in a vicious looking drill, while the other ended in a clamp, both moving slightly, as if of their own free will. Other metal protrusions moved around the humans body, encircling it and loving down to point at Applejack.

Even in her current state, Applejack guessed that this was one of the human tech priests, and tried to squirm away from it as it bent down towards her, only for a foot of one of the warrior creatures to be placed on her back, holding her still. It wasn’t pushing down hard enough to seriously hurt her, but it still made her cry out once again.

The tech priest glared at the creature, a screeching static emerging from a speaker built into its throat, before it spoke again. “I told you to be careful.”

Turning its attention towards her, the Tech Priest spoke again. “I wonder, can the creature understand us?”

“It was exhibiting knowledge of low gothic, in an attempt to plea for mercy,” the lead creature spoke. “From it’s reaction to our electro-whips we believe it is organic in nature.”

“Remove it’s helmet,” the Tech Priest ordered, Applejack’s helmet being ripped off almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth. “Hmm, yes, definitely organic. I will sedate it, and then transfer it to the Magos Biologis crawler.”

“Yes, Secutor,” the lead creature nodded, an needle emerging from one of the Tech Priests limbs and sliding into Applejack’s neck, causing her to wince and moan, the green liquid within disappearing as it was pushed into her blood.

Applejack could feel her body growing weaker, the electro-whip being withdrawn from her leg as she rolled onto her back, casting her eyes up at the sky. She as just in time to see one of the two Manta’s at the base take flight, its weapons firing at unseen targets and its shields glowing bright, before it shot upwards, disappearing from sight, passing a pair of Barracuda’s as they headed towards the base.

“Order your Skitarii to eliminate all remaining opposition, our war engine will re-join the march on Factorum Secondus,” the Tech Priest ordered, looking down at Applejack. “We have what we came for.”

The last thing Applejack remembered was being picked up once more, before the drugs overwhelmed her system and her world went black.

The. Worst. Possible. Thing

Applejack

Applejack’s awakening was not peaceful, and she let out an ear-piercing scream, before finding herself being pushed forward into a small cell, Plexiglas surrounding her on all sides. It took her a moment before she could fully get her bearings, spinning round wildly to try and make sense of her current situation, before focusing on the tech-priest now watching her.

“I am Magos Biologis Fonteyn of the Adeptus Mechanicus,” the woman began to speak with a slightly robotic edge to her voice. “If you can understand me, raise your right forehoof.”

Applejack glared at the tech priest, massaging the point where the needle had been inserted earlier. “Where am I?” she demanded.

“I will ask you again,” Fonteyn continued, looking between Applejack and a datapad she was holding. “Raise your right forehoof and place it on the glass.”

“Blow it out…” Applejack began, before letting out a scream as electricity surged through her. She collapsed to the floor, before shakily raising her right hoof and placing it against the glass.

“So, it seems you can follow simple instructions, and now you also know the price of lying or failing to answer,” Fonteyn nodded as Applejack got back to her hooves, removing her hand from the button she had been pressing. “I am going to ask you simple questions, I suggest you answer in the same manner. Now, how do you know Low Gothic?”

“Screw…” Applejack began, before stopping as Fonteyn placed her hand over the button. “Ah…don’t know.”

“Elaborate,” Fonteyn didn’t move her hand.

“Ah speak Equestrian, ah speak Tau, ah don’t see any difference between the two, or this Low Gothic yer talkin about.”

“Interesting,” Fonteyn began to type on the datapad, before looking up at Applejack again. “What are you?”

“Pony,” Applejack replied simply.

“Some time ago a mechanicus outpost on the world Omega-88757109 was razed completely. Data recovered from the base cameras showed one of the warriors as a winged equine creature, fighting alongside Eldar from the craftworld of Saim-Hann. What do you know of this?”

“Nothing,” Applejack answered instantly, having to force herself to lie, before crying out again as Fonteyn pressed the button again.

“Ok fine!” Applejack managed to speak through gritted teeth. “It…she was mah friend. Her name is…Rainbow Dash.”

“She was wearing sealed armour, but she also had wings which were much more prehensile than those of the Swooping Hawks. Does your race have the ability to create sophisticated bionic limbs?”

“No,” Applejack shook her head, her voice hollow as she felt like she was betraying Rainbow. “They’re real.”

“So she has wings and you do not,” Fonteyn clarified. “Two different strains of your race?”

“Yeah,” Applejack nodded.

“What is she?”

“A…a Pegasus,” Applejack answered, eyeing the button warily.

“As in ancient Terran legends?”

“Ah don’t know,” Applejack admitted.

“What are you then?”

“An Earth Pony.”

“And that is?”

“What do you mean?” Applejack asked.

“Explain to me the dynamics of your race,” Fonteyn spoke, running her fingers over the button.

“Fine,” Applejack sighed. “There’s three kinds of us, Earth Ponies, Pegasi and Unicorns. Earth Ponies are stronger and can farm better, Pegasi can fly and control the weather, and unicorns can use magic.”

“Magic?” Fonteyn suddenly look very concerned, leaning forward. “Your race has psykers?”

“Ummm…unicorns can use magic like lifting stuff up and teleporting,” Applejack answered, Fonteyn’s sudden concern unnerving her even more.

“And you? Do you have those abilities?”

“If ah did ah wouldn’t be here,” Applejack snorted, before her body was wracked by electricity again. “No! No ah don’t. Mah magic’s passive, it helps with growin food and farmin.”

Fonteyn leant back, clearly deep in thought as she began to walk around Applejack, examining her from every angle. Finally she stopped in front of Applejack again.

“How do you lift things up? The being you identified as Rainbow Dash carried a sword in its hoof. Is this more of your magic?”

“Ah think so, but ah’m not an expert,” Applejack glared at Fonteyn. “Ah’ve told ya what ah know, what do y’all want from me?”

Fonteyn didn’t answer, instead making more notes on her datapad, before a servitor entered the room.

“There will be more questioning sessions in the near future, I suggest you remember what the price of disobedience is,” Fonteyn turned to face the servitor as she finished talking to Applejack. “Remove this creature and place her in cell 229.”

The servitor didn’t reply, simply moving towards the cube Applejack was in. Applejack expected it to open the cube, and she prepared herself to run. Instead, the servitor simply picked up the cube, sending Applejack crashing into the clear wall.

She watched as the facility went past her cube, fear gripping her mind as she caught half-glimpses of room filled with sharp knives, saws and other implements. Before she could concentrate on them however, her journey came to an abrupt halt as the cube she was in was placed on the floor. The front section was pulled open, and Applejack took a tentative step forward into the small cell, the entrance sliding closed behind her, leaving her locked in the new cell.

It was bigger than the cube had been, but not by much. The back wall was the same gunmetal grey as the floor and was freezing to the touch, while the other three walls were made up of thin bars, closely spaced, making sure that Applejack couldn’t get her hoof through them, and limiting her options even further, as well as ensuring that the occupant had no privacy. Looking to the sides, Applejack saw rows of other identical cells, almost all of them occupied with creatures of some description. The cell next to hers had a Tau in it, and Applejack hurriedly tapped the bars.

“Hey, can ya here me?”

“It’s no use talking to him,” a soft voice caught Applejack’s attention.

“Who said that?” she asked, turning around, searching for the source.

“I did,” a humanoid creature leant forward in one of the cells opposite hers. “The Tau is gone, I do not know what they did to him, but I have not heard him speak or seen him move freely for almost a week now.”

“What is this place?” Applejack asked fearfully, eying the unmoving Tau and shuddering.

“A Mechanicus Crawler under the command of the Magos Biologis Fonteyn, I am sure you have already met her. I am sorry to see you here, I would hardly wish this place on my worst enemies.”

“Why? What does she want from us?”

“It varies from subject to subject,” the humanoid replied with a shrug. “Some exhibit certain traits, some are new species, some are simply needed for experimentation. Were you captured in battle?”

Applejack nodded silently, breathing hard as the weight of where she was continued to press down on her.

“I am Ko’roc.”

“Applejack.”

Ko’roc nodded slowly, allowing Applejack to get a better view of his face. His features were angular, but he had bags under his eyes and bruises on his skin that detracted from the overall look. His modesty was protected by a small strip of fabric wrapped around his waist that hung off his tiny frame. From the amount his ribs were showing through his chest, Applejack guessed that he didn’t look this way by choice.

“Are you…an Eldar?” she asked cautiously.

“Yes,” Ko’roc nodded. “And you are?”

“A pony,” Applejack replied.

“Interesting,” Ko’roc sighed, getting to his feet. “Maybe we can continue this conversation soon, though I make no promises.”

“Where are you going?” Applejack asked, watching as a pair of servitors walked towards his cell, opening the door and roughly grabbing hold of him.

“Where are you taking him?!” she roared, getting to her hooves and slamming a hoof into the bars, the servitors not even turning. “Where are you going?! Ku’roc!”

The Eldar didn’t respond, staying silent as the door slammed closed, leaving Applejack to roar in the darkness until her throat hurt. Finally she stopped shouting, collapsing onto the floor and allowing her weariness to overtake her.

***

Applejack growled as Fonteyn approached her again, Applejack once again in the clear cube. For a minute, Fonteyn made various notes, before speaking.

“Today we are going to discuss your hooves,” Fonteyn began. “You said that you have some sort of passive psychic…”

“Piss off,” Applejack growled, gritting her teeth as the electricity predictably coursed through her body, refusing to scream.

“Let’s try again,” Fonteyn continued. “What…”

“Piss, off,” Applejack growled again, the electricity coming just as fast.

This time Applejack did cry out, her fur singeing slightly before Fonteyn finally turned it off.

“I will give you one more…”

"Don’t waste your breath,” Applejack snapped. “Ah ain’t answerin’ any of yer questions. Ah don’t care if ya kill me, yer not getting anythin’ from me.”

Applejack’s scream echoed around the cube as she collapsed to the floor, convulsing wildly, before lying still.

“Very well, it seems that pain will not serve as an efficient incentive,” Fonteyn looked towards one of the servitors in the room, blurting out an order in the odd static language they spoke.

The servitor disappeared for a few minutes of silence, before returning, the Tau who had been in the cell next to her dragged with him. His eyes were glazed over and his feet dragged on the floor, the servitor barely needing to exert any force over him to make him do what it desired.

“This subject has outlived his usefulness,” Fonteyn began, pulling out an odd, gun-like tube. “He has been kept for a control, but maybe he will serve a new purpose. You will talk, or he will be punished in your stead.”

Applejack froze, locking eyes with the Tau. She almost buckled there and then, part of her wanting to drop to her knees and beg for mercy, but the rational part of her brain looked beyond the outside of his body and looked into his soul, looking for any emotion in his eyes, and finding none. In an instant, Applejack saw what Ko’roc had meant with him not being suitable for talking to. He had long since passed on, his body just hadn’t caught up with the decision yet.

“Fuck you,” Applejack whispered, locking eyes with the Tau, determined to keep the gaze for as long as she could.

“Very well,” Fonteyn raised the tool to the Tau’s temple, before pulling the trigger.

There was a soft thump sound, the tube shuddering slightly, before blood began to seep out from the Tau’s temple, not breaking the skin, and turning it a dull purple colour. The light died from his eyes instantly, and he fell forward, the servitor catching him and carrying the lifeless corpse out of the room.

“We could have done this easily,” Fonteyn turned away as another servitor picked up the cube. “Take her to the examination room and prepare my tools.”

***

Applejack hit the floor in her cell hard as the servitor simply dropped her, drawing a soft groan from her. Her throat was once again painful from all the screaming she had done, the door to her cell sliding closed. She tentatively tried to stand up, before wailing as she put weight on her hooves and falling back to the floor.

All four of the sensitive appendages were covered in cuts and gouges where skin had been removed. True to her word, Fonteyn had changed tact's, from simple questioning to physical examinations. She had screamed for hours as the tech priest used knives, scalpels and a host of other implements to learn all she could from her hooves, before finally leaving, a servitor wordlessly taking her back to her cell.

“Applejack,” Ko’roc looked across at her, placing a hand against his bars.

He was about to speak, before stopping short of asking if she was ok. The answer was plainly clear as she dragged herself across the floor, using her legs rather than her hooves themselves to move across the floor towards her water bowl, taking a long gulp from it, before she looked across at Ko’roc.

Her body may have been showing signs of wear, but her eyes still had a fire in them. “Ah’ll be fine,” she croaked. “Fonteyn can do what she wants, ah’m not talkin to her anymore.”

“She’ll break you,” Ko’roc warned, sighing heavily and looking round at the other cages. “Everyone else except for you has been here longer than me, and you saw what that Tau was like.”

“Fonteyn killed him, to make a point,” Applejack growled, dragging her way over towards the bars. “Right in front of me, because I wasn’t talking.”

“Then he is the lucky one,” Ko’roc shook his head. “You saw Fonteyn, she will get results one way or the other, and no price is too high for her.”

“How long have you even been here?” Applejack asked, resting her head on the bars and looking at Ko’roc.

“Two? Three weeks?” he shrugged. “My brethren and I were captured in battle, and let me tell you, they are the lucky ones, they got a quick death.”

“Tell me about them,” Applejack murmured, her eyes getting heavy as she fought the urge to sleep.

Instead she simply listened, letting Ko’roc’s words wash over her as he told him his past and how he came to be here. They talked for hours, before Ko’roc looked over and smiled softly, Applejack snoring softly as she leant against the bars.

***

How long had Applejack been in the crawler? A week? Ten days? The days had started to run together as they had dragged on, the lack of any view of the outside ruined her perception of time, and forced her to rely on her internal clock, as skewed as it may have been.

Ko’roc had been her rock for most of her time here, comforting her when she came back from Fonteyn, he legs covered in new surgical cuts to try and unlock their secret. He had always been kind, and without him Applejack didn’t know if she would have stayed sane.

Then one day, he simply stopped talking. He was deposited back in his cell by a servitor, and as usual Applejack crawled over towards him, asking him what had happened, only to receive a hollow, thousand yard stare in return.

Applejack had stopped eating shortly after that, determined to end the torment once and for all. It took days to die from dehydration though, and she could go weeks without food if forced before passing on, and Fonteyn had no desire to lose her newest test subject yet. Fonteyn had personally forced a feeding tube up Applejacks nose and down her throat, allowing her to pump food directly into her stomach.

The only respite she got from the pain was when she slept, her brain usually too tired from the day to bring up the memories again as nightmares. Then, even that was taken from her. Unseen speakers on the ceiling had started to buzz. At first Applejack had thought nothing of it and had tried to get some sleep regardless, but after tossing and turning, trying to drift off, she had found it impossible. The sound died off for exactly seven thousand two hundred seconds, before it started up again, and it had become Applejack’s only way of telling the time, as soon as it went off, her eyes slumped and her body shut down, only to be awoken far too soon when it came back on.

It was during one of these times a servitor came for her, opening her cage door and grabbing her by the neck, guiding her out of the cell. It barely needed to drag her anymore as she walked towards whatever fresh hell Fonteyn had in store for her. Her hooves no longer raised off the floor as she walked, dragging along as she shuffled forward, her head low to the ground, her nose almost touching the floor.

Even in this stage, she still flinched when she saw Fonteyn, and her flight instinct tried to kick in. Before Applejack could even entertain the idea, the servitor had picked her up, strapping her down to the table, before falling silent once more.

Fonteyn began to probe Applejack as she usually did, paying attention to her head, twisting it this way and that, making notes all the while, never once speaking, working with a clinical detachment.

Finally, she broke the silence.

“You are a fascinating specimen, did you know that? I dare say I have learnt more about you in the short time you have been my charge than you know about yourself.”

Applejack didn’t reply, simply looking at Fonteyn as she pulled a strap tight against her forehead, keeping her from moving her head.

“Your hooves for one, your friends wings for another. Imagine what I could learn from her, or from one of the ones you call unicorns, but I digress. Your eyes are interesting though, for such a small creature you have larger than normal eyes. I have been observing them closely, but observations only get so far.”

Fonteyn picked up a scalpel, examining the blade for a moment, before advancing on Applejack. Applejack would have liked to say that she struggled, that she fought against her encroaching fate, but in truth, the fight had been taken out of her, and she lay still as Fonteyn placed the scalpel just above her eye.

***

Applejack sat in her cell, her back propped up against the wall as her one remaining eye stared off into space, half of her head wrapped in bandages that covered her empty socket. The buzzing noise was silent, but she hadn’t been able to go to sleep. She had counted the seconds she had been back in the cell, counting down to the time the buzzing would come back on.

Seven thousand one hundred and ninety eight, Seven thousand one hundred and ninety nine, Seven thousand two hundred.

On que, the buzzing started and Applejack let out a low groan. The sound came from deep within her chest, the sound twisting into a raspy moan before it even left her lips. She didn’t know what she could do anymore, every part of her body was in pain from the experimentation that Fonteyn had done. Even walking hurt, and large clumps of her fur had been shaved off, giving her a ragged appearance. The bands that had held her mane in a braid had long since been discarded, and the sweat drenched hair now hung in clumps across her face. Rarity would have had a fit by now, but Applejack was far past the point of caring.

Her vision swam in and out of focus, before she squinted, her one eye almost closed as she strained herself. Her cell was bland, all of the walls and bars the same dull metal, and even the servitor guards were mostly machine, their remaining skin having an unnatural grey pallor, so why was she seeing colours, specifically blue.

Applejack tried to say something, but it came out as nothing but a guttural bark. Swallowing, she tried to wet her throat as best she could with the little spit she could muster, before trying again.

“R-Rainbow?”

The blue blur moved closer to her, and Applejack was sure that it was Rainbow as it knelt down before her, placing a hoof on her cheek. Part of Applejack knew that it wasn’t real, that Rainbow hadn’t miraculously appeared to rescue her, but she so wanted it to be real, every fibre of her being wanting to see her friend again. She could almost feel the hoof against her cheek, before she closed her eye, not even the buzzing managing to keep her awake.

Author's Note

This chapter was always planned, but I'd like to say a special thank you to shinikage for your comment which helped me flesh out the ideas. You're awesome. :rainbowdetermined2:

Back to Base

Applejack

It was unusually an serene morning on the Forge World. Somehow, a bit of sunshine shined through the clouds and factory smoke that choked the upper atmosphere. A far cry from the Maiden World of Euthanos or the desert wastes of DakkaSmashaBasha. Those places had a more purified feel to them, despite the efforts of the Ork to turn DakkaSmashaBasha into their own version of a Forge or Hive World. The nature that existed in those places were mostly intact. The Eldar alternated between living in harmony with the natural elements of their colony world to altering it to better suit them and DakkaSmashaBasha simply lacked the resources the Orks needed at the time to form a new WAAAAGH!, let alone the materials needed to convert the world into a giant factory complex.

This was the defining trait of the humans according to Tau higher command: taking a new world and running it into the ground for the sake of profit, further expansion and conquest. In Aun’Vesa’s eyes, this was simply further proof of the superiority of the ways of the Tau, they were far wiser in using what the various worlds they had and didn't simply strip them to nothingness and move on, building more and more on the planets that could not sustain them on their own. The Imperium of Man was a great beast, but it was diseased and dying, the loss of one world of their empire could lead to the losses of scores of others.

There were no worlds in the Tau Empire as productive as a human hive world, none that could match the Mechanicum Forge Worlds for manufacturing power, but they were self-sufficient. They could produce enough food to feed their own populations while human worlds could not. That was why Aun’Vesa knew they were superior, and why he pitied the humans for not seeing the light.

“A jack of all trades, and master of none,” he murmured, more to himself than anyone else.

“But better than master of one,” Shan'Ta finished as he approached, his battlesuit only making a noise due to the battle damage done to its front leg.

“So the saying goes,” Aun’Vesa nodded, before sighing and readjusting his personal protective mask. He was grateful he had this to protect him from the smog; even if it made breathing much more difficult, indeed, the only people he didn't see wearing them were a few of the human converts and the Demiurge, as they were more resistant to the pollutants of this world. Still, resistant wasn't the same thing as immune. He would insist to the other ethereals tighter enforcement of the protective mask usage regulations on Hive and Factorum worlds when he got back.

“How goes the hunt, commander?” he asked. “I hope that things are proceeding according to plan?”

"We are still on the timeline arranged by yourself and Fire Casts High Command, and loses are within acceptable parameters. The Earth Caste and Demiurge are busy studying the gue'la equipment we have captured thus far. The defence of Factorum Secondus is still on going, their titans are making short work of all but our toughest defences. If we cannot capture Factorum Primus on time and cut them off… we may lose the hive and those within it,” the Shas'O started. “The recent attack on the port we captured claimed the lives of many, only a few squads made it out.”

“And?” Aun’Vesa asked with baited breath.

“Shas’La Applejack was not amongst those that reported to command. A stealth team saw the attack and has since given their report. The humans took only a single prisoner, all others were put to the sword. We believe the assault was only to capture her.

"Why did the stealth team not stop them, commander?" the Ethereal asked with a slight growl in his throat.

"Ethereal," the Commander replied with cool restraint, "They had not the numbers or firepower to stop them. The force was a combination of enhanced Skitarii and a light Titan, as you well know. If they fought to rescue her, nothing would've been accomplished and their deaths would have been in vain, they operated as the situation dictated and followed as best they could.”

"Of course, I apologize for snapping, Commander," Aun'Vesa took a moment to regain his composure before continuing. "I fear my thoughts may not be clear on this matter. Did the stealth team manage track the gue'la cyborgs to where they came from?"

"Of course. She was originally loaded onto one of their crawlers, but was subsequently transferred to a bunker built on top of the lower levels of Factorum Primus. They lost them before they could infiltrate the bunker itself however, it is heavily guarded, and is no doubt far larger than it appears from a first glance, most likely spreading out underground.”

Aun’Vesa was silent for a full minute as he looked at Factorum Primus far off in the distance, before finally speaking again.

“When is the assault for Factorum Primus due to start?”

“Not for two more planetary weeks, Ethereal.”

“Can we bring it forward?”

“Not without compromising other theatres of war.”

“Do the Air caste have any available assets for a lightning insertion?”

“No, and the Factorum is too heavily guarded for that in any case,” Shan'Ta shook his head. “We only have two stealth teams currently in reserve, but they will not get through the defences of the bunker. I am sorry Ethereal, but I cannot see a way of rescuing the Equinoid before our main assault.”

“If she has been purposely captured by the mechanicum then you know that she does not have two weeks,” Aun’Vesa folded his arms, before massaging his temples. “Pull three cadres of stealth teams out from wherever we can spare them and have them report directly to me. The two stealth teams you said were free, and the stealth team that followed Applejack initially should also be sent to me. You will also re-adjust our Skyray Gunship fire to target the bunker as best we can, it should help our stealth teams to get past their sensors if they are overloaded with more pressing data.”

“But…” Shan'Ta began.

“There shall be no buts, commander,” Aun’Vesa cut him off. “I realise that this may make things harder for some of our other forces, but I trust you will pull the cadres out from where they are needed the least. Retrieval of Applejack is a matter of importance to the Ethereal high council, and to me. I am sorry that I cannot tell you more, but this knowledge comes down from the top.”

“Very well, Ethereal,” Shan'Ta sounded bitter as he agreed. “We all serve at the will of the Ethereal. Clearly you know which battles are of import and which are not, just like back on Styro. The teams will report to you before daylights end. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Ethereal, I must make arrangements to change our battle plan.”

With that, Shan'Ta turned and walked off, his two silent bodyguard suits turning with him, leaving the Ethereal alone with his own bodyguard.

“Again, I feel like I have fostered resentment in the commander,” he sighed. “It seems whenever we meet, the two of us find ourselves at crossed paths, and he comes off the worse for it. I fear that if we continue like this, tensions will be strained so much as to affect efficiency in battle.”

“Do not fear that, Ethereal, Shas’O Shan'Ta is wiser than most,” one of the Firewarrior bodyguard shook his head. “It is the reason he was placed in stasis at the end of the Damocles Crusade, his wisdom and skill in battle is legendary amongst the history of the Pa’Laa sept.”

“Yes, I remember reading all about it,” Aun’Vesa nodded. “But enough talk, we must make ready to meet the stealth teams that we have acquired.”

***

“Subject thirty two, can you hear me?” Fonteyn asked, the table Applejack was strapped to rising up until it was at the optimum height for the tech priest.

Applejack croaked as her eye focused on Fonteyn, the other socket now devoid of its bandage, cruel stitches holding it closed, a scar covering her face from where she had briefly broken out of the restraining straps and thrown off Fonteyn’s précising cuts. Fonteyn had said she was lucky that the eye had been saved, otherwise the pain she had felt before would be like stubbing her hoof. All the straps that had held her since had been metal.

“I am glad you are awake,” Fonteyn straightened up once more. “Today will be the last day that we are together, I have learnt all I can from your outside, now I must get inside. As a last test of your endurance for my notes, we will not be using anaesthetic.”

Applejack’s eye went wide as terror unlike any she had known, even in her time here, gripped her, and she struggled as best she could against the unyielding metal and her own fatigue. Fonteyn didn’t seem to notice Applejack’s struggles, instead preparing a needle, tapping the side to dislodge an air bubble, before attaching it to a mechanical arm. Applejack whimpered in fear, biting down on the leather strap that cut into her mouth, keeping her almost silent.

“Now…let us begin,” Fonteyn picked up a scalpel, examining it close to the light, before a soft rumble shook the hanging glow globe.

Fonteyn paused for a moment, looking up at the ceiling, before sighing and placing the scalpel back on its tray.

“It seems that your Tau friends are making a push against the Factorum. You don’t mind if I go and see what exactly they are doing, do you?”

Applejack whimpered again, her eye still wide in terror.

“I thought not.” With that, Fonteyn left the room, the door sealing behind her, leaving Applejack alone.

For two minutes, Applejack’s chest heaved as she tried to calm herself down as best she could, not managing to assuage her fears in the least. Then another rumble shook the room, this one much louder than before. Then another, and another. Soon they were coming thick and fast, bits of the ceiling raining down on Applejack, one particularly large chuck slamming into her right forehoof.

She howled in pain as blood erupted from the wound, trying with all her strength to pull the limb back. Metal scraped against flesh, bones groaned in protest, before with a wet ripping sound, the limb came free, the fur on the end scraping off, revealing raw muscle beneath. The pain was intense, but nothing Applejack hadn’t experienced ten times over.

Her mind swam in and out of focus as she realised for the first time in a long time, she had a part of her free. She was shaken from her daze by another explosion that shook the room, a small clinking drawing her eye to the adrenaline needle.

A plan instantly formulated in her mind, and she reached towards the needle, straining to reach it, managing to grab hold of it after a few seconds of frantic scrabbling. Applejack wasn’t a doctor, but she had seen enough of the liquid being pumped into her that she knew its effects, and with a raspy cry, she rammed the needle into her chest, depressing the plunger fully.

The effect was instantaneous, Applejack’s iris widening to fill almost her entire eye, before suddenly contracting once more. Applejack could feel her heart rate increase as the pain in her body rescinded. Letting out a cackling laugh, Applejack strained against the bonds, her muscles screaming, before they triumphed, the metal buckling as she freed herself, sprawling to the floor.

Normally whenever her hooves touched the floor she fell over in pain, but this time she felt nothing, her eye focusing on three more needles. She didn’t quite know what they would do, but she had nothing left to lose.

The servitor guarding the door stood motionless as it always did, uncaring about the debris bouncing off its body. It had been programed to guard this place, and it did not have enough of a brain left to do anything but that. It did of course have the programming to react if something happened inside the room, or to the door leading to it. A dent suddenly appearing in it filled that criteria.

The servitor turned, looking at the dent, before another two appeared. Just as it readied its claw and moved to open the door, the metal frame was thrown outwards, catching the servitor unaware and crushing it against the opposite wall.

Applejack turned back around from her bucking position, barely even breaking a sweat as she sprinted off into the facility at a speed that even Rainbow Dash would have struggled to keep up with.

She encountered more servitors along the way, none armed for anything more than prisoner guarding, and none giving her more than a few seconds trouble. Blades occasionally pierced her sides, covering her fur with yet more blood, but still she ran, before finally coming to a halt in the prison block.

She paused for a second, before grabbing hold of the door to Ko’roc’s cell and pulling back, the lock cracking and allowing the door to swing wide open.

“Ko’roc, Ko’roc it’s me,” she rushed towards Ko’roc, skinning to her knees as she placed her ear beside his mouth, hearing the faintest signs of breathing. “Ko’roc!”

“A-Apple…jack?” he croaked softly, opening his eyes just a crack, focusing on her. “You…you can’t be…in here. I’m…dreaming.”

“No, no I’m here,” she shook her head. “I got free, I’m getting out of here, and you are too, just hold on.”

“Free…me,” he whispered.

“I will, I will,” Applejack nodded, grabbing hold of the chains around his ankles and pulling. “Just give me one second.”

“Free…me,” he said again, placing a hand on Applejack’s hoof and looking her straight in the eye.

“Ko’roc, we can get out of this, together,” Applejack shook her head, not quite believing what she was seeing as Ko’roc guided her hooves to either side of his head.

“I can get out…now,” he muttered, a tiny smile flitting across his face for a second, before turning into a grimace once more. “You…have to free…me. Do it…Applejack…set me free.”

“I can’t,” she cried, fresh tears filling her eyes.

“Yes you can,” he encouraged her softly. “Free me, Applejack, and I will… see you again…someday…somewhere.”

“I’m so sorry,” Applejack sobbed, before twisting his head to the side, his neck snapping like a twig.

***

“They are persistent, I will give them that,” Fonteyn looked at a display of the bunkers defences as more missiles began to rain down all around it. Some were impacting among the building above it in the Factorum, but the Tau were always accurate with their fire, and most were hitting the base. “They must know that they cannot hope to take this base without first securing the Factorum. What could they be… recalibrate the sensors! Scrub out the noise created by their missiles and rescan in the ultra-violet spectrum.”

The few servitors quickly obeyed the instructions of their leader, their mechanical hands flying over the keyboards as Fonteyn glared at the cameras to the outside world.

“I’ve been blind,” she growled, before a banging filled the room, the door buckling in protest.

“What the…” Fonteyn began, readying herself, before the door swung open, bolts and hinges shattering, one catching the closest servitor, ripping it to shreds, forcing Fonteyn to cover her eyes. When she opened them again, she expected to see the faint shimmer of a Tau stealth operative. Instead, she saw Applejack, covered in oil and blood, on top of the one remaining servitor, raining down blows into the machines skull, crushing it utterly.

“My my, you are full of surprises,” Fonteyn chided, her mechadendrite unfolding in preparation to fight. “I did not expect you to escape, and you are exhibiting surprising strength. Truly you are a fascinating creature.”

“I am not, a test, subject!” Appejack roared, her voice hoarse, before she leapt at Fonteyn.

It was not a lengthy fight, Fonteyn trying to catch Applejack with her tendrils as she leapt forward. At normal speed, Applejack would never have avoided the blow, but with the adrenaline in her veins, things seemed to move slower. Twisting in mid-air, she grabbed hold of the closest mechadendrite and using its momentum to whip around, both her rear hooves slamming into Fonteyn’s face.

Blood erupted when she hit, Applejack and Fonteyn both falling to the floor. Applejack got up, Fonteyn did not. The tech priest writhed on the floor as what was left of her organic face was ground against the cogs within, covering them in blood and muscle.

“How does it feel?” Applejack roared, striking Fonteyn’s leg with enough force to shatter bones. “How does it feel to experience half, of what you put everyone here through?! Of what you put me through?!”

Every accusation was accompanied by another blow to Fonteyn, Applejack shattering her ribs as she brought both of her forehooves down at once, before pulling herself up to her full height and breathing heavily.

“But this…this is for Ko’roc!”

She raised her hooves above Fonteyn’s head, her face now completely ruined, but her sneer was somehow still visible.

“I…win…Applejack,” she spluttered, before Applejack brought her hooves down on Fonteyn’s head, crushing the skull like an over ripe watermelon.

For a long time Applejack stood there, bringing her hooves down again and again into the tech priests body, slowly reducing it to pulp, before the adrenaline began to wear off, and her wounds started to catch up to her. Slumping to the floor, she turned her head towards the door as a lone figure seem end to appear out of nowhere, crouching down beside her.

“Ethereal, we have Applejack,” the Tau spoke into its helmet. “All teams, prepare to withdraw.”

Applejack watched as the Tau pulled out a shimmering cloak, wrapping her in it fully, before once again fading from view, as Applejack slipped from consciousness.

Biker Ponies from Commoragh

Rainbow Dash

Rainbow stood in the centre of the garage, watching as the rest of her friends worked on their jetbikes, as they had been doing so for the last week. Ilithia had told her that the team’s colours would need to be changed to better reflect the midnight blue of the Lightning Fang, but that was not all that had to be changed.

With the exception of her own bike, the jetbikes the team used were using cannibalised tech. The first thing Rainbow had done was to set about procuring new bikes for them specifically for the arena, and while their old bikes would be reserved for raids, their new bikes needed to be engineered simply for speed. The only one of them who used the same bike for both races and raids would be Rainbow herself. The biggest complaint so far had been from Gilda, the Griffon not wanting to give up her tank of a bike, but eventually better sense had prevailed.

Now they were all putting the finishing touches on their new bikes, stripping the armour down as much as they could and overclocking the engines, as well as drilling out new holes in their air-foils. At high speeds, each of their bikes now sounded different, and while it was almost negligible to most of their ears, Rainbow assured them that it was easily discernible to Eldar, or those with highly trained ears.

“Alright, time’s up then,” Rainbow called, stamping her hooves to get the attention of the others. “Race is in fifteen, no more mods. This is going to be our first race, so your bikes better all be ready, I really don’t want to see them falling apart mid-flight.”

“Anything we should know about this race?” Spitfire asked as she popped her head up from behind her bike, her muzzle hidden behind a streamlined rebreather.

“You mean other than the fact that a lot is riding on this?” Rainbow asked. “It’s a team against a team, we don’t have to get the entire team across the line, just one of us.”

“So why not just give us our heavy bikes and let us rip against the other team?” Gilda asked.

“Because unless you can hit a target moving at the sort of speeds we all will be moving at while going subsequently slower, while avoiding the return fire, you’ll be a hindrance rather than helping,” Rainbow pointed out. “We’re not fighting slaves, or humans, or even Scourges this time, Reavers are some of the fastest things in this city, and the reactions of their pilots is legendary. Avoid their fire when you can, kill them as soon as possible. Remember, they have more experience riding their bikes than we can probably ever dream of, but we are born of the sky. Use your wings, they’ll never know what hit them, trust me.”

“Well then, we best get ready,” Wavechill murmured, adjusting his race suit slightly.

“Nice touch on the suits by the way,” Spitfire whispered as she walked closer to Rainbow. “Wish you could have made them look less like our rivals though.”

“Yeah, sorry,” Rainbow shrugged. “Wonderbolts doesn’t exactly…”

“Strike fear,” Spitfire finished. “I know.”

Rainbow nodded with a chuckle, looking at her own race suit. They had been modelled after the Shadowbolts, the form fitting clothes now coloured in black, yellow and purple, the rune of the Lightning Fang emblazoned on one of their flanks, while the skull of the Shadowbolts, which had become the team’s new symbol, rested on the other. Everything was covered by the suits, save for their feathers, muzzles and eyes, even the leading edges of their wings being covered by the frictionless material. Like Spitfire, the rest of the team had rebreathers designed to cover their muzzles and make them more streamlined when they lay low to their bikes, as well as allowing them to travel at the highest of speeds without passing out. This, when combined with the yellow goggles that they all had would make them almost indistinguishable from one another, meaning the only difference would be between their bikes, which would draw more crowds.

The only difference to their appearance of solidarity were clearly Gilda, whose physique as a Griffon made looking identical impossible, and Rainbow herself, who instead of wearing a hood and rebreather, wore a full head helmet, the front of which was entirely covered in dark, tinted plexi-glass, a skull emblazoned over the top. The helmet, apart from making her stand out as the leader, gave her detailed readouts about the team, her bike, and all the other small details she would need to know to be an effective team leader.

“Are we ready then?” Gilda asked, mounting her bike and pulling her goggles down.

“Mount up,” Rainbow nodded, straddling her own bike as she maneuvered onto the lift to the track.

A few moments later, the ground began to rise, taking the team on the short journey towards the arena, the roar of the crowd growing louder the closer they got.

***

“That was reckless,” Lightning sighed as she looked over Rainbow’s wing. “You’re lucky that it wasn’t a poisoned weapon, it could have been a lot more complicated to sort this out.”

“It wasn’t luck, I saw him licking his knife at the beginning of the race to try and unnerve Scootaloo over there,” Rainbow smirked, looking at the youngest member of the team. “If it was poisoned he would have been long dead.”

“Well he’s certainly dead now,” Scootaloo smirked. “And it will take more than licking a knife to unnerve me.”

“What, you mean like almost completely destroying your bike?” Wavechill asked, groaning as he looked up from Scootaloo’s bike. “Honestly, you need to learn to keep the acceleration steadier, rather than gunning it then braking and gunning it again. It taxes the system to no end, keep it up and you’ll destroy it mid-flight, and at those speeds there won’t even be enough to scrape off the sands.”

“Which is why we need to do a lot more training,” Rainbow nodded, getting up and flexing her organic wing, wincing slightly at the cuts on it, before folding it against her side. “Two hours free time, then we go back on the track. We could all use the extra training time. Then we’ll move to the cages, a lot of the fighting you’ve been doing has been won by luck alone, and looks very stiff and unmoving. We’ve got to win the crowd, so we’ve got to step up our game, make ourselves stand out.”

“We’re an entire team made of a different species,” Spitfire pointed out. “How much more do you want us to stand out?”

“It’s not enough,” Rainbow shook her head. “The novelty will wear off soon, we need to change, keep ourselves in the spotlight, then we get to the Torn Scar. We need to be champions, so that’s what we’ll be.”

“And how does one become a champion, in your mind?” Spitfire asked with a smirk.

“We never fucking lose,” Rainbow laughed, pushing her bike into its bay, before turning and walking out of the garage.

“Rainbow, wait up,” Gilda called, hurrying after Rainbow, before matching pace with her. “Where are you going?”

“My chambers,” Rainbow replied simply.

“Mind if I tag along?”

“If you must,” Rainbow nodded. “Any particular reason?”

“Well, I thought I’d try and pick your brains a bit,” Gilda smirked. “You know, get an inside tract into my superiors mind. Advancement is measured in the bodies of those above you here after all.”

“Remind me how many times you’ve beaten me in the cages?” Rainbow laughed, reaching her room and slipping inside, Gilda following after her.

“Once or twice,” Gilda admitted. “After you’d been fighting for a while.”

“And don’t you ever forget that.”

Rainbow sat down heavily on her bed, quickly stripping the Shadowbolt suit off and casting it aside, before reaching for her wraithbone wing. Gilda stayed silent as Rainbow slowly disconnected the limb, sighing as she placed it beside her and looked at it pointedly. For a long time Gilda stayed silent, before finally having enough and opening her beak.

“Is everything ok, Rainbow?” she asked hesitantly.

“It played up in the race,” Rainbow admitted. “It seized up. Just for a nanosecond mind you, but it was just enough to throw me off balance, which is why I got this,” she held up her other wing to show Gilda the cut.

“It’s not ideal,” Gilda agreed. “Maybe we can talk to Wavechill about looking at it, or maybe there are some Dark Eldar who…”

“I don’t want a bionic anymore,” Rainbow cut her off. “It’s not me. It’s ugly, it’s heavy, and for all the control I have over it, it’s not as good as the real thing.”

“Yeah, but you told me the other one was fairly comprehensively destroyed,” Gilda pointed out. “I don’t see how you could get it back.”

“I do,” Rainbow sighed. “I haven’t told the others this yet, mostly because I don’t want them to think I’m considering it.”

“Considering what?” Gilda narrowed her eyes.

“Eethron….told me that his Covern was good at developing biological replacements for lost limbs, rather than mechanical ones. He said for a price, we could talk about getting mine replaced.”

“You’d let Eethron fiddle around with you?” Gilda asked in disbelief. “He is the leader of something called the Covern of Mutilation, that doesn’t sound like something that’s nice. Why are you even considering this?”

“I’m not considering it,” Rainbow snapped, before sighing. “Well, ok, maybe I am a little bit, but it’s not something I’d do lightly. I tried to come to a decision on my own, but…”

“I can’t say that I know what you’re going through Rainbow, if I lost a wing I don’t know what it would do,” Gilda began, putting a wing around Rainbow. “But I do know that making deals with monsters isn’t the way.”

Rainbow let out a soft, snorting chuckle, before nodding, placing her head on Gilda’s shoulder.

“Thanks, G.”

“Anytime, Dash,” Gilda laughed, pulling Rainbow subtly closer, enjoying the feeling of her friend beside her.

***

“You summoned me, Ilithia,” Rainbow asked as she walked through the door to Ilithia’s personal office.

No matter how many times she came in here, and it wasn’t that many truth be told, the sheer number of trophy’s that lined the walls were ridiculous. There were countless heads of Orks, humans, other Eldar, Tau, even a few heads and claws of Tyranids, but the most impressive display was directly in sight of the door, covering the end wall. Five full suits of Space Marine power armour, all in different colours, lined the base of the wall, four normal, while the central suit was a set of Terminator Armour.

Ilithia had told Rainbow that it had belonged to a captain of the Salamanders Chapter, and had been taken during the fighting when the Space Marines had managed to pierce the veil into Commoragh. The fact that she had killed him in single combat all those years ago stood as testament to her skill, and her age.

Above the five suits were countless helmets of different chapters, and as Rainbow knew for a fact how highly valued each suit was to the humans, she knew they had not been given over lightly.

“Ah, yes, I did, Dash,” Ilithia nodded, looking up from one of her knives, placing the small crystal she had been using to sharpen it aside. “Your Shadowbolts have been doing well. Three races to your name, and not a casualty. If you keep this up maybe you will be able to keep your team as it is, and not recruit new members, though I digress. I need to know one thing. How long have you been here?”

“Three weeks, six days,” Rainbow replied after a brief moment of thought.

“No, not in my Reaver clan, in Commoragh?” Ilithia shook her head, standing up and taking hold of the knife, spinning it idely as she came closer to Rainbow.

“I’m not sure I follow,” Rainbow replied slowly, reaching for her own knife, which she had taken to carrying at all times instead of the large and clumsy Ravenous.

“It’s a simple question,” Ilithia purred. “How long have you been here?”

“Six weeks, give or take a few days,” Rainbow answered. “Why?”

“Because, and you’re not going to believe this, but ten scourges, went missing, six weeks ago,” Ilithia began, letting out a laugh. “I mean, it’s baffling, who kills scourges? That’s a crime even we not permit here, so clearly the one who did it would not try and then raise their head above water again, and certainly not in a fashion like you have done, so it couldn’t have been you.”

“I’m not hearing a question,” Rainbow guarded her words carefully, watching Ilithia as she paced before her.

“And I’m not asking one,” Ilithia growled, suddenly stopping and pointing the knife at Rainbow. Rainbow did her best not to flinch as the razor sharp blade stopped millimetres before her face. “This is not a question, this is a fact. If I find out that you killed those messengers, then champion or no, you will find yourself on the arena floor, not above it.”

“I did nothing of the sort,” Rainbow growled back. “And you think putting me on the sands would be enough to silence me, you do not know me well, Succubus. Was there anything else?”

“I’ll be watching you, Dash,” Ilithia sheathed her knife, turning her back on Rainbow. “Leave.”

Rainbow let out a soft snarl, before turning and stalking out of the room. Her heart was racing as she left, partly from how close she had come to being discovered for committing the one uncommitable crime in Commoragh, but mostly because of the fact that Ilithia had honestly thought that just putting her in the arena like a common slave would be enough to finish her. That was a blow to her pride she could not allow to stand.

***

Rainbow stood silently as she watched Spitfire and Wavechill sparring across the floor of the garage, having yet another one of their impromptu sparring sessions.

Their fights were always interesting, the pair being very evenly matched in their personalities and techniques. It was also interesting because the pair of them usually distain fighting with swords, preferring to keep their foes at range. Rainbow had insisted that the pair learnt however, and while Wavechill still didn’t see eye to eye with her on it, he had done as she had asked, building his skill very quickly alongside Spitfire. Soon they would be close to the levels of Scootaloo and Lightning, which Rainbow saw as more than adequate.

Finally, Spitfire gained the upper hoof, knocking Wavechill’s wingblades aside with her rapier, before capitalising on her advantage, pressing the thin blade against his throat, drawing a single drop of blood.

“You should watch your flank, Wavechill,” Rainbow noted as she walked forward. “Remember you have the strength advantage to her speed, capitalise on this.”

“Yeah, easy for you to say,” Wavechill wiped the blood away. “You’ve been fighting for years.”

“We’ve all got to start somewhere,” Rainbow shrugged. “But anyway, gather round, I have new orders for all of us.”

“Another race?” Scootaloo asked easily.

“Nah, it’s a speed fight, isn’t it?” Gilda asked with a gleam in her eyes. “What, those losers from the Second Strike don’t want another go do they? You already killed their champion.”

“Neither, it’s a raid,” Rainbow sighed, holding up a hoof before anypony could object. “I know all your feelings on the idea of raids, we’ve spoken about it for hours on end, but we don’t have a choice here. If we want to continue our existence here, we need to toe the line. We’re not strong enough to resist the Triumvent.”

“Maybe if we recruited some more riders,” Gilda huffed.

“I don’t want to work alongside Dark Eldar, too risky,” Rainbow shook her head. “The bottom line is, we’re going on a raid for slaves. We have to be present, what we don’t have to do is give into our baser desires like the Dark Eldar do.”

“Where are we going?” Spitfire asked with a sigh.

“It’s an Agri-World. I wasn’t told the name, but it’s lightly defended, only a few Imperial Guard Regiments in total.”

“We’d be helping round up civilians for the factories,” Scootaloo whispered. “And for the work gangs, and for currency.”

“Yes,” Rainbow nodded solemnly. “I’m not going to lie and say that this is good, or that it will be easy to keep our consciences clear, but that’s why I’m telling you what we’re doing now. We still have a week to plan what we will be doing, and we can use that time to come to a group consensus on exactly how we will be persecuting our part in the raid. So far all we have been commanded to do is occupy Imperial Guardsmen outriders so the rest of the raiding force can…they can take slaves.”

“We’d be taking away all their defences,” Lightning shook her head. “We’d be consigning them to this hell.”

“We don’t have a choice,” Rainbow sighed. “I’m sorry, but at the moment we’ve managed to score here. All we have to do is kill soldiers, and yes that’s still shitty because we’re fighting for a cause like this, but we don’t have to take the slaves, and our goal is worth the lives of a few. Without Applejack we don’t the Elements of Harmony. Suppose we have something that only they can defeat, without her, and myself, they’re useless. We’re protecting our planet, isn’t that worth the lives of a few? I don’t like it, but it’s what we’ve been dealt.”

“It was a shit deal then,” Lightning snapped.

“Yes I know it was,” Rainbow snapped back. “Do you think I like the idea of doing this? I’ve killed humans before, but always with good reason. Killing them to take slaves? That’s evil, and willingly walking through this door. I am your leader, so the stain is on my hooves. If I do this it makes me lesser in my own eyes, let alone all of yours, but I will gladly do that if it means you can keep your hooves as clean as possible. If there was any other way…but there isn’t. This is it, so I’m going to ask you once. Will you stand with me on this, and help me to find my friend, a mare we all owe our lives to, or do you want to leave Commoragh. If you want to leave then we will, we will make a break for freedom and do our best to succeed, but if we failed there, we’d end up back here, on the end of the lash. Even succeed, we have no leads on Applejack except here. Cast your vote please, because I don’t know if this is right or wrong.”

“I’m with you, Rainbow, if you think this is right then I’ll stand by you till the end,” Gilda smiled, patting her larger jetbike. “Besides, I can get a chance to use this baby again.”

“I’ll…I’ll stay here with you Rainbow,” Scootaloo nodded after a second.

“It’s not nice, but like you say, we’re fighting for a bigger cause than us,” Wavechill shook his head. “If we think this is the only way to go about it, and I’ve got to admit that I don’t see an alternative, then I’ll do it.”

“I’ll do it under sufferance,” Spitfire nodded in agreement.

“Fine,” Lightning looked between the others as she spoke. “But I’m with Spitfire, this is under sufferance, this is not a first choice.”

“I understand,” Rainbow walked towards Lightning and pulled her into a hug. “Thank you Lightning, it means a lot to me that you’d stay with me.”

“Hey, I abandoned you once already,” Lightning managed a small chuckled. “What sort of friend would I be if I did it again?”

“A pretty awful one,” Rainbow laughed. “Now come on, I want to step up your training, this is going to be heavy, and I will not see us going in half-trained.”

Raiders

Rainbow Dash

Rainbow stood with the rest of her team on the sands of the arena, their original jetbikes purring behind them, ready for war. Beside them stood scores of Wyches, this being the first time Rainbow had seen all of them arrayed in one place. It was impressive seeing so many warriors in one place, as well as scores of raiders, venoms and beasts of all manner, their handlers occasionally cracking their electro-whips overhead, keeping their charges in tow.

“Members of the Lightning Fang!” Ilithia cried out from before the assembled warriors. “Once more we march forth to claim new slaves for our arena, fodder for our Covern, and works for our Kabal. Once more the humans shall look to the sky, and despair as the Half-formed Hope descends upon them, in fire and death. Our new Reavers shall provide us ample support to take the choicest pickings for ourselves, flooding the sands with the blood of the weak once more, and allowing the strong to thrive and rise to the top. Everybody, to your transports.”

As one, the Wyches clambered, leapt, or otherwise boarded the Raiders and Venoms as Rainbow and the others straddled their jetbikes, their engines flaring into life as the rest of the vehicles began to rise from the arena floor, filling the air with the sleek and deadly craft. Further off, yet more raiders loaded with members of the Barbed Heart Kabal and the Covern of Mutilation floated into the air, joining together in a deadly flotilla as they began to head towards the webway portal the Triumvent owned.

The small number of Venom’s circled around the flotilla, keeping an eye out for opportunist Hellions, while Rainbow and the other Shadowbolts stuck with the few Scourges that had allied themselves with the Triumvent for the raid, acting as fast support when the Hellion gangs inevitably got too close. It didn’t take them long to get to the webway portal, the transports already screaming through the air at breakneck speed, followed swiftly by the Shadowbolts, the portal closing instantly behind them, sealing them in the short, one way tunnel towards the unnamed Agri World.

“How long are we travelling for?” Gilda asked over the secure channel.

“Not long, a few minutes hard flight and it will be our drop point,” Rainbow replied. “We drop out with the Scourges at high altitude, draw the Imperial Regiments away and break them apart before the Barbed Heart comes in to mop up what’s left.”

True to Rainbow's word, it didn’t take them long to approach the first arterial joint of the webway tunnel. Banking sharply, Rainbow and the Shadowbolts shot away from the main assault force, the Scourges quickly following behind them as they approached the shimmering end of the tunnel, barely slowing as they shot through, the new gravity of the world taking hold of them, briefly pulling Rainbow off course before she forced herself back into line with the others, diving towards the planet’s surface.

For almost ten seconds they sped towards the cloud cover, drawing ever closer to it, punching through it like a fist, Rainbow getting her first view of the Imperial presence on the world. Infantry were scurrying around like insects, Rainbow not being sure if they had seen them or not yet, but the men were the least of their worries, what was more pressing were the four Hydra Anti-Air guns on the corners of the base, laid out exactly in accordance to Cadian regulations.

If memory served Rainbow correctly, they would be coming into radar range any second now, and even the tiny size of their craft couldn’t keep them hidden forever. Rainbow was not about to wait to react to the humans, she was going to act, and keep them dancing to her tune.

“Scatter, begin evasive manoeuvres,” Rainbow called over the communicator, before pushing her bike into a spin, corkscrewing towards the ground as the Hydras finally realised they were under attack, beginning to fire into the air, but it was far too late.

Rainbow was already closing on the tank, Ravenous clutched in one of her hooves as she swooped passed, slicing into the sensor on the front, effectively blinding the tank, making sure that its firepower, while no less deadly, was now nowhere near as accurate. This made it even easier for the Scourges to get into range, their heat rays causing a slight shimmer in the air for a second, before five blinding rays of light shot out from the squad’s weapons, striking the Hydra’s vulnerable rear armour.

The vehicle exploded, but the Scourges had already taken to the sky once more, seeking out more armoured targets, while their splinter and shredder weapon armed brothers concentrated on the infantry, Rainbow and the Shadowbolts doing the same, occasionally moving to slicing through the dangerous pintle mounted weapons on the remaining tanks, before leaving them to the Scourges once more.

There was no question they were outnumbered by the Guardsmen, but they had struck at the perfect time in the few moments of dusk before night truly set in. The humans had been caught completely off guard and it showed. Their screams echoed through the camp, burning tanks and buildings filling the sky with thick, black, acrid smoke.

More than once Rainbow saw a human being dragged to the ground by a clutch of Scourges, hooked chains appearing in an instant and being cruelly wrapped around legs, arms and bodies, before they were dragged kicking and screaming to a pile of similarly bound soon-to-be slaves.

The battle had lasted for less than five minutes, the Dark Eldar striking with the precision and speed that made them feared across the galaxy, dismantling the human defences with ease. Rainbow took a sharp breath behind her helmet as the other Shadowbolts came to a halt beside her.

“This isn’t war,” Spitfire hissed, looking around.

“No, it’s not,” Rainbow agreed. “But we are committed now, we cannot back out.”

“I know, it’s just…not easy,” Spitfire mumbled softly.

“Champion Dash,” one of the Scourges landed before Rainbow. “The Mon-keigh are helpless before us, those who may prove useful have already been bound for retrieval after the rest of the worlds guns are silenced.”

“Move on then,” Rainbow ordered. “Reports show two more regiments like this one stationed on the planet. We can’t let the rest of the Triumvent have all the thrill of battle.”

“Black Cage! Take to the skies brothers and sisters!” the Scourge screamed gleefully, flapping his wings and shooting upwards, Rainbow and the Shadowbolts hot on his heels.

They soared across the world together, the jetbikes almost idling as they slowed themselves enough so that they would not outrun the slower Scourges. Below them Rainbow could see screaming farmers, fleeing in terror as they flew overhead, seeking out what little shelter they could. More than once Rainbow saw humans seek shelter in a barn, only for one of the Scourges to break off and enter the building, carrying off one of the screaming humans from within, bearing them aloft for a few seconds, before allowing them to fall once more, their screams hitting Rainbow like a dagger in the heart.

By the time they reached the next Imperial Regiment, the smoke was already rising from it, countless bodies littering the floor, and Rainbow allowed herself a brief smile beneath her helmet as she caught sight of a few dead Dark Eldar as well.

The smile soon faded however as she began to fight once more, the Shadowbolts sticking together and hurtling between the tents at breakneck speeds, Rainbow using her bikes blades as he primary weapon, while Gilda had engaged the frontal armour on her bike, smashing through tents, walls, people, and anything else that stood in her way.

“Dash! Incoming!” Scootaloo roared, banking away as a dark shape flew overhead, a massive cannon spitting out death from beneath it.

Rainbow grunted as she narrowly avoided the attack, banking and looking up to see what had attacked her and letting out a gasp of disbelief. Dozens of fighter planes were already beginning strafing runs on the Dark Eldar position, catching a few off guard and shredding them apart, while forcing others to dive for cover or withdraw in their transports.

A few of the Scourges had already begun to engage the new enemies, and Rainbow was quick to join them, twisting and turning as she tried to find any weakness in their armour, trying to remember everything she knew about these vehicles. The majority of them were Thunderbolt class fighters, heavily armoured and armed, but also slow and clumsy enough that with some concertation they could be avoided.

The Lightning fighters with them however couldn’t be avoided quite so easily, and while they weren’t quite so heavily armed, their cannon still packed more than enough punch to reduce Rainbow and the others to little more than a fine mist of pulped flesh and super-heated blood.

“Split-up!” Rainbow roared as one of the Lightnings streaked past her. “Don’t fly straight, Gilda keep the Thunderbolts off our tails, the rest of you stick to the Lightnings.”

Her orders were quickly complied with, the team smoothly breaking apart, offering a much less inviting target for the few Lightnings, which were forced to split up as well to follow them all. Solid shots, lance fire, splinters and haywire blasts filled the air as a vicious dogfight broke out between the two sides, Ravenger tank destroyers streaking through the air to duel with Thunderbolts, and Rainbow cursed the fact that they didn’t have any true air power themselves.

The fight stretched on, closing on ten minutes before the Dark Eldar began to gain an upper hand, the destruction of the human fighters outweighing the number of destroyed Eldar vehicles, but it was still brutal. The fighting had now spilled over one of the larger settlements of the planet, the burning wrecks falling on the city, carving out great holes in the buildings as fireballs erupted within.

Rainbow let out a snarl as she sped past yet another Lightning, one of the few left in the air, abandoning her bike and leaping on top of the fighter, her sword digging into the armour and allowing her to stay anchored on. She could see the pilots shock and confusion as he suddenly gained a new passenger, before she pushed her blade forward, hitting the canopy and shattering the surface, exposing the pilot to the wind.

The man screamed in pain as broken glass peppered him, before Rainbow struck again, her knife whipping out and slicing into the man’s eyeball, killing him instantly. It was quick, it was clean, and most importantly it was relatively painless.

Leaping backwards, Rainbow began to fall towards the earth, her wings tucked close to her body as her jetbike sped back towards her, getting close enough for her to grab hold of it once more as she neared the ground. As she pulled up however, wreckage began to rain down atop her, and while there were no large parts that would do serious damage, she did feel the impacts heavily on her wings.

Shaking it off, and taking the sign that there was no blinding pain accompanying the blows, she pressed on, climbing back into the sky as a small rune began to flash on her helmets display, the call for a withdrawal. Either the Triumvent had got what they wanted, which was the more likely of the two options, or they were being forced to retreat, but to Rainbow all that mattered was this distasteful raid was nearing its end.

“Shadowbolts, fall back to me,” Rainbow cartwheeled through the air as the Dark Eldar headed back towards the webway portals, most of the Imperial forces being too damaged to follow them.

“Sound off,” Rainbow ordered.

“Gilda, present.”

“Scootaloo reporting in.”

“Spitfire, here.”

“Lightning, checking in. Has anyone seen Wavechill?”

“Wavechill? Wavechill check in,” Rainbow ordered, looking at her helmet for any flashing runes or anything else out of the ordinary. “Wavechill, report.”

Rainbow slowed the bike to a crawl as she wheeled back around scanning the air for any sign of Wavechill.

“Wavechill? Answer me,” Rainbow demanded.

“Dash, where is he?” Lightning asked, stopping beside Rainbow.

“I don’t know,” Rainbow snapped. “Wavechill…”

“tzch…bike down…wing…ken…tzch”

“Wavechill, was that you?” Rainbow asked, forcing her bike to dive to avoid a string of fire, Lightning and the others following after her.

“Yes…reporting…multiple enemies…target practice.”

“Hold on, we’re coming to get you,” Rainbow began to scan the area. “Where are you?”

“In…city.”

“Alright, we’re…” Rainbow began, before another Lightning Fighter shot past them, more following after it.

“Shit, fall back to the portal, now,” Rainbow ordered.

“We are not leaving Wavechill,” Lightning snapped.

“I said fall back!” Rainbow ordered. “I’ll get Wavechill back here.”

“I’m coming with you then,” Lightning insisted.

“Your bike isn’t fast enough,” Rainbow shook her head. “Get your ass back to the portal, I will bring back your coltfriend, Lightning.”

“You better,” Lightning growled, before breaking off and following after Spitfire and the others.

Rainbow gunned the engine on her bike, shooting past the few remaining fighters like a bullet from a gun, heading towards the city. The signal between Wavechill and her was getting stronger now, less interference plaguing the link.

“Rainbow, turned around now,” Wavechill grunted.

“Not without you,” Rainbow shook her head. “We stick together, what are your coordinates?”

“Get to the portal,” Wavechill replied. “There are too many here, I’ll hold them off as long as I can. Ammo’s running low.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Rainbow roared, entering the streets of the city, twisting through them at breakneck speed, the signal growing stronger.

The streets began to get narrower as she went, her bike scraping on the walls as she sped past, at first only a few times, but getting more frequent until the bike was all but wedged in between the buildings. Letting out a growl, Rainbow leapt from the bike, making sure to activate security mode on it before breaking into a gallop, flaring her wings.

Or at least she would have done if her right wing had responded to her desires. Instead she felt it extend part way, before locking up. Twisting her head around, Rainbow cursed as she saw a piece of metal stick out of the wing, just along the joint. If it had still been organic, she would have been in agonising pain, but at least she would have known that it was injured before trying to use it, instead of after.

Folding her wings back to her sides, Rainbow began to gallop through the streets as fast as she could, roaring into her helmet as she went.

“Wavechill, talk to me goddess damn it! Tell me where you are!”

“You’re getting closer, I can hear you without the radio link,” Wavechill panted, clearly running, before shots began to ring out. “Get the fuck away from me!”

“Wavechill, how many are there?!”

“I said get away from me! No! No you fucks! Arrghhh!”

The radio link was now alive with the sound of Wavechill’s fearful cries, changing as whatever the soldiers were doing to him forced him to make choking sounds instead. Rainbow snarled as she turned a corner, finally seeing Wavechill and his aggressors, taking in the situation with a practiced eye.

Wavechill was kicking weakly as he hung in mid-air, a rope wrapped around his neck, while his wings hung at odd, unnatural angles, occasionally trying to flap but to no avail. The people around him, far from being soldiers, looked like regular civilians, their faces filled with a mixture of hatred and fear.

Acting in an instant, Rainbow leapt up, spreading her wings as best she could. It was not flight, or anything that close to flight, but it got her close to the rope suspending Wavechill, allowing her to cut the now unmoving body down, catching him as he fell and laying him gently on the floor, drawing her rifle with one hoof and using the other one to check for a pulse.

She waited for ten agonising seconds, the humans screaming and cursing, but not yet trying anything. She expected to feel a pulse, something, even just one heartbeat, but she felt nothing.

Something inside Rainbow that she had long buried began to boil to the surface as she turned away from Wavechill, towards the humans. Her lasblaster was still in her hoof, but she dropped it to the floor as she slowly drew her power sword, the monstrous weapon crackling as she activated it. The thoughts of mercy and not falling to the level of the Dark Eldar had gone from her mind as she looked at those who had killed Wavechill.

With an avian screech that would put Gilda to shame, Rainbow leapt forward, hacking through the necks and bodies of humans as she went. Their baiting taunts and angry cries soon turned into screams of terror as Rainbow span and kicked, duck and weaved, killing anyone who got close, blood splattering across her helmet.

A roaring in her head started to get louder and louder, blotting out all sound as a haze of red began to descend over Rainbow’s vision, and not because of the blood. Just as it approached the bottom, Rainbow forced herself to stop, panting as the red receded and the roar died away. That had been too close, the war mask had almost slipped back on, and the evidence of that was all around her. Dead bodies littered the floor, limbs sometimes completely separate from bodies, as a shivering human, barely more than a child, quivered at her feet.

The war mask was no longer helping to guide her hoof, and Rainbow looked at the boy, debating showing mercy. Then she remembered Wavechill, and her sword sunk into his chest.

The boy gave a rattling gasp, before Rainbow pulled it out and turned to Wavechill, sheathing her blood drenched sword, before stooping down to pick up her fallen comrade. Shifting him onto her back, Rainbow began to head back towards her Jetbike, not bothering to look back at the hellish scene she had just created.

Those Left Behind

Rainbow Dash

Rainbow stood before the plasma generator that lay beneath the sands of the arena, pumping life to every corner of the structure, ensuring that the daily spectacles of blood could continue no matter what. Behind her stood the rest of the Shadowbolts, and beside her lay a simple wraithbone casing, the coffin of Wavechill.

Lightning was sobbing again, her head on Spitfire's shoulder as the older mare comforted her, gently stroking her mane as she did so. The others didn’t look a hundred percent either, this death shaking them all to the core. Until now they had been confident in their abilities, all their missions to date being a success, resulting in minor injuries or broken bones at worst. The fact that Wavechill had died had made them all question their own abilities.

Only Rainbow seemed to be taking it better than the others, her wealth of experience with watching people die making her slightly jaded to the fact that a member of her team had been killed. That was not to say she didn’t feel anything, but whereas the others felt grief and sorrow, Rainbow felt anger and rage.

She hadn’t saved Wavechill, but there hadn’t been a large gap between when he died and when she arrived. If there had been then she would have probably come to terms with it already, but as it was, all her mind was focused on one single thought.

I wasn’t fast enough

No matter what she did, not matter what she said to herself, she always came back to that one point. She had been forced to leave her Jetbike behind, but instead of being able to fly, she had been forced to gallop. Her, the best flier in Equestria, her, the fastest mare on all of Equis, hadn’t known her wing was damaged until it was too late. If she had known, if her wing had still been organic, then maybe things would have turned out differently. Rainbow would never know now, the debate would forever rage in her mind, tormenting her, teasing her with what could have been, and what never would be.

Clearing her throat, Rainbow began to speak, not looking around at the others for fear that she would lose what little composure she had.

“Wavechill was a good soldier, but more than that, he was… he was a damn good friend. He helped us all to see the reality of a situation, not how we wanted it to be, but how it actually was. His first thoughts were always of the team, how he could help keep everybody safe, even in the end, he did not want to put anybody else at risk, he died trying to tell me to leave him, so as to not put me at risk. I am truly sorry that I could not follow your final wish, Wavechill. Wavechill touched us all, some in ways stronger than others. The loss of a loved one cannot be easy, and Wavechill was loved by all of us, just as he loved us. He was a true Swooping Pegasus, a true Shadowbolt. I doubt we will see his like again until the next life.”

Rainbow turned towards the casket, activating a few controls, the casket rising upwards to hover in front of the entry point to the plasma reactor.

“In the absence of our soil to bury him in, we commit his body to the purity of fire. May their flames be less cruel to him in death than those who took him from us were in life.”

Pushing the casket softly, it began to float forward, moving into the fires where it lasted for a few seconds, a thick lump of black in a flickering sea of fire, before it caught as well, immolating, and reducing to ash in a matter of seconds. Soon the ash too disappeared, the plasma using it for fuel, scattering the atoms around the reactor, helping to power the arena. With a soft sigh, Rainbow pushed the grill in front of the reactor closed, before turning back to face the others.

“This wasn’t good, but we all knew the risks. Wavechill died as a soldier, we now owe it to him to keep going, to keep…”

“We are not keeping going!” Lightning screeched, before diving at Rainbow, catching her by surprise. The pair collapsed to the floor, Lightning still screaming as tears streamed down her face, striking Rainbow’s hooves as Rainbow tried to protect her head.

“You let him die! You could have saved him!” she was in hysterics by now, her blows getting weaker until she collapsed onto Rainbow, sobbing heavily. “Why did it have to be him? Why didn’t you save him, Rainbow? Why?”

“I don’t know,” Rainbow shook her head, stroking Lightning's mane comfortingly, before helping her get back to her hooves. “I know nothing I say will make it better, and that his loss is more keenly felt by you, but I will miss Wavechill, and I will not forget him, that I promise you, Lightning.”

“The rest of the day is yours,” Rainbow looked at the others. “Use it how you will, I have a matter that needs attending.”

Lightning nodded glumly, slowly walking off, Scootaloo and Spitfire accompanying her, while Gilda stayed behind, cocking her head as she looked at Rainbow. Rainbow sighed, before walking over to her oldest friend, Gilda falling in beside her as the pair headed for the upper levels.

“What happened down there, Rainbow?” Gilda asked, breaking the silence between the pair. “And not what you told Lightning to make her feel better, I want the truth. I can tell when you’re lying. He wasn’t killed by soldiers was he?”

“No,” she shook her head, sighing softly. “No, he was killed by civilians.”

“Fuck,” Gilda swore.

“There were…twenty of them, maybe thirty,” Rainbow continued. “I don’t know if he ran out of ammo or they just overwhelmed him, but all I know is they caught him. They got a rope round his neck, strung him up like a criminal. I wasn’t fast enough to get him down in time, but I was fast enough to see him die. That’s the worst part, the fact I saw it, and couldn’t do anything about it.”

“There’s something else though, isn’t there?”

“Of course there is,” Rainbow muttered, her voice somewhere between a groan and a growl. “I couldn’t save Wavechill, but I could avenge him. I killed them all without a thought, except for the last one. He was a kid pretty much, barely old enough to have hairs on his chin. I thought about him, about what I was doing, and I killed him anyway. Stabbed him in the stomach and left. I didn’t even check if he was dead before I left. And the thing is, it felt good. It felt really, really good.”

Gilda remained silent for a moment, before looking at Rainbow and shrugging.

“They killed Wavechill, you killed them back.”

“You don’t think I should have handled it differently?”

“No,” Gilda admitted. “I don’t. They killed one of ours, and we were purposely going out of our way not to kill them. It’s a hard-line view, but if this has shown me anything, it’s that we need to be hard to get through this. Really be hard, not pretending to be.”

Rainbow stayed silent for a moment as they walked, rounding a corner, and almost running straight into Ilithia.

“Dash, you are who I wanted to see actually,” she began, looking over at Gilda. “Leave us.”

“I’ll wait in your room, Dash,” Gilda turned and left as Ilithia looked back at Rainbow.

“Why do you mourn him? Your fallen rider? He died because he was too slow, his death should serve as a reminder to you all the cost of failure is.”

“We all know what the cost of failure is, Succubus. He was simply the first of us to pay it, and hopefully the last.”

“So you mourn the situation, not the individual?”

“There were only five of us left,” Rainbow scowled, launching into her fabricated story. “Five Ygal in the galaxy, now there are only four of us, and we’re all females. The Ygal are now even more of a dead race than we were before, just like the Kra. I’m not mourning him, I’m mourning the fact that his death has led to the death of my species, but he has shown the rest of the Shadowbolts that simply being good is not enough to get by. We need to be better.”

“He didn’t show you?” Ilithia asked, raising an eyebrow a fraction.

“I already knew that, hence why I’m in charge,” Rainbow snapped. “The strongest lead, but you already know that, hence why you’re in charge. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have two things I now need to take care of.”

Rainbow moved passed Ilithia, the Succubus allowing her to walk away, before stalking away from Rainbow.

“Two things to take care of now?” Gilda asked with a smirk as Rainbow walked into the room. “Earlier it was just ‘a matter’.”

“Yeah, well, I need to blow off steam,” Rainbow smirked back, making sure the door was closed behind her. “And I think I know how we can both do that.”

***

Rainbow held her head high as she walked towards the foreboding towers of the Covern of Mutilation, a box hovering beside her as she walked, before finding her entrance barred by two disgusting monstrosities. Rainbow knew of Wracks by their reputation, but this was the first time she had seen them up close. Now that she saw them up close, she had to admit that their reputation didn’t do them justice.

Standing a head taller than most Dark Eldar, the two Wracks leered down at her, strands of muscle rippling menacingly, barely contained by their pale, scarred skin. They carried cruel weapons in both of their hands, while various hooks hung off of the belts, some burdened with pieces of flesh or vials, containing various liquids.

“I am Champion Dash of the Shadowbolt Reaver Clan,” she began, looking between the pair as she spoke, “affiliated with the Cult of the Lightning Fang and the Triumvent of Half-Formed Hope. By that right I demand to speak to Elder Haemonculus Eethron. I have a proposition he will want to hear.”

The two Wracks looked at each other for a moment, before nodding and turning back to Rainbow, speaking in a low voice that fitted their hulking status.

“Go ahead, Shadowbolt. Our master is within the main laboratory, he will receive you there.”

Not bothering to reply, Rainbow set off at a trot into the dark tower, crossing the threshold and immediately finding herself assaulted by the sounds of screaming and the smell of blood, both of which she was more than a little accustomed to.

She passed by scores of Wracks on her way towards the central chambers, glancing at a few of them as she trotted by. No two were the same, each one being horrifically unique, and Rainbow could not help but be slightly impressed by the twisted genius of the Haemonculi.

Finally she entered the main laboratory, yet more screaming reaching her ears. Slaves were everywhere, bolted to tables, hanging from hooks attached to the ceiling, or otherwise secured so that they could not move anywhere. Some were dead, but most were still alive and screaming, parts of their bodies missing, surgically removed with deadly precision.

Higher up in the room sat a series of pods, some empty, but most filled with skeletons and things that weren’t quite alive, but were certainly not dead. Rainbow had read about these pods, how even the smallest part of a Dark Eldar could be placed within, and through sucking up the pain from below, could be made whole again.

Rainbow had been fascinated by the concept, and had wanted to use these pods to bring back Wavechill, before the knowledge that these only worked because of the Dark Eldars innate healing through pain was made apparent to her. She had been forced to admit that she could not bring Wavechill back, no matter what she did, but that did not mean that the Covern could not help her in other problems.

“Dash, what a pleasant and unexpected surprise,” Eethron descended from some of the higher operating tables, his tiny feet nearly touching the floor before his spider-like arms took his weight properly. “I heard of the death your team suffered in our recent raid. Allow me to extend my sincerest condolences. Know that with your sacrifice, we took many slaves. My laboratory is once again filled with the joyous screams of my subjects. What do you think of the Covern, now you have seen it up close?”

“It is certainly impressive,” Rainbow looked around. “And your minions, the Wracks, they are a credit to you.”

“If you think those are impressive, you should come and see my truest creations,” Eethron leered, before turning and beginning to move away from Rainbow, the spikes of his arms making soft clacking sounds as they hit the floor.

Rainbow followed after him, looking at more of the tortured victims, seeing almost every species arrayed there, human, Tau, Ork, Eldar, even a Tyranid or two. She even saw what could only be a Space Marine by his size, one arm removed, and yet still guarded over by four Wracks, guns pointed at him at all times.

“Do you like my prized captive?” Eethron asked as they walked past. “He has been with us for almost two years now, and he still brings me joy. The humans can certainly make themselves immune to pain if they so wish, and their ‘Gene Seed’ as they call it…it is one of my favourite delicacies.”

“I have yet to taste it,” Rainbow shook her head. “Maybe in time that will change.”

“If you ever acquire such a specimen, then I could possibly be persuaded to show you the choicest cuts, for a fee of course. But enough of this one, he is interesting, but the real work goes on in my workshop.”

They walked through a massive door hung with bloodied chains, Eethron taking a deep breath and smiling.

“These are my children, grotesque though they may be,” he turned to Rainbow, spreading his arms. “My Wracks are interesting experiments, those souls who come to me and offer themselves up provide an interesting opportunity, but it becomes dull over time. But these Grotesques, each one is a labour of love, and it can take years for them to be completed.”

“Does it hurt?” Rainbow asked curiously, looking at one of the monstrously large creatures.

“Like you would not believe,” Eethron nodded. “Their screams revive me like nothing else, save maybe a spectacle from Lelith Hesperax. It always brings me joy when someone who has betrayed the Triumvent is brought before me in chains, their suffering is made all the sweeter by the knowledge that they thought they would escape our wrath.”

“That’s very nice, but I didn’t come here to talk about your creations, Eethron,” Rainbow shook her head. “Maybe some other time you can show me around the Covern in detail, but now…”

“Of course, you wish to get down to the business that brought you here,” Eethron nodded, walking back into the main laboratory once more. “So what is it you wish from me? An elixir of speed? The powered blood of a fallen Wych? Or perhaps something more unique?”

“Not quite, Eethron,” Rainbow shook her head. “You spoke to me of being able to replace my lost limbs. I wish to make good on that offer.”

“You did not seem too keen on the idea when I first broached the subject, and yet now you come to my home seeking the same offer. What has changed?”

“I lost a member of the Shadowbolts because I was not fast enough, and because I didn’t know I was injured,” Rainbow shrugged. “Shrapnel went in my wing, cutting off pain transmitters and making it useless when I needed it most. I want to return to the flesh.”

“This is of course within my power,” Eethron nodded. “I can make you limbs from next to nothing, make them so they were like you never lost them, or even improve upon them. Perhaps you would like cables within your bones to increase their strength? Or maybe…”

“I don’t want improvements, Eethron, I just want to be me again. One rear leg, one wing. That is what I want.”

“A deal of that magnitude would require substantial payment,” Eethron pointed out. “Just the wing would cost a large amount, but with the leg as well, the fee will be steep. But, I am sure a creature as unique as a Ygal could offer me much, so here is my deal: I will return your limbs to you, equal in skill to how they were before you lost them, no improvements. In return, I wish to study Ygal physiology. Your wings could assist me in making the wings of those rich enough to beg for me to transform them into Scourges even more impressive. So, do you accept the terms, Dash?”

“I do,” Rainbow nodded, walking back towards the black casket. “In fact, I was counting on you wanting to examine my species as payment. I will pay upfront, in full.”

Rainbow pulled the lid of the casket open, revealing the corpse of Wavechill.

“I didn’t burn his body, to do so would have been a waste,” Rainbow pushed the open casket over to Eethron. “So, do we have an agreement?”

“Yes,” Eethron ran his hand along Wavechill’s cold skin, pricking the flesh with one of his sharp claws and coming up with a single drop of blood. He slowly sucked the blood from the claw, savouring the taste, as if assessing the worth of the trade, before turning back to Rainbow. “I believe this trade will do nicely, Dash. Welcome to the Covern of Mutilation.”

Recovery

Applejack

Aun'Vesa stood at the edge of one of the quarantine rooms, looking in at the teams of Earth Caste Medics and Medical Drones performing surgery on Applejack. She had been brought back in a few hours ago by the stealth teams that had managed to insert into the Factorum Primus, opening up many potential avenues for attack by more conventional means. Both he and Shas’O Shan’Ta had rushed here as soon as they were able, Shan’Ta leaving his distinctive Crisis Suit outside, clad now in the tight jumpsuit all battlesuit pilots wore to help them better interface with their armour.

"Monstrous, isn't it?" Aun'Vesa murmured as he looked on in a mixture of both fascination and horror. "What the gue'la will do to other species for merely being different from them?"

Shan'Ta looked across at Aun'Vesa, before returning his gaze to the medics doing surgery, his own face reflected in the glass that kept the pair separated from the doctors and their patient. As he saw his face, he couldn't ignore the fact that he had gotten visibly older, the new wrinkles that criss-crossed his face were almost mocking him with how numerous and wide spread they had become.

"The gue'la are not like us, Ethereal. It would be easy to consign their whole race to the damnation that such an act warrants, but we must remember that this was the work of an individual, and it is those individuals that must be removed for the Greater Good to reach those worthy to hear it.”

Shan’Ta sighed, running his hands across his face, softly tracing a deep scar that ran above his right eye, very narrowly missing the fragile orb.

"I remember a day on the ruined world of Sorbombosa, the Necron beings had appeared while my assault cadre and I were tasked with retrieving a vital Earth Caste data drone containing the layout of the planet, data that was vital for destroying the Necrons. I had a large group of Gue'vesa guarding my right flank in the battle. We managed to drive the Necrons back and retrieve the data drone, but at a great cost, and it is thanks to those brave Gue’vesa. To my shame I only managed to save a few of them, but their sacrifice allowed me to retake the world.”

“Yes, I suppose we should remember that not all gue'la are like this, but the ones who join us, whatever their motivations, tend to be more the exception than the rule." Aun’Vesa took a deep sigh as he looked back at Applejack on the operating table. "I do wonder though; when she wakes do you think she will request a cloned eye, a cybernetic implant, or an eyepatch to replace her lost eye? I know some amongst the Fire Caste tend to wear eyepatches as a mark of pride, even if they'd be better off with a prosthetic.”

"From what she has been through, I think that she should be able to decide for herself what she wants, Ethereal,” Shan’Ta shrugged. “Forgive me for saying this, but as we do not know her species fully yet, it would be wrong for us to impress any of the options on her. Perhaps the loss of a part of herself is a sign of great shame, or a sign of weakness, to their species. I know for the fact that the Klak-Ek from the Oobera system see the loss of a body part as the greatest of dishonours, so great even that they some resort to suicide in order to keep their clan from shame."

Shan’Ta paused, glancing across to the life support monitors, the readouts all signalling that Applejack was still stable. A small smile crossed his face, before he looked directly at Aun’Vesa.

"My advice to you, Ethereal, would be to have the Water Caste to ask what she wants, but that is just the advice from an old warrior."

“That was my intent, but it is good to see you share my thoughts on the matter,” Aun’Vesa nodded, before turning away from the window and entering a small side room, beckoning for Shan’Ta to follow him, before looking at his honour guard. “Please, leave us for a moment, I desire to speak to the Shas’O in private. Please inform security that I wish for the cameras in this room to be deactivated.”

The guard nodded in understanding, before turning and walking out of the room, the door sliding shut behind him. A few seconds later the red light on the camera in the corner blinked out of existence as the camera was switched off. Aun’Vesa waited for a few more seconds, before taking a seat at the table in the room and motioning for Shan’Ta to join him.

“What I am about to ask of you is not strictly protocol, Shan’Ta, and if you would feel uncomfortable not answering then I understand, but before I ask I need your word that you will tell me the truth, not simply what I want to hear.”

“Of course, my ethereal,” Shan’Ta nodded.

“Am I a good leader? Am I helping to give our forces the best chances of success upon this world?" Aun’Vesa asked, his voice heavy with uncertainty. "I am an Ethereal, many look to me and expect me to have all the answers, and I have to do my best to give them, and must live by my decisions even if they turn out to be wrong. They don't see that I am still young, my species of birth setting me apart as their leader, not any innate skill.”

"We all make mistakes, Ethereal, it is part of being in command. I have made many in my life, many of those have cost lives which could have been avoided if I had made the right decision in the first place. It is easy to reflect on the past and dwell on the paths not taken, but all we can do is move forward, learn from our experiences, and make sure that we never repeat the mistakes of old again. Being in command is both a blessing and a curse, Ethereal. On one hand I have a large part to play in the Greater Good and the shaping of our Empire, but the price is steep sometimes, and it does leave scars, some which are too deep to ever fully heal.”

Shan'Ta took up a very old picture from his jumpsuit as he spoke, placing it on the table and showing it to the Ethereal. The picture showed a very young Shan'Ta standing upon the blasted rubble of a ruined city. Around him were five more Tau, all of whom had removed their helmets as well, all proudly sporting the rank markings of Shas’La on their shoulder pads. Only Shan’Ta bore a different mark, wearing the mark of Shas’Ui with obvious pride.

"I can still remember their names, my first Fire Warrior team I led to battle, we never intended to take a picture, but one of the local gue'la who we had saved that day wanted to make help us remember that moment that we showed her the light of the Greater Good. To this day I still thank that gue'la for handing this piece of memory to me, because I see it as a reminder to strive for something greater than myself, and it allows me to remember those I first led to their deaths.”

Shan’Ta sighed, picking the picture up and slipping it back inside his jumpsuit again before continuing.

“So to answer your question, Ethereal, no, I do not think you are a bad leader. I would not say you are great yet, but that is just because you have much left to learn, youth is working against you. Ensure that you learn from your mistakes, for the betterment of all, and for the Greater Good.”

“Thank you, Shan’Ta,” Aun’Vesa nodded thoughtfully. "We rarely spoke prior to now during both Planetary Campaigns, and then I come to you with this, burdening you with my own self-doubt. I also apologise for the tones of both our prior meetings, I may be young but I could still sense your annoyance at my words, a disgruntled acceptance of them even. I want you to know that when I was sent to Styro to first join you I wished to bring reinforcements with me, but the choice was removed from my hands. I also realise that my request to rescue Applejack at the cost of our speed on other fronts was brash, maybe even reckless, but she is of great importance to the Tau Empire. She could be the key to helping us gain access to the webway, or to help us bring the Eldar to the negotiating table.”

“If she is so important, then why let her become a member of the Fire caste?” Shan’Ta asked. “Surely she could have been redeployed after Styro on a safer world.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, she forced my hand. Her sense of honour and a measure of survivor’s guilt made her adamant that she would learn to fight. She did not want to stand idly by while others died around her. It is an admiral trait she has, one that many do not possess, but it is not always driven by logic.”

"I can't blame you for having our supply and reinforcement lines being stretched thin, it is beyond your control, Ethereal. Nor can I blame you for wanting to rescue Applejack from the humans, even more so if she is as potentially helpful to the Empire as you say. The only thing I can begrudge you for even in the slightest is the way you relayed the orders. If you wish to order someone around concisely, they will do it, but they may not be happy about it. I remember my teacher at the academy told me something that helps me from time to time, and it could help you; ‘In desperate times you cannot lose control, for only then have you really lost the battle’. Now that may have been said hundreds of years ago, but I believe the meaning behind it still holds true.”

“Centuries?” Aun’Vesa asked. “It always surprises me when I hear of your age, Shan’Ta, very few are put into stasis for as long as you. If you do not mind me asking, how old are you, in total?”

“Old enough to remember when Aun’Wei launched the Second Sphere expansion,” Shan’Ta admitted. “I was just a Shas’La when I first left T’au, but by the time we had gotten to Pa’Laa I was an O. It was Aun’Wei’s will that I be preserved in stasis for future conflicts, I guess the Third Sphere of expansion would qualify.”

“Thank you, Shan’Ta,” Aun’Vesa nodded as he stood up. “You have been most helpful to me, but I believe we should finish our little informal meeting, I have no doubt that my guard is getting restless not knowing what I am doing, he’s loyal like that.”

Shan’Ta also rose from the table, opening the door and allowing Aun’Vesa to leave first, before following him out, giving one last glance to Applejack, before heading for the door to the outside, turning just before he walked through it.

“I must asked to be excused, Ethereal, I am sure many matters still need my seeing to.”

“Of course, Shas’O,” Aun’Vesa nodded, Shan’Ta turning and walking outside, clambering up the side of his Crisis suit to the cockpit, before the door slid shut and he was lost to Aun’Vesa’s sight.

“Was your conversation with the Shas’O productive, sir?” Aun’Vesa’s guard asked.

“It was, very much so,” Aun’Vesa walked over to the window as he spoke. “Now, we must wait for the medical personnel to finish their work, and to see what can be salvaged of Applejack’s mind.”

***

Applejack let out a choked cry as she woke up, immediately panicking as she found she couldn’t see anything, her mind going into overdrive when she found out she was also strapped down, unable to rise more than a few centimetres off the bed she was on before being stopped. After a few tense moments of panic and hyperventilating she lay back down, forcing herself to be calm as she tried to make sense of her situation.

The last thing she remembered was seeing a Tau Stealth Suit materialise in front of her. Before that she had been in the Mechanicus Crawler, and later on, bunker, had managed to break free and had been forced to kill…

“Ko’roc?” she whispered softly, the full weight of her actions now crashing down on her as her memories flashed back. “No… Ko’roc, ah’m sorry, ah didn’t mean to kill you, ah didn’t, ah didn’t, ah…”

Applejack began to choke as she struggled to breath, an annoying beeping somewhere nearby speeding up as she heard a commotion nearby.

“She’s awake! Get a doctor in here, she’s going into cardiac arrest,” the voice sounded urgent as Applejack felt a pair of hands pushing her down onto the bed. “Calm down, you’ll only hurt yourself.”

“Ah didn’t mean to do it!” Applejack shook her head, beginning to buck and kick as best she could. “Why…why can’t ah see anything?! She only took one eye! Gah!”

Applejack suddenly felt herself getting sleepier, and was dimly aware of a second voice coming from nearby.

“That was too close, we nearly lost her there. I want her closely monitored, the next time she comes round, I want us by her side.”

“Ko’roc…ah’m…sorry,” Applejack muttered, before falling asleep once more.

***

The next time Applejack awoke she didn’t panic, forcing herself to be calm as she turned her from side to side, trying to see anything. Now she was a bit calmer she could see that she wasn’t completely blind, and was able to make out the faintest traces of light around her right eye. Her left eye wasn’t able to see anything, but Applejack already knew why that was.

“Applejack, can you hear me?” a voice asked.

“Y-Yes,” she croaked in reply, turning her head towards the sound of the voice. “W-Where…where…”

“Where are you? The voice guessed. “You are safe, Applejack, you were brought in to our secure medical facility by one of our stealth teams. You have been unconscious for two days following twenty two hours of surgery. You woke up earlier today, but were hysterical and we had to give you anaesthetic once more to calm you down. Do you remember that?”

“Barely,” Applejack croaked, her throat feeling drier than the Appaloosan Desert. “Can ah…have some water? Please?”

“Of course,” the voice was accompanied by Applejack feeling a straw being pressed against her lips. “Now you must be sure to drink slo…”

Applejack didn’t listen, gulping down as much of the water as she could before the straw was pulled away.

“Slowly, Applejack, you will do more harm than good if you gulp it down like that.”

The next time the straw was presented to her she followed the advice given to her, taking small controlled sips until she finished the water, her throat feeling a bit better now.

“Why can’t ah see?” she asked hesitantly as the straw was taken away, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

“How…how much do you remember from your time in captivity?” the voice sounded nervous.

“Ah know mah left eye is gone, if that’s what ya mean?” Applejack all but whispered.

“We had to open up the socket, the stitches were put in badly and infection had set in. It was easier for us to put the bandages over both rather attempting to simply bandage one side of your head.”

“Can…can you take ‘em off for me? The bandages?”

“I’m not sure if that’s wise or not, Applejack.”

“Please, ah want to see somethin’ that isn’t grey or red.”

“Very well.”

Applejack could feel hands near her head, slowly unwinding the bandages around her head, making the light in her right eye grow in brightness, before the final layer was removed. Instinctively, Applejack scrunched her eye closed, protecting it from the sudden amount of light, before she forced it to open a crack, light streaming in, bringing with it something she never thought she would see again.

Blue.

The sky specifically, or at least a screen that was showing an image of a perfectly clear sky, the sky on the actual planet hadn’t been blue for millennia. Finally Applejack’s eye was fully opened, and she looked around, finally seeing the Tau who was standing over her, a reassuring smile on her face.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, Applejack,” she smiled.

“Get me a mirror,” Applejack’s voice had lost all trace of emotion suddenly, before she looked down at the straps holding her to the bed. “And undo these bucking straps!”

“Applejack, I can’t do that,” the doctor shook her head.

“Please! Ah don’t want to be tied down! Not again! Please!” Applejack began to hyperventilate again, the heartrate monitor picking up speed before the Tau lay a hand on her chest.

“Ok, Applejack, calm yourself. If you promise me that you will not get out of bed, I will undo the straps.”

“Ah promise,” Applejack nodded, the Tau hesitating for a moment, before slowly reaching over and undoing the straps.

“I am sorry that we had to strap you down in the first place, Applejack, but we were worried that you might be violent towards the medical staff, we had to be sure you wouldn’t hurt us, or yourself.”

Applejack nodded as she sat up, propping herself up against the back of the bed and looking at the Tau once again.

“Please…can ah have that mirror?”

“That may not be the best idea, Applejack,” Aun’Vesa shook his head as he entered the room. “Please, allow the doctor to…”

“Mirror,” Applejack all but sobbed, tears beginning to roll down her cheek. “Ah want to see what ah look like.”

“Very well,” Aun’Vesa nodded, looking at the doctor and giving another nod.

The doctor sighed, before walking across the room, picking up a small mirror and bringing it back over, slowly moving it up so Applejack could see her reflection for the first time in weeks.

Her fur was mattered and patchy, large chunks missing entirely, revealing red raw flesh beneath, while the remainder had lost its vibrant orange tinge, now being far duller with flecks of grey and white showing through in small areas. Her mane was an absolute mess, but Applejack didn’t care about that. All she cared about was the massive scar that covered the left side of her face, going right through the sewn closed empty socket.

Applejack nearly threw up there and then, and might well have done so if she actually had anything in her stomach to regurgitate. As it was all she could do was dry wretch a few times, before descending into a coughing fit, her entire body convulsing before she finally managed to control herself and forced herself to be still.

She didn’t speak for a minute, leading to Aun’Vesa turning to the doctor.

“Do you have anything else that needs your direct attendance for, doctor?”

“No, Ethereal,” she shook her head. “I would not normally leave the patient alone, but as I assume you would like to talk to her in private, I will give you the room.”

“I am much obliged,” Aun’Vesa nodded as the doctor left the room, before he turned back to Applejack.

“Mah hooves are dirty now, Ethereal,” she whispered ever so softly.

“Nonsense, whatever happened to you has not dirtied your hooves in the slightest,” Aun’Vesa shook his head.

“Ah killed my friend,” she shook her head. “He was alive when ah was escaping, he asked me to do it, and ah…ah…”

Applejack couldn’t finish, descending into a flood of tears, Aun’Vesa stroking her mane as she cried, before she finally stopped, her eye narrowing.

“Ah did kill Fonteyn, didn’t ah?”

“Fonteyn? She was the human responsible for…this, correct?” Aun’Vesa asked.

“Yeah, she was,” Applejack growled, her temper rising. “Tell me ah ended her miserable life…that she suffered…that…”

“That’s enough, Applejack,” Aun’Vesa chided her softly. “Yes, she is dead, but you must not allow anger to overcome you, else you will never move on.”

“She’s dead, that’s all I care about,” Applejack growled again, trying to remain angry, but the knowledge of her torturer’s demise by her own hooves had taken the wind out of her sails completely, and she slumped back into the pillows of the bed. “Ah killed her with mah hoof, not a weapon, just with me. She was mah…mah first proper kill.”

"Not in the battle for the star port?” Aun’Vesa asked in surprise.

“No,” Applejack shook her head. “Ah aimed fer guns, ah didn’t want to kill, but when it came to Fonteyn…it was like I wasn’t me anymore, like ah was somehow…”

“Different,” Aun’Vesa finished for her.

“Yeah.”

“I understand,” Aun’Vesa nodded. “The first kill is rarely easy. My first was a Tyranid, barely more than a beast, but it taught me that sometimes killing is not only right, it is essential. By the time I moved on from the battlefield to fight against the Orks, I knew what had to be done. The Green Skins are monstrous, but they are more like us than the Tyranids are. When I encountered my first human, I didn’t hesitate. The humans are more like us than any other race in the galaxy, but they too must sometimes be pruned back so that our Empire may grow, just as a tree must sometimes be cut down to make way for the orchard. Fonteyn was most certainly one of the ones who had to be pruned. You have done the universe a service by removing her from its surface.”

“Yeah, but ah wasn’t doing it for the universe,” Applejack shook her head. “Ah wanted her dead cause of what she’d done to me. Does that…ah’m not bad ‘cause of that…am ah?”

“No, no you’re not,” Aun’Vesa replied firmly. “And I would not have you thinking that way. No matter what you go through, Applejack, I do not believe you will ever be anything but what I have always seen you as. A paragon.”

“But do yah even know what ah went through?” Applejack whispered. “If yah did, maybe…”

“I do not know what you went through,” Aun’Vesa cut her off, producing a human datapad, placing it beside Applejack’s bed. “The stealth team that recovered you looked around the bunker for useful intel before they pulled out, and they found this. It’s…research notes. I believed it was best that I, along with the supervising doctors, read it, to best find out what had happened for you and how to help you.”

“Let me see,” Applejack looked at the datapad with equal parts fear and determination. “Ah…ah can take it, just let me see.

“If you would like my opinion, I not think it would be wise for you to read this, lest you open up the wounds caused by the memories,” he began, before holding up a hand. “But, if I were in your position, I would want to know what was going through the head of the one who did this to me. Maybe it will help you come to terms with things a bit more. If you would like to read it, the option is there, I will not stop you, but I will remain here in case it is all too much.”

Applejack nodded, shakily extending a hoof and picking up the datapad, turning it on and beginning to read.

Day One

Subject thirty two has been apprehended. Initial observations and scans show that it is certainly similar to our own horses, but with several key differences, most notably in its legs. It has far more joints in them than most creatures I have seen in my time, suggesting that they can bend to angles beyond that of a normal horse, and may give the subject some degree of manipulation of large objects. Clearly this would not be as great as the manipulation afforded by fingers, but it is a step up from almost every animal I have seen. I do not know yet whether or not it can speak gothic, or any language for that matter, but the fact that it was fighting alongside the Tau shows at least some form of communication has been possible. I will continue my observations until she awakes tomorrow.

Praise the Omnisiah, Praise the Emperor of Man

Day Two

The subject awoke today and I finally manage to speak to it. It is actually a she, her name is Applejack, and she is by her own word, an ‘Earth Pony’. She did not initially wish to speak much, and her tolerance to pain rivals that of some Orks that I have seen, but after pumping a small amount of Kalma vapour into her holding cell, she soon revealed what I wanted to hear. She is indeed related to the creature who attacked and helped destroy outpost on Omega-88757109, a creature she referred to as ‘Rainbow Dash’, another inhabitant of her world, but of a different strain. The wings on her back, far from being mechanical as we first believed, are reportedly biological, owing to her status as a ‘Pegasus’. Their race also seems to have psykers, but I do not believe that Applejack poses any threat through the warp. Nevertheless all other examinations will be done in hexagramic warded cells.

The strangest thing by far however is the fact that she knows low and high gothic, and can switch between them in an instant, without even knowing that she is speaking them. When pressed, she did not believe she was speaking our glorious language, and instead believed I was debasing my tongue to speak to her in T’au. I do not yet know where this ability comes from, but once I have learnt all I can while she is living, I will endeavour to find out more in an autopsy.

Other observations include her ability to pick things up with her seemingly flat hooves, her pain tolerance and will to resist, although her drug tolerance is far lower than that of an Ork with comparable pain resilience, and her eyes, which take up far more of her head and are far wider than any other creatures. These may be useful in the future.
Praise the Omnisiah, Praise the Emperor of Man

Day Three

Subject thirty two refused to cooperate today when she was brought back in, clearly the Kalma had fully flushed from her system. When more was introduced she seemed resistant to it, as if she had already built up an immunity to small doses of the drug. Rather than exposing her to higher concentrations of the drug, and risking her becoming dependant on it and therefore souring my findings on her pain tolerance, I resorted to more barbaric and to the point methods. Subject twenty seven was brought before her, and his life threatened if she did not answer my questions. I had hoped that seeing a Tau in danger would spark some form of kinship in her, but she refused to talk. Subject twenty seven is no longer viable for testing, and has been moved to incineration for disposal.

Since she would not cooperate, I moved subject thirty two to my laboratory and began to have a closer inspection of her hooves. As I speculated from early scans, they are very prehensile, as well as being able to pick things up when she was inclined or the right nerves were stimulated. Initial results are less than satisfactory, and I may have to cut deeper than skin deep in future. For now she has been returned to her cell, and seems to be conversing more with subject two, ‘Ko’roc’. I will allow this friendship to grow for now, and use it to further break subject thirty two’s will to resist. This, coupled with sleep deprivation, should make the subject much more malleable in the future.

Praise the Omnisiah, Praise the Emperor of Man

Day Seven

As predicted, subject thirty two has begun to deteriorate rapidly after subject two was broken. Their friendship, while a boon at the beginning, has now become her curse. The sleep deprivation is still on going, although now it is less to break her and more to see how long she can keep going. No mortal can survive being awake for as long as she has for more than ten days, I am keen to find out if this subject will be the same, or as I believe, break this record. She has been trying to starve herself for the past day and a half now, both from food and water, not touching any of the sustenance given to her for the last day and a half, necessitating a feeding tube to be inserted. From observations she seemed to have comparable levels of tolerance for starvation and dehydration as a human did. Consequently I will not be exploring this avenue of her physiology as the risk of losing her prematurely outweighs the potential knowledge she would give us.

Praise the Omnisiah, Praise the Emperor of Man

Day Thirteen

The study of subject thirty two’s hooves has passed its first stage of completion, I believe I have learnt all I can from the studies available to me. Stage two will begin after the vivisection. The subject has now stayed awake for longer than any creature I have ever seen, barring the Adeptus Astartes of course. I will continue to deprive her of sleep until she too drops. I do not see that happening before the vivisection.

Praise the Omnisiah, Praise the Emperor of Man

Day Fourteen

I removed subject thirty two’s left eye today, her spirit is well and truly broken, as she barely struggled when I approached her with the scalpel. She did surprise me however part way through the experiment when she managed to break the restraining strap around her forehead and flailed about wildly. Luckily the eye itself escaped damage, but she will now have a very large scar across her face. Not that it matters, she will not be caring for such things for much longer.

After the operation, she was placed back in her cell, where she, like so many others, has become increasingly lethargic, necessitating more intense observations. I am glad I did, as shortly after being returned to the cell, she went into complete cardiac shutdown. I have managed to stabilise her for now, but it is a good job that the vivisection is planned for tomorrow. After studying the audio logs from her cell, I have discovered the words she spoke prior to this were simply ‘Rainbow’. This is presumably in reference to the creature, Rainbow Dash, which stands to reason, as by her own words, they are friends.

Subject thirty two will have the rest of the day to recover, the vivisection is slated for 0600 tomorrow morning. As a final test of her abilities, I will not be using anaesthetic, it is imperative that she is awake and alive during this operation for as long as possible. I do not know when or if I will get to study another of her kind, but I feel as though I have learnt all I can from this one subject. Theirs is a fascinating race, as I will show when I present all of my findings.

Praise the Omnisiah, Praise the Emperor of Man

Applejack finally stopped reading, tears streaming down the right half of her face as she dropped the datapad on the floor.

“I did advise against this, Applejack,” Aun’Vesa pointed out.

“No, ah’m glad ah read it,” Applejack shook her head, her eye narrowing as she glared ahead. “Fonteyn…ah was just a test subject to her, she made notes on me. If she wasn’t already dead ah swear ah’d kill her.”

“Applejack, please control your temper,” Aun’Vesa warned. “It will lead to nothing good, I promise you.”

“Of course, Ethereal,” Applejack nodded, before lying down in the bed once more. “Ah…ah think ah want to sleep on all this, if ya don’t mind?”

“Of course not,” Aun’Vesa shook his head, standing up. “I will ensure there is a drone stationed within your room in case the worst happens, but I will otherwise give instructions that you are to be given bed rest until you are able to be helped further. You may take all the time you need, Applejack, no one expects you to get over this quickly.”

With that, Aun’Vesa closed the door, turning the light off and leaving Applejack in the dark. Applejack slowly closed her eye, drifting off into a fitful sleep, filled with nightmares of the experiments, her brutal murder of Fonteyn, and the mercy killing of Ko’roc.

Author's Note

An absolutely massive thank you to both Brother Malachai and lethem010 for their help with this chapter. The conversation between their two characters (Aun'vesa and Shan'Ta respectively) was written by them to limit the amount I could mess with their characters. :pinkiecrazy:

Determination

Applejack

“How long has she been doing this?” Shan’Ta asked as he approached the back of the base, a small stretch of scrub land separating the buildings from the perimeter wall.

This part of the forge world had been fully secured, the humans finding themselves unable to penetrate this far into Tau held territory, although not for lack of trying. That made it ideal for the main medical complex the Tau had set up on the planet, large prefab buildings being lowered down from orbit. It also doubled as an impromptu training area, and although it had never been designed for it, Applejack was not going to let that stop her.

Large rocks were strewn across the ground, while bales of hay usually used to feed the Tau livestock on a subjugated planet, were now being used for weight training. Applejack let out a pained grunt as she took yet another step forward, the large bale of hay weighing her back.

“Seven hours, Shas’O,” the attending medic shook his head. “I tried to convince her that bed rest would be more constructive to the healing process, but I did not manage to sway her, I am ashamed to say. The Ethereal was not around this time to dissuade her either.”

“It is not your fault, talk of her stubbornness is abound within the Sept,” Shan’Ta chuckled softly. “You are dismissed, I will keep an eye on the Shas’La.”

“If that was a joke about her disfigurement, sir, it was in poor taste,” the medic muttered, before turning and heading back into the main section of the complex.

Shan’Ta shook his head, before walking forward, the front of his Crisis suit opening to allow him to talk to Applejack face to face.

“The doctors prescribed you bed rest, Shas’La.”

“Don’t need it, Shas’O,” Applejack grunted, panting hard as she screwed up her face in concentration. “Been off mah hooves too long, got to build mah strength again, there’s still war’s against the Greater Good going on.”

“And you will have your part to play in them,” Shan’Ta assured her. “But you are of no use to me if you exacerbate your injuries by working yourself ragged.”

“Exacerbate mah injuries?” Applejack asked, turning to fully face Shan’Ta. “What am ah going to do, Shas’O? Lose another eye perhaps? Get mah hooves cut apart again in the name of science? Hey, maybe ah can kill someone who ah thought of as a friend again.”

“Do not raise that tone with me, Shas’La,” Shan’Ta’s voice was not angry, but there was an air of danger about it that could only come from experiencing decades of warfare and violence. “I understand that you are hurting…”

“Puttin’ it bluntly there,” Applejack snorted.

“I understand that you are hurting,” Shan’Ta repeated, “but putting yourself into a coma isn’t going to help.”

“Are ya’ll prescribing me forced bed-rest?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, but…” Shan’Ta started.

“Then with every due ounce of respect, ah want to be here,” Applejack cut in. “If ah stay in that bed for much longer ah’m gonna go crazy. Now, if ya’ll will excuse me…”

With that, Applejack turned back around, shrugging the ropes attached to the hay off her back and hobbling over to one of the large rocks. The cuts on her hooves has scabbed over by now, but Shan’Ta could tell they were still painful. He very nearly went to talk to her again, to insist that she returned to her bed, but thought better of it. He’d seen other soldiers react to injury by throwing themselves into all sorts of activities, from woodwork to knitting and everything in between. In the scheme of things, intense workouts were in the same line of thinking, albeit one with more potential for self-harm.

“Watch over her,” Shan’Ta looked at the medic as he walked past, his crisis suit resealing again. “I will contact the Ethereal and let him know what’s going on here. If she is not in harm of directly injuring herself, you do not have to interfere. I believe it will do more harm than good.”

***

“You want to do what?” Shan’Ta asked incredulously. “I must have misheard you there, Ethereal, can you repeat that.”

“I want to put Shas’La Applejack in some sort of command position,” Aun’Vesa repeated. “She has a determination and resilience that I have rarely seen, and I know that you feel the same in many ways.”

“She is also stubborn,” Shan’Ta pointed out. “And young, and inexperienced. All of those can be desirable traits in a leader, but they can also cause more deaths than are needed. There is a reason why Fire Warriors do not take the Trial of Fire before their fourth year of service is up.”

“She survived a run in with the Mechanicus, how many amongst out number can say that? She has shown extreme fortitude and will to go on, and now you say she is up and about and training once more?” Aun’Vesa asked. “To me that smacks of a drive that could benefit by having some authority.”

“Over other Tau though,” Shan’Ta shook his head. “You have already commanded us to do the unthinkable and have a member of the auxillary in our normal rank and file, which I do now stand behind, but the idea of having her command Fire Warriors…such a thing has never before been done, Ethereal.”

“Neither had space flight, but that did not stop our ancestors from reaching for the stars. No Sept had been formed on Pa’Laa, but that did not stop you from colonising that storm-ridden world. Just because something is, does not mean it always has to be. That is what separates us from the humans.”

“Among other things,” Shan’Ta grumbled.

“Shas’O, I value your insight,” Aun’Vesa changed tact’s slightly. “The conversation we had has stuck with me, and I admire the knowledge you have built up in your years. I am willing to compromise on parts of my idea if you honestly believe that it is folly, but I would like to see you meet me half-way.”

“Fine, I will meet you on this, Ethereal,” Shan’Ta sounded reluctant as he spoke. “The Shas’La is not yet old enough nor experienced enough to be put forward for the Trials of Fire, even if she has proven herself capable. However, as she has proven herself, and as she is due to be placed back in a squad when she is able, I will allow her to be placed under the tutelage of the Shas’Ui as his second. She will gain some experience in smaller matters, but the larger picture for the squad will still be dictated by an experienced warrior. Is this acceptable, Ethereal?”

“It is, Shas’O,” Aun’Vesa nodded. “I thank you for your consideration towards my proposal. Do I have it that you will not stand in her way if she achieves the needed skills to advance further in the cadre?”

“As you decree, Ethereal, it shall be done,” Shan’Ta bowed. “If Applejack learns what she must and survives the needed years, she shall be allowed to take up the Trials of Fire. You yourself saw to it that she was classified as Tau, so I have no recourse even if I did pose objection.”

“I do not want you to feel like you are being corralled into this,” Aun’Vesa pointed out. “But that is good. Come four years, and she will be ready for the trials. I know she will.”

***

Applejack glared at the Tau medic before her, her mood somewhere between anger and disgust.

“Ah told ya already, ah don’t want no replacement,” she snapped. “Rainbow got bionics in her wing and leg, and she never liked ‘em. Ah sure as sugar don’t want one in mah eye.”

“Applejack, please, think about this logically,” the medic pleaded. “At least let me go over the options you have before you. Please?”

“Alright, fine,” Applejack huffed. “Don’t see what difference it makes, a no is a no.”

“Thank you,” the medic sighed. “In your current state you have no depth perception, it is why we have two eyes in the first place. If you were being discharged from the Fire Caste then maybe that would be of little problem, but as you are staying, hitting targets will be far far harder, impossible even.”

“Ah said ah was fine with y’all givin’ me mah choices, not just tellin’ me what’s wrong,” Applejack snapped.

“There are three options. Remain as you are, in itself not a desirable decision as it will put both you and other members of the Fire Caste at risk,” the medic began again, Applejack grumbling but staying quiet, realising she hadn’t actually thought that one through. “Two, we take a skin sample and use it to grow an eye for you, with zero percent chance of rejection. Even you wouldn’t know the difference. Three, we give you a cybernetic implant. The eye will perform as well, if not better than your old one. Growing a new eye will take some time, but putting a cybernetic one in would only take a fraction of the time, most of that being done in a lab making sure it fitted your physiology.”

“Ah don’t want a clone thing in mah eye,” Applejack shook her head, pointing to her empty socket, her eyepatch having been removed before the session. “It’s a reminder, the scars and all. Ah don’t like it, but ah ain’t forgetting this.”

“I don’t think having a cloned replacement would make you forget the original, but I digress,” the medic muttered. “That leaves us with one option. Cybernetic augmentation.”

“Or leave it how it is,” Applejack added. “Ah really don’t like the way ya keep missin’ out that option.”

“From a logical point of view it makes no sense,” the medic insisted.

“Ah know that!” Applejack roared. “Havin’ no eye ain’t good, but ah ain’t one for relyin’ on machines ta do half the work for me. Ah like to do thinks mahself.”

“Some things we can’t do ourselves, Applejack,” the medic said softly. “Please, let me help you.”

“Grrr…fine,” Applejack muttered. “But don’t think ah’m gonna like it. How easy are these things to remove?”

“Why?” the medic asked, before shaking his head. “Well usually we don’t make them to come in and out easily, it makes them slightly more vulnerable to malfunction and damage, but I suppose…”

“Do it,” Applejack cut him off. “Y’all can put whatever fancy ports and tech ya want in there, and ah promise that when ah fight, I’ll put the blasted thing in. But otherwise ah ain’t wearing it.”

“Well I guess it is better than giving you nothing,” the medic sighed. “We can prep you for cybernetic implants now if you’d like, if you’ll follow me.”

Applejack followed after the doctor as he left the room, walking down the corridor short way before entering a room with a soft gurney in it, motioning for Applejack to get on and lie down, which she begrudgingly did. As she did so, two medical drones detached themselves from the wall, floating over to the medic as he began to prepare for the surgery ahead.

“Luckily this is not a difficult procedure to implant the socket. The eye itself will take a few days to manufacture, but then it should simply be a case of fitting it in, kind of like a contact lens that some of the humans use I suppose,” the medic rambled, before turning back towards Applejack, a needle in his hands. “Now, this will just send you to sleep. You’ll feel a slight pinch and then…”

He didn’t get any further as Applejack flew at him, knocking the needle from his hands and forcing him against the wall. Fire burned in her eye as she snorted, before stamping down on the needle, shattering the tube and wincing slightly as glass cut her scabbed over hooves.

“No, needles,” she growled, releasing the medic and allowing him to collapse to the floor in a spluttering heap. “Not now, not ever. Yer not gonna put me to sleep with fancy drugs, ah’ve been there already.”

“The procedure is going to hurt a lot,” the medic coughed, staggering to his feet, looking at the panic button behind him and momentarily debating pressing it and calling in guards to help him sedate Applejack, before thinking better of using force. “I just want to make this as comfortable for you as possible. I know that losing a limb or body part can be difficult.”

“Yeah, cause ah can tell you’ve lost so many,” Applejack snorted, looking at the medic derisively. “‘sides, do ah look like a mare that can’t take a bit of pain? Ah felt the eye comin’ out, and far more besides. Ah can take it goin’ back in.”

Applejack paused for a moment as she grabbed hold of a leather strap that she remembered could be used for making a tourniquet, before hopping onto the gurney again, glaring at the doctor.

“And no straps, ah’ll lie still. Y’all can numb the area if ya have to.”

With that she placed the strap between her teeth, biting down hard as she lay still.

“Oh, well thank you,” the medic deadpanned in a whisper, picking up a numbing spray and sighing. “How the hell did I get roped into this?”

***

Applejack shifted uncomfortably as the new squad she was being assigned to was mustered before her and the Ethereal. They were all staring at her, and Applejack began fiddling nervously with her hat, adjusting it slightly so that it tugged less on her eyepatch, the still raw skin behind irritating her slightly as it pulled against the cold metal socket.

The squad was far smaller than the last squad Applejack had been in, numbering just four warriors before her, all of whom were wearing their helmets and standing to attention, looking between Applejack and the Ethereal intently. All of them showed signs of having seen combat, their armour pitted and dented, and while their armour still bore the customary blue of the Pa’Laa sept, each of them wore a pitch black shoulder pad on their right side, the larger one bearing the marking of the Sept remaining blue.

“This squad is one of mourning,” Aun’Vesa began. “I understand that each of you has been assigned here after your parent unit was destroyed. Shas’La Applejack is no different, and I would like you to make her feel welcome. I would also like the Shas’Ui to step forward.”

One member of the squad took a step forward before Aun’Vesa continued.

“Applejack is being placed under your tutelage. Show her the ways of command. That will be all, you may return to your quarters, your mission documentation shall be passed along to you forthwith.”

“Thank you, Ethereal,” the Shas’Ui nodded, watching as Aun’Vesa walked away, his bodyguard sticking beside him, before turning back to Applejack. “So, you’re the pony Valnoth was tell me about? She said you were dead.”

“Valnoth’s here?” Applejack asked him in surprise, looking at the Fire Warriors as they took their helmets off.

“It is good to see you yet amongst the living, Applejack,” Valnoth nodded, smiling happily. “I had feared that when…”

“Please stop,” Applejack muttered. “Ah don’t want to talk about that. Ever.”

“Of course,” Valnoth nodded. “Well then, introductions I believe. “This is Shas’La Diaoh, he was a survivor from the space port like us. Shas’La Gra’us, she doesn’t talk much, but she was helping to defend Factorum Secondus from the Imperial counter attack, and of course our own fearless leader, Shas’Ui Ko’Min, he was also part of the Factorum Secondus defence, helped pull Gra’us out of there and all.”

“Ko’roc,” Applejack whispered, the others not hearing as she turned her head away.

“It was more that we just got relieved at the same time,” Ko’Min shrugged. “But enough about that, Applejack is now part of the squad, she should know the few customs we have to date. We’ve all lost people, and in remembrance of those who went to grass, we paint the right shoulder plate of our armour black.”

He tapped the shoulder piece in question on his own shoulder before continuing.

“Stow your gear in the barracks, I’ll be with you presently.”

Applejack nodded, walking past the rest of the squad with what little had been salvaged of her personal belongings, mostly what had been left aboard the spaceship before she came down to the planet. When she was out of sight, the rest of the squad began to talk, keeping their tones hushed just in case she was still listening.

“What did you say she went through again, Valnoth?” Ko’Min asked, looking after Applejack.

“I don’t know,” Valnoth admitted. “We lost contact with her shortly after the Imperial titans and Skitarii appeared. The last I heard, she has been captured by mechanicus forces.”

“To cause that many scars, and to lose an eye?” Diaoh shook her head. “And now the Ethereal wants her to be your second, Ko’Min?”

“And we will do as commanded,” Ko’Min nodded. “If the Ethereal believes that she is to take that position within the squad, then who are we to argue? We will treat her as we have been told, and we will look to her as if she were Tau.”

“According to guidelines she is Tau,” Valnoth pointed out. “Again, Ethereal orders.”

“But she’s clearly not Tau,” Diaoh countered. “Unless I’m mistaken and we’re all quadrupeds as well. Or is she secretly bipedal?”

“If the Ethereal says she is Tau, then she is Tau. End of story,” Ko’Min looked between the members of the squad. “Valnoth, you know her the best, I want you to keep an eye on her from a psychological point of view. If she’s got half as many scars on the inside as she does on the outside, we could have a breakdown on our hands, and I do not want that to happen in the middle of combat. You can all fall out for now though, I expect you at the mess for evening meal.”

Valnoth, Diaoh and Gra’us turned around at Ko’Min’s words, leaving Ko’Min alone. He took a moment to rub his eyes, thinking of exactly what he was going to say, before turning and walking into the barracks.

Calling it a barracks was being very liberal with the term, the building being little more than a bombed out ruin with some new metal placed over the worst of the damage by the Tau. It kept out the worst of the chill, and protected them from the elements from inside, but it would be worthless in a firefight. Even though the front line was miles away, Ko’Min was still nervous about a human attack, and he knew the others were too. The Tau may have been winning the fight for the planet, but it was far from over, and the humans were not going to make it easy for the Tau to finally finish them off.

“Valnoth?” Applejack asked, not looking round as she pulled a Stetson from her bag, brushing down the worn fabric before placing it on her head, pulling the brim down low to best cover her eye. Only then did she turn around to see Ko’Min. “Oh, Shas’Ui, mah apologies.”

“None are needed, Applejack, and please, call me Ko’Min. I prefer a more informal…” Ko’Min began.

“Ah’d like to stick with Shas’Ui, if it’s all the same to you,” Applejack cut in.

“Is there any reason for your reluctance to use my name?” Ko’Min asked, sitting down on his own bed and looking across at Applejack.

“Yes,” Applejack nodded.

“Would you like to…tell me what those reasons are?” Ko’Min asked after waiting for a reply that never came.

“No,” Applejack shook her head, the one word slipping out like a confession, rather than a denial.

“You’re not going to talk to me much, are you?”

“If ah can refrain from hearing your name, I will,” Applejack assured him, looking up at him and sighing. “Ah’m sorry, it’s not ya’ll, it’s…something that happened.”

“Talking can help,” Ko’Min pointed out.

“Could do, probably will do, but not today,” Applejack shook her head, standing up. “Ah don’t have any armour, nor do ah have mah weapon. Don’t suppose ya know when ah may be getting’ some more?”

“I only heard about your arrival to my squad a few hours before you arrived,” Ko’Min shook his head. “So no, I do not. But if the Ethereal placed you here, then I’m sure he has also arranged for you to be reequipped. Now, I was told you are to be under my direct supervision to learn the ways of command, I would like to know what, if any, experience you may have.”

“Ah helped organise Winter Wrap Up back home for a long while before Twilight showed up and did it better,” Applejack shrugged. “Plus ah helped Big Mac run Sweet Apple Acres for a long time after ma and Pa passed on.”

“So some organisational skills from the sound of it?” Ko’Min summarised. “Well it is better than nothing. Let’s…”

“Where is she?!” a voice boomed from outside, before the door opened, Koghad stomping into the building, followed by Aun’Vesa. His eyes instantly fell on Applejack and his face fell. “Oh lass, what have they done to you?”

“Koghad,” Applejack gasped, leaping towards him and pulling him into a hug, holding him close as she fought back the urge to cry. “Koghad it’s…it’s so good to see you.”

“And you too, lass,” Koghad nodded. “The Ethereal brought me here, said ya’d been in an accident and that you needed rearming. This isn’t just an accident though, Ethereal.”

“No, it was not, it was by someone’s design,” Aun’Vesa agreed. “But it is not my place to tell another’s story for them, that is for Applejack and Applejack alone to decide who she tells and when. If she wishes to keep it to herself then I would be obliged if you listened, although she does know my personal opinion, do you not, Applejack?”

“Ah do, Ethereal,” Applejack nodded, finally letting go of Koghad.

“Shas’Ui, I believe we should give the pair some time alone. Koghad will need to take measurements for Applejack’s new armour, and we have much to discuss, I have your new mission, and I would relay the details to you.”

“At once, mighty Ethereal,” Ko’Min bowed, following Aun’Vesa out of the room.

“Tell me everything, lass,” Koghad sat beside Applejack, slowly taking her hat off to get a better view of her face. “By the ancestors…”

“I know, it’s not a pretty sight,” Applejack shook her head, a few strands of her mane falling down across her face.

“Talkin’…” Koghad began.

“Helps, ah know,” Applejack nodded, before sighing. “Just to you, ya understand. This stays between us. Ah haven’t even told the Ethereal all of this…ah couldn’t find the words to describe it to him. Ah think ah might be able to find them for you though.”

“Go ahead then, lass, I’ll listen to what ya have ta say.”

Applejack took a deep breath before beginning. She poured her heart out to Koghad, recounting every detail of her experience, from her capture by the Skitarii to her torture and interrogation at the hands of Fonteyn, finishing with her escape from the facility, and her killing of Ko’roc. By this point she was in tears, Koghad pulling her into a comforting hug as she did her best to keep going, before finally she finished, shivering in Koghad’s embrace.

“It’s alright, Applejack, let it out,” Koghad cooed softly.

“Ah can’t even say mah Shas’Ui’s name,” she sobbed. “Else ah’ll end up like this every time. Ah didn’t want ta kill him, Koghad. Ah didn’t mean it.”

“Ah know ya didn’t, lass,” Koghad assured her. “No one would know what to do in that situation, and if ya put me in it ah don’t know what ah would have done. There aren’t any right answers, but there are some that are less wrong than others, and ah think what ya did took stones. It’s not easy ta do the right thing, Applejack, but ya did it anyway. Ya ain’t bad fer doin’ that, if yer were then ya wouldn’t be here cryin’ over it.”

“Ah hate them,” Applejack sobbed quietly, looking up at Koghad with her one bloodshot eye. “Ah hate them all so much, the humans. Thinking about any of them…ah can’t. And ah knows it’s wrong….ah shouldn’t hate ‘em for what she did, but ah can’t help myself. If ah was on Styro now and found that Princeps guy, ah’m scared ah would have just walked straight past him. That ain’t me, Koghad, that ain’t who ah was raised as.”

“Ah’m not saying it’s right ta hate them,” Koghad started, choosing his words carefully. “But ah’ve seen first-hand what humans can do, and now so have you. There’s an old sayin’, comes in handy every now and again. An eye for an eye. You got that literally in your case.”

As soon as he said the words, Koghad regretted them, Applejack moaning and covering her eyepatch with her hoof.

“Ah…ah’m sorry, lass, ya know ah didn’t…” he began.

“You’re right,” Applejack cut him off.

“Just…don’t let the hate consume you, ok?” Koghad clenched her leg tightly, looking into her eyes. “Channel the anger, use it, but don’t let it use you. I saw many of my fellows do just that in our wars with the humans. I saw atrocities committed by both sides, I saw what humans could do when they set their minds to it, and what my own kind can do when we let our anger control us. I don’t want that for you.”

“Ah’ll be careful,” Applejack nodded, drying her eye of tears before standing up. “Now, what’s this about ya helping me with mah armour?”

***

It took Koghad over an hour to take the needed details for Applejack’s new armour, a mixture between her completely different physiology from the norm and the Ethereal's instructions, which was far longer than the original armour had taken. Koghad assured her that the basis of the suit was already built, but they had needed a few last minute details, and he had been called in because Aun’Vesa thought she needed a friendly face.

“Right then, lass, we best get you back to yer squad,” Koghad smiled as the pair left the room. “Ah’ll make sure yer suits ready for ya long before ya need it. Trust me, this thing has had some work put into it. Ah won’t tell ya what, but you’ll be mighty impressed.”

“Ah’ll take your word for it,” Applejack nodded, her eye slightly puffy from the crying she had been doing, but a smile now graced her face. Seeing Koghad had had the desired effect on her it seemed.

“Ah, Applejack, it is good that you are finished,” Ko’Min smiled as they approached. “Fio’La Koghad, you are done I take it?”

“I am, Shas’Ui,” Koghad nodded, pulling Applejack into a hug. “See ya soon, ok lass? Don’t be getting’ in any more trouble, ya hear?”

“Ah’ll do mah best,” Applejack snorted, watching as Koghad disappeared into the camp, before turning back to face the others.

“That one likes you,” Valnoth smirked, her helmet under her arm as she glanced at Applejack’s reaction.

“Koghad? Yeah, he’s a nice one alright,” Applejack nodded. “He’s a good friend.”

“I think he wants to be more than friends,” Diaoh muttered, before Ko’Min raised his voice.

“Quiet down. We have our orders, we’re being rotated back to the fleet, apparently they need some squads for a new mission on the planet and we were picked. We stow everything we have and meet back here in one hour. Applejack, new gear will be awaiting you when we reach the fleet, and any that has not been shipped in yet will be ready before the mission is a go. Any questions?”

No one spoke.

“Alright then, let’s move it out, daylights wasting and I want to be ready by the time the Orca comes to pick us up. I’ll not have it said that the Fire Caste keeps the Air Caste waiting.”

The Longest Days

Applejack

Applejack’s first sight as she stepped onto the surface of Mylock was a hulking green creature she recognised as an Ork. The creature was bigger than a man and far more hulking, a crude axe clutched in one hand, while an oversized pistol was held in the other. The creature had a look of surprise on its face as the Tau spilled from the manta.

“Waaa…” the Ork began, before it’s head exploded, Applejack quickly shifting her aim to another Ork and opening fire. Gone was the restraint she had shown against the humans, now all she was thinking was how she could maximise her efficiency.

“Applejack, you and Valnoth take the left flank, push up towards the perimeter wall, Diaoh, Gra’us and I will take the centre, the other squads will push up on the right,” Ko’Min called over the radio. “Keep it tight, we need to keep the momentum going.”

“Looks like it’s you and me, Applejack,” Valnoth called as she dived into cover, propping her rifle up on the top of the wall and laying down a stream of plasma fire into a horde, Applejack following her lead as the Orks began to return fire, letting out crude warcry’s even as they were scythed down.

“Just shoot ‘em,” Applejack grunted as a shot ricocheted off her shoulder.

“Deff Dread, dead ahead,” Valnoth pointed it out. “Applejack, take it out.”

Applejack didn’t need to be told twice, already propping herself up on the wall and zeroing in on clanking monstrosity, her helmet and armour quickly running calculations to bring both of the guns into optimum firing position.

“Got you,” she grinned, before firing, twin beams of blue light lancing out and striking the machine dead centre, peeling away armour like it was nothing, revealing the Ork that was clearly fused with the machine. A second later Valnoth fired, her shot flying true and striking the head of the Ork, melting through it and bringing the Deff Dread to a shuddering halt, before it keeled over backwards.

“Good shooting,” Valnoth called as a pair of Crisis suits slammed into the ground, hosing down the remnants of the horde before taking to the skies once more.

“That was my kill,” Applejack shot back as she leapt forward, her armour working with her to increase the speed of her galloping charge, Valnoth just about keeping pace beside her.

Suddenly a shadow fell across Applejack, and she only just managed to avoid the careening Ork as it slammed into the ground, its jetpack spluttering as it stood up.

“Whatz this then? You ain’t one of the squishy blue ones,” the Ork laughed, hefting a massive hammer above its head. “I’m gonna crush you like a bug.”

“Yeah, fuck y’all too,” Applejack snarled, before turning and bucking hard.

Applejack felt the shuddering impact travel up her legs, the sound of crunching bone and screaming meeting her ears as the Ork flew backwards, it’s chest a bloody crater. Applejack couldn’t wait to savour her victory however, the other Orks that had landed recovering from the earth shattering landing.

Applejack twisted again, lashing out at the Orks as they tried to reach her. A few of their blades came close, but with the armour working with her, her bucks were faster than ever before, the Orks barely having time to react before they were put down. Finally, Applejack stood amongst their corpses, panting hard as Valnoth approached her.

“Not bad,” she nodded slowly. “It’s…odd to see a Fire Warrior win against a group of Orks in close quarters.”

“Ah ain’t a normal Fire Warrior,” Applejack pointed out, looking around at the encampment.

The last of the Orks were being mopped up, Crisis Suits firing rapid streams of plasma into the disorganised groups, while Broadsides focused on the few remaining vehicles, stalking through the smoke with a grace that was almost unnatural for machines of their size, especially when compared with the walkers of the Orks.

“Applejack, Valnoth, regroup near the outer wall,” Ko’Min ordered over the radio. “The Orks are broken, we have a few that are attempting to run, but the day is ours. We must stay on our guard however until we can properly strengthen the walls.”

“We’re on our way,” Valnoth nodded. “The new suits seem to be holding up very well, Applejack just took on a squad on Stormboyz alone.”

“Is she hurt?” Diaoh asked, a sense of urgency creeping into his voice.

“Just a bit shaken by the looks of it,” Valnoth glanced over at Applejack. “You should see the other guys.”

“Just get over here,” Ko’Min cut in. “If there are any encampments of Orks nearby who caught wind of our attacks we will need every available warrior to fend them off.”

“We’re on our way,” Applejack nodded, setting off at a gallop towards the wall.

***

“Take cover!” Ko’Min bellowed at the top of his voice, ducking his head beneath the ramshackle wall, before getting back up and firing blindly into the sea of green approaching the walls.

Applejack and the rest of the squad were beside him, adding their firepower to his, felling hundreds of Orks, and yet barely putting a dent in the horde. There were hundreds of them, if not thousands, all screaming and firing their crude weapons at the wall, the massive rounds bouncing off harmlessly for the most part. Luckily for the Tau, the Orks attacking them were only slightly above feral’s in terms of technology, relying on numbers to win the day, with hardly any heavy weapons, those that they had started the attack with now being little more than smoking wrecks.

“What’s the estimated time on our air support, Shas’Vre?” Diaoh called out as the Crisis suited warrior landed beside them, a flurry of missiles flying into the horde.

“We have seven minutes until Sun Shark support,” the Shas’Vre replied. “They have no air defences, one pass will break them.”

“We’ve got to survive seven minutes though,” Applejack pointed out.

“We can do that,” Ko’Min assured her. “Just stay focused and…”

Ko’Min was pitched from the wall as a bullet slammed into his helmet, his head snapping to the side before he landed in an unnatural heap.

“Ko’Min!” Applejack roared, making to jump down after him, only for the Shas’Vre to stop her.

“He’s dead! Stay on the wall, we need your guns, Applejack, and your squad needs leadership,” he roared, firing his burst cannon for a few moments, before fixing his gaze on Applejack. “Stay here, coordinate defences on this side.”

With that, he took to the sky, soaring across the fortress and out of view as Applejack turned back to the battle.

“Ya heard the Shas’Vre!” Applejack called out, finding her voice. “We have six and a half minutes until a bit of relief, so keep yer heads down, we ain’t loosin’ anyone else, y’all understand?”

***

Applejack watched impassively as a pair of modified Orca’s descended towards the fortress, a series of Tidewall’s suspended beneath them. True to the words of the Shas’Vre, the Sun Shark’s had quickly broken the fighting power of the horde before returning to the ship in orbit to refuel before going out again. The fleet only had a few wings of the bombers, and every part of the strike force on the planet was crying out for aid. This hadn’t been unexpected, the first few days were always going to be the hardest before true defences could be set up, and the estimates hadn’t been off. They had already repulsed two hordes, now things would hopefully be slightly easier.

Ko’Min was dead, just like the Shas’Vre had said, the bullet had torn through his armour and turned his head into a pulp. His body had since been burnt, there was simply not enough available air power to lift out corpses for storage on the ship, and he certainly couldn’t be kept in the camp, the last thing they needed was disease running rampant through their new home.

“Applejack,” Diaoh walked towards her, his helmet slung at his waist. “The Shas’Vre wishes for you to oversee the installation of the railguns on the east side of the fort.”

“Ah’m on mah way,” Applejack nodded. “Go back to the wall, ya still have two hours watch until yer relieved.”

“Yes, Applejack,” Diaoh nodded, before turning and jogging to the wall.

Applejack turned as he left, breaking into a canter as she headed towards where the first sections of the Tidewall were being placed, quickly arriving to see a score of Earth caste engineers exiting one of the Orca’s and getting ready to oversee the construction of the wall, under the watchful eyes of the sentries and the two pathfinder teams acting as their early warning system.

“Which one of ya is in charge here?” Applejack called out, an Earth Caste engineer turning around.

“I am, and you are?”

“Shas’La Applejack,” Applejack replied. “Ah was sent here to make sure the railguns were installed properly.”

“They will be,” the engineer nodded, his lips pursing tightly. “But I am not here to answer to a member of the auxiliary. Where is my liaison?”

“Ah’m it,” Applejack glared at the Tau. “And ah ain’t a member of yer auxiliary.”

“You’re an alien,” he pointed out.

“And by order of the Ethereal, ah am a full member of the Fire Caste,” Applejack cut in. “The Shas’Vre put me in charge of makin’ sure our defences are up and runnin’, so tell me good news.”

The engineer paused for a second, before relenting and pointing to the various parts that were being deployed onto the planets surface.

“The wall is made of a light yet strong material known as Ununseptium, which is capable of turning away all but the most determined anti-tank fire. This in turn is bolstered by a series of shields generated by generators mounted in individual sections of the wall, so that no one attack can destroy the integrity of the whole defence.”

“That’s good and all, but ah want to know that that,” Applejack pointed to the massive twin-linked Rail gun that was currently being lowered from the Orca, “is going to do its job properly.”

“The gunrig will do its job just fine,” the Engineer nodded. “It has a slaved drone hardwired into it, and tha drone talks to the ones controlling the generators, which all talk back to the droneport we will be installing in the centre of the fort. This will make sure the guns are efficient, and they will never run out of power due to the walls shielding. Any shots that hit the shields that do not destroy it outright impart some form of energy when they impact, be it kinetic, light or some other form. The shields can absorb this energy, feeding it back to the droneport, which in turn feeds power to the generators and the gunrig. In essence the shots they fire at us will be fired back at them, and I can assure you, our weapons are far more deadly.”

“And because it’s a drone controllin’ the gun, it never needs to rest,” Applejack checked.

“Correct. The gun will never tire, never stop, it will scan for targets day and night, and as soon as it finds one it will fire and move on. It is efficient and it is deadly.”

“Then make sure it gets dug in quick, we need the extra firepower if they attack with anythin’ more than bodies next time.”

***

Applejack groaned as she walked back in the massive gates, a pair of drones instantly descending on her, their guns armed as they scanned her, before recognising her as a friend and floating off again. They had been here for almost three weeks now, and the attacks had not got any weaker. If anything they had increased in ferocity, tanks, Killa Kans and Deff Dreds now coming in higher numbers, and it was only because of the gunrigs that they hadn’t been overwhelmed yet. The other sentry turrets helped too, increasing the amount of burst guns they had access to had certainly helped to level the playing field between their small numbers and the vastly more numerical Orks, but even so armed the fight was still brutal and costly.

“Get some food in you and rest,” Applejack ordered. “I want you to get at least five hours sleep before we go back out there. Understand?”

“Understood, Applejack,” Diaoh nodded, walking off with Gra’us in tow.

“You too, Valnoth,” Applejack looked at the female Tau. “You’re not immune to fatigue or hunger.”

“Neither are you,” she pointed out. “I’ve noticed that you haven’t been eating or sleeping as frequently as the rest of the squad, and I don’t want you to end up like Ko’Min because of that.”

“Yeah, I know,” Applejack sighed. “Ah’m coming this time though, ah don’t have any tasks from the Shas’Vre. Ah haven’t always had the time what with running the east wall.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Valnoth shook her head. “You’re coming to eat now, and then you’re going to get some rest. No excuses.”

“Fine, fine,” Applejack nodded, before following after Valnoth.

They quickly got to the building that was serving as the food storage outpost, joining the short line of other Fire Warriors who were queuing up to get their rations, a stocky Demiurg handing out the food packets.

Applejack waited silently as she queued, taking the packets and slipping it into a pouch on her armour, before walking off to sit against the wall with Valnoth and the rest of the squad, before digging into it. The rations were actually fairly good, the bags self-heating the food once they had been exposed to the air.

“Dig in,” she muttered, pulling out her fork and shovelling the vegetable mash into her mouth quickly, the protein powder mixed in with it getting to work on her tired muscles. “Is everyone ok? Ammunition, wounds, grenades? Anything.”

“I’ll need to go and get more power packs, but I’m good for everything else,” Diaoh nodded in between mouthfuls after quickly checking his pouches.

“I’m good,” Gra’us rasped, his voice always unnerving Applejack on the rare occasion that she actually heard it.

“As am I,” Valnoth finished her rations as she spoke, before standing up and stretching. “I will see you when our watch starts again.”

“As will I,” Gra’us rasped, following after Valnoth, leaving Applejack alone with Diaoh.

“Long day, huh?” Diaoh chuckled. “Think I got a few more kills than you did though.”

“Ah killed two tanks, ah think ah won,” Applejack retorted, the ghost of a smile flicking across her face.

“Wow, you almost smiled, that’s a rarity,” Diaoh smirked. “I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen you smile.”

“There aren’t too many things ta smile about right now, are there?” Applejack pointed out. “Orks breathin’ down our necks day and night, thirty nine percent of the original force is dead, and I’ve gone from obscure to fourth in command of the east side. Livin’ the dream.”

“You know you don’t have to be such a hardass,” Diaoh folded his arms.

“And y’all don’t have ta be so insufferably unaware of our current situation,” Applejack snapped. “Get some rest, that’s an order.”

“Yes, acting Shas’Ui,” Diaoh muttered sarcastically, before turning and walking off.

Applejack glared after Diaoh, before letting out a growl and slumping against the wall, deactivating her bionic eye. She wished that she had brought he hat down from the ship for this so she could pull the brim down and shield her eye from the light, but there was no point crying over things she couldn’t change. Even with the mid-day sun streaming down on her, it didn’t take her long to drift off to sleep.

***

Applejack bellowed in pain as a bullet passed through the meat of her forehoof and out the other side. The feeling of suddenly having a hole in her hoof was painful, but it was mostly just an intense feeling of cold which spread through her leg.

“You think that’s enough for me?!” Applejack roared back at the tide before her, getting herself back into position and firing into the closest Orks.

This was the largest attack to date, everything before her now being covered in a sea of green seething bodies, broken up by the occasional form of a tank or battlewagon. Everyone was on the walls defending the fort now, even the few Earth Caste engineers had taken up arms, sticking close to the turrets and ensuring they stayed operational.

The Tidewall was proving its worth once again, shielding the majority of the Tau from the Orks fire, while the railguns were spitting out death at an amazing speed, targeting tanks with a destructive force that Applejack couldn’t hope to match with her railrifles.

“Applejack! Are you ok?!” Valnoth roared, ejecting the spent power pack from her pulse rifle and slamming home another.

“I’ll be fine, I’ve had worse!” Applejack shouted back. “Incoming Nobz, target the big ones and disrupt their forces.”

“These aren’t Tyranids, they’ll keep fighting!” Diaoh called, but did shift his aim, pouring plasma into the Nob squad.

Applejack snarled as she took aim at the biggest Nob, the two crosshairs in her helmet coming together over his head as he guns shifted, before she fired, the twin beams turning the head into a fine red mist.

“Diaoh, get on the link and tell the Shas’Vre we immediate support. Air, Crisis Suits, Broadsides, anything he can spare or beg for,” Applejack ordered, twisting and bucking an Ork that had leapt over the barricade, sending him careening backwards.

“I’m on the link, Applejack, I can hear you,” the Shas’Vre replied over her helmet. “We just lost two Broadsides on the west wall, and Shas’Ui Wenik just dropped out of contact, you’re third in command. Move towards the North-East corner and take charge of both walls. I will meet you there.”

“That’s great and all, but the East side will fall without support,” Applejack repeated. “Send whatever you can, I’m moving to the corner now.”

Applejack let the link go dead, gesturing for the rest of the squad to follow her as she galloped off, ducking low as bullets streaked over her head, skidding to a halt as an explosion peppered her with debris. Wiping the worst of the rocks from her armour, she looked around at the Tau who were trying to fend off the Orks on the North side.

“Focus fire on the ones with close combat weapons,” Applejack shouted, her helmet amplifying her voice. “The shields will protect ya from their guns, not from their swords.”

“We’re working on it,” one of the Tau called. “There’s too many of them to focus fire on.”

“We’ve got incoming!” another Tau called, before the loudest explosion to date shook the battlefield, the shield wall and a lot of the Tau behind it simply ceasing to exist, including the Tau who had shouted.

Applejack had to turn away from the blinding light, turning back to see the carnage caused. Bodies of both Orks and Tau littered the field, some completely torn apart, reduced to hands lying in the crater. Applejack’s eye counted twenty one dead Tau in total, including the head of a Crisis battlesuit, bearing the markings of a Shas’Vre.

Applejack shook her head as the ringing stopped, the Waaagh! cry of the Orks growing louder as Applejack finally saw what had fired the explosive shot. It was huge, a towering metal monstrosity that looked like a cross between Ork technology and a human titan. The Orks around it were already cheering as it began to advance forward, spraying bullets as it went.

“Stompa!” Valnoth roared. “Concentrate…”

“Everyone fall back inside the forts walls!” Applejack cut in, amplifying her helmets speakers to the max. “We can’t hold the Tidewall.”

“We won’t be able to hold them off without the gunrigs, and if we abandon them we have no chance at taking out that Stompa,” Valnoth countered.

“The Stompa just opened up a hole in our line, we can’t plug that breach,” Applejack insisted. “The outer wall is lost, ah want everyone still alive to stay that way fer as long as possible.”

“Fall back then,” Valnoth nodded, before raising her voice. “Fall back to the inner wall!”

The cry was quickly taken up by the other Tau as they began to fall back into the fortress gates. Applejack barely made it through before the drones slammed them shut, the Orks on the other side howling in rage at being cheated a quicker victory.

“Where is the Shas’Vre?” one Tau called, looking around.

“He’s dead!” Applejack bellowed back. “Rulfod? Qre’Na?”

“Both dead, Applejack,” Diaoh shook his head. The South was lost with all hands, and Rulfod gave his life to give his men time to get in from the West side. You’re in charge.”

“Fuck,” Applejack swore quietly. “Everyone up on the walls, we take as many of them with us as we can.”

“We’re not getting out of this alive,” Diaoh pointed out as they ran to the parapet.

“That’s why ah said take as many of them with ya as ya can,” Applejack snapped. “Just…”

More explosions suddenly rocked the battlefield, dozens of blue explosions ripping through the Ork horde. Applejack was almost thrown from her feet by the powerful shockwaves, looking in awe at the devastation the plasma explosions had caused.

“What the…” Applejack began, looking upwards in awe, only to see two rapidly approaching dark shapes.

A second later, two huge walkers slammed into the ground, this shockwave actually pitching Applejack and many of the other Tau from their feet. Straightening up, Applejack recognised the forms of the two sets of KX139 Supremacy Armour, the three huge guns on their back swiftly moving into position and firing.

The Stompa simply ceased to exist, along with hundreds of the Orks around it. Without hesitating, the two suits began to walk, firing indiscriminately into the horde as a wing of Manta’s swooped down beside them, five smaller KV128 Stormsurges deploying from them, along with a small host of Fire Warriors.

“Open the gates!” Applejack roared, a genuine smile spreading across her face. “Pa’Laa’s here, and we are not going to sit here while other Tau fight!”

Applejack and the rest fo the squad let out a cheer as they ran, heading out of the fort and towards the broken Ork horde, Many squads broke off to perused the Orks, while Applejack headed towards the Manta’s, a trio of Crisis suits exiting them as she ran.

“It is good to see some of our warriors still alive here, we did not know what to expect,” the centre Tau spoke, a Shas’El by his markings. “Who is left in charge here?”

“Ah am,” Applejack nodded. “Acting Shas’Ui Applejack. Shas’Ui Rulfod, Wenik, Qre’Na and… Ko’Min were all killed in action, as was the Shas’Vre.”

“Then we must ensure that we do not lose any more this day,” The Shas’El proclaimed. “The horde will be destroyed, do not allow yourself to fall, I believe Shas’O Shan’Ta will wish to debrief you, personally.”

Race Day

Rainbow Dash

Rainbow’s throat was raw from screaming as she finally sat up, the straps that had held her down to the table during the procedure falling away at an unspoken command by Eethron. For the first time she was able to turn her head, looking at her leg. Her back burned and her leg was in more pain than when she had first lost it, but that didn’t stop her from leaping off the table onto the floor.

Her new muscles worked perfectly, easily supporting her weight as they tensed up. For a moment the pain almost got to her, but she managed to push through it, gritting her teeth as she looked up at Eethron, slowly extending her wings outwards. If it wasn’t for the searing pain, even Rainbow would have been hard pushed to tell the difference between them, and to the outside viewer, they would be nigh-on indistinguishable.

“Well, Ms Dash,” Eethron smiled, extending a hand to gesture at her new limbs. “What do you think of my work?”

“It’s…amazing,” Rainbow grinned, spitting out a globule of blood from where she had bitten through her tongue. “You don’t like anaesthetic, do you?”

“Why would I? Your screams were…beautiful,” Eethron shuddered at the memories. “If your race was still alive, I would dearly enjoy harvesting their screams.”

Rainbow snarled softly at Eethron’s words, forcing herself to keep quiet. Eethron seemed to be looking for a reaction however, staying silent as he leered down at her, before finally speaking again.

“Well then, since you have been finished, I wish you farewell, Dash. I now have a Ygal to study.”

With that, Eethron turned around, moving back towards Wavechill’s corpse that had been splayed out on an operating table by a pair of Wracks. Rainbow felt a tinge of guilt when she saw the lifeless corpse, before shaking her head. The deal had been done, and there was nothing she could do to change that. With one final glance back at Wavechill, Rainbow spread her wings and took to the air, soaring out of the openings usually reserved for the newly converted Scourges that the Covern of Mutilation churned out.

Rainbow beat her wings hard as she headed back towards the arena, ignoring the pain as she finally touched down, landing heavily, only to come face to face with Lightning, Spitfire and the rest of the Shadowbolts.

“Where the hell have you been?” Spitfire demanded, glaring at Rainbow. “It’s been a week, what the hell happened?”

“And why are you covered in blood?” Lightning chimed in, before noticing Rainbows facial features. “And what’s with the unhinged smile?”

“This,” Rainbow grinned, extending her wing and twisting slightly to show them all her new leg.

While they now looked indistinguishable from her real legs, they did look different enough from her cybernetics to stop any questions from the others. Finally, Gilda spoke up.

“Rainbow…is that…real?”

“Sure is,” Rainbow grinned. “As much flesh and blood as the day I was born.”

“Tell me you didn’t just come from the Covern of Mutilation,” Spitfire whispered.

“Well they didn’t just grow over the last week,” Rainbow laughed. “It was worth every iota of pain I had to go through.”

“Rainbow!” Spitfire roared. “How could you do that?! You let Eethron of all people experiment on you?! And what did you even pay him with?!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Rainbow shook her head dismissively. “Now come on, I may have been out of action for the past week, but you shouldn’t have been. Everyone to the arena, training’s being stepped up, and Gilda, I’m placing you in charge of searching for new recruits.”

“New recruits?” Scootaloo asked in surprise. “I thought we weren’t going to be recruiting ay Dark Eldar.”

“Why? Because they might expose us?” Rainbow scoffed. “If we had more Reavers in the Shadowbolts, Wavechill might not have gotten pinned down on his own, and he would still be with us. I will not preside over the funerals of any more of you. Do you understand?”

Without waiting for an answer, Rainbow pushed past the group, Gilda walking beside her and Scootaloo trailing behind, leaving Spitfire and Lightning to exchange glances, before following after the trio.

***

Rainbow watched impassively as dozens of Jetbikes shot around the arena at breakneck speed, passing within inches of her nose at one point. Beside her was Gilda, the pair overseeing the new potential candidates for the Shadowbolts, while the rest of the team were still in the garage tuning their own bikes. Spitfire and Lightning still didn’t agree with the decision to recruit more members, and Scootaloo’s bike had been damaged in one of their recent races, luckily she had escaped with only some minor wounds.

“Is that all you’ve got?” Rainbow scoffed over the comm-link. “There’s six spaces on my team, and we’re not derby racers. Start shedding blood or I’ll shed it for you.”

The Jetbikers began to clash more ferociously, the clanging of blades ringing through the arena, drawing a growl from Rainbow.

“Want something done properly,” Rainbow growled to herself, before grabbing her blaster, propping it up against the lip of the arena.

Her new weapon was simply a rebuilt version of her old lasblaster from the Swooping Hawks, the main core of the weapon stripped out and replaced with Darklight ammunition, which was much more readily available in Commoragh. The result was beautiful, transforming the fast-firing, anti-personal weapon she had before, into a gun capable of firing the very stuff that black holes were made up of. It was deadly, but more importantly, it felt just as familiar to her as her old weapon.

Taking aim, Rainbow fired, a stream of Darklight lancing out and striking one of the Jetbikes. Instantly the bike exploded, what was left of the rider slamming into the sands of the arena. Sneering, Rainbow put the rifle down, before raising her voice again.

“The price of failure is steep! Start killing, or start dying.”

Finally, Jetbikes began to fall from the sky as their riders were ripped apart by each other. Finally, only six remained, Rainbow letting out a screech as two of them aimed at each other, Gilda joining in as they finally got the riders attention.

“No more, not today,” Rainbow called loudly, looking at the six Dark Eldar. “You performed…adequately. You can all live another day, but not as whatever you were before. You earned the right to call yourselves Shadowbolts today. Take your bikes to the garage, they will be remade in our colours, your wargear too. Now get out of here. You better be better on your first race.”

The riders didn’t respond, instead shooting off towards the garage, leaving Rainbow alone with Gilda.

“So, you think they’ll make good Reavers?” Gilda asked.

“They’re all young, so the original team might still be better,” Rainbow shrugged. “When we start getting bigger, recruiting better riders, they’ll be older, have hundreds of years’ experience on us. Then we need to watch out. There’s only one way to rise up in the ranks in Commoragh.”

“Then we’ve got to make sure we’re strong enough that they can’t just kill us and take over,” Gilda smirked.

“Easier said than done,” Rainbow sighed. “You get it, I get it, even Scootaloo seems to get it, but Lightning and Spitfire? They…I hate to say it, but they don’t. They’re living in a dream world of niceties which don’t exist anymore. They’re…”

“The weaker links?” Gilda finished.

“Mentally,” Rainbow nodded reluctantly. “They’re strong, they’re fast, they’re both skilled, but they don’t see what we do, that we can’t be nice anymore.”

“We have to hope they come around then,” Gilda reasoned. “It’s not like we can just train the mentality into them.”

“You’re right. Now come on, we should get to the garage, make sure the new recruits are doing what they’re supposed to.”

Spreading her wings, Rainbow headed towards the garage, Gilda hot on her tail.

***

“So what is this then?” Spitfire asked as Rainbow paced around the room. “We do races all the time, what’s so special about this one?”

“This one qualifies us for the Torn Scar Open,” Rainbow replied simply. “We do this, we get into the main race.”

“Which is when?” Lightning asked. “I haven’t been able to look up much with the amount you’ve been training us.”

“The training is necessary, so we keep up the same regime,” Rainbow replied, before continuing. “The race is in six years.”

“Six years!” Spitfire, Lightning and Scootaloo bellowed at once.

“Six years, Dash?” Spitfire was the first one to speak out of unison. “You expect us to stay here for six years?!”

“And more if needed,” Rainbow nodded. “Six years is nothing, barely a drop in the water of time to the Dark Eldar. We’re lucky the qualifier is so close to the race, I’ve heard of races being separated by centuries before.”

“So we pass today, then six years down the line we actually get to do the race?” Lightning deadpanned. “Excuse me if I don’t faint with excitement.”

“Do you have a better plan?” Rainbow snapped. “We’re racing, we’re going to win, and six years down the line, we win again. Then we speak to the Archon of the All-Seeing Eye and find Applejack. Any objections?”

“None,” Scootaloo replied slowly. “It’s just…six years in this place?”

“We’ve already been here half a year, we can do six, we’re strong enough,” Rainbow insisted. “Everyone down to the garage, bring the new recruits up to speed with the plan and make sure they’re ready. The entire clan is racing.”

“You’re sure about racing with them?” Spitfire asked sceptically.

“They may be Dark Eldar, but they’re pretty good,” Gilda cut in. “They’ll do fine, at the least they’ll provide us with some cannon fodder.”

“Fine, we race with them,” Spitfire rolled her eyes. “Come on Lightning, let’s go get ready.”

***

Rainbow and the rest of the Shadowbolts waited on their Jetbikes, the garage at the arena of the Deadly Gaze being far quieter than the one they were all used to, owing to the fact the slaves had all had their mouths burnt shut, ugly scar tissue covering the bottom half of their faces. Spitfire, Lightning and Scootaloo were all visibly shaken by the sight, but kept their own mouths shut as well.

“We still don’t know what this race is going to be,” rainbow called over her helmets communicator. “It will be bloody though, as from what I’ve heard there are six other cults competing today. None of them are going to win, do you understand?”

The Shadowbolts all roared back, the new Dark Eldar whooping wildly, eager to taste the blood of their enemies and feel the thrill of flight. A split second later, the floor began to rise, the floor of the arena opening above them as they rose, finally seeing the home of the Deadly Gaze Wych Cult.

Unlike the Lightning Fang arena, the Deadly Gaze arena was simply flat sand, the floor boasting absolutely no blades or traps for the unwary. The air around it however was a different story. A dedicated jetbike track circled and looped around the arena, the floor of the track crackling with power, and rainbow instantly knew that touching it would be a death sentence just as surely as the swinging blades and spikes would.

“The Shadowbolts!” a voice echoed around the arena, Rainbow looking to its source, and seeing the Succubus of the Deadly Gaze pointing at her team, before turning to point at the others who had also just risen up.

“The Blade Maidens! The Sky Masters! The Devils of Night! The Scarlet Streaks! The Air Kings! These Reaver Clans wish entry to the Torn Scar Open! Others have already passed this stage, but only one of the clans before me shall proceed. Win, and you gain entry to the final race. Loose, and my slave pits grow.”

Rainbow felt the breath stick in her throat for a second, the idea that the losers wouldn’t just feel the lash of defeat, but likely feel the very real lash of the Deadly Gaze, shocked her slightly, before she shook her head and snarled. If anything, this just reaffirmed her determination to win.

“You are granted seventy one laps of our track at most,” the Succubus roared once more. “At the end of each lap, the last racer shall be eliminated from the race, and must dismount their bikes. For them, the gauntlet will await. For those of you who do not know what our gauntlet is, I assure you, those who die within it experience more pain than most shall ever know. If they survive, they are out of the race. The winner is the first one to cross the line after seventy one laps, or the last rider left in the race. Projectile weapons are restricted until the fifth lap, then you may act as you wish. Reavers! Take your positions. May the fastest find victory, and the weak…I hope you survive to provide us with more entertainment.”

Taking the prompt, Rainbow moved towards the race track start point, a waypoint popping into life in her helmet and showing her where the Shadowbolts were supposed to set up. They weren’t in the back, but they also weren’t at the front, that honour had gone to the Blade Maidens, an all-female group of riders who considered themselves above everyone else in skill. The Shadowbolts would finally get to prove them wrong today.

“You heard the lady,” Rainbow called over the comm-net. “Seventy one laps, you fall behind, survive the gauntlet and maybe I’ll forget the fact you were slow.”

“Dash…” Spitfire began, before Rainbow cut the link, gripping the controls of her jetbike tighter as she prepared for the go.

The signal was given, and Rainbow shot forward, the other jetbikes doing the exact same. The Jetbikes weapons may have been restricted for now, but her sword wasn’t, and neither was Rainbow’s most efficient weapon, the jetbike itself. Rainbow wasn’t about to let the bunched up formation of the Dark Eldar slip away from her.

Throwing her jetbike to the side, Rainbow felt the blade slice through something soft, before she lashed out with her sword at another Dark Eldar, a Scarlet Streak by the bodysuit colour, slicing through the riders arm. She didn’t see if the rider lost control or if another rider finished them off, but she did see she wasn’t the only one to start the killing early. By the time they finally began to space out, at least eleven riders had dropped out of the race, permanently.

Rainbow couldn’t see any of the other Shadowbolts as she drove her bike into a spin, flipping over the head of another rider as she rocketed into the top ten riders, her personal rune moving up a slot on her helmet display.

The laps began to quickly rack up, Rainbow shooting past lap five, firing the few weapons her bike had at the racer in front, forcing them to spin to avoid them, and allowing Rainbow to take yet another place, moving into sixth position. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a Dark Eldar on foot sprinting across the arena, heading for the exit, and for a moment Rainbow thought he was going to make it, before a Clawed Fiend leapt on him.

Tearing her eyes away from the bloody spectacle, albeit reluctantly, Rainbow glued her eyes back to the track just in time for her to see Scootaloo sliding past her.

“Oh you little,” Rainbow muttered, before fully opening the throttle and shooting past her again, twisting her bike so as to not clip her with the blades.

The race continued for what felt like hours, the number of racers left dwindling slowly until there were only a handful of them left. She knew that Gilda and Lightning had been eliminated, and both had at least survived the gauntlet, although she did not know if they had done so unscathed or not. Scootaloo was definitely still in the race, constantly keeping up with Rainbow and even overtaking her occasionally. Spitfire was the only member of the original team she wasn’t sure about, but whatever her situation was, Rainbow couldn’t afford to think about it as she shot across the line, the sixth rider screaming a bloody curse before breaking off from the final five racers.

Before Rainbow could refocus on the racers ahead of her, she felt something heavy land on the back of her bike, and she twisted around just in time to avoid a knife blow from a member of the Blade Maidens, the woman’s face distorted into a snarl as she slashed at Rainbow again.

Rainbow barely avoided the blow, Ravenous being far too cumbersome in such close quarters, and with a reluctant snarl she let go of the sword, allowing it to clatter to the metal floor of the race track, before drawing her own small knife, just barely managing to switch on the bikes auto-pilot before the Blade Maiden was on her again.

For such a slight Dark Eldar, she was incredibly strong, and rainbow found herself almost pushed from the saddle as their two blades locked up.

“If you believed an alien such as yourself was a match for a trueborn Dark Eldar, then you are even more deluded than I believed,” the Blade Maiden sneered, forcing the blades closer to Rainbows neck. “Your pathetic Shadowbolts are nothing more than an entertaining child’s ploy, and now you shall die.”

“Get on with it then,” Rainbow snarled back, her entire body now leaning off of the jetbike as it banked around another corner, almost throwing her off, and dislodging a single feather from her wings.

The feather touched down on the track, the metal instantly coming alive, long arcing bolts of electricity targeting the feather, almost instantly turning it to ash, and giving Rainbow an idea. Her brain whirled as she tried to remember everything she could about electricity, recalling Twilights words as best she could.

“Oh, fuck it,” she grunted, giving up trying to remember and just instead hoping that her luck would hold out.

Wrapping one hoof around the Dark Eldar’s neck, Rainbow exposed some of her skin, making sure her hoof was in contact with it, before jerking her head backwards and letting go of the knife. The sudden lack of resistance on her knife made the Blade Maiden stumble, forcing her to grab on to the bike, before Rainbow punched downwards, her hoof coming into contact with the metal flooring.

Pain shot up Rainbows hoof as a few of the strands of lightning struck it, the arm of her bodysuit liquidising and fusing to her skin, but she gritted her teeth and snarled as she looked at the Blade Maiden.

If Rainbow was feeling any pain, the Dark Eldar was feeling it ten times as much as the power surged through Rainbow and into her. Her face was contorted into a wordless scream of absolute agony as a sickly blue glow began to overpower the paleness of her skin, before her eyes melted and her body went limp.

Lifting her hoof from the track, Rainbow kicked the dead rider from her bike, gasping in pain as she took the controls of her bike once more and shot off in pursuit of the second to last rider. With a start she saw that it was Scootaloo, and for a moment she debated allowing Scootaloo to take the lap, and run the gauntlet herself, before squashing the thought. The race was no place for weakness.

“Sorry squirt,” she muttered, before twisting the bike and shooting past Scootaloo just as they crossed the line.

Considering the fact that Scootaloo instantly dropped back, Rainbow assumed she had just made it, and pushed the guilty thoughts from her mind as she focused on the one remaining rider in the race. They had only had sixty laps so far, so Rainbow had eleven more to make up the distance, but the Scarlet Streak was almost half a lap ahead, and it was a lot to make up.

“Come on Rainbow, you can do this,” Rainbow snarled as she banked hard, trying to ignore the burning pain in her hoof.

Rainbow shot into lap sixty nine, and with a horrible realisation, she realised that she wasn’t going to be able to catch up in the remaining laps. She was going to lose.

No you’re not, a voice whispered in her head. You’re faster than this. You know what you can do. Push yourself just a little bit more

Rainbow froze for a second as the thought hit her, before letting out an angry growl. She had to win this race, no matter what.

Leaping from her bike, Rainbow beat her wings harder than she had ever done before, shooting round the track and building up speed. She had installed a cap on her bikes throttle years ago to prevent it from achieving what she wanted to do right now, but her own body had no such limits. A cone of air began to form around her, the sight still being familiar to her even after five years of not even attempting to do what she was about to do.

With a screech, the cone solidified, before Rainbow felt herself shoot forward at phenomenal speeds, the war mask she had sought to keep buried for so long crashing to the front as she sped through the final racer, the bike and the rider not even slowing her as she crossed the finish line.

The entire stadium cheered as the blood cloud she had created rose around her, while slightly further back a huge rainbow had been formed, casting light across the Dark City, before fading once more. Rainbow snarled as she looked at the crowd around her, all of whom were bellowing for more, before she raised her own head and howled, letting the bloodlust of the long dormant war mask lift her voice into a crazed screech to match that of the other Dark Eldar. She barely even noticed Spitfire and Lightning giving each other slightly concerned looks as she basked in the glory of blood and victory.

***

Asdrubael Vect, the Dark Lord of Commoragh, Archon of the Kabal of the Black Heart, and quite possibly the oldest and deadliest being in the galaxy, stood upon the balcony of the Black Heart’s tower, surveying his empire. Behind him were scores of Incubi, the silent warriors never leaving his side for an instant, not that he needed their protection.

Those who were foolish enough to actually challenge him had all been dealt with long ago, and either put to grass or disgraced beyond the ability to return. None could challenge his rule, and so instead he busied himself watching the petty plans and squabbles of those beneath him as they vied for position and the slightest bit of attention from him.

Vect could hardly remember the last time someone had actually managed to gain his attention in a positive and meaningful way, far more often were those who gained his attention by pathetic attempts to usurp his throne. Lady Malys was the only one in the entire city who he saw as his equal, the rest were beneath his notice.

Suddenly the tower shook ever so slightly, Vect only feeling it because he had walked these halls for millennia, and knew their feeling like his own body. Slowly placing his hands on the balcony’s edge, Vect leant forward, scanning for any signs of what had caused the tremor, before his eyes widened slightly behind his helmet as something entirely new to Commoragh graced his vision.

A rainbow ring spread out across the city for a few seconds, casting lights more vibrant than Vect had seen in the city for many lifetimes, before disappearing once more.

“Interesting,” Vect murmured as he watched the light fade, before he turned around.

Whatever made that light was new to Vect, and that was saying something. New was in short supply to the Dark Lord, and he could use the excitement of seeing what had caused it first-hand. Of course, new could also be dangerous, and if whatever had caused the rainbow was a threat to his rule, he would stamp it out now, rather than wait for it to fester into something more unruly.

“My lord, shall I have your Dias prepared?” one of the Incubi bowed low as he passed.

“Yes, I think so,” Vect nodded. “Come. We may have a new quarry to hunt.”

With that, Vect strode out of the room, his Incubi follow silently behind him.

Confrontation

Rainbow Dash

Rainbow let out another screech, the crowd roaring in response as yet another one of the disgraced riders ran at her, determined to get some form of retribution before they were hauled away by the Wyches of the Deadly Gaze. The Wyches had filed onto the arena floor shortly after the race had finished, but had stayed remarkably still, only throwing their nets over a few of the survivors and hauling them away. The rest they seemed content to watch as they fought amongst each other, and the crowd was clearly not going to say no to anther brutal spectacle.

Rainbow easily avoided the rushed blow, before spinning and wrapping a hoof around the neck of the Dark Eldar. He struggled for a minute, before Rainbow took to the sky, dragging the kicking and screaming rider with her. She let out a harsh laugh, before letting him go, the Dark Eldar’s scream being cut short as he bounced off the track, the electricity and the impact killing him instantly.

“Enough! Gather the slaves in, take them to our pens!” a voice that Rainbow dimly recognised as the Succubus of the Deadly Gaze called out. “Champion Dash, I would have a word with you, my Wyches will bring you to my trophy room.”

Rainbow grinned savagely as she looked down at the rider she had just dropped, before slowly descending towards the arena and touching down, folding her wings against her body. The war mask was still clearly on in her mind, but the killing had satiated it for a time, and she no longer felt the urge to kill whatever stood before her. That was not to say she wouldn’t, but at least she could hold a conversation now.

“Dash, you will come with us,” one of the Wyches walked over, the Impaler she was carrying held over her shoulder, while the net was wrapped around her waist, the tiny hooks in it sticking into her skin.

“Yeah, I’m done here anyway,” Rainbow grinned widely, showing off her blood flecked teeth as she picked up her dropped knife. “I want my sword back by the time I’ve finished talking to the Succubus. Understand?”

“I’m sure the Succubus will dispatch some of our pets to clear the track, and your weapon will be returned to you,” the Wych nodded. “Now, follow.”

With that, the Wych turned, leading Rainbow off of the sands of the arena and deeper into the buildings of the Deadly Gaze. Rainbow noted that it was quite similar to the arena of the Lightning Fang, but in her current state she was not really concerned with the architecture, focusing instead on the familiar taste of blood that she had denied herself for years.

“The Succubus will be inside, I will wait here for you if you come out,” the Wych stopped in front of a large set of black, Onyx doors.

“When, I come out,” Rainbow corrected her with a sneer, before pushing the doors open and taking to the air, buzzing just above the ground as she looked around the room.

It was certainly impressive, there must have been hundreds of pieces of paraphernalia or bones displayed around the room, and even a few pieces of Space Marine armour, but as far as she could see there were no full suits, and certainly no relics from Terminator Armour.

“Ah, Ms Dash, you’ve finally arrived,” the Succubus smiled, the gesture holding no warmth at all, as she walked towards Rainbow. “My name is Succubus Elithad, it is a rare occasion to get to meet one of the lesser species because they have drawn my attention, rather than my ire. You seem to be interested in my trophy room, what do you think?”

“The Lightning Fang trophy room has a full suit of Terminator armour,” Rainbow shot back with a cocky smirk. “You didn’t call me in here to compare trophy rooms though, did you?”

“No,” Elithad folded her arms, Rainbow floating at her eye level.

“Well then, are you going to tell me what I need to know, or can I go back to my arena and find some more fodder for my blades?”

“I looked up what we know about you, Dash. Everything we’ve been able to piece together since you arrived in Commoragh. You said that you were the last of your kind, that you killed a group of Corsairs on your way here, is this correct?”

“I don’t see why it would have changed,” Rainbow folded her forehooves. “Say what you want to say and let me go.”

“Fine,” Elithad narrowed her eyes. “You say Commoragh was your first stop after your planet was destroyed, and yet I distinctly remember from my contacts aboard Saim-Hann that another blue, winged, equinoid was sighted there, fighting alongside both an Aspect Temple of the Swooping Hawks and a Wind Host. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about this, would you?”

Even with the war mask on, Rainbow froze at the accusation. The one thing she had tried to do while in Commoragh was to minimise the amount anyone knew about her past time in this universe, and yet here was someone who either knew with absolute certainty who she was, or at least had a very good idea, and was probably willing to act on it.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Rainbow shook her head, keeping her voice steady.

“So you’re telling me that was a different, what did my contact call it? Pegasus?”

“I’ve never heard that word before,” Rainbow snapped.

“Really? Now that’s interesting,” Elithad nodded. “See if you were, hypothetically of course, this Pegasus, and you had been with our Craftworld kin, then it would bring into question your motives. I for one hate infiltrators, and I know Archon Xandrath and the other members of the Triumvent of Half-Formed Hope feel the same.”

“It wasn’t me,” Rainbow growled slowly. “What the hell can I tell you to make you believe that?”

“Funny you should ask, I was waiting for that question. Our craftworld kin are more, frugal, when it comes to satiating their emotional desires, and certainly on the subject of slaves. If you were among them for a time, I believe some of that would have brushed off on you.”

“I just won your little race,” Rainbow snapped. “I killed…”

“Dark Eldar, who were trying to kill you,” Elithad cut Rainbow off. “That proves nothing.”

“Then what will?”

“I have a new clutch of slaves in my pens, worthless things really, weak, terrified. They’d hardly be worth anything to my Wyches in the arena, they’d provide no sport.”

“Where’s this going?” Rainbow asked slowly.

“Make them suffer,” Elithad spoke slowly, enunciating each word and smiling darkly as she did so. “I don’t want them simply killed, that takes little stomach. Wring pain from them, make them suffer. Do that convincingly, and I may in turn be convinced of your words.”

“Fine,” Rainbow growled, turning and buzzing towards the exit.

“My Wyches will see you to quarters where you can wait for the spectacle to begin. And Dash? I expect to feel a hundred years younger.”

“Yeah yeah, I understand,” Rainbow snarled silently, before disappearing from the Succubus’s sight.

***

“You can’t seriously be thinking of going through with this, can you?” Spitfire asked, glaring at Rainbow.

“Do you have another idea,” Rainbow snapped back, her war mask now completely gone from her mind. “Because if you do, please, tell me, I’m all ears.”

“Ummm….maybe…well you could,” Spitfire began, trailing off as she tried to think of something, before her expression hardened once more. “It’s still barbaric!”

“It’s evil, call it what it is,” Lightning agreed.

“That’s enough!” Gilda roared, cutting off Rainbow’s reply before she could even give it voice. “The both of you are out of line. Dash leads, we follow. That’s the way it’s always been.”

“We haven’t always been murderers,” Spitfire snapped.

“You’re not going to be a murderer!” Rainbow roared back, moving close enough to Spitfire that they actually touched foreheads, both ponies scowling as they pushed against the other, yet getting nowhere. “I’m doing this, not you.”

“Wavechill wouldn’t want this,” Spitfire snarled back, Lightning voicing her opinion, only for Gilda to silence her with a glare that could melt steel.

“Wavechill, isn’t, here,” Rainbow spoke slowly, her voice dripping with venom. “Do you understand that? He’s gone, Spitfire, he’s dead, Spitfire, he’s never coming back, Spitfire, are you listening, Spitfire?!”

Rainbow’s voice had grown louder as she spoke, to the point where Spitfire had to take a step backwards to avoid being covered from head to hoof in spit. Spitfire looked angry, but it was Lightning that drew everyone’s attention, a small sniff escaping her nose.

“It’s ok,” Spitfire comforted her, putting a wing around the distraught pony, glaring at Rainbow. “Are you happy now?”

“No, why would I be,” Rainbow snapped, before looking at Scootaloo. “What about you, Scoots? Do you think I’m being too cruel?”

All eyes were suddenly on the orange Pegasus, Scootaloo shrinking back slightly, before clearing her throat and speaking in a soft, raspy voice.

“You…you guy don’t need my opi…”

“Oh no,” Lightning shook her head. “There’s two votes for, two votes against. You have the deciding vote.”

“This isn’t a fucking democracy,” Rainbow snapped.

“Let her choose!” Lightning roared back. “Scootaloo? Choose, now!”

“Rainbow!” Scootaloo screamed back, before covering her face. “I…I choose to support…Dash.”

“Fifteen slaves,” Lightning whispered incredulously. “You’re supporting their murder.”

“I’m supporting our mission,” Scootaloo shook her head, tears beginning to brim in her eyes. “You don’t have a better idea, Lightning. We… we have to save Applejack. She’s our mission. We have to stick to that or we don’t have a point here.”

“The matter was never up for debate anyway,” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “But thank you, Scootaloo anyway. Spitfire, Lightning. I know you don’t see eye to eye with me on this, so get some rest and go back to our arena. That’s an order, understand?”

“Yes,” Spitfire growled, venom dripping from her voice, before she turned away, Lightning following close behind her.

“Those two are getting difficult,” Gilda muttered under her breath.

“Tell me something I don’t already know,” Rainbow replied, before glancing at Scootaloo. “You get some rest too, Scootaloo, ok?”

The young Pegasus nodded, silently following after Lightning and Spitfire, leaving Gilda and Rainbow alone in the quarters they had been assigned for the evening. Gilda waited for the door to fully close, before turning to face Rainbow with a grin.

“Just you and me, Dash, eh? Alone in a room for the evening?”

“They practically gifted wrapped this place for us,” Rainbow grinned back, before pouncing on Gilda.

***

Rainbow stood in the armoury of the arena, clad in the tight bodysuit that had become her staple piece of clothing, Ravenous strapped tightly to her back, and her wings spread out beside her. Surrounding her were a clutch of slaves, the pitiful things that had once been human, now turned into shackled, emancipated hunchbacks, moved around her as best they could, strapping more knives and weapons to her to make sure she had enough to entertain the crowds. Even her feathers were not unaffected, the Succubus of the Deadly Gaze opening up the vault on the few Scourge weapons they had for equipping their allies, turning her wings themselves into sharp, deadly blades and poisoned barbs.

Finally, Rainbow considered herself ready, turning and striding past the slaves as they scrambled to get out of her way. A few tripped over in their haste, but Rainbow paid them no heed, walking down the short corridor towards the arena gateways, passing Scootaloo and Gilda as she went.

Gilda gave her a nod of approval as she went by, a steely look of determination written across her face at what she was about to watch Rainbow do, while Scootaloo simply starred at her, although even Rainbow couldn’t tell if it was hero worship, fear, or uncertainty. In all honesty, it was probably a small amount of all three.

Finally, she reached the small amphitheatre, a large gate separating her from the arena, and a single Wych standing guard over it.

“So, you’re the one who gets to open tonight’s entertainment?” she asked, looking Rainbow up and down. “I can’t say I’m impressed, but it’s not up to me. Do not screw up, Ygal, the opening is an honour not lightly afforded anyone, and I can imagine that some amongst my cult will see that as an insult, and may take steps to…”

“Are you going to keep talking, or are you actually going to say something?” Rainbow snapped. “And if that was a threat, then try telling me when you’re in a position to scare me.”

“Ooh, look at the tongue on you,” the Wych hissed. “You’ll die soon enough, the lesser species don’t last long in Commoragh.”

Before Rainbow could formulate a response, the gates leading to the arena silently shot open, Rainbow giving the Wych one final glare, before walking back onto the sands. It took her but an instant to take in every aspect of the arena, completely different as it was from the last time she had been here.

The track was gone, the large metal structure completely absent, leaving the entirety of the arena floor easily visible from the packed stands. A few Wyches stood in the front tier of the seating, standing rigidly still so that the waiting audience could marvel at their features before the real entertainment began, but it was the other guards that interested Rainbow more. Warriors and Incubi, all bearing the same symbol, but at this range Rainbow could not make out what it was, were placed amongst the crowds. Unlike the Wyches who were clearly there as part of the show, these figures were dark and ominous, even the famously callous Dark Eldar giving them wide berths and uneasy glances.

Shaking her head, Rainbow turned to look at those fifteen unfortunate to have been placed upon the sands for her. Almost all of them were humans skinny shaking creatures, but there was at least one sub-human in their group, a squat if Rainbow remembered correctly, and finally a blue skinned alien which Rainbow instantly recognised as a Tau. Each of them were clutching wicked looking weapons, but from the way they were all shaking, Rainbow knew that they didn’t know the first thing about them. If they did, they probably wouldn’t be here to face her.

Before Rainbow could speak, Elithad’s voice sounded across the arena, the nigh on mystical technologies of the Dark Eldar amplifying her voice so that everyone present could hear it.

“Tonight’s opening entertainment is brought to you by Dash! A Ygal! She is a member of the Shadowbolts, a Reaver clan affiliated with the Lightning Fang Wych cult. They believe that they are equal to our cult, but I will leave such decisions up to the sands! And to the crowds! Fifteen slaves against one Ygal! An easy fight for my Wyches, let’s see how this one fares.”

As she finished speaking, Rainbow raised a hoof, pointing it at the quivering Tau, raising her own voice, the same technology now projecting her voice.

“That one!” she roared loud enough for the arena to hear her. “That one dies first!”

Before the Tau could even manage to stammer a sentence, Rainbow leapt forward, flaring her wings and delivering two pulled blows that still managed to send a pair of humans flying, before casually spinning, pulling a knife free from her belt and pushing it deep through the foot of the Squat, pushing it deep into the arena floor and pinning the screaming midget in place.

Seeing three of their number so easily knocked back, the others all let out fearful screams, some dropping their weapons and fleeing towards the surrounding wall, while others backpedalled quickly, trying to organise themselves into a more defensible position, the Tau included. Rainbow was not about to renege on her promise however, and leapt forward, tackling the Tau and rolling over, putting her full body weight on his chest as his weapon skittered from his grasp, before she slowly drew another knife, this one laced with a fast acting, but certainly not lethal, poison.

If the slaves had even an ounce of courage or tactical knowledge in their bodies, now would have been the perfect time to strike, but Rainbow knew she had all the time she needed, and the only goal of causing pain.

“P-P-P-P-Please,” the Tau stammered, his voice laboured as he struggled with Rainbow’s weight. “I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I can…I can help you. I’ve seen…”

“I don’t care,” Rainbow sneered with a cackling laugh, before sliding the poisoned knife into the Tau’s flesh, making sure to miss anything vitally important.

Whatever the Tau had seen died in his throat, replaced by a hellish scream as the pain of the blade coupled with the venom now coursing through his system replaced all other thoughts in his mind. He thrashed wildly, but Rainbow was easily strong enough to resist the pathetic attempts at freedom, slowly widening the hole, before plunging a hoof in, forcing it up beneath his skin, feeling for the beating heart.

The organ was going crazy, it’s beats erratic and mismatched, but Rainbow didn’t pay it any heed, instead wrapping a hoof around it and pulling. The Tau made one final scream, before his eyes rolled back in his head, the last thing he ever saw being his own heart ripped from his body, the blood dripping over Rainbow’s head as she held it up for all the crowd to see, the assembled Dark Eldar roaring in approval.

Taking a single bite of the flesh, savouring the tough texture, Rainbow hurled the organ as far as she could towards the nearest stand, covering some of those sitting there in the blood, before she turned back to face the now utterly terrified slaves, a mad look in her eyes.

“So,” she grinned, showing off her now blood-soaked teeth in an entirely unsettling grin, drawing Ravenous as she spoke, “who’s next?”

***

The screams lasted for hours, Rainbow sticking true to the Succubus’s words and making sure that the Tau’s death was the least agonising of the evening, each one becoming more creative and more sadistic as time went on. Even the war-mask, something Rainbow had feared would erupt and take a more direct route to the killing, had stayed remarkably easy to placate, the slow methodical approach clearly not giving it the stimulation it needed to fully manifest.

Finally, after ignoring the screaming of the Squat for almost half an hour, Rainbow pulled back, tearing the skin from his face as she did so, the limp flesh blowing in the breeze as the Squat screamed through a bloody, lipless mouth. Rainbow debated dropping the face, but her own bloodlust ran out. She had sampled human flesh before, and clearly it hadn’t had any adverse effect on her. Why not Squat?

With that thought in mind, Rainbow titled her head back, the face sliding further into her mouth as she began to chew, before looking down at the rapidly fading Squat, making sure he could see his own face being eaten, before taking hold of the knife she had placed in him earlier and pulling it upwards through his body, severing the last tethers of his life, before she turned back to the crowd, pointing bloody hoof and knife at the stand where Elithad sat.

“For the Cult of the Deadly Gaze! Fifteen lives to open a night of blood! Let it be one to remember!”

***

The Succubus watched Rainbow deliver the final kill, as well as her respectful ending remarks, and her eyes followed her as she stalked off of the sands, replaced by two more warriors, before she felt the figure behind her move, and instantly turned around, springing from her seat and dropping to her knees.

“M-My lord. Are…are you satisfied by the creatures display?” she stammered, the ancient Succubus feeling fear for what felt like the millionth time in the last two hours. She couldn’t remember the time she had felt fear before that.

“Satisfied?” Vect intoned, lowering his helmeted gaze just a fraction to look at the kneeling Elithad. “The display was…adequate.” He spoke slowly, savouring the fear that rolled off Elithad at his every word, before getting to his feet. “She may yet be allowed to live a little longer. You will bring her to me in your trophy room. Do not delay, Succubus, I hate to be kept waiting.”

Author's Note

So a variety of events delayed this chapter, Fallout 4 and uni work being among them, but I also couldn't work out how best to show Rainbow's torturing scenes. Whenever I wrote them it just seem to drag on and loose interest faster than I could come up with fifteen unique and painful ways to kill people. (never thought I'd be saying that as a bad thing :/)
Hopefully this way of doing things works well and gets the general idea across.

Acceptance

Rainbow Dash

Rainbow was silent as the Wych closed the doors behind her, leaving her in the trophy room alone. For a few minutes she stood still, waiting for Elithad to come and speak to her, but as the time dragged on, she became more and more bored, and eventually she started to wander, looking at the various trophy’s dotted around the room.

While she was running a hand over what could have only been Ork technology, the doors opened again, and Rainbow spun around, expecting to see Elithad, but instead almost slamming face first into the chest plate of an Incubus.

“I didn’t know Elithad had Incubi in her service,” Rainbow looked up at the expressionless helmet. “Well? Where is…she?”

Rainbow trailed off as she looked past the first Incubus, counting seven more identical warriors now flanking the door, and a single, utterly terrifying Dark Eldar in the centre.

Rainbow didn’t know who the new comer was, but he radiated terror just by his mere presence. His armour was a perfect, polished obsidian, decorated with runes that seemed to swim in and out of focus even as she watched, before she had to look away. An odd septet was hanging loosely from his waist, the Eldar softly tapping the skull shaped pommel with his long, armoured fingers.

“Tell me your name,” the figure spoke. It was not loud, and yet it pierced through the air and stabbed directly at Rainbow’s ears.

“Dash,” Rainbow began. “I’m…”

“Lying,” the figure hissed softly. “Tell, me, your name.”

“My name is Da…”

“Lie one more time, and I will ensure you live for eternity to feel every pain possible to you. One, final, chance. Your name.”

Rainbow hesitated for a second, shrinking back slightly under the figures gaze, before finally deflating and lowering her head.

“R-Rainbow Dash,” she whispered.

“And what are you? Do not say Ygal.”

“A Pegasus, from Equestria.”

“And also a Swooping Hawk of Saim-Hann, a member of the Nar-Bok Wind Clan,” the figure finished. “You were with my Craftworld kin for two years, were you not?”

“I was,” Rainbow nodded.

The figure nodded once, before looking at one of the Incubi.

“Take away her weapons and bind her, then find her compatriots and do the same. Bring them to the tower. I wish to speak to them further, away from this pitiful arena.”

The figure turned without another word, six of the Incubi following behind him, while two advanced on Rainbow. Before she could say anything, an armoured fist was swung into her temple, and Rainbow’s world went black.

***

Rainbow’s eyes shot open as she sat bolt upright, before immediately wishing she hadn’t done that. Cruel shackles were wrapped around her hooves, short chains connecting them all together, while a barbed belt was strapped tightly around her waist, digging into her skin, and making sure that flaring her wings was an impossible task, and incredibly painful to attempt at that.

“So you’re awake?” Gilda croaked from beside her, shifting around to face her, revealing that she was bound in a similar way to Rainbow was. Scootaloo was lying beside Gilda, likewise bound, although whether she was awake or not was anyone’s guess.

“Bastards came for Scootaloo and me before we could come find you. Guess we’re just waiting on the two prudes,” Gilda continued, before snapping her head round at the sound of footsteps on the other side of the bars.

A warrior soon came into view, clad in black and maroon armour, and bearing a symbol that made Rainbow’s heart freeze. A black heart, a single rune piercing it. Rainbow knew exactly what it was, having learnt to avoid that at all costs. It was the symbol of the Black Heart Kabal.

And that meant that it was Asdrubael Vect himself that ordered their imprisonment.

“We’re dead,” Rainbow whispered, her heart pounding in her ears.

“What?” Gilda snapped her head around, looking away from the Dark Eldar and hissing. “What, Dash?”

“No talking,” the Dark Eldar sneered, before unlocking the door and gesturing with a pistol. “Move, my master wishes a word with you.”

“Like hell we…” Gilda began, before Rainbow silenced her with a soft kick, her chains restricting what she could do. All colour had drained from her face now as she walked over to Scootaloo, pulling the unconscious mare onto her back.

“It seems one of your kind has a modicum of sense,” their captor sneered once more. “Any more words, and I will ensure your tongues are ripped from your mouths.

Rainbow nodded silently, before slowly shuffling towards the exit of the cell, another Dark Eldar waiting there to lead them, while the first brought up the rear, occasionally kicking Gilda when she showed signs of resisting.

Rainbow’s mind was racing now, trying to come up with every possible situation of how they drew the ire of Vect himself, and just as importantly, where Spitfire and Lightning were. Her inner thoughts were soon broken however as Spitfire and Lightning were paraded into view, bound exactly like Rainbow, Gilda and Scootaloo were, and looking just as angry and confused.

“What…” Spitfire began, before a swift kick sent her sprawling to the floor of the massive hall they had been led to. Before Rainbow could even consider voicing a complaint, kicks from the other Dark Eldar sent them all sprawling, Scootaloo stirring as she hit the ground hard.

“Bow before the lord of Commoragh,” one of the Dark Eldar growled, before each of them dropped to one knee, bowing their heads.

Rainbow took a deep breath, steadying herself before she dared to look to the end of the room where a lone throne stood, flanked by two motionless Incubi, and a figure that may as well have been death itself.

He was not taller than the other Dark Eldar Rainbow had seen, nor was he bigger physically. Even his armour was not that much more embellished than that of a normal Archon, the same runes frome before still swimming before rainbow’s eyes. A small goblet was clutched in one of his hands, while a tabard that Rainbow instantly recognised as being made of flayed skin hung down over the lip of the throne, proudly displaying the mark of the Black Heart.

But even though he was not physically any different from the other Eldar around her, Rainbow knew that every single one of the Dark Eldar present would rather fall on their own swords than draw his ire. And Rainbow had managed to do just that.

“Do you know who I am?” he asked, leaning forward ever so slightly, placing the goblet on the arm of his throne and interlocking his long fingers.

“A-A-Asdrubael V-V-Vect,” Rainbow nodded hurriedly, dropping her gaze to the floor. “L-Lord of Commoragh.”

“Very good, Rainbow Dash,” Vect nodded slowly, the thin smile never leaving his face. “You seem much more in your element than before, on your knees, before your betters. It was…odd, to say the least to find something new in my city who did not instantly fall before my feet. I must say the sensation was…strange, I had almost forgotten what it felt like. If you did not intrigue me so, you would already be suffering for your impudence.”

“My lord Vect, I…” Rainbow began, before Vect held up a hand, Rainbow instantly falling silent.

“Do not speak, worm, unless I tell you to. Do not mistake my intrigue for an excuse to talk unannounced in my presence,” Vect’s voice was even icier than before as he placed his hands back together. “My sources on the Craftworld never spoke of there being more than one of your kind, and certainly not this larger creature. They all seem trained however, are you responsible for this, Rainbow?”

“Yes, my lord,” Rainbow nodded hurriedly.

“And you are also responsible for training them when they got here,” Vect continued with a knowing nod. “Interesting. But, to more important mattered. What is a Craftworld trained xenos, such as yourself, and five other creatures, doing in my city?”

Rainbow’s mind raced again as she summed up every option, every possible avenue of escape from their current situation. She could smell her own fear rising at this point, so she could only imagine what everyone else could smell and see. From a quick glance, Vect was still smiling, clearly enjoying tormenting her so casually.

“Take your time, little pony,” Vect leant forward. “I imagine right about now a million thoughts are going through that head of yours. Do you tell the truth that you clearly want to keep hidden, thus spilling one of the few remaining secrets you have left, or do you tell the truth, because you know that you have already used up all of my patience for lies this century. Weight up your choices, then speak, and pray to whatever gods you hold that I am satisfied by your answer. Celestia is one of your pantheon if I remember my sources words correctly. Pray to Celestia, Rainbow Dash, pray like it is the last thing you will ever do.”

“We’re looking for my friend,” Rainbow blurted out, the story spilling from her lips like an open flood gate. “We were experimenting with new technology on our homeworld and one of my friends accidentally got sucked into an artificial tear in the webway and we don’t know where she is so me and my team were sent through the webway as well to try and find her because I’m the only one that knows anything about this universe and my team and I are the most trained warriors of our world.”

Rainbow took a massive breath as she finished talking, panting slightly while still looking at the floor.

“That certainly is an interesting tale,” Vect nodded slowly, leaning back in his throne and picking up his goblet once more, swirling the contents around in mock though, before taking a sip. “You’ve come into my city, the Dark City of Commoragh, rumoured to be the most dangerous plane of existence in all of creation, and you say this is all to search for one of your own kind. That is quite a tale, an interesting one if true, but if false, more than enough for me to justify wringing all the pain you can feel from your fragile bodies. Not that it would require any justification at all. If you are the strongest warriors your planet possesses, I would say that I don’t even have a decent amount of sport, let alone a challenge.”

“I swear, my lord, everything I said is true,” Rainbow stammered. “All we are doing in your city is hunting down a lead for our friend, it is the only one we got after weeks of searching the Saim-Hann archives. We never wished to come here, nor did we wish to cause any trouble for you. I beg of you, please believe me, lord Vect. At least…at least spare my teammates, they were only following my lead.”

“Rain…” Gilda began, before one of the Dark Eldar savagely kicked her once again, drawing a pained squawk from her as the barbs around her wings dug in even deeper, blood oozing out onto the gleaming obsidian floor.

“Let’s say I did believe you,” Vect’s smile grew almost imperceptibly bigger as he spoke. “That I decide to spare your teammates, what can you offer me in return?”

“I offer you everything I have, lord Vect,” Rainbow spoke again, her voice a shallow whisper. “My service, my loyalty, my soul, my body…my life. I can offer you no more, for I have nothing left that you do not already have in abundance. I was the Element of Loyalty on my homeworld, the embodiment of the virtue. Spare them and I swear on my very soul that I will live up to that embodiment in service of you.”

“Your loyalty?” Vect mused softly. “If one of my own kind had said that, I may have laughed, but you have not begged for your own life, only that of your friends. Perhaps I am inclined to believe that your loyalty is something of a…rare commodity in my city, rarely seen outside of the Incubi. Hmmm….to have a loyal and slightly skilled ally is something that even I can value. You wished to enter the Torn Scar Open, did you not? That is why you raced before?”

“Yes, my lord,” Rainbow nodded slowly. “We wish for an audience with the Archon of the All Seeing Eye.”

Vect nodded slowly, before gesturing with his hand. “Release them all, escort them from my tower. Rainbow Dash, you may race in the Torn Scar Open, you may continue to reside in my city, but your life, your soul, and that of your team, belongs to me now. If I call on you, I expect you to answer regardless of other factors. You follow my orders above all others, or you will suffer. Am I understood?”

“Y-Yes, Lord Vect,” Rainbow nodded hurriedly, hardly believing her luck, before wincing slightly as the chain around her wings were peeled off, leaving hundreds of small cuts around her body. “T-Thank you, Lord Vect.”

“Get them out of my sight,” Vect waved his hand dismissively, before the Dark Eldar behind her hauled her to her hooves and forced them from the room.

***

“Rainbow…” Spitfire began as the team dismounted their bikes inside the arena of the Lightning Fang.

“No, I will not talk about what happened, as I said before,” Rainbow snapped.

“And I told you I don’t care, I want answers,” Spitfire growled back, pulling her helmet off and dropping it to the floor as she marched towards Rainbow. “What the hell did you do back there?”

“Oh you mean saving our lives?” Rainbow snapped, turning so she was eye to eye with Spitfire. “That was Asdrubael Vect, not just another Archon, Vect himself, the leader of Commoragh, and we drew his ire. Do you understand that? We drew the gaze of the biggest fish in the pond, and we were lucky to get out of there. I had to offer him something, and we don’t have anything except our service, so yes, I offered that.”

“You put us under yet another monster!” Spitfire roared. “That brings the total up to five.”

“Five?” Scootaloo asked in confusion, pulling her own helmet free.

“Vect, Ilithia, Ale’ri, Eethron,” Spitfire listed off the names, before her eyes narrowed and she pointed a hoof at Rainbow. “And her.”

“Rainbow is not a monster!” Gilda roared, before Rainbow held up a hoof.

“No no, let her talk. I want to hear this,” Rainbow snarled darkly. “Got on, Spitfire. Tell me why I’m a monster.”

“You’ve killed innocent people, raided their homes, and now put us in service of someone else who will make us do things that are even worse,” Spitfire snarled back.

“I just put my life on the line for you. For all of you,” Rainbow looked around, glaring at each individual, lingering on Spitfire and Lightning the longest. “I did not beg for my life, because if I had we all be in more pain than you can even imagine right now. And this is the thanks I get from you?!”

“You killed those slaves!” Spitfire roared. “You…”

Spitfire was cut off as Rainbow slammed the back of her hoof into the mare’s muzzle, sending Spitfire sprawling to the floor. Before Spitfire could recover, Rainbow was beside her once more, looking down at her with barely concealed wrath. Gilda, Scootaloo and Lightning were all silent at this point, standing perfectly still as they struggled to comprehend the fact that Rainbow had hit her childhood idol. Rainbow did not have that same trouble however.

“Call a monster again, question my orders again, even hint at the idea that you could run this team any better, and I swear that my hoof will be replaced by the sands of the arena,” she snarled softly, before glaring at Lightning. “The same goes for you. You can either fight at my side, or get crushed under my hooves, but you will not stand against me.”

With that, Rainbow turned and strode from the room, the others still stunned, before Gilda finally ran after Rainbow, the others staying with Spitfire.

“Too much?” Rainbow muttered as the pair walked.

“Not really,” Gilda shrugged. “I know what it takes to run a team here, same as you. Spitfire needed taking down a notch.”

“She’ll get worse,” Rainbow pointed out. “I could do without the thorn in my side. Lightning too. Maybe Scootaloo, but that’s unlikely. The team’s falling apart, G, I can’t let that happen. We already lost one, losing another would likely set us back.”

“Wavechill wasn’t your fault,” Gilda reminded her softly.

“I know that,” Rainbow nodded. “I never said it was.”

“Well at any rate you sent him off well,” Gilda shrugged.

“No, I didn’t,” Rainbow shook her head, before pushing Gilda into her chamber and locking the door, before flaring her new wing. “there was a price to pay for this, and burning a near unique body in this city is a waste.”

“You gave Eethron Wavechill’s body?” Gilda asked in surprise.

“I didn’t have any other payment, and I needed the wing. The Dark Eldar can do amazing things with the body, and I need those things to keep us on track, especially if Lightning and Spitfire are going to be acting out like they are currently doing.”

“What are you asking me, Rainbow?” Gilda asked, taking a step backwards.

“Nothing like what you’re thinking,” Rainbow assured her, before sighing. “I just needed to tell someone, and to have someone I trust entirely support me.”

“Support you in what?” Gilda snapped. “Would you for once speak plainly, Dash.”

“I’m going back to Eethron,” Rainbow smiled, her eyes glinting. “I need to be stronger, and he’s the one to do it.”

Author's Note

I own no rights to that picture clearly, just thought it looked awesome.

A Cult Divided

Rainbow Dash

“Perfection,” Eethron mused softly, bringing the side of a scalpel up to his mouth and snaking his tongue along the edge, savouring the bitter taste of the crimson liquid, shuddering slightly as he did so. “When you came to me saying that your body was open to me for study…I believe it was the greatest gift I have been given in the past decade. But enough of my talking, I must continue.”

With that, Eethron removed the scalpel from the mouth and began to work once more. Rainbow did not reply to Eethron’s speech in words, instead letting out another raspy scream, her vocal cords rubbing themselves raw as she struggled against the straps that were holding her down. A few strips of leather hung from her mouth, the only remnants of the leather-wrapped stick that Eethron favoured giving to his patients for them to bite down on. Rainbow’s teeth were chipped and splinters laced her tongue from where she had bitten through it.

“As much as it pains me to say this, I do believe I am almost finished,” Eethron sighed, two or his arms working at a blur to sew up the muscles and skin that had been peeled back earlier on. “It is a shame, I rarely get the time to work on such a unique project, the process of turning those who come to me into Wracks or Scourges has become routine after millennia, and even my Grotesques are not as interesting as they once were. But you, you are something that only comes around…maybe thrice in a lifetime.”

“If…you…say…so,” Rainbow rasped. “Is it…is it done?”

“Is it done?” Eethron asked in mock confusion, injecting a cocktail of drugs into Rainbow’s bloodstream. “I am sorry, Rainbow, but I do not know what this ‘it’ is. All I know is that you are finished. Some of my best work I do believe. Now, let me get you up, my drugs should dull any final pain you have, sadly.”

“Please do,” Rainbow nodded as Eethron began to move around her, undoing the straps around her limbs, allowing her to flop onto the floor with a thud, Eethron stepping back as she wretched blood and bile onto the floor.

“Let it all out, I will have someone collect it later,” he purred, before signalling with one of his spiny appendages, a Grotesque bearing a huge, reflective crystal moving towards the pair, placing its load down before Rainbow.

“Well, here you are, Rainbow,” Eethron helped Rainbow to her hooves, standing beside her and placing both hands on her shoulders as if he had just fitted her for a new dress. “What do you think?”

Rainbow gasped slightly as she saw herself for the first time, her eyes quickly darting across the crystal, taking in every inch of her. Scars criss-crossed her frame from where Eethron had cut into her, opening up her hollow bones and pumping lighter than air gases into them. Her wings, once feathery and the same cyan as her fur, were now black and leathery, skin stretched between the bones on her wings like one of Luna’s Thestral guards. Even her spine wasn’t untouched, rows of needles and injectors, each filled with a different coloured ichor were fused to her back, the plungers just waiting to be pressed down with a simple mental command.

All of those paled in comparison to the two biggest changes however. The skin on her face was gone, stripped away down to the skull, only to be replaced with the thinnest nanolayer of matt black wraithbone, reducing the friction she would create when flying to a fraction of what it was before, while giving her a skeletal, gaunt look. But Rainbow was more interested in her forehooves, or rather the Griffon-like claws that had now replaced them.

“It’s amazing what a bit of rewiring your brain and replacing synapsis can do,” Eethron smiled as Rainbow clenched her claws, an action that both felt unbelievably unnatural, and yet also as if she had done it a million times before. “A bit of examining your friend’s brain, my own knowledge of the brain of my kind, and you should feel as if this is completely natural. And…”

Eethron suddenly tightened his grip on Rainbow’s shoulders, heaving back and pitching Rainbow across the room. Rainbow let out a cry of surprise, her anger rising as she used her wings to right herself, skidding backwards on her hooves as she finally came to a halt, her claws clenched into fists.

“What the fuck?!” she roared, preparing to dive at the aged Haemonculus.

“Oh settle down, I was just testing a theory,” Eethron rolled his eyes. “Besides, it appears I was correct. For a quadrupedal species, you are remarkably well balanced, and your brain is…remarkably similar in construction to that of an Eldar. It made rewiring it so much simpler”

“Well balanced? What are you talking…about,” Rainbow trailed off as she looked down at herself, standing on her two hind legs as if she had done so for years. “Eethron, what did you do?”

“I simply replaced part of your frontal lobe with grey matter from my own garden,” Eethron continued to smile as he walked over to Rainbow as she fell back to all fours. “With this you should be able to easily spend an hour on your rear legs, maybe more with adrenaline, your wings and combat drugs in your system.”

“This should be interesting to watch,” Gilda called out wryly as she walked into the room, a pair of Wracks accompanying her. “Eethron, tell your pets that if they keep following me around you’re going to need to reattach their heads.”

“You two, Gilda is a guest of our Covern, do not follow her around like she is our prisoner or you will personally answer to me,” Eethron growled. “Unless of course you wish for my force of Grotesques to grow by two more souls.”

“No, my lord,” one of the Wracks intoned, placing a fist to his chest, before the pair of them quickly turned and left the laboratory.

“You look…different,” Gilda chuckled as she walked towards Rainbow. “I mean I know I’ve said I like scars, but if you’re not careful this may be a little too much, even for me.”

“Like you could ever keep your claws off,” Rainbow shot back with a smirk, before looking at Eethron. “This means a lot to me Eethron, I won’t forget this.”

“You’d be hard pushed, all you need to do to remember is to look at yourself,” Eethron smiled, his lips pulling back into more of a leer than a comforting visage. “And remember, my laboratory is always open to you, free of charge as long as our agreement of my study of you does not change. If other members of your Shadowbolts wish to go under my knife however, we will need to work out some other form of payment.”

“I highly doubt that Spitfire or Lighting will want to come here,” Gilda snorted.

“Nor will Scoots,” Rainbow agreed. “Thank you for the offer, Eethron, I will be sure to keep it in mind.”

“Return to the arena then,” Eethron waved his hands dismissively, a Wrack making its way over to him. “Unlike the crude surgery from humans, you will not require any ‘rest’ to be fully recovered. Now please, my servant will show you out.”

Without another word, Eethron turned and headed further into his lab, occasionally stopping and inspecting the work of some of the other Haemonculi who inhabited the Covern, as Rainbow and Gilda followed the Wrack out of the tower.

“Thanks, G. Not many friends would have put themselves under Eethron’s knife for me,” Rainbow smiled.

“Well I like to think we’re more than friends?” Gilda smirked.

“Fine, fuck buddies then,” Rainbow laughed, before coughing and groaning. “Damn it, my throat feels like a chainsword ripped across it.”

“Screaming for twenty seven hours will do that,” Gilda pointed out. “You need to eat too, I’ll make sure no one disturbs us when we get back to the arena.”

“Good,” Rainbow nodded, flaring her wings experimentally. “I can’t be arsed to face the others without sleep, and food. When we get back get the slaves to bring me something up.”

“Will do,” Gilda nodded, flaring her own wings. “Now, race ya?”

“You’re on,” Rainbow grinned, before flapping her wings hard and heading towards the arena, Gilda hot on her tail.

***

“What did you do?!” Spitfire roared, galloping into the hanger and skidding to a halt just in front of Rainbow, Lightning and Scootaloo following close behind her. “Rainbow?! What the fuck have you done?!”

“Lower your voice, Spitfire,” Rainbow murmured softly, before placing her claw on the top of her Jetbike, closing a panel on it and looking directly at Spitfire and the others.

Predictably the three of them let out a gasp and took a few shocked steps backwards, before Spitfire regained her composure and opened her mouth to roar.

“If you’re going to shout, then I suggest you don’t say anything,” Rainbow pre-empted her.

“Don’t you tell me not to shout!” Spitfire ignored her, rage plastered across her face. “What the fuck have you done to yourself?! Bad enough you act like a monster, now you have to look like one too?!”

“That’s enough,” Gilda roared, flaring her wings menacingly and taking a step forward.

“You best stop moving, bird-brain,” Lightning roared in reply, stepping up to block Gilda.

“ENOUGH!” Rainbow bellowed, her voice louder than any of the others. “All of you!”

Gilda and Lightning paused at Rainbows screech, but continued to glare at each other, both clearly ready to dive at the other if ordered to. Spitfire looked just as coiled while facing Rainbow, only Scootaloo seeming to have not taken a side yet, looking between the four of them in confusion and worry.

“You call me a monster because of what I’ve done, Spitfire,” Rainbow growled, glaring at her former idol. “The lives I’ve taken? You’ve have not yet seen me a monster, I promise you that. I’ve seen monsters, fought with them on their level. I’ve killed Space Marines, fought against beings of pure evil from the depths of the minds insanity, and you want to know something? This place is worse, by far.”

“You’re worse than anything here!” Spitfire shouted back.

“Why?” rainbow snarled, her anger rising. “Because I’ve killed a few dozen innocents here? Do you forget who we are saving, Spitfire?! The Element of Honesty! Part of the weapons that protect and entire planet from evil! Is that not worth a few hundred lives at least? A thousand?!”

“Rainbow…” Gilda muttered from beside her, but Rainbow was not going to stop now.

“I will kill, as many as it takes to get Applejack back! I am dashing myself against this place to do that, so don’t say I’m not sacrificing anything! The war mask is pushing on my mind every moment I’m here, every time I give into it, it becomes harder to remove! So don’t call me a monster, Spitfire,” she spat the word from her mouth like venom.

“You are a monster,” Spitfire growled.

“GET PUT!” Rainbow roared, before pulling herself up onto her hind legs, spreading her wings to their fullest extent.

Time seemed to slow as realisation dawned on Spitfire’s face that she may have finally pushed too far, as she began to take a step back. Rainbow was already ahead of her however, reaching down for Ravenous, preparing herself to use the monstrous power sword to clear though Spitfire’s neck. Lightning would be next, the blade would find no resistance from her tiny body. Then Scootaloo would be judged, but if she failed she too would be cut down.

She could feel the war mask rushing to the surface of her mind, the wrath of Khaine screaming and bellowing at her to be let free, to punish the defectors and…

“DASH!”

The cry shook Rainbow from her trance-like state, and she shook her head, before looking around to see who had done it, before she felt a hoof knock the sword from her slackened grip. Scootaloo’s eyes were full of fire when Rainbow first looked her way, but soon fell back, the fire giving way to terror as she realised what she had just done.

“Get…get out. I don’t want see either of you the next ten cycles,” Rainbow whispered, her voice barely carrying to Spitfire and Lightning, the pair not needing to be told twice as they galloped for the exit.

“Rainbow, I’m…I’m sorry,” Scootaloo began, before Rainbow dropped to all fours, pulling Scootaloo into a hug.

“Thanks, Scoots, I may have needed that,” Rainbow murmured, before tightening the hug slightly, squeezing Scootaloo’s neck, not tight enough to hurt, but enough to get her point across. “Do not make a habit of standing in my way though, Scoots.”

“I…I won’t, Rainbow,” Scootaloo stammered, gasping as Rainbow released her.

“Good,” Rainbow smiled, looking between Scootaloo and Gilda. “Scoots, check over your bike and weapons, I want you to be sure they’re all ready. Gilda, go get the other riders, make sure they do the same. I sense a raid is long overdue.”

***

Rainbow strode through the open doors to the command room of the arena, her claws clicking softly against the polished obsidian floor, her tail flicking softly from side to side. She was fully clad in her new race suit, the back modified to allow the injectors placed there to not get caught, while a plethora of knives were attached across the rest of her body, all paling slightly in comparison to Ravenous, which she had taken to wearing more regularly now she had the claws to properly wield it.

“Dash,” Ale’ri turned his head to look at her as she approached. “Or is it Rainbow? You have so many names and faces these days it’s hard to keep up. Pegasus, Ygal, pony, Rainbow Dash. I wonder what else you may have lied about.”

“I don’t really care what you think, Ale’ri,” Rainbow said dismissively as she stopped in front of the three Dark Eldar. “You summoned…”

“I do not like being dismissed so easily, pony,” Ale’ri spat.

“Like I said, I don’t really care,” Rainbow reiterated, adding a yawn for emphasis.

“Why you little…” Ale’ri roared, making to draw one of his swords, stopping as Ilithia suddenly drew a knife of her own, holding it over the handle of the sword while pointing her small pistol at Rainbow.

“The pair of you will now be silent for the rest of this meeting, unless it is to add something important. Am I understood?” She glared between the pair of them, and when neither spoke, she nodded, putting her weapons away. “Good. I would hate to lose either of you before our raid has even began, especially as we need the Shadowbolts bikes for speed after you failed to secure the aid of the Hellion gangs, Ale’ri. After the raid is concluded, feel free to settle this properly, in my arena, for all the crowds to see.”

“The little pony would find her head separated from her neck before she knew what happened,” Ale’ri sneered.

“Bring it,” Rainbow snarled back, Ale’ri looking as if he was about to move, before Eethron let out a soft cough.

“In the interests of actually moving this forward, I am going stand between you two, and the next who speaks out of line will find their mouths permanently sealed shut.”

“Thank you, Eethron,” Ilithia nodded, before waving her hand dismissively, a hologram of a world appearing between them. “This is Sarutan, a small human world, classified as an ‘agri-world’ in their tongue. There is not a heavy guard presence there, and so it is perfect to refill my arena, and your gardens, Eethron. Indeed there will be more than enough slaves for the entire Triumvent for many cycles to come, but only if you two,” she glared at Rainbow and Ale’ri,” play your part.”

“I will, Ilithia,” Rainbow bowed her head slightly.

“Good,” Ilithia nodded, watching as Ale’ri also nodded his acceptance before continuing.

"Sarutan is not heavily populated, but there are more than enough there for our needs. The planet has only one major hive, and is split into three main farming belts, the primary, secondary and tertiary. Our plan is simple. Stage one, our Mandrake allies will sabotage the secondary and tertiary belts with poison and fire. This will move most of the workers to the primary belt, while many of the guards will move from the primary belt to the destroyed belts, to contain whatever caused the damage. Stage two, our Mandrake allies strike for the last time, ripping the guards apart and making their presence known. This will draw the majority of the warriors out from the hive to engage the Mandrakes, and that is when the rest of us strike. Eethron, you will lead your Covern against the majority of their soldiers, unleash whatever monstrosities sit in your lab upon them and dictate the battle as you see fit. Ale’ri, you will take your Kabal into the Hive itself. I believe I do not need to tell you what you will be doing there.”

“No, you really don’t,” Ale’ri smiled, the savage glee at the slaughter to come clear for all to see.

“Lastly I will drop my Cult from the webway right over the primary belt. We will eliminate the few remaining guards, round up chaff, and transport them back here. Rainbow, your Shadowbolts will deploy with me, but if needed elsewhere you will redeploy. The operation should not take long, and when we are done, half the planet will be scorched, and hundreds of thousands of those who called it home will be in our care.”

“What about the system fleet?” Rainbow asked. “At the very least they’ll have system monitors, maybe even a frigate group. The first thing the humans do when responding to an attack on the planet is to hail the fleet for air support that will make things decidedly harder.”

“As always, your knowledge of mon’keigh tactics is appreciated,” Ilithia nodded, before looking at Eethron. “Eethron, I believe you were working on something for just such an occasion.”

“So kind of you to remember, Succubus,” Eethron simpered. “I have been working on something that will make the planet’s defenders no longer be able to scream to their fleet for help. All their communications will be blocked, and from orbit, the planet will remain looking as pristine as always. It will not be until many, many hours later when the planet fails to check in, the fleet will realise that the world they were charged with protecting has been picked clean.”

“So the only way for the mon’keigh to contact their fleet is to send a ship up directly and give over the message,” Ilithia checked.

“I give you my word, my Succubus,” Eethron bowed.

“Well then, Rainbow? Any ships that manage to take off will be your responsibility. If any are detected you have leave to handle them how you wish without waiting for my orders. If any make orbit, you will know my wrath. Do you understand?”

“I do, Ilithia,” Rainbow nodded solemnly.

“Then I suggest you all go and make final preparations,” Ilithia announced, swiping her hand through the hologram, dismissing it instantly. “Plan your attacks and prepare to deploy. The people of Sarutan has seen their last sunset.”

Author's Note

Hey everyone, sorry for the frankly massive delay. Uni work and a knee operation got in the way sadly, but hopefully I can get back to writing in a semi-regular fashion soon.

I am also sorry this chapter took longer than I meant to, as I wrote it all out, tried to upload it and it didn't work. Then my laptop crashed, and all my work on the fucking chapter disappeared.

A Second Fire

Applejack

“Left side! Don’t let those Immortals punch through!” Applejack roared, spinning on her hooves and letting lose with both of her fusion guns.

The twin beams of light slammed into one of the lead Immortals, the silver construct melting away as the destructive energies tore it apart to the point where even their sophisticated reconstruction matrixes couldn’t put it back together. The rest of the squad quickly followed her lead, firing into the advancing wall of metal at almost the exact same moment as the Immortals returned fire.

The baleful green lances lashed against the fallen rubble that the squad had been using for cover, stripping great chunks from the rock and forcing the squad to duck their heads down. More than one Tau screamed out, but Applejack couldn’t spare the time to look around and see who.

“Dig deep men!” a battlesuit clad soldier roared, before he suddenly sped over Applejack’s head, two more Crisis suits following his lead as they smashed into the Immortals, forcing the implacable warriors to change their targets.

Applejack didn’t need to be told orders at this, leaping up and over the barricade as the squad began firing once more, focusing fire on one Immortal at a time to ensure that it wouldn’t be getting back up. Applejack got one shot off with both guns, before she was amongst them. They towered above her, eclipsing even the few Space Marines she had seen, but they looked slow, just like the majority of Necron forces in close quarters.

Twisting on her forelegs, Applejack delivered a kick with all her might into the one of their legs. The servo’s in her armour worked with her, increasing her strength many times over, but it was still like kicking a solid metal wall. Even so, the leg buckled just enough to throw the Immortal off balance and staggering forward. Before it could repair the damage, one of the Battlesuits turned towards it, it’s fusion cannon letting out a single shot and reducing it to little more than molten slag.

“That’s the last of them,” the lead Battlesuit looked around, before angling his helmet towards Applejack. “That was foolish, Shas’Vre, even for you. You have my thanks for the assistance. Return to your squad, we regroup here for ten minutes before pushing deeper.”

“Aye, Shas’El,” Applejack nodded, turning back to the rest of the squad.

“Get any wounded to the back, take power packs off the dead and get on watch, I want at least four of you watching that tunnel where the Immortals came from,” Applejack began giving out orders, checking her own power reserves on her helmet display, before looking around at the others.

She had commanded this squad for years now, since her promotion to Shas’Vre, and it had shaped her almost as much as she had shaped it. She knew how they all operated now, knew who to call on for what tasks beyond their squad allocations, what each of them could and couldn’t do, and most importantly, she had their trust.

In return, she had shaped them into one of Pa’Laa’s first Breacher Teams, exchanging their pulse rifles for much more destructive and shorter ranged pulse blasters, and exchanging her own railrifles for the Fusion Guns she now carried. Her team had the lowest casualty rate amongst the few other Breacher Teams of Pa’Laa, and Applejack was planning to keep it that way.

They had been on this world for close to five months now, fighting against the unrelenting forces of the Necrons. They were brutal foes, from their Warriors, whose most basic guns could pierce battlesuits, to the disgusting flayed ones, many of whom had been encountered wearing blue skin since the campaign had started. For the first three months it had been nothing but a long string of defeats, the grounds they had taken in the first day of the campaign being relentlessly assaulted, but finally, they had begun to turn the tables. Soon, whole Cadres were venturing into the tombs of the world, breaching deeper and deeper each time.

Then, less than eight weeks ago, they had struck their biggest blow yet, a cadre striking to the lowest levels of the Tomb and detonating its main generator. The resulting explosion had utterly destroyed the tomb complex, all the Necrons still dormant there perishing, and giving the Tau a much needed morale boost.

Since that day, the Tau had been on the offensive, and now, only one Tomb remained, the one Applejack was currently fighting through. The Necrons were battered, but they were still deadly, and Applejack knew that a cornered animal could still bareits teeth.

“We’re ready to move up again,” Applejack reported to the Shas’El, his battlesuit scorched from numerous blows. “Mah squad can take point again.”

“We’ve lost a lot of our forces,” the Shas’El sounded concerned for a moment, before his voice hardened. “But we must push on, for the Greater Good. Bring your squad around to the fore, I will get your co-ordinates, and you will lead the final push.”

“Y’all do me a great honour, Shas’El,” Applejack began.

“To hell with honour,” the Shas’El scoffed. “You’ll lead because your squads Pulse Blasters keep those bastards down, and because you carry Fusion Guns on a non-battlesuit frame. Now, get your squad ready, we move on your go.”

Applejack nodded, adjusting her Fusion Guns slightly, before signalling for her squad to form up around her, before slowly beginning to advance down the tunnel, her helmet’s scanners allowing her to see in the near total darkness.

Deeper and deeper they advanced, scores of Tau behind her, when all hell broke loose.

The crack of gauss weapons discharging caused Applejack to tense up, certain that she was about to be turning to nothing but dust, but they were not aimed at her. In an instant, the Shas’El fell backwards, his entire chest missing, the two other battlesuits soon finding the same end.

“Get moving!” Applejack roared, breaking into a gallop. “Their next step is ta collapse the tunnels! Move!”

The squad followed her lead without question, even as rocks began to fall. The sounds of screams echoed behind them as Tau pulse weapons joined the Necrons Gauss flayers. In moments however, the tunnel behind them was sealed, the sounds of battle becoming muffled, even as the squad kept running.

“Applejack, should we not try and link back up with the rest of the cadre?” one of her squad called over the radio-link, the interference from the tomb making it impossible to tell who.

“No, we keep pressin’ forward,” Applejack retorted. “The rest of the Cadre will have to win that fight on their own, then dig their way through to us. We have the opportunity to get to the generator and destroy this place.”

“And if they haven’t dug through when we set it to explode?” another distorted voice asked.

“Then we’ll sell our lives fer the Greater Good,” Applejack replied simply.

“We’re trained for this,” Valnoth called out, loud enough so they didn’t have to use the radio to hear her. “Tunnels and us mix well!”

Applejack let out a terse laugh, but Valnoth was correct, the few Tomb Spyders that tried to stop them proving that as they were blasted apart, and soon, they stood alone and in silence, in a room filled with the eerie green light that all the Necrons emitted, the power generator before them.

“Set up any explosive’s we have, ah want this place rigged for timed detonation,” Applejack ordered, looking around to check that there was only one way into this room.

“We don’t have any breaching charges left,” Valnoth shook her head. “We used them all in the upper levels, the rest of the cadre were carrying them.”

“Can we access the controls to rig it ta overload?” she asked, looking at Diaoh.

“With enough time, I might…” Diaoh began, before screens suddenly burst into life, all showing the same thing.

An Overlord, one of the Necron ruling class, looked into the room, a battle between the Tau and the Necrons clearly visible in the background. From the looks of things, they were losing, although the cave in look like it had been blasted clear. Applejack’s eyes were forced back to the Overlord as he began to speak, his voice chilling her soul.

“Defilers of my tomb, you have entered forbidden ground, and seek to destroy my home. I would demand death from you, if I were not in a kindly mood.”

“Sure it’s not called fear sugarcube?” Applejack shot back, before muttering to Diaoh. “Get everyone away from the generator. We don’t have time to rig it to blow safely.”

“Were you one of my underlings, you would suffer for that insult,” the Overlord continued. “But I am kind. Your allies here are spent, soon they will be overrun, but you can save them. Give up now, and I will ensure that they are allowed to leave my world, unharmed. I will even offer you and your, compatriots, to share in the same deal, even with your insults to me. All this I offer, if you but cease your actions here.”

“Applejack,” Valnoth hissed almost silently. “The Stealth teams are still reporting in. They’re at the teleportation array, they say they have it working and are locking on to us.”

“Tell ‘em to give us twenty seconds, then git us out’a here,” Applejack hissed back, activating a timer as the Overlord speaking again.

“I require an answer, child. Every moment you waste, is another clutch of your friends slain by my…”

“Sorry to cut in there, but fuck y’all,” Applejack shouted back, turning to face the generator, the screen moving with her so it was still facing her. “Ah serve the Greater Good, not y’all. So ah hope y’all won’t be needin’ this, but like ah said, fuck…”

Applejack fired both her Fusion Cannons as the timer she had set reached zero. The crack of her guns drowned out her last word, before her world went white. A split second later, the colour came back to it, a squad of Stealth Battlesuits in front of her.

“Well done, Shas’Vre,” one of them complimented, before gesturing towards the entrance. “You succeeded, now we must go.”

“Don’t need ta tell me twice,” Applejack nodded, before setting off at a gallop out of the tomb, the rumble of an explosion echoing from deep beneath her, and she could swear there was also a mechanical roar of anger there too.

***

“You did exceptionally well, Applejack,” Shas’O Shan’Ta raised his voice, so that all those who were arrayed on the parade square could hear him. “In destroying the last tomb complex on this world, you have broken the Necron forces once and for all. In light of this, and your years of service, I am putting you forward for your second Trial by Fire. While you are already a Shas’Vre, you earned your first promotion irregularly, and have only since taken one Trial by Fire. Therefore, completion of this task shall see you rise to the rank of Shas’El. Are there any present who would refute her right to take her trials?”

Applejack held her breath as a murmur went throughout the assembled Fire Warriors, but as the seconds stretched on, and no one spoke up, she felt more at ease, her doubts finally disappearing when Shan’Ta raised his voice once more.

“Very well. Come sun up, you and the other Shas’Vre to be tested shall begin your trial, to see who shall become our Sept’s next Shas’El. Our next Noble Knight.”

Applejack felt her chest swell with pride as she brought a hoof slamming into her chest, saluting the Shas’O, before turning and heading off of the parade square, the rest of the Fire Warriors also beginning to disperse.

“Ah must say, lass, ya gave us a right scare back there,” Koghad chuckled as he approached her, putting an arm around her neck and pulling her into something that was a cross between a hug and a headlock. When they said that ya cadre had been jumped, ah thought…”

“What, that ah’d be dead?” Applejack scoffed back. “Will take more than a few metal men ta take me down. Now, ah have twelve or so hours before ah have mah second Trial by Fire, so let’s make the most of tonight. Tomorrow you’ll have to learn a new title to refer to me as.”

“Ah don’t think ah’ve ever called you by yer title, Applejack,” Koghad chuckled.

“Well, maybe y’all should start, Sugarcube,” Applejack winked, walking past Koghad and flicking him with her tail. “Come on, first round’s on me.”

***

Applejack looked at the other Shas’Vre who would be undergoing the Trial by Fire alongside her, each one looking far older than she was, although most of them didn’t come anywhere near as close to her in number of scars. There were six of them in total, each armed and armoured in their standard gear, from Pathfinders to Stealth Suits, and even a Broadside Battlesuit. Applejack just thanked her luck that no Crisis Suit users had been chosen to undergo their trials at the same time.

“Ok, our first drop point is coming up soon, so allow me to go over the rules one final time,” Shan’Ta called out over the roar of the engines. “Each of you will be dropped off within a one hundred kilometre squared area. Once you are dropped off, you are to wait until you hear the signal before moving. Once the signal has been given, you can open your packs, which will have the final pieces of gear you need to find a single drone within the same area as you are in. All of you have been provided with weakened power packs for your weapons, that will stun, not kill those they hit, you are all fair targets to each other. Once one of you has found the drone, it will transmit a signal to me, and to all of you, and the Trial will be over. Six of you will leave here as Shas’Vre, only one of you will return to become as Shas’El.”

The light in the back compartment of the Orca suddenly turned to a dull red, Shan’Ta pointing directly at Applejack.

“You’re up first, pony. And remember, we may have eliminated the Necron tombs, but there still may be remnants out there. You have live power packs for your weapons, clearly use them if you are pressed, but remember to swap them out before continuing the Trial. If you feel unable to continue at any point, activate your distress signal, we’ll come pick you up.”

Applejack nodded, doing one final check of her helmets systems before the ship touched down, Applejack hopping off into the arctic environment of the world. As soon as she had left the ship, the Orca sped off once more, Applejack getting ready to receive the go signal.

Time passed slowly, Applejack keeping an eye on the surroundings for any movement, before her comm unit was activated, Shan’Ta’s voice coming across loud and clear.

“The Trial starts now, you have seventy-two hours to track down and locate the drone, if it is not found, none of you shall be advancing in rank this day. Shan’Ta out.”

The radio went dead as Applejack swung her pack off of her back, grabbing out the small scanner within. At a glance, she could tell that it was set to track down the drone they were hunting, but it was only calibrated for a 2-3 kilometre radius. She briefly wondered if everybody else had the same scanner, before deciding that it didn’t matter, and setting off at a run, syncing the scanner with her helmet for ease.

All she could see around her was the same bleak, snow swept landscape, glaciers and ravines blurring together the further she tried to look, until all she could see was a white blur. Breaking into a cautious canter, Applejack began angling towards the beacon locator, ducking into one of the many natural trenches carved into the ice.

All of the other Tau on this Trial had far longer ranged weapons than she did, the Broadside in particular could probably get a kill shot on her before she even saw it, and the Stealth Suit could be beside her and she wouldn’t even know it, meaning the only way she would win this would be to hide, and to be fast.

Her armour blended her into the surroundings, unlike her last trial that had taken place on a desert world, which would only end up helping her. Pushing on, not paying attention to the cold blowing through her, until she finally reached the area where the scanner had led her to.

“Alright then, old fashioned way it is,” she sighed, powering up her fusion blasters, her helmet registering that all three were now powered on.

Without even thinking, Applejack threw herself to the side, just as a flurry of fusion energy slammed into the ground where she had just been, the ice vaporising instantly and filling the area with steam.

Twisting around, Applejack let loose a few shots of her own, spraying wildly in the general area the shot had come from, before scrambling into cover.

“Stealth suit?” Applejack called out, before adjusting her helmets sensors. She couldn’t pick up the suit itself, but she could find everywhere the suit wasn’t.

Stealth Suits disguised their signatures from all types of scanners, and normally that was enough to fool anyone, but Applejack knew a thing or two about Stealth Suits after running Farsight contingency plans. She could scan for normal air, and the one spot that didn’t have any of those was her target.

“Got you,” she growled, before diving out of cover once more and firing everything she had.

Her shots were met with a grunt of pain as a Stealth Suit suddenly became visible, the pilot letting out another groan as they fell forward, their lifeless suit hitting the snow with a dull thump.

“Sorry Sugarcube, but yer gonna have to get up a mite earlier if ya want to sneak up on me,” she chuckled, walking over to the Stealth Suit and beginning to search him.

The stun ammo she took, figuring he wouldn’t need it, but she left the live ammo, just in case. What she was really wanted was whatever he had got in his pack. It was another scanner, this one displaying five exact sets of coordinates. It was not difficult to figure out that this was what had led the Stealth Suit right to her, but now, it would lead her to all of the others. True, she didn’t have to hunt them, but a two kilometre area with a fast drone on the move was still a difficult hunt. With luck, one of the others would have additional data for hunting it down.

***

It took Applejack almost forty hours of near constant searching to find what she was looking for. Both of the Fire Warriors had found out that she could set a short ranged and deadly ambush with ease. Each of them carried a scanner that displayed parts of the drone’s location, and now she had enough parts, she had its exact location. She just had to hope she didn’t run into the Broadside before she found the drone, she wouldn’t be able to sneak up on its sensors.

“Come on come on, where are you?” Applejack muttered to herself as she closed in on the coordinates for the drone, scanning the horizon for any sort of visual contact, before freezing.

The Broadside Battlesuit appeared from behind a distant snowdrift, it’s railguns flush with power as it scanned the horizon. Applejack knew that she was in the open, but if he hadn’t seen her yet, then movement would certainly draw his attention, and then he’d simply wait her out. She had to wait until it moved on, then…

The drone appeared from within a ravine as she stood still, barely a hundred meters in front of Applejack, and more than three hundred from the Broadside. The Broadside had seen the movement however, turning around in an instant to track the drone, before beginning to turn around, slowly pacing through the snow. It hadn’t yet seen Applejack, but if she didn’t move, she’d watch as the Broadside got the drone and the promotion. That wasn’t going to happen.

“Hey!” She roared, before breaking into a gallop, her armour and natural athleticism eating up the distance between her and the drone.

The Broadside turned towards her as Applejack zig-zagged between snowdrifts and ice walls, trying to get a lock on her. If it fired, it would take at least ten seconds to fire again, and in that time, Applejack would have already got the drone.

The crack of a railgun firing split the air, as Applejack threw herself into a mound of snow, praying it would throw off the aim of the battlesuit just enough to not completely stun her. She was mostly right, the shot slamming into the ground where she had been, the resulting explosion catching her back leg.

She let out a scream of pain as the stun round engulfed her leg, fusing the armour and numbing her leg entirely.

“Ten…seconds,” Applejack grunted, forcing her way out of the snowdrift and hobbling towards the drone. It was so close now, but with a hobbled leg, it felt like a mile away. Even so, she made her way towards it as fast as she could, counting down every second before the battlesuit would fire once more.

Five

She stumbled slightly, almost losing her balance once more.

Four

The drone turned to look at her, hovering still as if to taunt her that it was still out of her grasp.

Three

She heard the Broadside letting out its own cry, and could feel it readjusting its aim at her.

Two

Applejack let out a roar of pain as she leapt into the air just as the Broadside fired.

One

She landed on the drone as the Broadside hit her. Her entire body went numb, but the drone was beneath her, a small globe on its top beeping, and Applejack just hoped that it was transmitting her signal of victory.

Author's Note

I'm sorry about the wait guys, I'll try and get things back to a better schedule.

A Buck in the Teeth

Applejack

Applejack watched from a raised gantry as her squad smoothly moved into a mock-up building, pulse blasters raised and heads on a swivel, before she pressed a button. Three targets instantly popped up, their ‘lasguns’ being brought to bear on the lead member of the squad.

Before they could be fully raised, they were blasted apart, the squad barely even losing a step as they continued through the drill. The remaining targets only got off three shots in total before being taken down, none resulting in anything more than grazed hits. If it were a real combat scenario, there would be cuts, but nothing more than superficial.

“Make yer weapons safe,” Applejack called as the squad exited the building. “Valnoth, excellent reaction times, ah’m rotating you to point position. Diaoh, take her position and remember to watch fer anything out of the ordinary. Y’all were lucky there weren’t any traps this time round. Ya won’t always be so lucky. Alright, let’s run it again. Stack up.”

The squad instantly moved into position again, taking up the new positions as Applejack recalibrated the interior, changing around the rooms, enemy locations, and weapons to keep the squad on her toes.

“Shas’Vre Applejack, you are summoned,” a voice came over her earpiece.

“By who?” she replied, turning her head slightly, before looking at the squad again. “Hold up, wait for my go.”

“High command, it bears the seal of the Fire and Ethereal Caste,” the voice continued. “Leave your squad and double time it to High Command Centre.”

“Aye, be there as soon as ah can,” Applejack nodded, before pulling her helmet off and mag-locking it to her waist. “Valnoth, you have command. We’ll run the exercise when ah get back, get the squad back to barracks and debrief ‘em, then ya got the day to yerself, try not ta get into too much trouble.”

“You too, Applejack,” Valnoth nodded, before raising his own voice and beginning to bark orders of his own as Applejack trotted off, quickly heading out of the small side cavern where the close quarter trainers were located, and into Tuk’Raa proper.

Tuk’Raa was huge, easily the biggest city on Pa’Laa, owing to its status as the capital of the subterranean world, and when she had first been stationed here she didn’t think she would ever learn her way around here. After three months though, she knew her way through it like the back of her hoof.

She grumbled slightly as she walked, the few bruises that had yet to fade from the trial by fire were still uncomfortable beneath her armour, but they would fade in time, just like the scar from her first trial years ago had. It felt like a lifetime ago, and every day it became harder and harder to remember her early battles, even more so to remember the farm, to recall the smell of the Golden Delicious as they came into bloom. It got harder every day, and everyday Applejack felt more of her old self dying a tiny bit more. Soon, there'd be nothing left of the Applejack that was, the farmer, and the Fire Warrior would be all that was left.

Applejack was terrified when that day would come, but not because of the fact she’d be remade anew. No, she was scared that that didn’t faze her anymore. She enjoyed working for the Fire Caste, she was good at it, and now, Greater Good willing, she was being elevated further. Due to the way she had finished the trial by fire, no one had instantly been granted a rank. She could only hope the fact that she was being called to central command meant they had come to a decision.

Applejack was still in deep thought as she got onto one of the city’s many transport systems, her Fire Warrior armour allowing her to pass without being stopped, a few of the Tau whispering between each other, but most of them staying silent. It had only taken her eight years and she had finally started to shake off the stigma of being an alien in the core castes, at least where it mattered.

Her thoughts idly turned to Rainbow Dash as she sped towards the central hub. She had thought about Rainbow a lot in the years since arriving on T’au, far more than the rest of her friends, which she did feel slightly guilty over. She still wondered if Rainbow had followed her through back to this universe, the Swooping Pegasi in tow. Every morning she would look up at the stars and hope that she would see an angel descending towards her, and every morning she was disappointed. That didn’t stop her hoping though.

“Central Hub, all change,” came the voice of the driver, Applejack following after the rest of the group. She hadn’t remembered doing it, but her Cybernetic eye was no longer in its socket, stowed away in its specialised compartment on her belt, her eyepatch pulled down over the socket.

Thanking the driver, Applejack exited the train, heading for the large building that served as the Fire castes headquarters in the city, slowing as she reached the entrance. It took almost half an hour for her to clear security properly, which to be fair was quicker than for a lot of Tau, one of the benefits of being the only one of her kind in the Fire Caste, and eventually she was allowed inside, looking around for any Tau who were familiar. It didn’t take her long to spot one, or rather for one to spot her.

“Shas’Vre Applejack, it is good to see you’ve finally made it,” a Tau called, Applejack turning to see a Water Caste Por’La hurried over, a dataslate clutched in his hands. “The Fire Council is waiting upon you. Please, step this way.”

“Lead on,” Applejack nodded, trotting behind the Tau as they headed through the facility, finally coming to the large central chamber, the Water Caste leading her inside.

“Ah, good. You’re finally here,” Shan'Ta looked up, gracing Applejack with a rare view of his unhelmeted head.

Shan'Ta was sitting behind a large, ornate desk which looked like it had been specifically designed to accommodate his armoured bulk. Behind two smaller desks were other high ranking Fire Caste members, although neither of them were wearing armour, while the fourth was taken up by the very familiar face of Aun’Vesa.

The Ethereal looked much older than when Applejack had first seen him, deep wrinkles setting into his face, while his eyes portrayed that some of the hope he had once had was diminished slightly, something Applejack was more than certain was reflected in her eye as well. Aun’Vesa never wavered however, never voiced any concerns if he did have any, always leading from as close to the front as Shan’Ta would allow him.

“It is good to see you, Applejack,” Aun’Vesa nodded, a smile gracing his lips.

“You too, Ethereal,” Applejack bowed her head in reverence.

“Introductions are not needed between you two, clearly,” Shan’Ta cut in, before gesturing at the other two Tau. “This is Shas'ar'tol Tallnok and Shas'ar'tol Hal’Ma from high command. They will be overseeing this meeting.”

“Sir’s,” Applejack brought her hoof to her chest in a salute as she looked at both of them, before stood at ease once more.

“As you know, Shas’Vre Applejack has been with us eight years now, and has recently passed her second trial by fire,” Shan’Ta began. “She has yet to be granted her official rank, or to attain the Mantle of Heroes. Due to the complications around her last trial, we had to take time over this decision, but it is now done. This meeting is to formally grant you the title for the of Shas’El, and to inform you of your new position in the Pa’Laa Sept, and the Greater Good.”

“Ya honour me, Shas’O,” Applejack bowed her head, her heart soaring along with her rank.

“The Pa’Laa Sept has been off of rotation for three months,” Tallnok murmured. “You are sure of her suitability for this, mighty Ethereal?”

“I am,” Aun’Vesa nodded. “Applejack has fought bravely and with distinction for many years, she has earned this.”

“But would one of our own kind not serve better in this position?” Tallnok pressed. “Surely…”

“Applejack has exceptions from normal auxiliary rules, as you well know,” Aun’Vesa cut in.

“Of course, Ethereal,” Tallnok nodded, before Aun’Vesa turned to face Applejack.

“Applejack, in the Sept’s last battle, my personal guardian Shas’El O’toka was heavily injured. He recently passed away from the injuries, and as such we need a replacement. I have put your name forward, and you have been chosen as his successor.”

“Ah’m honoured, Ethereal,” Applejack bowed her head, her voice slowly as she considered her next words carefully. “Will…Will ah be guardin’ ya with the rest of mah squad?”

“No,” Aun’Vesa shook his head. “This will be a solitary position, you are to be my sole guard and aide.”

“Then…ah’ll be a battlesuit pilot?” she asked, her voice hollow as the elation from her new rank began to fade.

“No.” It was Shan’Ta who spoke this time. “As is tradition, your current armour will be repainted black, you will not receive a battlesuit.”

“But ah thought that becoming a Shas’El meant that I was awarded the Mantle and a Battlesuit,” Applejack finally said after a long pause. “There were Shas’Vre who have both.”

“Watch your tongue, Shas’Vre, this promotion is still under advisement,” Hal’Ma warned her, Shan’Ta nodding in appreciation before talking again.

“Yes, there are Shas’Vre who have battlesuits, suits designed over generations for bipeds. You are not T’au in body, even if you are close to us in mind. You will not be gaining a battlesuit today. Now, please report to the armoury with your new orders. I will send word ahead of what is to be done. Once that is done, report to your squads and pass over the mantle of commander to the one you see fit. Go.”

Applejack weighed up her options for a moment. She had never heard of a Fire Warrior turning down a promotion, especially when offered the opportunity to guard one of the Ethereal class, and yet she was seriously considering it. She liked her squad, the thought of abandoning them was abhorrent to her.

“Ah…grateful fer the offer…” she slowly began, before looking up at Aun’Vesa.

The Ethereal was watching her closely, far more intently than any of the others, his eyes boring into her. She knew the look well, the one he always wore when he was deciding whether or not to pull rank.

“And…ah’ll be honoured to accept the position as yer new bodyguard,” Applejack sighed slightly, bowing deeply as she spoke. “Please excuse mah earlier outburst…it was a lot ta take in.”

“You are excused, Shas’El,” Aun’Vesa smiled, leaning back in his chair. “Now, report to the armoury.”

“Yes, Aun’Vesa,” Applejack bowed once more, before backing out of the room, Aun’Vesa waiting for her to leave and the door to close before he spoke once more.

“That could have gone better,” he admitted, looking over at Shan’Ta.

“Agreed, but it is for the best,” he bowed his head to the young Ethereal. “The Water Caste haven’t gotten anywhere trying to ascertain where she came from, she needs to be kept alive until they can find it out.”

“Why was she ever assigned to her own Breacher Squad then?” Tallnok asked in confusion. “Few positions have quite the same amount of risk attacked to them, certainly no none-battlesuit roles.”

“Because she excels at close range,” Shan’Ta shrugged. “She can shoot normally, but at close range she is brutal. She carries two squad support weapons, she can go toe-to-toe with Orks if need be, and she’s not afraid to charge, even when all our doctrines say she should try to win the shooting war. Battles have been won because of that, we couldn’t give that up.”

“She should never have been allowed in the Fire Caste anyway,” Hal’Ma pointed out. “She was a farmer, by her own word a good one. She should have stayed with the Earth Caste.”

“And yet she is here now,” Aun’Vesa cut in. “For better or for worse.”

“Precisely,” Shan’Ta nodded once more. “She must be kept safe though, until the Water Caste can contact more of her kind. Their race has gifts that we need for our Empire. She could very well be the key to everything, even if she doesn’t know it herself.”

“Yes, Shas’O,” both Hal’Ma and Tallnok intoned, before standing up and heading out of the room, Shan’Ta following behind, leaving Aun’Vesa alone to finish the last of the formalities for transferring Applejack to his charge.

***

“Commander in the room!” Valnoth thundered as Applejack entered the bunk room, the rest of the squad scrambling to their feet and standing to attention.

“At ease,” Applejack gestured for them all to sit down as she stood in the centre of the room. Her armour was now pitch black, only the left shoulder pad bearing the original Sept colours. Even her fusion blasters had been painted, the blue glow seeming darker now against the black. “Ah’ve got some news fer y’all. Today’s exercise was the last yer’ll be runnin’ under mah hoof. Ah have just been informed that ah past mah trials. Ah’m a Shas’El now.”

“Congratulations,” Diaoh chuckled. “Sad to see you go though. What‘s with the new armour? They letting El’s customise their suits now? Seems like a pretty good incentive to me.”

“Ah’m to be Ethereal Aun’Vesa’s new bodyguard,” she admitted, her shoulders sagging just a bit. “Ah haven’t been granted a battlesuit, haven’t made one fer mah kind a guess.”

“That’s incredible, AJ,” Valnoth smiled. “Being the bodyguard of an Ethereal is…”

“A great honour, ah know,” Applejack finished for him. “This isn’t about me though, ah only have a few minutes before ah need to remove mahself from these barracks. Valnoth, front and centre.”

Valnoth quickly stood up, standing at ease in front of Applejack.

“Shas’Ui Valnoth, please remove yer chest plate,” she spoke as she let her own chest plate fall to the floor, pulling out her ceremonial bonding knife. “It has been an honour to serve alongside y’all. In the tradition of Ta'lissera, ah bond mahself ta you. Mah blood and yers.”

As she finished speaking, she raised the knife to her chest, pulling it through the fur and skin there, letting blood spill out onto the blade. She was once again reminded why wielding weapons in her hooves was hard as she loosely held the knife, before finishing the cut, moving the knife towards Valnoth and slicing through her skin. Valnoth winced ever so slightly as the blade passed through her, before taking a step back, allowing the blood to ooze down her chest.

“Shas’La Diaoh, step forward and remove your plate,” Applejack looked towards Diaoh, readying herself for another cut.

Five minutes and ten cuts later, Applejack finally replaced the knife in its scabbard, looking at the rest of the squad. Each of them bore a single cut on their chest, all looking confident, even as a few drops dripped onto the floor. The clean-up operation was hardly at the forefront of their minds after the ceremony.

“Like that, ah want y’all to remember that ah will always be yer friend. No matter where ah’m deployed, no matter where ah’m servin’. Y’all are mah squad, distance won’t change that. Valnoth. Ah’ve arranged fer y’all ta take command, congratulations. Ah won’t give yer anymore commands, but if y’all are wantin’ to, ah’m gonna be in the Fire Bar, ah wouldn’t say no to raising a cup with y’all.”

“We’ll be there, Applejack,” Valnoth assured her. “And don’t worry, I’ll do my best to get this squad into proper shape. Shouldn’t be too hard with a competent commander.”

“Blow it out yer ass, ass,” Applejack snorted. “See ya round.”

With that, Applejack turned to leave, before a croaky voice that she had only heard a few times before gave her pause.

“Applejack,” Gra’us rasped, the normally mute female stepping forward. “It was a pleasure serving under you.”

“It was a pleasure leadin’ ya too,” she smiled, looking around the squad one final time, before heading out of the room.

Grooming

Applejack

Applejack stood rigidly to attention as Aun’Vesa walked around her slowly, checking that her armour was up to the standards that were expected from an Ethereal’s bodyguard. Truth be told, he didn’t mind if Applejack wasn’t perfectly turned out at all times, but it was one of the many things he was expected to ensure happened, and so he would enforce it. Applejack had never once complained either, keeping her armour in its pristine matte black form no matter what the previous day had thrown at them. She had been his bodyguard for almost a standard month now, and Aun’Vesa was still glad that he had managed to get her out of the Breacher squad.

He had to admit however that the squad had suffered a slight dip in efficiency since she had given over command. Valnoth was a competent squad leader, no doubt about it, but she was a T’au, raised from birth to stick to a certain doctrine. Applejack hadn’t been conditioned that way, and it had shown through in her unconventional, but often effective, tactics.

“Perfect as always, Shas’El,” Aun’Vesa nodded, finishing his inspection and standing before Applejack, his personal chambers on the ship masking the noise of the ship rising through the atmosphere of Pa’Laa. “I have one meeting in five minutes, the information is sensitive so you will be stationed outside the door. It may take some time, so the majority of the crew is likely to be in stasis by the time we are done. We will then go into stasis as well, it will be a month’s jump. Any questions?”

“None, Ethereal,” Applejack shook her head, looking up at Aun’Vesa with the single red lens, her hat sitting on top of the helmet, held on by a small grav-anchor, curtesy of Aun’Vesa’s personal armourer. It was one place Aun’Vesa was happy to go against the will of the council, plus it made Applejack happy to finally be able to wear the beat up old piece of clothing while in her armour.

“Good, then I suggest we make our way to the meeting room, the Shas’O will not wish to be kept waiting any longer than he has to be.

Nodding, Applejack followed after the Ethereal, one of her pulse blasters powering up as she kept an eye out for any threats to her ward. The weapon felt pathetic compared to her usual arsenal, but firing a fusion blaster inside a starship was tantamount to suicide.

True to his word, the meeting between Aun’Vesa and Shan’Ta dragged on for hours, Applejack’s helmet timer counting each passing second as she stood in front of the only door. At the two-and-a-half-hour mark, she felt the ship enter jump speed, and the few Tau she had seen walking past her slowed to only a very few Air Caste members. Finally, after three and three quarter hours, the door slid open once more, Shan’Ta walking past Applejack towards the stasis bay, followed swiftly by Aun’Vesa.

The Ethereal looked tired, his equalizers held loosely in his hands as he headed towards the stasis bays, gesturing for Applejack to follow.

“Bad news?” Applejack asked as they walked.

“It was expected, but it wasn’t what I wanted,” Aun’Vesa sighed. “The burdens of command are made heavier when you go into a fight knowing you’ll most likely lose.”

“Ya don’t need to tell me that twice, Ethereal,” Applejack grimaced. “Lota good soldiers don’t come back from a fight if they think they’re gonna die anyway.”

“Yes, I suppose you probably have more experience facing unwinnable odds than I do,” Aun’Vesa chuckled. “But then again, the political world can be just as cut throat and ruthless as a battle, albeit without the finality that war can bring.”

Applejack let out a soft laugh at this as they stopped in front of the Ethereal’s stasis chamber, Aun’Vesa quickly stripping down to his undergarments and stepping inside the tube.

“I will see you when I wake up, Shas’El,” he smiled, before the glass tube frosted over, Aun’Vesa entering his forced sleep.

Applejack looked over the glass for a moment, checking for any parts that had not fully frosted over, before checking the vital signs displayed on the screen beside the tube. Finally satisfied that Aun’Vesa was safe within his stasis tube, Applejack turned away from it, facing her own tube.

It was not as lavishly decorated, nor did it have as many failsafe’s and redundant backups, but it was still slightly more advanced than a normal Fire Warrior’s tube. After a moment of looking it over however, Applejack turned away, removing her hat and helmet as she walked, locking the helmet to her flank, and replacing the hat.

The Earth Caste engineers had always assured everyone who ever went into the tubes that they wouldn’t dream, that all the would happen would be you closed your eyes, and then in what felt like a moment, you’d reopen them again. This was never true though, and memories and thoughts did bleed through into your brain as you slept. Applejack hadn’t cared about it the first few times she had gone in, but that changed quickly as she started her time in the Fire Caste. The last time she had gone into stasis had been three years ago. All she had seen in her last trip had been the dead, hundreds of bodies piling up around her. It had been so real, so vivid, that the Earth Caste had been forced to bring her out of stasis early, and taking her out of the first two weeks of the combat mission. Since then she had been given special dispensation to stay out of stasis, her new position simply making it easier to find ways to occupy herself while on a trip.

“The Ethereal under, Lass?” Koghad asked, entering the room as Applejack wistfully looked over he stasis tube.

“Yeah, everythin’s workin’ fine,” Applejack nodded, finally turning to face Koghad, her eyes being drawn to the new symbol of the Ethereal sewn onto his uniform, proclaiming him as the personal Earth Caste part of the Ethereal’s detachment. “Ya don’t need to alter anythin’.”

“Good, just how I like things,” Koghad nodded. “Come on, we should have almost the run of the mess hall with the rest of the Demiurg.”

“Yer buyin’ then,” Applejack chuckled, allowing Koghad to exit first, following him down the few decks to the large hall near the bottom of the ship.

As Koghad had said, the majority of the occupants of the mess hall were Demiurg, along with the few Vespid’s still active in Pa’Laa. Both races didn’t use Stasis technology, either for physical reasons, as was the case with the Vespid, the stasis chambers disrupting the hive mind connection they shared in such a way that it never truly returned, or simple practicality reasons, such as the Demiurg, who would need a completely different style of stasis equipment to sleep effectively. When their long life spans were taken into account, it was decided that they would be exempt from the freezers, and would form the crew of a ship while the Tau were sleeping.

Of course, this also made it far easier for certain Demiurg to establish their black market circles, distribution and hiding places, which did have the added benefit of making it far easier to get hard alcohol while on board.

“Get me two,” Koghad called out as he entered, a few of the Demiurg calling out to the pair of them as they sat down.

“Ya know, technically ah should be stoppin’ this,” Applejack pointed out as two drinks were brought over, carefully removing her bionic eye and flipping the eyepatch down over the hole. “But fuck it, I need it.”

“Not much chance to drink while guarding Aun’Vesa?” Koghad asked knowingly.

“Ya should know, yer on the team too,” Applejack pointed out, before taking a long draft of her drink, shuddering slightly as the strong liquor burnt its way down her throat.

“Slow down, lass, this is strong stuff,” Koghad chuckled, taking a much smaller sip of his own drink.

“Good, keep it comin’” Applejack grumbled, taking another sip, before letting her head fall to the table, letting out a long sigh from between her teeth.

“Want to tell me what’s eatin’ ya, or do I have ta pry it out of ya?” Koghad asked, rolling his eyes slightly.

“Who did ah piss off, Koghad?” Applejack muttered, looking up briefly, before dropping her head back to the table once more.

“You, lass? Ah’d guess a few hundred Orks before ya killed ‘em, same with a load of humans, probably a lot less Necrons, but same principles,” Koghad chuckled.

“Yer not helpin’,” Applejack deadpanned. “Ah must have really pissed someone off ta be given this assignment. Wonder if it was Shan’Ta or someone from out of the Sept?”

“You realise that guardin’ the Ethereal is…” Koghad began.

“A great honour, only afforded ta the highest of heroes of the Greater Good, ah’ve heard every description goin’,” Applejack finished bitterly, looking up long enough to finish her drink, waving her hoof in the air to get the attention of one of the servers.

“Sure she’s got the tin to pay for all this?” the Demiurg asked as he brought another drink over, addressing the question to Koghad rather than Applejack.

“More than you, stumpy,” Applejack snapped, throwing a few hexagonal coins onto the table for emphasis. “Mah coins good enough for ya?”

The Demiurg grumbled slightly, but Applejack didn’t really care, snatching the drink off of him and taking a large gulp, facing Koghad again, ignoring the death stare the Demiurg was now giving her and getting back to her conversation.

“It’s a great honour, as long as ya don’t mind bein’ stuck in the ass end of any deployment, because the Ethereal’s too important to be risked. Ah get that bit, but why did it have ta be me? Ah liked mah squad, ah don’t want to think about them facin’ down critters that ah ain’t even seein’.”

“It’s a blow, lass,” Koghad agreed. “But ya got ta roll with the punches of the universe, ay? Start moping each time you get smacked around and yer’ll never get back on yer fee…hooves.”

“Why do ah suddenly get the feeling that y’all have given this speech ta someone else before me?” Applejack deadpanned.

“Not this exact one, but close,” there was a coy smile spreading across his face as he said that, Applejack not sure quite what to make of it. “Sure, it’s a blow, but ya got ta stop lookin’ at in like a negative, start tryin’ ta see the positive side of things.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?” Applejack scoffed.

“You sit in with the Ethereal in meetin’s don’t cha?” Koghad asked.

“Sure, some of ‘em,” Applejack shrugged back.

“Well there’s one ‘em then.”

“Ah hardly think that listenin’ in on some meetin’s is a great boon ta me, Koghad buddy,” Applejack deadpanned.

“Really? Learnin’ how the Tau plan battles ain’t useful? Knowing things that usually are reserved for the O and the Ethereal ‘ain’t useful’? Sure, it ain’t fighting, but it definitely ain’t useless. Ah never heard of an Ethereal bodyguard that didn’t go on ta great things, as long as they survived that is, and to be honest that doesn’t seem like too much of a problem for ya.”

“And as fer not fightin’, Lass, ah don’t think you’ve thought that all the way through. Sure, ya won’t be fightin’ all the time, but when ya do fight, yer’ll have to fight far harder than anyone else. Every one of our enemies’ want’s ta kill off an Ethereal, and guess who just put herself squarely between them and him?”

“Ah didn’t put mahself there, ah got assigned there,” Applejack pointed out, before sighing. “But, ah guess y’all are right.”

“Plus this whole moping business is far too similar ta yer moping after every other setback ya’ve had,” Koghad smirked, lightly punching Applejack on the shoulder pad. “Ah’ve had ta deal with ya far more times than anyone else.”

“That’s ‘cause ah make yer life more interestin’,” Applejack smirked back, downing the last of her drink and sighing. “Let’s put off the tech testing till tomorrow, yeah?”

“AJ lass, ya read mah mind,” Koghad chuckled, before finishing his own drink and slamming it down on the table. “Another!”

***

Two Days Later

***

Applejack stood still as Koghad unplugged the diagnostic relays from her armour, the readouts that had appeared in her helmet while plugged in blinking out one by one, finally leaving her with just her standard HUD, two separate crosshairs overlayed on the display, while a readout of both her weapons occupied the bottom corners.

They were currently standing in the Ethereal’s personal armoury, the relatively spacious room bedecked with rows of weapons and armour pieces. The majority had apparently served old members of Aun’Vesa’s guard, the Ethereal keeping them as heirlooms of the past, while the Aun’s own pair of bladed Equalizers held prime position, hanging in a crossed pattern in the centre of the room.

A small part of the armoury had recently been converted however, the old armour repair station now looking squatter and longer, while the wall behind it held weapons that had been specifically designed for Applejack, from her old Railgun and Fusion Blasters, to Pulse Blasters and Carbines, one of each of the latter missing, as they were attached to her sides.

“Alright, Lass, yer systems show green across the board, and the leg servos are workin’ within operation bounds. How’s everythin’ feelin’ in there?”

“Pretty good,” Applejack called back, testing her legs quickly, listening out for any sign of undue stress on the servos that could result in them failing at an inopportune time. “Ah can’t wait ta get the ground beneath mah hooves again though.”

“And some real weapons on yer side?” Koghad snorted.

“That’s just gonna be a bonus,” Applejack nodded with a chuckle of her own. “What’s the plan today?”

“Ah’ve got ta work on one of these pulse rifles ta get it converted fer yer use,” Koghad shrugged. “Then ah’ve been told ta look into getting’ a heavier weapon mounted on ya, even if yer can only carry one of them.”

“Can yer look into a burst cannon or two at some point?” Applejack asked, eyeing up the rotary cannons. “Could be useful against Orks if when we run inta them again.”

“Ah’ll add it to the list, won’t be fer a while though,” Koghad nodded. “Ah ain’t going to be free fer days with this work load, ah’ll see you again in five days fer another armour check. Think ya can keep yerself occupied fer that long?”

“Yep, command is supposed to be sending over intel about whoever we’re facin’ at our destination, got ta read up about them before we get there. Make Twi proud, ya know.”

“Ah believe becomin’ an egghead will please yer old friend,” Koghad laughed as Applejack left the room, before turning and grabbing a pulse rifle down from the wall.

Applejack rolled her eyes as she walked down the corridor, quickly reaching her small chambers and pulling her helmet off, laying it on her bed and sitting down in front of her personal screen.

“Evenin’ Bloom, what’s new from command?”

“Sensors indicate Pa’Laa time is 0912, a morning designated time, Shas’El,” the computer spoke back in a soft female voice, the closest Applejack could find to Apple Blooms voice from the pre-programed voices.

“Yeah, probably,” Applejack shrugged. “So? Anythin’ from command?”

“Yes, Shas’El, command has recently sent a tactical briefing to all ranking officers on the fleet, the officers in question are to be woken up two cycles before the rest of the crew to read over the data and prepare a briefing for their own command. Would you like to read over the briefing now?”

“Read it out to me, would ya?” Applejack got up from the chair as she spoke, starting to slip out of her armour as the computer blinked a few times, before beginning to read the briefing.

“Planet designation CGhT-257492, arable world. Capable of supporting Tau and most auxiliary life, Vespid forces are to wear respirator units while outside at all times. Any member of the Sept who experience dizziness or nausea should report to a medical operative immediately.”

“The enemy forces on this planet have be named the Canolax, a brutal race of warriors who seem to exhibit many similarities with some Tyranid bio-forms. The Canolax are split into five separate quasi-species, Brutes, Warriors, Workers, Guards and Rulers. Workers are all but powerless in offence, but they can form barricades and fortifications to rival our own in mere hours, as well as providing medical attention to their wounded. The Rulers do not seem to exhibit any offensive capabilities either, unlike the Tyranid bio-forms who rule the swarm. Instead they rely on directing other Canolax to where they will be most deadly. Eliminating Rulers is a top priority of any assault where they are present.”

“The Warriors, Guards and Brutes are the three dangerous species, so far encountered in every battle in varying numbers. The Warriors themselves possess both natural chitinous armour and manufactured plate, which while inferior to our own, gives them an extra layer of defence that is providing difficult to beat when in conjunction with their chitin. They possess two sharp pairs of claws, wings, and a form of bio-plasma excreted from their mouths, this plasma can eat through armour extremely quickly, and should be avoided at all costs. Brutes are not simply larger versions of warriors, despite their appearance. They do not possess wings, and tower over even crisis suits, but it is their multitude of weapons that make them deadly. No two have the exact same loadout, but they almost always have claws, blades and rifles in their three pairs of arms. Their armour is likewise thicker than warriors, and it is advised that Fire Warriors call in support or Smart Missile strikes to take them down. If neither are available, concentrate fire on the neck joint, this appears to be the closest thing to a weak point they have. The last species you will face are the Guard. These creatures never stray far from a ruler, and initially do not seem to be a threat, never firing at an enemy, and waiting for them to fire first, either at them or the Ruler. It is then that they show their strengths, absorbing weapon fire in some sort of shield, and firing the weapon back at our troops. Do not engage Guards with anything lighter than fusion blasters or railguns, multiple if possible. A guard should be taken down in a single volley, before they can retaliate, if at all possible.”

“The Canolax were given a chance to join our Empire, Water Caste diplomates landing five standard months ago. We lost contact with them in two days, recent evidence showing them to have been wiped out, those captured sharing an equally grizzly fate. Two more teams have since been sent, both suffering the same fate It is with a heavy heart that High Command has ordered this race exterminated, no quarter to be given. The planet must be subjugated and colonised for our expansion. May the Greater Good guide your hand.”

The computer went dark as it finished, Applejack now lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

“Looks like we’ve got a whole lotta fight about to come our way, ‘ey Bloom?”

“Indeed, Shas’El.”

Crisis

Applejack

CGhT-257492, more commonly known as ‘Crag’ by the Fire Caste, was hot. That was the only way Applejack could really describe it, and even that wasn’t doing it justice. The fact that they had spent so long in the cool caverns of Pa’Laa didn’t help, but even if they had been training on T’au itself, Applejack would still be struggling. Her armour’s climate control systems were working overtime, and yet she still took off her armour at the end of the day with her fur matted with sweat.

“Ya sure it’s workin’ properly?” Applejack asked, looking back at Koghad as he looked over her armours systems.

“What can ah tell ya, lass?” Koghad shrugged in reply. “Regular Fire Warrior armour doesn’t exactly have state of the art coolin’ systems. If you were in a battlesuit then maybe ah could do more, but ah can’t. We’re all sufferin’ from this heat.”

“Will be good when we finally get off Crag,” Applejack agreed with a sigh, waiting for Koghad to close the small hatch on her back before checking her systems again. “Why do we want this planet again? Nothin’ but heat, heat, more heat and dust. So much dust.”

“Yer tellin’ me,” Koghad chuckled, the sound entirely humorous. “Do you have any idea how much time ah spend these days fixin’ equipment? I’ve been pullin’ double duty on the Ethereal’s team and on the main combat line. We have another Orca that can’t fly because of dust in it’s intakes. Ya sure ya have no idea when we’ll be shippin’ out again?”

“No idea, ah only listen in to the meetin’s,” Applejack admitted. “It seems like we’re pushin’ ‘em back slowly, but ah have no idea what…”

Applejack was cut off as her helmet began to bleep, before the voice of Aun’Vesa came over her earpiece.

“Applejack? I have completed my mornings training, if you are done with Koghad, I require you. I have an important day ahead, and I cannot afford to be late.”

“Ah’m on mah way, Ethereal,” Applejack nodded, disconnecting the link and turning back to Koghad. “Got ta go, busy day ahead. Hope ya get that Orca workin’, ah have a feelin’ that they’re all gonna be needed ta finish this.”

Koghad muttered something under his breath as Applejack turned away, breaking into a trot as she headed towards the training field. The majority of the camp was empty of soldiers, all of them being deployed on the front lines, the Fire Warriors being deployed in trenches just to keep them safe from the constant fire from the Canolax. The Battlesuits were still maintaining some sort of mobility, but as the Warriors were all flight capable themselves, it was not as useful as it was against the Gue’la.

That being said, there were still a few guards dotted around the camp, a cluster who had been watching the training ground while the Ethereal practiced his technique even now filing out and heading to their next posts. It didn’t take long for Applejack to locate Aun’Vesa, trotting over to him and falling in on his left side, matching his pace as the pair walked.

The Ethereal was dressed in his usual attire, a robe like piece enveloping his legs, while his upper half was clad in armour, the plates being made to a far higher standard than regular Fire Warrior pieces, offering him the most protection possible, short of a battlesuit. Applejack had once asked why the technology to make that level of protection was not made available to all members of the Fire Caste, the Ethereals words still fresh in her mind.

This armour is not cheap, and some members of our Empire looked at the worth of our soldiers, and found the difference between the two figures too great.

That had been the first time Applejack had truly heard Aun’Vesa speak a single bad word against the Empire, and even then it had been in a hushed tone, with numerous looks over his shoulder before he even attempted to vocalise his views. As strange as it sounded, Applejack thought she saw fear in the Ethereal’s eyes, not in thought of the enemy, but in thought of the Tau themselves. She hadn’t thought an Ethereal would ever fear reprisals from the Empire. Aun’Vesa had started to open her eyes. He still loved the Empire with all his heart, but there was something else as well, love tempered with caution, not the unconditional love every other Tau gave.

“Good training session?” Applejack asked as they walked, pushing the thoughts of Ethereal inter-politics from her mind.

“Yes, quite good,” Aun’Vesa nodded with a smile. His much more cut down attire, which Applejack had often seen as an annoyance on cooler planets, was now becoming a major asset to the Ethereal, his skin having taken on a much darker blue hue over the weeks they had been there.

“Ya know the kroot are happy to oblige yer desire ta get better at close range,” Applejack began slowly, choosing her words carefully. “But if these last lot come out lookin’ like the last lot, they ain’t going to be great in the main line. And if they ever hurt you badly, goddess forgive, ah don’t know how everyone would start reactin’.”

“Your concerns are noted, as always,” Aun’Vesa smiled. “The kroot know when to hold back, and all the weapons we spar with are blunted anyway. I also feel that my presence as the sole Ethereal on this world is soon going to change, so any potential incapacitation on my part would not be the end of our soldier’s moral.”

“Ya mean the new Ethereal is gonna be joinin’ us?” Applejack asked in surprise. “Is he brinin’ reinforcements?”

“We won’t know until we meet him, and I ask him in person,” Aun’Vesa said with a small smile. “Which should be soon, he arrived in the camp this morning, there is a meeting scheduled between myself, him and Shan’Ta in half an hour.”

“Just enough time fer y’all ta get cleaned up then,” Applejack let out a smile of her own.

“Just so,” Aun’Vesa let out a laugh, leading Applejack towards his quarters.

It took the Ethereal precisely twenty six minutes to freshen up, exiting the building unaccompanied by the smell of sweat that had entered with him. His armour had had the dust washed from its surface, and his equalizers had been likewise cleaned and polished, both of the bladed staves hanging down from either side of his waist.

The pair hurried to the central command building in silence, Aun’Vesa leading the way, while Applejack brought up the rear, her fusion gun and burst cannon tracking with her helmet reticule as best they could as she swung her head back and forth, paying particular attention to the sky.

The guards outside the building did not even try and stop the pair, both standing to attention as they moved passed, the pair quickly entering the main room of the command centre, Shan’Ta standing there already, for once without his Crisis Suit, as well as a host of Fire Warriors, all wearing more traditional Honour Guard armour, and in the middle of all of them, stood an Ethereal.

At first glance, he was very similar to Aun’Vesa, both of them choosing to wear pieces of heavy armour rather than simple robes, and both looking relatively young, Aun’Vesa looking ever so slightly older. Where they did differ however was their weapons choice. While Aun’Vesa used a pair of heavily modified equalizers, their usual club like ends replaced with blades of Eldar make, taken in a battle against the pirate fleets of their kind, this new ethereal carried a large honour blade, resting some of his weight against the large halberd, the sword like end extending just above his own head.

“Ah, you must be this Aun’Vesa I have heard so much about,” the new Ethereal bowed deeply. “I am sorry that I could not meet with you before this meeting, my fleet was delayed in making Planetfall, and I had to hurry to avoid missing this important meeting.”

“It is a thing of little consequence, Aun’Tsua’Nan,” Aun’Vesa smiled, returning the bow. “I cannot fault you for a matter outside of your control. I trust you find the planet agreeable enough?”

“It’s a bit warm,” Aun’Tsua’Nan admitted. “My honour guard will attest to that. And please, call me Aun’Nan.”

“Of course,” Aun’Vesa nodded, before gesturing to Shan’Ta. I am sure you have already met our esteemed Shas’O, and this is my escort, Shas’El Applejack.”

“Shas’El Pa’La App'ru'jak Or’es Fio’Shas,” Aun’Nan nodded, looking at Applejack for the first time. “Your fame proceeds you, Fire Warrior. You are the source of a lot of talk back on Tau.”

Applejack cringed slightly as the Ethereal used her entire, formal name and rank. The first part was simple enough, a designation of rank and Sept, but the changing of her actual name, that had taken some getting used to. Tau names were sometimes a complex affair, being a mixture of their given title, and their earnt titles. ‘App’ had remained the same, as had ‘Jack’, but she now had three new honorifics surrounding her name.

‘Or’es’, Powerful, gained during the fights against the Necrons where she had gained the right to her most recent trial by fire.

‘Fio’Shas’, Worker Warrior, given to her a lifetime ago when she joined the Fire Caste. It was originally hurled at her like an insult by the other Fire Warriors, who saw her as a dangerous break from the established tradition of the auxiliary, but over time, she had proved herself time and time again. Now the name was no more of an insult than the title of ‘El’.

‘Ru’ Tormented, the part of her title she hated the most. She had managed to avoid gaining those two letters for years, but one could only scream in the sleep and avoid the cryo tubes for so long before those around them took notice. Soon, the word was attached to her name, hanging there like a tumour that could not be cut out.

“If it would please ya, mighty Ethereal, but Shas’El Applejack is more than enough,” Applejack bowed her head deeply. “Mah full name is a bit of a mouthful.”

“I will keep it in mind,” Aun’Nan nodded curtly, before turning back to the main table, looking between Aun’Vesa and Shan’Ta. “Now, could I please be filled in on the state of our forces on this planet. My ships were not able to get a true fix on our units positions from orbit, and so I am at a loss as to our tactical layout.”

“Of course, Ethereal,” Shan’Ta pressed a few of the holo-buttons in front of him, the table springing to life with a 3-D map of the main front, clusters of blue dots donating the positions of Fire Warrior units, while red lights showed the position of Canolax units. Symbols also appeared with the dots, donating which type of troop made up each of the units on the map, allowing the map to be used to plan attacks.

“As you can see, our Fire Warriors have dug themselves in along the top of this ridgeline surrounding the Canolax’s great city,” Shan’Ta ran his finger along a crescent shaped piece of raised ground. “We have the high ground around it, and short of flying over, they are trapped between our troops and the planets own natural geography, in this case cliffs designed to protect the city from attacks from the rear.”

“And what is stopping them flying out?” Aun’Nan asked.

“We have numerous Razorsharks and Piranha’s flying intercept patterns above our lines,” it was Aun’Vesa who spoke this time. “They are engaging the Canolax warriors wherever they attempt to breach our airspace. Without the heavier weapons their brutes carry, they do not have much recourse against our aircraft, which is also allowing our few remaining Sunsharks to commence bombing runs against Canolax fortifications. Our Manta’s are currently lying in wait until they can strike directly at the great city itself.”

“And if they try to send out a force over the cliffs to circle around?” Aun’Nan again.

“That is where we are currently lacking any real staying power,” Shan’Ta admitted with a sigh. “We have five stealth teams operating up there, as well as an array of automated turrets and our last squadron of Ghostkeel’s. The Canolax have attempted to breach our ring on the cliffs on six different occasions, each time they have been driven off, but our forces stationed there are beginning to show the signs of repeated battle without support. Armour is wearing thin, morale even thinner. They need support which we simply cannot give to them at this time.”

“And the endgame is to take the city, yes?”

“Once we have advanced close enough, our Manta’s will begin to target the city’s towers, and our last suit of Supremacy Armour will move forward to engage the walls directly. It will keep up a bombardment on any breach it creates while our warriors get closer to ensure the Workers do not attempt to rebuild the wall before we can take the city. It will be a brutal fight, our Crisis suits cannot be everywhere, and they will likely have many Brutes and Guards within their walls.”

“Then I do at least bring some good news,” Aun’Nan proclaimed. “As I am sure you are aware, Pa’Laa was training multiple battlesuit pilots when you left, as well as constructing more suits for the new pilots. Upon my arrival, I was informed they were completed, and after an inspection, I have brought them here to assist you. They are currently on their way from the fleet, I came on ahead. They should be at the base within ten minutes, and ready to march for the front within the hour.”

“What numbers are we talking about?” Aun’Vesa asked, leaning forward expectantly. “I must admit; I do not remember the exact figure myself.”

“Fifty XV8 Crisis suits, thirty XV88 Broadsides, thirty XV9 Hazard suits, ten XV104 Riptides, and ten KV128 Stormsurges,” Aun’Nan recited from memory. “There are also three hundred freshly trained Fire Warriors eager to prove themselves in the crucible of war, hopefully more than enough to break through the Canolax lines and bring this pacification to a close.”

“That is almost a quarter of the number of Battlesuits we arrived with,” Aun’Vesa breathed out softly. “I was not aware that Pa’Laa was producing so many.”

“The foundries have had to slow production,” Aun’Nan admitted. “The number of suits is now far outstripping the number of pilots. We…”

Applejack never heard what Aun’Nan was going to say, her ears picking up a faint whining sound from outside the building. Before she even knew what the sound was, Applejack was diving forward, grabbing hold of Aun’Vesa and wrestling him to the floor, covering his body with her own. Aun’Nan’s bodyguards had clearly heard the sound as well, as they likewise closed ranks around their Ethereal, shielding him with their bodies just in time, as the roof of the building was enveloped in rolling plasma.

Applejack, along with at least two of the five Honour Guard Aun’Nan had brought with him let out screams of pain as some of the bioplasma dripped from the ceiling, eating through their armour like it wasn’t even there. Applejack could feel a few drops sinking part way through her rear legs, before mercifully stopping. A quick glance told her that her armour was already buckling under the assault, huge amounts of the plates simply dribbling away as they liquefied.

“Get up! Move, now!” Applejack roared at Aun’Vesa, dragging the Ethereal to his feet and pushing him out of the room. Normally no Tau would dare to touch an Ethereal at all, let alone in such a bodily fashion, but Honour Guard were given special dispensation to do whatever it took to keep their charges alive.

“What is happening?” Aun’Vesa gasped, slightly dazed from the sudden explosion, his eyes unprotected by Blacksun Filters as Applejack’s were.

“No idea!” Applejack grunted, pushing the pain in her legs aside, and silently praying that the exoskeleton mounted there didn’t fail, else she would be forced to move far slower. “Ah guessin’ it’s the Canolax! How the hell did they get here?!”

“It would seem your cordon is not as good as you thought it was,” Aun’Nan called out from beside her as his Honour Guard rushed him into the small room that Applejack had taken shelter in. He looked a little dishevelled, but all in all he was no worse for wear. Applejack did notice that there were only four Honour Guard with him now though, and silently let out a curse.

“We can discuss what happened after the Canolax are repulsed,” Aun’Vesa grimaced, finally coming back to his senses. “Did anyone see the attackers?”

“I did, mighty Ethereal,” one of the Honour Guard began to speak.

“Drop the formal tone, my name is Aun’Vesa,” Aun’Vesa snapped, slightly more harshly than he perhaps intended.

“Yes, Aun’Vesa,” the Tau seemed uneasy with using the name, but continued on regardless. “I saw at least a dozen of the Warrior Canolax fly overhead, I don’t know what caused the explosion, I didn’t think their warriors carried such large scale weapons.”

“Clearly we don’t know them as well as we all like ta think we do,” Applejack growled, before peering through the door to the outside.

The few Tau that had been in the command centre were trying their best to mount a defence, the three Crisis Battlesuits that usually served as Shan’Ta’s personal squad forming the rocks around which the Fire Warriors were holding themselves on. They were standing firm for now, but Applejack could already see dozens of Canolax soaring overhead, strafing the Fire Warriors with impunity.

“When do your reinforcements get here, Aun’Nan,” Aun’Vesa asked as Applejack assessed the situation.

“Their beacon is showing them as six minutes, thirty-two seconds away,” Aun’Nan replied after briefly consulting a dataslate.

Applejack nodded, setting a timer to count down in the top right of her helmet HUD, before speaking.

“If the Canolax have weapons ta breach the command centre, we ain’t safe here. There’s a bunker one hundreds and twelve meters away from here, its supposed ta be used fer durin’ bombardments, should be tha safest place fer all of us. We need ta get there.”

“One hundred meters is a long way to run across open ground,” one of the Honour Guard pointed out.

“And sittin’ here’s a good way to get us all blown to Tartarus,” Applejack snapped back.

“She’s right,” another Honour Guard nodded. “We can’t sit here, we need to make that run, and the Ethereal’s must survive.”

“Ya don’t need ta tell me mah job, Sugarcube,” Applejack snorted, the feeling of adrenaline rising in her chest as she prepared for combat. “Since ah have the heaviest weapons, ah’ll go first, lay down some coverin’ fire. Two of y’all stay with Aun’Vesa, two with Aun’Nan, and make that run. Don’t stop fer anythin’, understand?”

“Who put you in charge?” the Honour Guard who had disagreed with Applejack before asked, his face contorting into a scowl.

“I did,” Aun’Vesa cut in, before Applejack could form her own retort. “As the senior Ethereal, I hold authority, and in times of combat, I divert my defence to Shas’El Applejack. If there are any complaints, kindly take them up with me when we are not under attack, ok?”

There was a murmur of approval as the other Honour Guard moved into position around the Ethereal’s, making them duck down and protecting them as much as possible, shielding them with their own bodies.

“Ok, everyone ready?” Applejack looked around, spinning up her burst cannon in preparation for the run.

“We await your go,” Aun’Vesa nodded.

“Here we go,” Applejack grunted, taking a deep breath, before kicking the door open and galloping into the open.

The screams were louder now, handfuls of Fire Warriors lying dead and broken on the floor. Two of the Crisis suits were still fighting, albeit with heavy damage, but the third was on its back, a huge crater where its pilot was supposed to be. The defence was crumbling quickly, they would only get one shot at this.

“Move, now!” she roared, before aiming both her weapons into the sky and letting loose. Plasma micro-pulses and the energy of the stars themselves poured into the swarm of Canolax above her, momentarily taking the swarm by surprise as battlesuit level weaponry suddenly appeared from seemingly nowhere.

As she had hoped, the Swarm buckled slightly, giving the soldiers on the ground a momentary reprise, and giving the Honour Guard the opening they needed. Out of the corner of her eye, Applejack saw them dart out of the ruins of the command building, sprinting towards the entrance to the bunker. A group of Fire Warriors had already figured out what they were planning to doing, hauling the heavy door open and beckoning for the Ethereals to run faster.

That was all Applejack had time to see, refocusing her attention on the swarm above her as they began to react to her presence, avoiding her scything lines of fire as they started to aim at her. Applejack was now forced to duck and weave as she fired, opening a link to Aun’Vesa.

“Ethereal! Are y’all inside?!” she bellowed loudly.

“Yes, Applejack, we await your presence,” Aun’Vesa responded, his voice coming through with a clarity that meant he must have been underground and in the main part of the bunker now.

“No can do, ah’m needed out here,” Applejack shook her head. “Seal the bunker.”

“Applejack…” Aun’Vesa began.

“Ethereal, please, ah can’t risk y’all fer me, if ah make a run fer it ah’ll probably be shot anyway.”

“I…of course. Thank you, Applejack, may the Greater Good guide your aim.”

Applejack didn’t bother to reply, letting the radio link go dead as she redoubled her efforts, risking a glance back in time to see the bunker door sealing. Unfortunately, the momentary lapse in concentration allowed one of the Warriors past her field of fire, bearing with it one of the strange spherical bombs that a few of them had been carrying. Applejack turned back to the battle just in time to see the Warrior drop it, the bomb falling in slow motion, Applejack unable to do anything as it hit the floor, and detonated.

Applejacks scream was drowned out by the sound of the explosion as the rolling waves of plasma enveloped her. Luckily, she was on the very edge of the blast radius, the plasma not fully covering her, which would have likely killed her instantly. Then the secondary blast erupted outwards, and she was flung from her hooves, her world going white.

Applejack groaned in pain as the after-imagine of the explosion faded from her vision. Her helmet had been completed torn open in the attack, leaving her face exposed to the elements, and while her bionic eye had an inbuilt Blacksun filter, her biological eye did not. It was an odd sensation to have the image only in one eye, but Applejack shook it off, trying to regain her bearings.

"That just ain't funny," she groaned in pain, struggling to her hooves and looking up at the Canolax soaring overhead.

Her armour sloughed off her as the plasma melted it, turning the plates into so much slag, her burst cannon lying ruined in the puddle, while her fusion gun was only hanging on by the thinnest of threads. Firing it would be doable, aiming it would be something different entirely.

Squinting through the smoke that was now filling the air, Applejack focuses on the group that had flown past her, which was even now banking round for another pass. There must have been two dozen of them easily, but only one that was different. It didn't wield a weapon like the others did, it was taller, less muscular, and while the Warriors wings were biological, this Canolax had two small turbines angled to keep it airborne.

This was the Ruler leading this attack. Take him down, and they may just survive this yet.

Applejack took aim into the sky, her fusion gun only barely reacting to her movements, most of the harnesses functions melted away into so much slag. He bionic eye didn't have any targeting features, and the smoke and dust were blinding her biological. Her entire body was swaying as pain and tiredness fought against adrenaline and duty. Even the range was too great for a fusion gun, the Canolax flying too high for her to even threaten anymore. In short, it would be a pointless, futile shot.

Applejack let out a roar of desperation as she fired wildly into the sky, her shots going wide from even the outer edges of the Canolax swarm, who now finally seemed to see her, diving towards her, intent on finishing her off.

Applejack closed her eyes, waiting for the sting of the blades that would finish her off.

Or she would have waited for that, if the near deafening sound of scores of burst cannons firing didn't force her to look upwards once more.

The Canolax that had been diving towards her had simply vanished in a hail of micro-pulsed plasma. A split second later, no less than six Crisis battlesuits soared passed, heading for the now retreating swarm.

They didn't get far, explosions suddenly blossoming within the retreating swarm as the rest of Aun'Nan's reinforcements got within range to assist.

Riptides fired high powered explosives into clusters of the fleeing insects, while Broadsides dug in, brining their heavy guns to bear on anything that looked more dangerous than the rest, those few Canolax that still carried the plasma bombs being the first targets.

Somewhere in the confusion, whether it was by luck or by design, the Ruler was hit. The effect was instantaneous, Warriors letting out a scream of pain. Many simply stopped moving altogether, falling from the sky and plowing great furloughs into the dusty earth. Others managed to stay airborne, but the cohesion they had possessed during the fight was gone now, Warriors flying into each other as they sought to get away from the vengeful guns of the Tau.

What had started as a fighting retreat away from overwhelming enemy resistance, had now turned into a slaughter, one which Applejack did not mind watching.

She didn't get too much of a chance to watch however, as a trio of Crisis suits landed in front of her, their markings designating them as a pair of Shas'Ui and a Shas'Vre.

The trio saluted as their armour recognised what was left of her own rank, before the Sha'Vre began to talk.

"Shas'El, we are reporting for duty as honoured Aun'Tsua'Nan's reinforcements. I did not realise the situation was this bad."

"Wasn't...meant to be...Sugarcube," Applejack smiled weakly, stooping down as she noticed her battered hat on the floor, numerous holes burnt through it. She placed it on her head as she continued. "Came out of...nowhere. Hit the command room...Aun'Vesa and Aun'Nan...in the bunker."

"And Shas'O Shan'Ta?" The Shas'Vre pressed. "What of the commander?"

"No...idea," Applejack shrugged truthfully. "Didn't see him...come out though. Guess...guess that makes me...actin' 'O' or somethin'."

"Then we should get you some place safe," the Battlesuit proclaimed, turning to his two fellows. "You two, find this bunker and secure the Ethereal's, pull them back and protect them while we clear the remaining Canolax out of the camp."

"Acting Shas'O," he turned back to face Applejack. "I ask you to accompany my men, they will keep you safe and see to it that you get medical support."

Applejack let out a soft chuckle as she looked up at the Battlesuit, her vision starting to fade now the battle was over.

"Afraid...ah may have ta do somethin'...quite fru-fruy...and...pass out."

She barely finished the sentence, before her eyes rolled back in their sockets, and she fell into blackness.

The Devil You Know

Applejack

The war on CGhT-257492, or the Pacification of the Crag, as it was to be known in the records of Pa’Laa, dragged on for another three weeks after the disaster at the Command Centre. The reinforcements Aun’Nan had brought with him had saved the Ethereal’s from death, but they hadn’t been fast enough to stop everything. All of the high ranking Fire Caste members of Pa’Laa had been there, the three Crisis Suit pilots had been the next in command after Shan’Ta, and none of them had survived.

Shas’O Shan’Ta had been lucky and had survived the attack, but just barely. Even after all this time, he was still in intensive care, kept in a stasis even after he was returned to Pa’Laa. No one was sure when, or even if, he would be revived again.

The Fireblades on the front were still active, leading from the front as always, but they had needed someone able to look at the entire theatre of war and make decisions. The Ethereal’s had helped, but there had only been one member of the Fire Caste high enough ranked to fulfil that role.

That had been a month ago, the entire Sept had since been returned to Pa’Laa for some much needed recuperation and rearming. New Fire Warriors were being added to the Sept’s ranks as fast as they possibly could, but they were still limited by the simple passing of time, and it would be almost a planetary year before the next batch of soldiers would be ready to be transferred into the Pa’Laa battle roster.

Likewise, the auxiliary units had almost been entirely wiped out, and they hadn’t even been that numerous to begin with. At the last roll call, there had been seven kroot, twelve Vespid and two Demiurg ready for battle. There were more in the other castes of course, but that wasn’t much comfort to the depleted Fire Caste.

In light of their weakened defences, the Pa’Laa Sept had been forced to rely on other Sept’s Fire Warriors for defence in case the unthinkable happened. On paper, it made sense to have more troops on standby, as it made the planet defensible, but that didn’t mend the massive blow to the honour of the Fire Warriors of the Pa’Laa Sept. There was nothing in any official reports of course, but anyone with even a hint of military knowledge could see that the Sept’s native warriors were demoralized. Aun’Vesa and Aun’Nan had been working tirelessly to change this, but so far, all their efforts had met with little success.

These were all the least of Applejack’s concerns now however. The Pa’Laa Sept would survive, it had weathered these storms before, but every other time it had had an experience O at the helm. Now it had Applejack.

From all the records she had studied, across the entire length and breadth of the entire Tau empire, there had never been an alien to hold a rank even close to an equivalent of Shas’O, and yet here she was, in the central headquarters for the Fire Caste, Aun’Vesa and Aun’Nan standing around the central holo-table with her.

“The first training Cadre is proving receptive to our new accelerated training regime,” Aun’Nan brought up a readout, seventy-two names showing in six separate fire teams. “At this rate they should be at minimum readiness for the battle roster in under two weeks, although that’s still behind what we would normally consider battle ready.”

“Don’t rush them, train them to normal acceptable standards before deploying them,” Applejack sighed. “A few more weeks won’t make a difference, and I will not see the Pa’Laa Sept flooded with inexperienced and undertrained troops. It’s bad enough the Sept will be going back to being almost completely unexperienced in battle.”

“Very good,” Aun’Nan nodded. “There is also the matter of our orbital defences, our surface guns have been suffering from the lack of maintenance, Aun’Vesa has been in charge of this.”

“Indeed,” Aun’Vesa nodded, stepping forward and changing the holo-display to a battery of surface to orbit cannons. “This is Tor’Kan Array, one of twenty such batteries around the planet. Along with our long range anti-ship missiles, they are our first line of defence. Tor’Kan array has recently been showing marked drops in efficiency, brought on by our lack of available Earth Caste operatives.”

“Wait, the Earth Caste is suffering now too?” Applejack massaged her temples, removing her hat and placing it on the table. “Why?”

“Well it’s mostly a matter of the Fire Caste needing reinforcements,” Aun’Vesa began. “Many of the Demiurg who were assigned to the Earth Caste applied for reassignment to the Fire Caste to help bolster numbers. I granted a large majority of the requests on a strictly temporary basis, they’re currently undergoing accelerated training and will be back at their original posts by…”

“Get them back there now, if ya please, Ethereal,” Applejack cut in, barely looking at Aun’Vesa. “At the moment, I’d rather any attackin’ forces found it harder ta get to the planet, rather than havin’ a few more soldiers to fight if’n they get planetside. Orbital defences are now a higher priority than reinforcin’ Pa’Laa’s Fire Caste. We’ll just have to rely on the other Sept’s for a bit longer.

“Are you sure that’s wise, Shas’O?” Aun’Nan asked, warily glancing over at Aun’Vesa.

“It’s as wise a decision as ah can make right now, Aun’Nan,” Applejack sighed, wincing slightly as a surge of pain ripped through her chest. “Now, if y’all will excuse me, ah have ta go see the doc again.”

“We have many other things to discuss…” Aun’Nan began, before trailing off as he caught Aun’Vesa’s gaze. “…but Aun’Vesa and myself can handle the immediate work. We will ensure that what is discussed is forwarded to your quarters.”

“Thank you, Ethereal’s,” Applejack bowed her head to both of the Ethereal’s in turn, before heading out of the room, leaving the pair behind.

“Aun’Vesa, a word if you will?” Aun’Nan called out as the door secured itself.

“Of course,” Aun’Vesa nodded, bowing his head slightly. “I apologise that it has taken such a turn of events for us to speak to each other face to face.”

“Do not mention it, you have been busy advising Shan’Ta and keeping an eye on Applejack, I have been busy with my contingents. And you really do need to stop bowing so much, we are equals after all.”

“In my books, experience trumps rank, Aun’Nan,” Aun’Vesa pointed out. “And you have over half a decade more experience leading Fire Warriors than I. It is why I asked for your assistance in such a time.”

“And I am glad to give it. My contingents are capable of carrying out their tasks without my direct intervention ,” Aun’Nan nodded. “But that’s not what I wished to speak to you about.”

“You wish to know about Applejack, yes?” Aun’Vesa guessed.

“You’re correct. You know her far better than I do. Is she ready for this?”

“Ready? For taking over a Sept that is on the brink of collapse as the first ever non-Tau to hold her rank? I think ready would be pushing it several steps too far. Will she rise to the challenge though? That’s a better question. I’ve yet to see her be beaten by anything fully, and she has been through a lot.”

“If she’s not ready, surely there are others…” Aun’Nan began.

“Yes, there are other Tau. We have a host of Shas’Vre and Shas’El, but none have her experience, and none are capable of taking their trials to become an O yet. It could be close to a year before Applejack has a replacement, not that I think she needs one. She is one of the most competent soldiers I have ever seen, and right now we need that.”

“And we need to keep her on side, it is the will of Aun’Va,” Aun’Nan pointed out, Aun’Vesa stiffening at the mention of the name.

“Have you not heard?” the younger Ethereal asked solemnly.

“Heard what?”

“Of the events at Mu’gulath Bay,” Aun’Vesa sighed, before looking around. “Come, I will speak to you privately in my quarters. This is not something for all ears.”

Without another word, Aun’Vesa turned and headed for the exit of the room, Aun’Nan close behind him, a look of worry and interest written across his face.

***

Applejack bit her lip and let out a low growl as the medic inspected her body. Her armour lay in a pile in the corner, having taken almost twice as long as it used to take to remove it thanks to her still tender skin. Most of the fur on her chest and sides had been burnt away, her skin still showing the signs of boils and burns, but it was far less irritated than it had looked a few weeks ago.

“Well, I don’t know what else I can say, Shas’O,” the human convert stepped away, beginning to make some notes on a datapad. “The burns and boils are definitely just superficial now, they may be painful, but that is all they are. I suggest you keep having your drones apply the cream I gave you last time, but that is all.”

“Thanks,” Applejack winced as she stood up, licking her lip to make sure she hadn’t broken the skin while trying to stop herself from crying out. Finally satisfied that she hadn’t, she began the laborious process of donning her armour.

“Ah don’t suppose y’all have anythin’ fer stress do ya doc?” she chuckled as she got dressed. She meant it to come off as more of a joke, but when she actually voiced the words, she realised that there may have been some flicker of hope that he actually would give her something.

She shuddered slightly at the thought, she had seen soldiers who had become far too reliant on calming drugs, either being taken off duty, or staying so calm in battle that they didn’t even bother to duck. They didn’t last long after that.

“I’m sorry, Shas’O, but with the painkillers and antiseptics that you are already on, prescribing you anything different and on top of those would almost certainly lead to complications and bedrest. I imagine that given the current circumstances, you don’t want that.”

“Yeah, ya got that right,” Applejack chuckled softly. “D’y’all need anything else from me, or am ah free ta go?”

“You’re always free to go, Applejack, you are the Shas’O, only the mighty Ethereal’s may command you now, and even then, they are closer to strongly willed suggestions.”

“Ya know, ah don’t think I’d ever hear a Tau say anything even close to that,” Applejack chuckled, properly this time. “The Ethereals givin’ suggestions rather than orders that is.”

“But I am not Tau, and neither are you,” the human point out with a smirk of his own, lifting Applejack’s oversized pauldren and helping her attach it to her armour. “I will ensure that the drones are updated with your new prescription, a quarter less of both the painkiller and antiseptic. Keep up with the washing to keep the wounds clean and your exercises to regain your muscle strength, and I think in another three weeks you’ll be back here to be signed off.”

“Thanks again doc,” Applejack nodded, clamping her helmet to her flank and donning her hat, before heading out of the room, a slight limp in her step as she went.

Her old suit of armour had been almost utterly destroyed in the battle on Crag, those bits that were left deemed unsavable by the Earth Caste, necessitating a brand new set to be made for her. For two weeks, she had worn no armour at all as the forges worked to provide her with the suit she now wore, now she wished that she could go back to those clothes.

Her old armour had been worn in over years of service, the padding had moulded to her form, and the additional servos on the legs had served to make it feel like she was wearing nothing at all. This suit felt clunky by comparison, and quite a bit wider, as evidenced by the fact she kept knocking into things as she walked passed, although Koghad had another idea for why that was.

Three weeks in command and you’ve become fat, lass. All those fancy meals above the rest of us little guys going straight to your flanks, eh?

Koghad had spent the rest of that week in the infirmary, being treated for two very distinctive bruises on his chest, and a severe case of damaged ego.

Applejack couldn’t help herself anymore, and let out a laugh as she entered her new quarters, or Shan’Ta’s old quarters, whichever way one looked at it. All of the wounded Shas’O’s personal effects had been moved to the hall of heroes, though they were not yet on full display. It would stay that way until Shan’Ta either recovered enough to take up his old position and return to his room, or he passed beyond the need of it.

“Greetings Shas’O Applejack,” the rooms personal drone was on her the second she crossed the threshold. “Your medication has been dispensed and placed upon your table as per usual. New requisition orders from the doctor were received and have been acted upon, resulting in a smaller amount being dispensed by a margin of…”

“Ah get it Delta-Seven,” Applejack sighed, pushing the drone aside. “Ah’ve been to the doc, ah’ve spoken with the Ethereal’s, ah’ve done everythin’ ah had to today, so unless ya get a message that can’t wait, as in marked Urgent or Ethereal, ah don’t want ta hear anythin’ until wake up tomorrow. OK?”

The drone didn’t make a sound, bobbing slightly as it acknowledged the command before heading off to continue with its chores of keeping the room perfectly tidy at all times.

Grateful for once that the drone didn’t have enough of a personality matrix for conversation, Applejack headed over to the table, starring at her meal and the pills beside it. It was true that the food prepared for a Shas’O was hundreds of times better than that given to the rank and file soldiers, but that hadn’t stopped Applejack feeling guilty about getting the food. She didn’t feel like she had earnt it justly and fairly, as every other Shas’O had. She had been gifted it by default, and to be given the prize without putting the effort in to win it herself didn’t sit right with the workpony she had once been.

Nevertheless, she couldn’t deny it tasted good, and after swallowing the pills she began to tuck into the cavern grown vegetables. Almost as soon as she had taken her first mouthful however, Delta-Seven floated over, his red ocular display fixing itself on Applejack.

“This had better be important,” Applejack growled, glaring at the drone.

“Affirmative,” Delta-Seven bobbed as it spoke. “Message from his mightiness Ethereal Aun’Vesa reads as follows: Applejack, please have your drone call me as soon as you get this. Priority Yarl’kat.”

“Well don’t just hang there, call him,” Applejack snapped urgently. Yarl’kat was the second highest priority warning Pa’Laa had, and while it meant they weren’t under attack, it was still urgent enough that she couldn’t just put it off until morning.

In a few seconds, Applejack saw the drone stop bobbing as its eye turned blue, Aun’Vesa’s voice coming out if it’s speakers instead of its monotonous whine.

“Applejack, our sensors picked up a lone ship incoming many hours ago. The matter was relayed to fleet Command, and it was eventually given permission to land at our central cavern. The passengers are not a simple matter though, and it will be far simpler for you to see what I mean than for me to try and explain to you. Meet me at the Eastern guard post as soon as possible. Aun’Vesa out.”

The drones eye returned to its normal red glow as it returned to its duties, Applejack letting out a long sigh, before turning to face it.

“Keep mah food warm, ah still want it when ah come back, ya hear me?”

“Apologises, but the doctor specified that these pills should be taken with a meal. You have not received a meal since mid-day, meaning you do not fulfil these criteria. I must insist…”

“Insist all you want, ah’m goin’,” Applejack snapped. “Now do what ah said, or ah’ll send Koghad ta deal with ya.”

With that, Applejack headed out of the door, breaking into a gallop as soon as she exited the building. Her armour rattled slightly as she ran, causing her some discomfort, but mostly she was just happy to have her blood pumping again. It took her almost ten minutes of soldier running to reach the guard post, a time she potentially could have halved if she had caught a transporter, but it also could have been doubled if she had just missed one.

Coming back down to a walk, Applejack strode past the saluting guards, entering the antechamber and instantly catching sight of Aun’Nan.

“Shas’O,” the Ethereal nodded in recognition of her, before turning and walking towards the main chamber with her. “Aun’Vesa is with our new visitors, he’s just up ahead.”

“Ah don’t understand what’s so important about some newcomers,” Applejack muttered as she walked, her head spinning slightly from the lack of food, heavy running and the pills on an empty stomach. “Ah’m sure a member of the Water Caste could have…”

She trailed off as the doors to the main chamber slid open, Applejack’s eyes simply gliding past Aun’Vesa and the guards that were surrounding him as her mouth fell open.

Applejack stared at the six newcomers in equal parts confusion and shock, coming to a halt beside Aun’Vesa without a word. The first three were unknown to her, although their species wasn't. The first, a human, bearing scrappy remains of an Imperial Guard uniform that looked like it had once belonged to the Elysians if Applejack was remembering her study of the Taros campaign correctly, and possessing two bulky bionic eyes, both of which were focused on Applejack, and somehow managing to convey sadness even though they were nothing but blue lights. For the first time, Applejack was grateful that he bionic eye was almost indistinguishable from her biological one, as opposed to such a clunky replacement

The next two were Eldar, that much was plain, but that was all Applejack knew of their kind, this being the first time she had ever seen one up close. Both wore near identical battered and broken armour, the males being slightly more blackened, while the females seemed to have been raked by hundreds of tiny blades. She also bore a spindly looking pair of bionic legs, and a defeated scowl upon her face.

Applejack didn't know who these three were, but she had a pretty good idea, and it was not filling her with hope, especially as her mind processed the other members of the group.

Spitfire, Lightning and Scootaloo stood before her, each of the Pegasi looking awful, some more than others. Scootaloo looked as if she was in the best condition physically, her strange armoured bodysuit in good condition, and her muscles clear under the taut clothing, but her eyes displayed an inner pain, one far more painful than any physical injury.

Spitfire and Lightning were certainly not lacking physical injuries however. The latter had scars crisscrossing her body, extra attention seeming to have been paid to her face, making Applejack shudder. Even the Adeptus Mechanicus hadn't cut her that much, this hadn't been scientific, this had simply been sadistic. Even Lightnings injuries were nothing compared to Spitfires though. The older mare had far fewer scars on her body, her face entirely unblemished by scars, but the one she did have was far deeper and more profound that any of the multitude Lightning sported. Her entire right wing was missing, save for a small nub of bone and scar tissue that occasionally twitched in time with Spitfire's right eye. This hadn't been cut off cleanly, it had been ripped, the skin around it showing signs of having been stretched beyond what it was capable of, and there was no sign that there had been any medical care afterwards.

"S-Spitfire? Lightnin'? Scoots? What are y'all doin' here? What happened to y'all?" Applejack asked, her voice hoarse as she struggled to comprehend the unexpected situation, before she finally voiced the question that was burning in her mind.

"Where's Rainbow?"

"She'll be coming," Spitfire scowled, her voice nothing like what Applejack remembered, having lost any sort of joy it may once have held, replaced instead with pain, barely contained anger, and something else that Applejack was having a hard time pinning down. Sorrow? "You need to get ready, all of you."

"Get ready? Fer what?" Applejack asked in confusion. "And why isn’t she with ya? What happened, who did this to y'all?"

"She did," Scootaloo whispered, looking up at Applejack, tears starting to form in her eyes as she finally voiced what everyone else had been trying to out into words to Applejack. "Rainbow did this to us."

The Torn Scar Open

Rainbow Dash

Rainbow let out a screeching laugh through blood soaked lips as Eethron made yet another incision in her flesh, straining against the thick straps that held her down on the table. She had been here for almost three hours now, the pain long since giving way to pleasure as it always did. She had lost count of the number of times she had been in Eethron’s lab in the years she had been in Commoragh, each time coming away with new additions to her ever-growing collection of augmentations, some easily visible, some less so.

“It saddens me to say, Dash, but we are almost done,” Eethron muttered after taking a sip from a crystal glass filled with a strange purple liquid, sighing contently as he savoured the taste, before getting back to work. “You are perhaps one of my favourite subjects to work on, plus my most willing.”

“Well I’ve paid you enough,” Rainbow grimaced. “How many souls is it now? Even with our deal it’s got to be a lot.”

“I lose count,” Eethron chuckled. “Enough to secure a regeneration pod though.”

“I’m not Eldar, wouldn’t work.” Rainbow’s words were punctuated with another bout of pained laughter as Eethron brought a cauterizer down over the latest incision, before a pair of Wracks released Rainbow from the table, helping her to her hooves.

“So…what was it this time, Eethron?” Rainbow chuckled, looking over her body for visible changes. “Not that I don’t like our arrangement for free upgrades in exchange for you poking and prodding me…”

She trailed off, looking at Eethron expectantly. Instead of replying instantly however, the ancient Haemonculus waved his hand at the two Wracks, dismissing them with an unspoken command, before producing a knife and holding it out to Rainbow.

“Humour me, and cut your skin.”

“The point of this?” Rainbow asked sceptically, bringing the knife across her foreleg, just above her claws without so much as a flinch.

“That wound, would take days to fade away before,” Eethron murmured, taking the knife back from Rainbow as the Wrack’s brought over a trembling slave, the woman barely more than skin and bones, a feeding pack strapped directly to her exposed spine, giving her enough nutrients to survive without any of the sustenance that came from food. “But, if I have succeeded, and I rarely fail…”

Eethron brought the knife across the woman’s chest with an artisan’s precision, the scream telling Rainbow he had sliced directly into several nerve clusters. It was not just the sound that hit Rainbow however, as something physical swept over her, causing her newest cuts and scars to burn intensely, before fading with the same speed. When she looked down, she could see that her wounds had already started to knit themselves back together with a speed that Rainbow had only ever seen in other Dark Eldar.

“What did you do this time?” Rainbow breathed softly, still staring at her leg.

“I created the first Dark Equine,” Eethron smiled, nodding slowly as the slave was dragged away, still screaming. “Many would not approve of this, but…”

“When have you ever cared about that,” Rainbow snorted. “What did you do?”

“Replaced organs, blood, plasma, a little brain tissue, with some provided from those who have displeased my Covern. But all you care about is the outcome I am sure, and the outcome is, you share our kinds affinity for pain. It will, to a lesser extent, sustain you, empower you, bring you back from the brink of destruction. It will even allow you take a place in my Covern’s rejuvenation pods, although at a much slower pace, and I’m sure you understand, a much higher cost.”

“This is insane. I thought you said the most you could do was make me feel the pain of people. But this…” Rainbow chuckled slowly. “And I’ll put it to good use, that I assure you.”

“I’m sure you will,” Eethron nodded. “Now, you have a race to prepare for, do you not? I expect you to do the Triumvent Proud in the Torn Scar open, I would hate to see all the time I’ve put into you go to waste.”

“They won’t know what hit them,” Rainbow growled, baring her sharpened teeth, before flapping her wings and shooting out of the laboratory, wheeling across the dark skies of Commoragh.

Eethron watched her go with a faint smile, before turning to face one of his Wracks, holding out a glass vial containing three equine teeth suspended in an anti-gravity field.

“Take this to my private chamber’s rejuvenation pod. I have a special project in mind for this.”

***

Rainbow’s landing sent slaves scattering as they scurried to get as far away from her as possible, while also avoiding the imposing figure of Gilda. Most opted to run past Scootaloo, the fuchsia mare regarding them with the same glazed expression that she had worn since Spitfire and Lightning had been taken as slaves.

She barely spoke anymore, ate only what was required to keep her in fighting form, and had never once graced the sands when it wasn’t a direct order. Rainbow and Gilda on the other hoof were now almost as much of an attraction on the sands off their jetbikes as they were on them. While they weren’t on the sands as much as a Wych, they had clocked far more hours than any other Reaver in the Cult.

“Get back to work!” Rainbow screeched, the slaves whimpering as they tried to both complete their assigned tasks and stay out of easy reach of Rainbow, Gilda or any of the other Reavers in the garage.

“Interesting time at Eethron’s?” Gilda asked, stepping away from her own jetbike, the remodelled vehicle barely looking anything like her old monster.

"I'm surprised you didn’t hear me from here,” Rainbow snorted. “The pain was palpable, delicious. I can feel it more now, like they do,” she gestured towards one of the Dark Eldar. “It’s beautiful.”

“Maybe I should get myself down there,” Gilda chuckled back.

“You’ve said that every time I’ve come back, and you still haven’t,” Rainbow pointed out. “One of these days you’ll see sense.”

“You can’t improve on perfection,” Gilda snorted.

“Eethron can. Eethron can improve on anything,” Rainbow’s voice was cutting as she headed over towards her own jetbike, the slave working on it bowing deeply as she hurried backwards.

Unlike the others, this slave was not a cowering wreck of a woman, and still had some form of dignity in her hunched walk. Rainbow had taken her almost two years ago in a raid on a human planet outside of the Imperium, and since then she had served as Rainbow’s personal slave, and was the only slave permitted to touch her Jetbike. In return for her tireless service, Rainbow ensured her safety from the other members of the Cult and the Triumvent as a whole, as well as providing her with better food. She had even permitted her to carry a small knife to defend herself from jealous slaves who hated her for her elevated position. The handle currently had seventeen notches, one more than when Rainbow had left for Eethron’s lab.

“So then Kas, how’s my bike?” Rainbow asked, placing her claws on the saddle and staring at the slave.

“It will fly true, Mistress,” Kas replied quickly, keeping her eyes lowered as she spoke. “I made a small adjustment to the secondary compression tube, you should be able to use the afterburner point zero four percent more than before. I also polished the front armour plates to a shine, as you like, air resistance will be as low as is possible, Mistress.”

“Good. Good girl,” Rainbow nodded with a fanged smile. “And my other two slaves? How are they faring?”

“Spitfire refused to eat again, I used the feeding tube again, the barbed one that you like,” Kas answered hurriedly. “Her stomach’s distended considerably, I know you enjoy the pain that causes. Lightning is still recovering from your last session with her, but nothing you’ve done will cause death. All their wounds have been cleaned, they’re ready for you.”

“Perfect as always,” Rainbow nodded. “Go and get yourself some food, then continue with your tasks.”

“Yes, Mistress. Of course, Mistress,” Kas bowed deeply again, before hurrying out of the garage, the slaves getting out of her way almost as quickly as they got out of Rainbow’s or Gilda’s way.

“You give that thing too much freedom,” one of the Reaver’s called over from his own jetbike, his voice amplified by the mask he wore.

“Voice that opinion again, and I promise you you’ll get less,” Rainbow snarled backwards, before jumping onto her bike and gunning the engine, shooting out onto the arena floor to test the modifications, almost thirty other Reavers following her lead, powering up their guns and whooping in anticipation for what was to come.

***

“Louder!” Rainbow roared as she slammed her claws into Spitfire’s stomach, the mare letting out a spluttering cough, blood running down her ruined gums as she recoiled from the blow. True to Kas’s word, Spitfire’s stomach had distended from the forced feeding, sending agonising cramps through her body whenever it was struck, along with the pain of the actual blow. “Scream louder for me! Beg for it to stop!”

Rainbow was back in her quarters after the day’s training, readying herself for the Torn Scar Open that was due to happen tomorrow. Everything hinged on that race, years and years of planning and killing, all leading up to this moment. Far from getting a early night though, Rainbow was intent to find out exactly what Eethron had done to her, and that meant torturing her two favourite meatbags.

Both Spitfire and Lightning were chained up, forced onto the hind legs as cruel barbs punctured their fore hooves, pulling them towards the ceiling. Blood was splattered across the bare floor, stopping well before Rainbow’s actual quarter’s, making sure that the extravagant room was not tainted with the blood, only the smell and the moans. Only the faintest of haze’s gave away the forcefield that separated the two sections of the room, keyed to only stop those who were implanted with a spinal chip, such as the one in both Spitfire and Lightning.

“Leave her alone!” Lightning roared in defiance, struggling against her chains and beating her wings weakly, trying to find any way to help her friend. “Why not pick on me you bitch?!”

“Because it’s far more fun to break you without touching you,” Rainbow shot back, taking a sudden step towards Lightning and sending the pony reeling in fear. “Good meat, now stay quiet, or I’ll sew your mouth closed again.”

Lightning instantly fell silent after that threat, the colour draining from her mouth as she remembered the last time Rainbow had done that. It had been almost a week before she had got them unsealed again. The time before that had been two weeks.

“Now, where were we?” Rainbow asked brightly, turning back to face Spitfire with a smile on her face. “Oh yes, that’s right, I was pointing out your stomach. Do you remember what I said would happen if Kas had to use that feeding tube again?”

“R-R-Rainbow…p-please,” Spitfire choked, tars of pain rolling down her face. “Y-You c-can’t.”

“I can’t?” Rainbow scoffed, reaching over to grab a wickedly sharp knife before getting right into Spitfire’s face and bellowing, covering the mare in spittle. “I can’t?! Who’s going to stop me?! You?! Lightning?! Do you remember what I said or not?!”

“Rainbow…” Spitfire began.

“Do you?!” Rainbow cut in, her eyes wide with bloodlust.

“M-my wings,” Spitfire all but whispered.

“Say it louder, I want everyone to hear it,” Rainbow snarled.

“My wings!” Spitfire screeched, tears rolling down her cheeks in earnest now. “For Celestia’s sake Rainbow, if there’s anything left of the mare I knew, don’t do this!”

“Rainbow! Don’t!” Lightning roared again, struggling against the chains once more, her own fear forgotten.

“Shut up,” Rainbow sneered, before looking over to Lightning. “And I warned you too, you’d think you would learn not to test me. I think a month this time, how does that sound?”

“Please…don’t do this, Rainbow,” Spitfire whispered.

“Tell you what,” Rainbow smiled, getting close to Spitfire and whispering back. “I won’t take your wings. Ever. You have my word on that, you understand?”

“T-T-Thank you,” Spitfire sobbed, her head sagging as her shoulders heaved.

“I’ll just take a wing,” Rainbow sneered, bringing the knife down on the joint of the right wing, cutting deep into the tissue and muscle, before grabbing hold with both claws and pulling.

The screams from Spitfire echoed through the arena long into the night, and long after Rainbow was finished. On her part, the rainbow maned mare slept peacefully, the screams and muffled ‘mpppphhhss’ from Lightning’s sewed up lips helping her drift to sleep.

***

It was a strangely therapeutic series of movements to prepare for a race. The skin-tight suit hugged Rainbow’s body perfectly as she tensed and flexed each one of her muscle groups in turn, making sure that no movement would cause the suit to pull in any location.

In a race at this level, everything came down to the tiniest of fractions. A quarter of a second’s extra afterburner could mean the difference between a victory and crashing into the arena wall. A piece of the race suit pulling a single hair out of the skin could cause a minute lack of concentration that another racer could exploit. When things came down to such a level, everything had to be planned for and negated before the racer got anywhere near their bike, or the race would be your last.

Rainbow did not plan for this race to be her last.

“Kas, final check and then warm the engine,” Rainbow ordered, running her claws across her smooth face, watching in silence as Kas dragged the kicking and screaming slave over, before slitting his throat and directing the spray of blood over the engine. It had been Rainbow’s unique trait for years, the smell of boiling blood on her engine letting the crowd know exactly who was racing.

With the final preparations complete, Rainbow mounted the bike, before rising out of the Torn Scar’s garage, emerging into the light of the arena to the sound of thousands of cheering, screaming voices.

“Welcome racers!” the announcer roared over the vox-system. “For six years, you have trained yourselves, tested yourselves, honed your skills until every inch of your body has achieved perfection in the racing world. Now, everything you have prepared for will be put to the test. The track is laid out before you, do not deviate from it, or you will find yourselves on the razor shards of the sand. The arena’s weapons are linked to your bikes, the slowest racer must dodge their fire, as well as that of the other racers. The race ends when only one remains. Let the blood flow! Begin!”

Rainbow gunned the engine, forcing her bike to its fullest speed to ensure the dark lances that were already springing to life didn’t target her. The other racers had similar ideas, doing their best to outdo each other as the weapons began to fire, spitting out punishing streams of unlight, forcing the racers to jink and roll as they hurtled round the track.

For almost a full lap, none of the racers fired, jostling for position to avoid the guns while learning the layout of the track, but that soon changed, Rainbow forcing her bike into a spinning barrel roll, maintaining her speed, but adding to the distance travelled, and allowing another racer to shoot in front of her. In a split second, Rainbow was on him, her visor sending her all the targeting data she needed as she let her Jetbikes weapons add to the roar of the arena’s, shredding the pilot and his bike in a hail of poisoned splinters.

The pain washed over Rainbow, heightening her senses as she weaved around the crashing jetbike, shooting off to put some distance between herself and the next racer. While she couldn’t win this race through pure speed, staying ahead of the pack meant that they would thin each other out, making it easier for Rainbow to kill off the survivors. It may have meant less direct killing, but for once, Rainbow didn’t mind that, this race was too important for such distractions.

As she predicted, the tactic worked, keeping her unmolested for over half an hour, the roars of the crowd and sudden screams of delight keeping her informed of what was going on, the subtle differences in pitch and intensity informing her what was a near miss, and what was a particularly visceral kill.

Thirty three minutes after the race had begun, Rainbow was left with only one competitor, the Dark Eldar speeding round the track to catch up with her, intent on finishing her off from behind. Rainbow had other plans.

Opening all the aerofoils on her bike, Rainbow cut her speed in half, spinning the bike as she did so to face directly at her oncoming opponent and speeding towards him, making sure to cut her speed to below his.

As expected, the guns turned to face her, matching her speed to get a lock, before firing just as Rainbow activated her drug injector, slowing her perception of time to a crawl. The Dark Lances spat out yet more punishing beams, Rainbow forcing her bike to rolled around them as she drew her sword and dived as close to the arena floor as she could, thrusting her sword upwards.

Even with the swords power field active, hitting the jetbike still felt like it was going to rip her claw clean off, even as it passed through the bike, sending the pilot flying forward, his arms flailing as he sought to gain some control of his fall.

He never got the chances before a dark lance beam aimed at where Rainbow had been passed through his head, the rest of his body vaporising from contact with the stream of Darklight, the guns falling silent as the crowd erupted into screams of elation, Rainbow adding her own voice to the crowd as she flicked the bike into auto pilot mode before jumping onto the saddle, throwing her claws into the air.

Six years of planning and killing, six years of Commoragh, soon it would be over.

“I give you, the winner of the Torn Scar Open! Leader of the Shadowbolts! Member of the Triumvent of Half-Formed Hope! Champion of the Torn Scar! Ladies and Gentlemen! Dash!”

The All-Seeing Eye

Rainbow Dash

The hours after the end of the Torn Scar Open flashed by in an instant, and yet at the same time stretched on for what felt like an eternity. The Archon of the Kabal had met her personally on the sands, singing her praises to the roaring crowd. It was all posturing, Rainbow knew that. The Archon was barely concealing his disgust that an alien had beaten Dark Eldar, apparently even a trueborn who had been racing. Rainbow knew that he would have dearly liked to kill her, but she also knew that the Kabal’s were different from Wych Cults.

A Wych Cult was all about the spectacle of the kill, ending your opponent in the most brutal and efficient way possible, in front of as many onlookers as possible, and if it had been a Succubus beside her, Rainbow would have been far more worried. A Kabal was political however, the twist of the knife being almost less important than the positioning required to deliver the blow. If a Kabalite wanted you dead, they had to make sure all the pieces were just right so that when one toppled, they all fell.

The Archon knew the pieces were not in place, Rainbow knew the pieces weren’t in place. Now they just had to keep up the façade for the crowd. Eventually, Rainbow and the Archon had left the sands, a gaggle of allied Wyches replacing them, ready to keep the crowd satiated in blood for hours to come.

After that the pair had retired to the Archons greeting chambers. The main prize for the race may have been an audience with the Archon of the All-Seeing Eye, another move for power by the Torn Scar, it was far from all that Rainbow was owed. Soul crystals spilled with screaming victims, a clutch of prized slaves, and even a Husk Blade from the Archon’s own Armoury, not to mention hundreds of slaves to see to her every need while at the Torn Scar’s tower, ensuring that both her and her armour were presentable.

“If I find a single scuff on my suit, I’ll take it out on your hide,” Rainbow snarled as a cowering slave took her race suit away, letting out a mewling yelp as Gilda, Kas and Scootaloo pushed her aside, barely paying her any attention.

Gilda was the first to speak, running forward and grabbing Rainbow and pulling her into a deep kiss. When they finally broke, the Griffon was beaming from ear to ear.

“You did it,” she chuckled. “You fucking did it.”

“Well done, Mistress. I had every faith in your ability to win,” Kas added.

“W-Well done, Champion,” Scootaloo whispered from behind the pair, Rainbow almost missing the sound, even in the near silence of the chambers she had been provided with.

“So, what’s next?” Gilda asked, drawing Rainbow’s attention away from the younger Pegasus.

“We spend a night here,” Rainbow gestured around the room. “Meet the Archon of the All-Seeing Eye tomorrow, and finally find out where Applejack is. The end is in sight, I can almost taste Equestrian air again.”

“Yeah, but until then, we have some time to kill,” Gilda smirked, looking at Kas and Scootaloo. “You joining in? It’s a lot of fun Scoots.”

“I’ll…head back to our arena, I want to work on my form,” she shook her head. “Permission to fall out, Champion?”

“Use my name and you can,” Rainbow glared at her.

“Please, Champion, I just wish to train some more,” Scootaloo insisted, not looking Rainbow in the eye.

“Then hop to it,” Rainbow growled. “I better see results.”

Scootaloo nodded, hurrying out of the room almost as quickly as the slave had. Rainbow glared after her, until Gilda stepped up beside her, wrapping a wing around her, Kas approaching from behind and starting to slowly run her hands over Rainbow’s body, her fingers slowly tracing circles as they slid towards her rear.

“Come on, Champion,” Gilda smirked at the word, and the reaction it drew from Rainbow. “Forget about her, she’s the one missing out, not you. Now, get on the bed and be a good little mare for me. I have an itch that needs scratching.”

***

Rainbow signed as Gilda’s wing tightened around her, Kas lying on her other side, her body pressed against Rainbow’s. All their armour and clothes, including Rainbow’s freshly repaired and cleaned gear, was all folded neatly in the corner, a few slaves had come in during the trio’s activities to make sure everything was in order before leaving again without a word.

“Do we have to get up?” Gilda moaned softly, rolling over to glance at the pair. “This bed is really comfortable. Do you think we can take the bed back with us?”

“What’s wrong with our beds?” Rainbow scoffed.

“You mean apart from the fact that they’re shit?” Gilda asked, tracing her talon softly along one of Rainbow’s scars. “I have a feeling this bed hasn’t seen nearly as much action as yours.”

“We could always pull back the amount we do,” Rainbow teased.

“With all due respect, I’d rather not do that, Mistress’s,” Kas joined in. “Although Mistress Gilda is right, this bed is far more comfortable than yours.”

“Fine, I’ll get a new bed, happy?” Rainbow groaned exasperatedly.

“Yes actually,” Kas smiled. “Mistress.”

Rainbow groaned, but it was eclipsed by the smirk written across her face, before she let out a grunt and sat up, pushing her way out of Gilda’s wing and hovering over to her clothes, pulling the sleek black costume over her taut muscles.

“So you want us to come with you?” Gilda called out, spreading out across the bed and looking over to Rainbow. “Because I am really comfortable here, plus the companies not bad either.”

“Thank you, mistress,” Kas muttered dryly, rolling her eyes as she spoke, before letting out a soft whimper as Gilda placed a talon on her chest.

“Why do I get the feeling that you wouldn’t come unless it was a direct order?” Rainbow asked, checking her suit was on properly.

“I thought that was you actually, Dash,” Gilda smirked, Rainbow’s tail flicking slightly at the statement as she fought back the urge to blush, something she only ever did around Gilda these days.

“Have fun you two,” Rainbow shook her head with a short laugh, turning to leave the room. “Don’t do anything permanent to Kas, and then get back to the Arena.”

“I think we can manage that,” Gilda grinned, before rolling on top of Kas just as the door to the room slid closed.

Chuckling to herself, Rainbow broke into a soft trot, her smirking sneer written across her face as her tail flicked from side to side. Today was the day, and in a few hours, she would have the answers she needed.

“Ah, Dash. You’re awake,” the Torn Scar Archon looked at her as she entered his throne room. “I trust your chamber was to your liking?”

“Yeah, it was actually,” Rainbow nodded, paying the Archon the smallest amount of attention necessary, instead opting to take in the rooms surroundings.

“You would do well to remember whose tower you are currently within, pony,” the Archon snapped, leaning forward in his chair. “Contest winner or not, do not push me or you will see…”

“Are you done posturing?” Rainbow cut in. “Because you and I both know, this isn’t going to end in violence.”

“Maybe not here, but there are plenty of pitfalls in the Dark City for insolent Reavers who forget their place,” the Archon snapped. “But enough, I have organised transit for you to the Tower of the All-Seeing Eye, and you will never darken my doorstep again with your presence. That goes for all of your Reavers. You are beneath my gaze, you would do well to remember that.”

“Oh, I’ll remember it,” Rainbow growled, more to herself than he Archon as she span on her hooves and trotted towards the door, a Kabalite Warrior looking down at her, before silently gesturing for her to follow him.

True to his word, a Venom transport was waiting on one of the Spires many landing pads, another disinterested looking Dark Eldar sitting at the controls, barely waiting for Rainbow to step onto the vehicle before he shot off, cartwheeling across the sky in a way a vehicle larger than a jetbike should have been able to.

The Venom climbed higher and hire up the Spires of Commoragh, a few unaffiliated Reaver Clans looking like they were about to try their luck with the single skimmer, but a few salvoes of Splinter Cannon fire in their general direction saw them off quickly enough.

Rainbow had only ever been this high once before, even when they had first arrived, they had entered Commoragh low down in the lesser Kabal’s spires. The only time she had ever been to the top of the city, was when Vect had brought her in for questioning.

Since that day, Vect had called on her twice to run her Reaver Clan for him, not for the Triumvent. Ilithia had hated it both times, as both had slowed down the Triumvent’s plan’s considerably, but she also knew when to interfere and when to bide your time. When Vect called on someone, it was usually better to just grin and bear it.

Eventually the pilot slowed the Venom, approaching a huge Spire, easily dwarfing that of the lower Kabal’s. The ancient buttresses bristled with lance batteries and heavy splinter cannons, as well as other, far more esoteric defences woven into the imposing walls.

Rainbow had learnt a lot about the All-Seeing Eye Kabal in the years leading up to the Torn Scar Open, intent on knowing who and what she was dealing with before she got to them. The Kabal was old, possibly the oldest in existence, even older than the Black Heart Kabal. The only reason they had survived the purge of the old nobility before Vect’s rise was their Archon, Izrameq Buramar. He possessed abilities or technology that allowed him near unparalleled levels of foresight and prophecy. If the stories were to be believed, he had seen Vect’s rise to power, and stood by his side in the fighting that had ripped down the old hierarchy, never committing his men to a fight unless he could see their victory.

Vect had tried to have him killed multiple times over the centuries, always using hundreds of scapegoats and alibis to avoid direct conflict between the Black Heart and the All-Seeing Eye, but everyone knew it was him, and every time, the Archon had known the assassins were coming. Of all the people in the Dark City, Izrameq was probably the only one Vect worried about. A conflict between the two Kabal’s would only go one way, Vect’s sheer numerical advantage ensuring that, but after such a conflict, the Black Heart would be so depleted, so worn down, that Vect’s stranglehold on the city would be broken, and all hell would break loose.

“Get out,” the Torn Scar kabalite called back, not even turning his head as the Venom touched down. Once again, he barely waited for Rainbow to step off the skimmer, before shooting off, corkscrewing downwards towards home.

“So, you are Rainbow Dash, Champion of the Shadowbolts?” a soft, smooth voice came from behind Rainbow as she whirled around to face its source.

She was met by a pair of large Incubi, their helmeted faces portraying no emotion, and their massive swords held downwards, but ready to be brought up at a moment’s notice. Between them however, was a small, hunched individual in immaculate armour. A blast pistol was strapped to his hip, while his eyes were locked directly on Rainbow. The orbs were sunken into his wizened face, a rare sight amongst Dark Eldar, showing such an extreme age that even the greatest displays of bloodletting and torture wouldn’t physically rejuvenate the individual.

It was not hard to work out that this was Izrameq, and Rainbow quickly bowed her head to the ancient Archon, waiting for the signal that she could look up again.

“You know,” Izrameq began to talk in a way that made his throat sound like it was lined with sandpaper, “when I first saw that it would be one of your kind to win the Open, not one of the other pilots, I almost didn’t believe my sight. Of course, I have placed my faith in it on larger matters than you, and once again, it does not disappoint. Now, follow me, we will break bread before you ask your question.”

“Thank you, Archon Buramar,” Rainbow nodded, following the hunched man into the Spire.

“You may call me Izrameq, I have long since abandoned the need for all the…pomp and circumstance is what I believe the humans call it? Such an archaic saying, but then you’ve spent time with their kind. You even befriended one of them, Goge I do believe. That promises to be interesting.”

“What do you mean by that?” Rainbow asked slowly, her brow furrowing at the mention of her friend.

“Oh, this and that,” Izrameq let out a soft laugh. “If I told you all the answers, where would be the interest of watching events play out? Unless of course you want to ask that as your one question?”

“Shouldn’t you know the answer to that?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow as they entered a long room, an ornate obsidian table casting a dominating presence over the space. At the far end, two chairs had already been set up, one large and suited for a Dark Eldars physique, while the second looked like it was specifically designed for a pony, something Rainbow hadn’t seen for years.

“Oh I do, but I always ask anyway,” Izrameq sighed. “When you can see everything that will unfold, you ask simple questions to keep yourself sane. But no matter, I took the liberty of preparing food for us both, and a chair for one of your kind.”

He slowly made his way up to the chair, sitting down and turning to the two Incubi, dismissing them with a wave of his hand.

“Sit, eat, and then ask your question, Ms Dash,” Izrameq looked at her, watching her sit down as a pair of slaves carried over plates of food.

Neither of these slaves looked like the ones in Lightning Fang, barring Kas of course. Both looked well fed, and while it couldn’t be said they looked happy, they certainly looked more content than those below. Rainbow briefly wondered if this was the same for all the slaves of the All-Seeing Eye, or just these two, before pushing the thought from her head. She didn’t have time to care for the conditions of slaves, nor the desire to do so.

“It looks good,” Rainbow remarked, picking up one of the polished forks and taking a mouthful of the salad, savouring the tastes.

She had had many good meals since she became a well-known figure in the racing world, but this blew it out of the water, and at any other time, Rainbow would be loving every second of the meal. This time however, she couldn’t wait for it to end, her desire to ask her question overpowering everything.

Izrameq was in no rush, savouring each mouthful of food and each drop of the blood red wine, before finally finishing, raising his hands and calling the slaves over to take away the plates. Then, finally, the aged Archon leant forward, looking directly at Rainbow, locking gazes with her and speaking, the sandpapery tone from his voice gone.

“Speak your question, Rainbow Dash of Equestria. The one I know you will ask, and the one I have prepared an answer for. You searched for this answer for years. Now see the answer come to fruition.”

“Where is Applejack?” Rainbow asked immediately, leaning forward towards the Archon. “That’s all I want to know. Where is she?”

“Are you sure, Rainbow Dash? I can answer any one question you have with absolute certainty of the future, but only one. Is this truly your most pressing desire?”

For a nanosecond, Rainbow’s resolve faltered, her mind racing as it thought of all of the things that she desired to know, of the feelings she could experience, the victories she could have if she just asked the right question.

Then she took those thoughts and crushed them beneath her hoof, her expression hardening as she nodded.

“Tell me where my friend is. I want to know where Applejack is.”

“Very well,” Izrameq nodded. “The pony known as Applejack is in the galactic east, beyond the realm of mankind known as the Ultramar Sector. The young race known as the T’au found her. Their Ethereal’s have plans to use her for their own ends, plans she is unaware of. They have her, ensnared in their lies. She is with the Tau, Rainbow Dash. Only you can separate her from them.”

Rainbow’s eyes grew wider with every passing word from Izrameq’s mouth, his words hitting her like a wave, washing over her and revealing a hope that she had almost thought gone. This had been her last chances, and a niggling part of her had insisted that after all this time, the chances of finding Applejack were getting smaller and smaller. The fact that she now not only knew where she was, but that she was still alive, solidified her path forward.

“Thank you, Izrameq,” Rainbow breathed softly, before taking off at a gallop, quickly reaching the landing pad she had arrived on and leaping off, plunging into the depths of the city towards the Lightning Fang arena.

Author's Note

So it turns out a fever and some bad news is actually a good motivation to get some writing done. Who knew :/

Old Faces

Rainbow Dash

It took Rainbow almost a week to get back to the Lightning Fang arena, dodging Hellions and other Reaver clans, and moving far slower than the Venom that had brought her there in the first place, but eventually she made it, landing heavily in the garage of the Lightning Fang, slaves scattering at her arrival, and even some of the other pilots looking over at her with some concern.

“Where is Gilda and Scootaloo?!” she roared, looking around the garage for the pair, quickly finding Gilda and beaconing the Griffon over.

“Well?” Gilda asked, failing to keep the excitement out of her voice.

“We have a heading,” Rainbow grinned back. “Galactic East, with the Tau. I’ll pull in a favour with Ilithia, get the Triumvent on side. Tau worlds are ripe for the picking at the best of times. We’ll raid their worlds and make them beg for mercy for taking Applejack.”

“About fucking time!” Gilda let out a roaring laugh, grabbing Rainbow in a tight hug, being careful not to risk damaging the drug injector embedded in her spine. “There is some…”

“Too right,” Rainbow cut her off, returned the hug. “Now…”

“Dash?” their hug was interrupted by the cold voice of Ilithia, the Succubus striding into the garage, not paying attention to the others in the room.

“Succubus, I was just wanting to speak to you,” Rainbow chuckled, extracting herself from the hug and moving to meet her, hovering so they were looking eye to eye. “I didn’t expect to see you down here though. What’s the occasion?”

“I have something to show you,” Ilithia replied curtly, turning and gesturing for Rainbow to follow her. “Just you however, the rest of yours can remain here.”

“Gilda, go get everyone, I want a full bike check from each Reaver, any that aren’t up to standards, fix it. Got it?” Rainbow called over her shoulder.

“Yeah, I here ya,” Gilda nodded, starting to bark orders as Rainbow left the garage behind.

“So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?” Rainbow asked again, hovering along beside Ilithia.

“A small group of our Craftworld kin decided they wished to visit our little city and start causing a not inconsiderable amount of damage to some of our holdings. They put up a small fight but the majority of them have been taken care of.”

“Which craftworld were they from?” Rainbow asked casually, barely registering Ilithia’s words.

“They, like many, removed the symbols and colouring from their armour before they came here, and besides, it hardly matters,” Ilithia replied dismissively.

“So how many have we captured? And how many did the Cult take?”

“Eldar, we captured two, both are in the arena,” Ilithia slowed as they approached one of the arenas viewing platforms, reserved for the Cult’s members. “The interesting captive however, was a mon-keigh.”

Rainbow’s ears picked up at this, cocking her head slightly. “A human? What would one of their kind being doing here outside of a cell, let alone with a group of Eldar.”

“Well, I believe that will become clear,” Ilithia opened the door, allowing Rainbow to step onto the small balcony overlooking the sands. “Mon-keigh from Elysia all look the same to me, but this one is special, especially to you, I believe.”

Confused, Rainbow ran to the side of the balcony, looking over just as the crowd roared in pleasure at another kill. Three figures stood upon the sands with battered armour, surrounded by bodies of animals and other gladiator slaves, three figures that Rainbow instantly recognised.

“So, you do know them,” Ilithia smiled coldly as Rainbow visibly stiffened.

“Tar’nek and Juhani Nar’bok from Saim-Hann, and…Colonel Goge Cusatis, Elysian 212,” Rainbow nodded slowly, not bothering to listen to the commentator, focusing on her old friends.

They looked like they had been fighting for a while now, their weapons slick with blood and gore. Their armour was also equally covered, large dents or cuts revealing that not all of the blood was from their opponents. Even as Rainbow watched, the trio closed ranks again, standing back to back as a pair of creatures were released into the arena, charging straight at them.

“How long have you had them for?” Rainbow asked softly, finally tearing her eyes away from them and turning to Ilithia.

“Four days now. I must say, they are certainly competent warriors. Some of our middle tier slaves have already fallen to them. Normally I would have already pitted them against each other, but these ones…they’re special to you, Rainbow. And so, I gift their deaths to you. Kill them, in the arena, before thousands of your fans, make your name ring, not just for your Reavers, but my Cult. We will bring in thousands now that you have won the Torn Scar Open, your fame has already spread across the districts. We stand ready to challenge the larger cults for the rights of the larger raids, and you will at the forefront of it all.”

“Take to the sands against them?” Rainbow gestured behind her. “Why not one of your Wyches? It doesn’t look like you’ve sent anyone of merit against yet, not even top tier slave fighters.”

“Because right now you’re the name on everybody’s lips,” Ilithia snapped. “I wish it were not the case, but right now the most powerful tool at my disposal is your name, and I will capitalise on that.”

After a few seconds, Rainbow nodded. “Fine, I’ll do it. We’ll make it big, but I want something.”

“You don’t get to make demands,” Ilithia snapped.

“I get to make demands when you’ve just said you need me!” Rainbow snapped back. “The Tau in the Galactic East, I’ve found that they have something of mine, something very dear to me. All I want is for the Triumvent to raid there, take Tau slaves, use them for the furnaces, whatever. I give up all my rights to slaves captured there, but when we find what I’m looking for, nobody else touches it. Once I’ve got it, I’ll never make a request like this again.”

“I’ll think about it,” Ilithia growled.

“No, you’ll agree to it,” Rainbow insisted.

“Very well,” Ilithia glared at Rainbow. “Make it a show, show the crowd what you can do, and I will organise raids on the Tau planets.”

“Thank you, I’ll go make myself ready,” Rainbow grinned, before turning and heading towards the armoury, her mind racing.

“You have two hours,” Ilithia called after her. “I will ensure that they get some rest before you meet them. Make it impressive Rainbow.”

Rainbow didn’t respond, waiting until she was out of sight of the Succubus, before letting out a deep sign and placing a claw against the wall, her razor sharp talons slicing into the structure, leaving shallow marks.

“What are the fucking chances?” she cursed softly. Before balling her claw into a fist, slamming it against the wall. It didn’t accomplish anything really, but the dull ache cleared her mind ever so slightly. She had been strong for this long, she couldn’t give up now, Applejack still needed her.

Shaking her short mane from her eyes, Rainbow set off again. If she had two hours, she wanted to stop off somewhere first.

***

Rainbow dragged a chair across from her roof, reclining in it as she sat just outside the forcefield separating her room from Lightning and Spitfires cells. The pair were both looking at her with equal parts fear and hatred, huddled up in a corner together, giving each other all the strength they could.

They were both covered in dried blood, their fur matted by sweat and bodily fluids that they simply didn’t have the means or the drive to clean off anymore. Spitfires wing stump was still raw, but it was sealed, ensuring that, while painful, it would not lead to her death. Lightnings mouth was also sealed, but with tight metallic threads, biting hard into the lips, only allowing a small tube to escape from them.

“Believe it or not, I’m not here to torture you,” she finally spoke, her voice a rasp as she starred at the two, not getting the thrill she usually got from tormenting the pair.

“S-Sure you’re not,” Spitfire snapped, her voice breaking as she tried her best to muster a defiant glare. “W-Why don’t you just g-get on with it?”

“Because I’m serious,” Rainbow shrugged. “I doubt you know, but the Torn Scar is over…I won.”

When neither pony moved or made a sound, Rainbow continued on.

“I got an audience with the All-Seeing Eye, there Archons interesting, old too. Told me all sorts of things,” Rainbow sighed, glancing over her shoulder to make sure the door was still sealed, before looking back at the pair. “Applejack…she’s still alive. She’s with the Tau. I’m going to find her, take her home. Everything will have been worth it, she’ll be safe, Equestria will be safe. You two…you could have been there to see it…not like this.”

“S-she’s not going to stand for this,” Spitfire grimaced, pulling herself away from Lightning and standing just before the forcefield. “She would hate, what you’ve become…”

“Stop, now,” Rainbow hissed dangerously, her eyes narrowing, but Spitfire paid it no heed, a fire filling her eyes that Rainbow hadn’t seen for months.

“And when she sees you, if she’s smart, she’s going to put a hole right in that ugly modified face Eethron gave you!”

Rainbow let out a rage filled scream as she flung herself forward, moving faster than Spitfire could follow and slamming the older mare into the back wall, knocking the air out of her and sending her sprawling across the floor.

“Say that again!” Rainbow roared, towering over Spitfire.

“She’s going to hate you!” Spitfire roared back, a laugh bursting forth from her lips, even as Rainbow began to rain blows down on her. The laughter didn’t stop, even as her gums were reduced to blood filled craters, teeth scattering across the floor. Still the taunts came on, Rainbow’s screams and Lightnings laughter joining together and echoing through the arena.

***

“Armour, mistress?” Kas asked, standing a little behind Rainbow, waiting for her reply.

They were both in Rainbow’s personal armoury beneath the arena, the small supply of weapons being kept there for when Rainbow was called to fight as a Wych. No one came in there usually, any slaves found approaching it suffering gruesome deaths with few exceptions. Even Gilda had opted to miss this arming session, instead getting a decent seat in the arena itself to watch the fight.

“Minimalistic,” Rainbow nodded. “Armour the right side, polish the left.”

“Yes, mistress,” Kas nodded, quickly grabbing the pieces of Rainbows armour and affixing them to her bodysuit, micro-barbs slipping through the fabric and digging deep into her nerve centres, sending ripples of pain through her body with every movement, keeping her senses sharp.

“You have some blood on your face, mistress, shall I clean it off?” Kas asked as she began to polish the left side of the suit.

“No, leave it there,” Rainbow growled. “Finish polishing the suit, then fetch Ravenous.”

“Would you not prefer a smaller weapon, mistress?” Kas asked, before trailing off at a glare from Rainbow. Even with her elevated position, she knew when to shut up, and now was definitely the time.

She didn’t know what Spitfire and Lightning had done or said inside the room, but the laughter had been plain to hear, and when Rainbow had emerged, her face and claws were covered in blood. Scootaloo had seen the pair as they headed towards the armoury, before Kas had gotten the worst of the blood off, the young mare turning and walking away without a word, but Kas had seen a paleness flush her cheeks, and she could have sworn she had heard retching. Rainbow had shown no signs of acknowledging it if she had heard it, and Kas was not going to bring it up either.

Eventually, Kas finished polishing the suit and the armour pieces, walking to fetch the huge power sword from the wall, sliding it onto the grav-scabbard Rainbow wore just beneath her left wing.

“You look deadly and ready, Mistress,” Kas purred softly, stepping back from Rainbow and smiling. “You said you knew these slaves?”

“A lifetime ago, yes,” Rainbow nodded.

“They won’t recognise you now, mistress,” Kas nodded. “You are a god out there, show them why you have been given this honour.”

“I intend to,” Rainbow snarled, before kicking a button on the wall, a small patch of the ceiling peeling open above her, and allowing her to shoot upwards into the arena, the floor closing behind her once more.

For a minute, she floated in mid-air, spinning slowly with the occasional flap of her wings, looking like a Valkyrie of mythology as the crowd erupted in screams of delight, before she plunged to the floor again, kicking up a cloud of sand as she stood before her foes.

“Rainbow? Is that…you?” Goge was the first one to speak, taking a hesitant step forward, Tar’nek sticking a hand out in front of him, locking eyes with her through his helmet.

“Rainbow…you’re better than this,” he breathed softly. “I know…you’re better than this. Don’t.”

“You don’t know me,” Rainbow whispered softly, wrapping her claws around her power sword, the worn handle felling like a natural extension of herself.

“I know how you got that weapon. A human, a space marine thought you were worth giving a weapon to. Are you still that same pony?” Tar’nek insisted.

“No,” Rainbow slowly shook her head, closing her eyes and letting out a long breath.

When she opened them again, the world had slowed to a crawl, her muscles bulging outwards as drug flooded her system. Tar’nek, Juhani and Goge could obviously see the sudden change, bringing their own weapons into a defensive position, but they were moving far too slowly.

Blurring into motion, Ravenous Screaming as its power field activated, Rainbow charged. Goge was her first target, aiming for the handle of his chainsword and neatly slicing through it, the blade of the weapon falling away without so much as a scratch on his hand.

Next was Tar’nek’s weapon, the Eldar moving far faster than the human, but still slower than Rainbow. The spinning teeth of his chainsaw swung to meet Rainbow, only to find her sword in the way. The chainsaw held for a few seconds, sparks flying from the two weapons, before the destructive nature of the power sword won out, slicing through the chainsword just like she had with Goge’s.

Capitalising on the sudden lack of resistance, Rainbow leapt upwards, slamming the flat of her blade into Tar’nek’s nose, blood erupting from her blow as she flipped over his head, narrowly avoiding a swipe from Juhani.

Landing several meters away, Rainbow readied herself, flapping her wings as she stabilised herself on her back two hooves, bringing her sword into a ready position, more drugs pumping into her system, returning her to a normal perception of time. Goge was still reeling from the force of the blow, Tar’nek was on the floor stunned, leaving just Juhani standing ready before her.

“You may wear Rainbow’s face, but you’re not her, monster,” Juhani snarled as the pair began to circle.

“Oh I’m her, just far far better,” Rainbow snarled back. “Let’s put this to a final test, Juhani.”

With a roar, the pair dove at each other, both power swords ringing out as they clashed against each other, each thrust met with a perfect block, before a counter thrust was tried, only to be likewise blocked. Neither held anything back, unlike in the duelling cages where they had not been fighting to kill. They had been evenly matched once, and Juhani was still an extremely competent opponent, but she was a biker first, and a warrior second. For her, it was an art form, whereas for Rainbow, she had been forced to make it second nature.

Slowly but surely, and to the pleasure of the crowd, Rainbow drove Juhani back, step by step as they clashed, before finally she saw her opening as their swords locked up. In a flash, Rainbow released one of her claws from around the swords grip, driving it forward into Juhanis chest and squeezing hard, her drugged fuelled muscles straining as the armour cracked beneath her grip, blood seeping out of some of the holes as Juhani screamed, releasing her sword.

Letting go, Rainbow delivered an upper cut with every ounce of her strength, yet more blood erupting from Juhani as her helmet was flung from her head, the Eldar collapsing to the floor of the arena out for the count.

Blurring into motion on final time, Rainbow sped towards the other two, activating her drug dispensers yet again and powering through the others defences. There was no skill involved anymore, no finesse, and her weapon had been dropped to the sand in favour of talons, and soon, the others joined Juhani in unconsciousness, blood oozing from their bodies as the crowd roared in appreciation.

Picking up her sword, Rainbow stalked towards the exit of the arena, a dull ringing in her ears drowning out anything that was being said.

***

Tar’nek groaned as he regained consciousness, Juhani and Goge close behind him, waking up with similar pained reactions as they took in their new surroundings. They were still clad in the tattered armour, but they were now in a barren room, Tar’nek instantly recognising Spitfire and Lightning, and the visible signs of torture that crisscrossed their bodies.

“What the hell has happened to Rainbow?” he asked, clutching his head as he staggered to his feet.

“To Rainbow?!” Spitfire roared, getting to her hooves with what looked like a considerable amount of pain. “That’s the first thing you ask? I’m missing a wing, Lightning has her mouth sealed shut, Juhani looks like her head was almost ripped off, and there’s a damn human in the cell with us, but you ask about Rainbow?!”

“Alright, bad choice of words,” Tar’nek snapped. “What is going on, we came here because we heard word of a pony wreaking havoc here, we assumed that meant Rainbow was in trouble, not that she had turned into a damned monster.”

“Monsters too nice a word for her,” Spitfire spat. “And heard how? I doubt there’s a newspaper service about Commoragh.”

“We got a message from someone in here,” Tar’nek replied, kneeling and checking on Juhani. “Are you ok, my dear?”

“I’ll live,” Juhani groaned, not getting up, before adding, “barely.”

“Goge?” Tar’nek turned to face the human.

“I’ll be fine,” the man nodded, swaying as he got to his feet.

“No, you won’t,” Spitfire shook her head mournfully. “I’m not being pessimistic…but you won’t. Not in here.”

“Where is here?” Goge asked, looking around, his eyes falling on the other end of the cell that opened onto Rainbow’s quarters. “Hardly much of a prison surely.”

“Feel your neck, human,” Spitfire scoffed, returning to Lightning and wrapping her remaining wing around the pony. Lightning let out a thankful moan, leaning into Spitfire, as if the older mare could protect her from what would happen sooner or later.

Goge did as he was told, his hand shooting to his neck, quickly finding what Spitfire had clearly been alluding to as the raw skin there showed evidence of something being implanted under the skin.

“What is it?” Goge demanded, looking back round at Spitfire.

“Some sort of implant, it interfaces with the forcefield between our cell and Rainbow’s room. Get too close and…well you won’t do it a second time,” Spitfire sighed.

“There’s got to be some way out though,” Goge pressed.

“Why does there?” Spitfire snapped angrily. “Why, oh mighty human, must there be a way out? This isn’t a film where the captor makes some stupid textbook error that somehow she’d overlooked. I’ve lost track of how long we’ve been in here, there’s nothing…we’ve tried.”

Spitfires resolve trickled away as those words left her mouth, looking down at the floor and mumbling.

“We’ve tried everything, and there’s nothing. Nothing but the pain.”

For the next few minutes, nothing was said, Goge massaging his various bruises, as Tar’nek checked over Juhani’s extensive wounds, the master swordswoman having caught the worst of Rainbows ferocious attack. Eventually however, Spitfire raised her head once more, looking at Tar’nek.

“Tar’nek, you said you came her because you’d received a message. Who from?”

“I don’t know,” Tar’nek admitted, looking back at Spitfire. “It seemed rushed, and it used an ancient series of devices that have long since been outdated on the Craftworld’s to achieve it. All it said was along the lines of a pony wreaking havoc in the city, and that there were monsters. We hunted down Goge for his connection to Rainbow and headed here. We hoped we could maintain a low profile, and Goge could help us convince Rainbow to give up this foolish pursuit…clearly we were wrong.”

“It’s not foolish,” a new voice called out, everyone spinning to look at the new arrival, Scootaloo locking the door behind her and hurrying over to the forcefield. “She found Applejack, she’s with the Tau, I know what the Archon of the All-Seeing Eye told her, and it doesn’t sound like she’s there against her will. You idiot Tar’nek, my message said Rainbow was the monster,” tears were forming in Scootaloo’s eyes at this point, “I’m sorry…I didn’t know what to do…but I do now…I just hope you can all forgive me for acting so slowly.”

Before anyone could say anything, or question Scootaloo’s sudden appearance, the young mare reached into one of her pouches, pulling out a small sphere, the ponies and the Eldar instantly recognising it as a Haywire grenade.

“We get one chance,” Scootaloo grimaced, before tapping her hoof on the activation rune.

The Triumvirate of Half-Formed Hope

Rainbow Dash

Rainbow glared across at one of her Reavers, cold calculated rage written clearly across her face as she seethed with silent rage. When she spoke, it was not a shout or a whisper, but a carefully measured and dangerous growl.

“So, tell me again, and this time, let’s pretend I’m stupid and go from first principles. Where are my slaves?”

“Y-Yes, Champion,” the Dark Eldar nodded, not looking directly at Rainbow as he started to recant his story yet again.

***

“We get one chance,” Scootaloo grimaced, before tapping her hoof on the activation rune.

The five second fuse stretched on for what felt like far too long, before the ball hissed angrily in Scootaloos hoof and rose upwards, before sparking and disappearing in a small ball of pure energy. A second later, the field shot outwards, passing harmlessly over Scootaloo and the others, but causing the forcefield to audibly pop as it flickered out of existence.

“Come…” Scootaloo began, before being knocked over by Lightning, the mare slamming her against a nearby wall and doing her best to growl threw her sewn shut lips.

“Lightning, get off her,” Spitfire began to run towards the pair, before her eyes went wide as Scootaloo pulled a knife out, darting it up to Lightnings face. “Don’t do it kid!”

Spitfire's horror soon faded however, the knife effortlessly cutting through the stitches in Lightnings mouth, Lightning almost immediately releasing Scootaloo as she staggered back, opening her mouth and gulping down air, savouring each mouthful as if it were her last.

“If you’re done, Lightning, maybe we can stop fighting and run,” Scootaloo hissed, glancing nervously over her shoulder. “R-Rainbow and Gilda are in the slave pens h-having their…f-fun down there. We have thirty minutes before she’ll come and check on Goge and the others. Most of the Cult is still watching the mop of fights between the rest of the Wyches, this is our only chance.”

“Why…” Spitfire began, before Tar’nek cut her off, helping Juhani to her feet.

“The what’s and the why’s can wait until we are away from this place. Scootaloo, I take it you have a plan?”

“I do,” Scootaloo nodded, darting towards the door and slowly opening it, checking both ways before gesturing for the others to follow her. “Applejack is in Tau space, that’s all R-Rainbow knows, because she’s blind to any way that isn’t hers. There’s a wing of ships in the hanger bay, the only pilots there are drunk as they come, I made sure of it. We can take one, get to a webway portal and be gone before anyone realises it, I know the defensive codes but we need to go NOW.”

“Lead on Scoot’s, we’ll chat when we’re out of here,” Spitfire nodded, Scootaloo leading them out of the room and scurrying down the corridors.

True to Scootaloos word, the corridors were deserted and in a matter of minutes they were at the door to the hanger, Scootaloo peering into the room, checking that there were no surprises inside.

The garage was packed with vehicles, from Jetbikes and Venoms, all the way up to Assault boats and the few bombers that were kept at the arena as opposed to in the Triumvent’s fleet. Guarding them were five Dark Eldar, two of them bearing the markings of the Shadowbolts, while the other three were clearly Wyches. All five were laughing merrily, a terrified slave being pushed between them, letting out a scream every so often as they sliced the wretches skin with one of their many blades.

“O-ok, wait here,” Scootaloo pulled her head back, looking at the others.

“You can’t go in alone,” Juhani grunted, pushing away from Tar’nek and standing, albeit barely. “We’ll support you.”

“You’ll stay here until the signal,” Scootaloo hissed back, giving her knife out and giving it to Spitfire, before tapping her Splinter pistol. “Stay quiet, and we may pull this off.”

Before anyone could voice anymore concerns, Scootaloo slipped into the room, Tar’nek cursing slightly, Goge shaking his head.

“You ponies are all insane, you know that?” he muttered. “Scootaloo’s barely a kid and she’s got this all worked out.”

“She’s a kid who’s seen pretty much everything Rainbow’s done,” Lightning corrected her grimly. “I wouldn’t underestimate her.”

The five escaped prisoners lapsed into silence for the next few moments, Spitfire clutching the knife as they all kept their heads on a swivel, making sure that all corridors leading to the garage had eyes on them. Suddenly a pained cry sounded from the room, different from the cry of the slave, followed in quickly by four more. A moment later, the door to the garage slid open, Scootaloo standing behind, beconing them in. Her eyes betrayed no clue as to what emotions she was feeling, the five guards lying dead, the slave shaking fearfully in the corner.

“Come on, that one will take all of us,” Spitfire pointed towards a bomber, missiles slung underneath both of its wings.

“We’re taking that one,” Scootaloo corrected her, pointing to a Slavebringer class Assault Boat.

“We don’t need…” Juhani began, but Scootaloo cut her off.

“It’s not just us escaping, we’re taking as many as we can, and that’s the best ship to do it in,” she growled.

“But..” Juhani tried again, but Tar’nek silenced her, putting her arm around his shoulders and heading towards the large ship.

“I hope you know what you’re doing, Scootaloo,” he grunted, half carrying, half dragging Juhani up the ramp, Goge grabbing one of the dropped Splinter pistols and chuckling to himself.

“Damn, if the Commissar’s could see me now.”

Scootaloo watched them all get on board, turning to face Spitfire and Lightning, the two ponies looking at her in turn.

“I know you probably hate me…for not acting sooner,” she began. “Especially you, Spitfire. I didn’t…if I had known she would take your wing…”

“Don’t,” Spitfire smiled weakly, her ruined stump twitching slightly as she placed a hoof under Scootaloo’s chin, raising her head so the pair were looking eye to eye. “I don’t know if that monster has done anything physical to you, or if it’s just mental, but you’re her victim too, and you got us all out, I can’t fault you, Scoots.”

Tears filled Scootaloo’s eyes at Spitfire's words, the younger mare all but collapsing into Spitfire's hooves, her shoulders heaving as she sobbed.

“There there, it’s alright, it’s alright,” Spitfire cooed softly, before Lightning nudged her, pushing a pistol into her hooves.

“We have incoming, we need to leave, now,” she grunted, edging towards the assault boat.

“No! They’re not our enemies!” Scootaloo cried, breaking off from the hug and galloping towards the door, beaconing a cluster of slaves inside and pulling one over to her. “How many are there?”

“S-seven of us, m-m-mistress,” the wretch stammered.

“Don’t you ever call me that, or anyone else that,” Scootaloo smiled. “Get everyone aboard. Now, we’re leaving.”

Scootaloo and the others hurried aboard the craft, the doors sliding closed almost as soon as the last foot was on board, Tar’nek piloting the craft out of the garage, slightly clumsily, but soon they were in open airspace, heading towards one of the closest and smallest webway portals out of the district of the city.

“Scootaloo, I’m glad you’re here,” Tar’nek didn’t turn around from the pilot’s pod as she came onto the ships small bridge. “We already have fourteen dark lance batteries tracking us, they’re asking for codes."

“I’ve got them,” Scootaloo nodded, pulling a small crystal from her pouch and placing it on a receptacle in the control panel. Transmit and keep flying, don’t give them any reason to doubt us.”

“I hope you’re right,” Tar’nek muttered, but followed her words.

The ship crept forward, inching ever closer to the portal into the greater webway. As they drew in, Scootaloo could see the gun batteries that Tar’nek had mentioned still tracking them, but even as she watched, they swung back to a relaxed position, both Tar’nek and Scootaloo breathing a sigh of relief.

“I’ll be down below if you need me,” Scootaloo tapped Tar’nek’s shoulder. “Join us once we’re away from the city.”

Heading down below, Scootaloo stood in the middle of the hold, eyeing the many barbed pens that could have once hold the very slaves that were now escaping in the craft, before clearing her throat.

“We’re not out of this yet, but even if they follow us, we’re not giving up, and we’ll die before they take us back there.”

“W-where are we going that they won’t find us?” one of the slaves stammered, looking down as soon as Scootaloo looked at her, before forcing himself to look up at her, standing a little straighter.

“They will find us, I can almost guarantee you that,” Scootaloo shook her head. “Because we’re going to the one place in the universe that I know Rainbow Dash will end up in. Unlike her, I’m not only focused on one plan. She knows there in Tau space, but only one Tau Sept has a strange member of their auxiliary.”

“How do you know all this?” Lightning asked in surprise. “That’s one hell of a lot of information to know off the top of your head.”

“Rainbow and Gilda focused on killing their way to the information they needed,” Scootaloo shrugged. “I managed to get some contacts around the galaxy, a few have paid off. I didn’t pay any attention to them at first, they didn’t seem to matter, but now that Applejack is apparently in Tau space, the pieces are falling into place. I would have told Rainbow…but by the time I knew…she was…too far gone.”

“Well then? Where is this ‘Applejack’,” Goge asked.

“She’s definitely with the Tau,” Scootaloo nodded, a small smile gracing her lips. “She’s a Shas’El in the Pa’Laa sept.

***

“Five dead, two of our own. Five prized slaves, a child, and seven less important slaves, as well as an Assault Boat, and you think this is acceptable?” Rainbow growled.

“No, of course not, I…” the Reaver began.

“You should have been in the garage!” Rainbow roared, the sudden change in volume catching the Reaver by surprise. “You were in that group as well! Where were you?! Watching the fights?! Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t add a sixth body to the count and have the entire detail dead?!”

“Because it was your bitch Scootaloo who…” The Reaver began, before Rainbow ripped her claws across his throat, the man stumbling backwards as his lifeblood spilt onto the floor.

“Oh, and I know you have a pod reserved at Eethron’s Covern,” Rainbow whispered, kneeling beside the dying Eldar. “But I promise you, you will be fed to the incinerators beneath the arena, not a hair will be left, and you will die for the final time.”

The Eldars eyes went wide as he vainly tried to grab at Rainbow, Rainbow pushing his hand free and watching him finally die, before standing and turning to one of the slaves in the room.

“Incinerate the body, nothing remains or you will answer for it,” she watched as the slave quickly grabbed the body, dragging it from the room, Rainbow following him and heading towards the garage once more. She had ordered her Reavers to gather there, Scootaloo’s little stunt forcing her to move up her plans considerably.

There must have been hundreds of them, all wearing their armour, their weapons strapped to their sides, all they were missing was their jetbikes, the majority stored away underneath the floor of the garage. Gilda stood in front of the warriors, her own heavy armour strapped to her body as she looked warily at Rainbow.

“My Shadowbolts…” Rainbow began, before the door behind her slid open again, Rainbow turning to see Ilithia, Ale’ri and Eethron striding into the room, as well as a pair of Incubi, though who they were serving under was unclear for the time being.

“I am sorry to interrupt your little rousing speech, Dash,” Ilithia called as she strode forwards, her bladed high heels clinking menacingly on the floor. “I’m sure it would be something impressive, but I take the slaughter of my Wyches by your slaves and a traitor who you brought into my Cult rather seriously, but I’m sure you anticipated that.”

Her soft voice started to take on a harder tone as she spoke, her face contorting into a snarl, her lips pulling back over her teeth. Her hand was hovering over the knife at her waist, Rainbow instinctively preparing to draw her own blade.

“We’ll get them back, and exact revenge on them soon enough,” Rainbow growled back. "We know they’ll be heading to Tau space, it won’t take long to find out where they are.”

“We’re not going, and you had best speak fast if you wish to keep your position in this Cult, or your head.”

“Ilithia, behind me are scores of Reavers who would willingly see me dead if they thought that they could get away with it. I’ve gone into battle with them, and you, countless times, and they’ve never tried to put a knife in my back, because they know what would happen next,” Rainbow growled. “So, I would thank you to not threaten me, and stick to the bargain struck.”

“The bargain?” Ilithia snorted. “You were to kill those slaves, not to take them as your own, but I allowed it. But with this transgression and your deviation from our agreement, I will not see my Cult or this Triumvent head to an area of space as lacking in worthy slaves as the Tau Empire.”

“I expected as much,” Rainbow muttered sullenly, before glancing at the Incubi. “Which one of those here is your employer?”

“Do not talk to them,” Ilithia snapped, Rainbow ignoring her entirely and asking her question again.

“Incubi, which of those present holds your contract? Cult, Kabal or Covern?”

“I do, Dash,” Ale’ri tilted his head as he looked towards Rainbow.

“Good,” Rainbow nodded in reply, before diving at Ilithia and baring her claws.

Ilithia instantly drew her own dagger, catching Rainbow’s claws as her lips pulled back from her teeth in a snarl. No words were spoken between the pair as they blurred into motion, Ilithia’s natural skill, honed over hundreds of years, matching Rainbow’s drug filled blood and natural aptitude for the ways of battle.

Rainbow managed to occasionally catch glimpses of those who were watching the fight, none looking like they were going to intervene anytime soon. Even Ale’ri and Eethron were both simply watching in rapt fascination at the flurry of blows that were being showered upon the other, each one fully capable of ending its intended recipient, only for each one to be blocked in turn.

An odd feeling suddenly hit Rainbow as the pair continued to fight, one she had not felt for a long time. It was the feeling of being utterly outclassed, and the realisation that maybe she had finally met her final opponent.

Then another feeling hit her, this one a physical blow, and completely alien to her. Her mind was cleared of all thoughts of doubt as a wave of clarity swept over her. In an instant, she knew what she had to do, and threw all caution to the wind as she dived forward. She felt a burning pain in her side as she did so, Ilithia opening a tiny cut upon her side, allowing the poison that coated it to seep into her blood stream, but it was too shallow a cut to be fatal, and Rainbow now had her opening.

Her muscles swelled from her combat stims, Rainbow wrapped her forehooves around the Succubus, squeezing hard enough to break ribs and forcing her to drop her knife. Before she could do anything else, Rainbow flared her wings and shot upwards, bearing Ilithia upwards out of the garage and over the arena. Ilithia was still trying to break free, but whatever had given her this flash of inspiration had sealed the fight.

It took but a matter of moments for Rainbow to be high above the arena, before finally loosening her grip, digging one claw into Ilithia’s shoulder and dangling her in mid-air.

“Your Cult is mine now, Ilithia,” Rainbow sneered. “The mighty Lightning Fang and its Succubus, brought low, by a pony. Live with that shame.”

“You will die screaming, Dash,” Ilithia snarled, even as Rainbow’s claws began sliding out of her shoulder.

“Probably,” Rainbow sneered back, “but that won’t happen today. Goodbye Ilithia.”

With that, Rainbow wrenched her claw free from the meat of Ilithia’s shoulder, the Succubus trying one last attempt to grab hold of Rainbow’s claw as she was suddenly unsupported in the air, but Rainbow easily avoided the wild flailing, watching as Ilithia plummeted towards the sands of the arena, hitting the ground hard. When Rainbow landed beside the impact zone, there was little to indicate that the mess had once been an Eldar.

“Good fucking riddance, bitch,” Rainbow sneered, before taking flight once more.

***

“So,” Rainbow looked across the obsidian table at Ale’ri and Eethron, the Archon and the Haemonculus sitting in the chairs denoting their positions within the Triumvent, while Rainbow now occupied what had once been Ilithia’s seat.

“So,” Eethron nodded, a small smile spreading across his thins lips. “That was certainly an interesting display.”

“It was close, Dash almost lost,” Ale’ri scoffed, scratching his pale temple as he regarded Rainbow with beady eyes. “But…the laws of the Cult are absolute. Congratulations, Succubus Dash.”

“And the position Ilithia held in the Triumvent?” Rainbow asked, a smile of her own spreading across her muzzle.

“The same,” Eethron nodded. “And as you still hold position of Champion of the Reavers and the Arena you have a significant sway in our forces, but Ale’ri and myself can over power any decision you make if we combined forces, in words, and deeds, remember that.”

“I plan to,” Rainbow nodded. “Now, Tau space, I wish to raid there, and I would see both the your Covern and your Kabal to take the lion’s share of the prizes from any raids, I am more interested in seeing their auxiliary forces swell the ranks of our gladiators, and a specific individual within their empire. What say you to raiding there?”

“Ilithia was the main reason we refrained from going there,” Ale’ri admitted. “She did not want to sully her blades with those so weak in combat and souls. We hold lesser concern they make good working slaves for me, and I know Eethron appreciates what he can craft their flesh into.”

“Then it’s settled, we deploy to the Tau Empire, and bring it to its knees,” Rainbow laughed, laughing as Ale’ri stood up, grabbing his helmet and leaving the room without a word.

“Eethron, a word if you will,” Rainbow called, getting up and moving towards the Haemonculus. “Did you do something during the fight?”

“An interesting question. With a surprisingly simple answer. Yes, I did, a new drug I’ve been developing to clear the mind of doubt. I felt it something you needed for that fight, if you were to succeed.”

“And you wanted me to succeed?” Rainbow asked, surprised by the answer.

“But of course, have we not formed a friendship over the years,” Eethron nodded.

“I would call it a mutually beneficial agreement,” Rainbow retorted.

“The Tau Empire holds many races within it, I would see them swell my gardens so that I may take advantage of them and advance my craft yet more. Ilithia did not want to allow this, you did. If you are looking for a practical reason, then there is one. Now, if there is nothing else, I must prepare my creations for transit, I will see my ships readied to join the Triumvent forces.”

Battleplan

Applejack

Aun'Vesa approached Applejack’s quarters, hesitating for the briefest of seconds before knocking three times on the metal door, waiting patiently for a reply. It had been almost three hours since the Shas’O had been presented with members of her own kind, the four of them retreating into Applejack’s chamber with the express command that they were not to be disturbed for anything, short of an attack on the world. Aun’Vesa could have overridden this command with ease, but there were some things that an Ethereal shouldn’t do, even if they could do it.

While Applejack talked to her kin, Aun’Vesa had talked to the two Eldar, the human moving to speak to the Demiurg, Koghad. He was relieved that the human hadn’t spoken to him if he was honest, mostly for his alliances than his race. Humans could be good people, but those who still called the Imperium home were as far from those who followed the Greater Good as the Orks were from the Tau. The Eldar however an entirely different people, more akin to the Tau at times, especially when they were in an amicable mood, which these two were, at least when it came to dealing with the Empire.

The pair of them, Tar’nek and Juhani were their names, had explained what had happened as best they could, lamenting that they only entered the horror story that had apparently been progressing for years very late. Still, their insight was useful, telling of a friend who had been lost to a monster thanks to the darker of their kin. Aun’Vesa had known what those monsters were capable of, the events of Vigos and Rubikon, and Urien Rakarth’s vile treachery and creations, and the thought of a close friend turning into a monster even fractionally as evil as Urien chilled him to the bone.

Eventually though, Applejack had finished speaking to her friends, the three being quickly taken for medical examination, the orderly’s complaining under their breath that the medical facilities should have been done before a conversation. Aun’Vesa had waited a further half an hour, before approaching the door where he now stood.

“Ya can come in, Aun’Vesa. Ah know it’s gonna be you.”

Applejack’s voice was almost entirely monotone, the door muffling it to the point where Aun’Vesa had to strain to hear it. It was clear however that Applejack had not taken the news well, not that anyone could blame her. Who in all of creation could truly say they could take the news she had received well?

Waving his hand over the doors control panel, Aun’Vesa swept into the room, taking in his surroundings in an instant. Everything was a mess, papers and datapads strewn across the floor, while some of the walls were cracked, looking like something had hit them with unrestrained rage and sorrow. And by the window was Applejack.

Applejack had discarded her armour, the plates of the suit as dented and disfigured as the rest of the room. Her burns and scars bled sluggishly from being ripped open, but she paid them no heed, instead sitting in front of the large window, staring up into the night sky, the stars twinkling above her. Beside her, the remains of the drone assigned to her sparked and twitched, trying in vain to follow it’s cleaning programming.

Even from where Aun’Vesa was standing he could see enough of Applejack’s face to read her expression. There was mixture of loss, sadness, and confusion written across her face as she stared pleadingly upwards. It was as if by looking up at the stars, she would find answers that would help with the crisis that had found itself in her mane.

All that the lifeless lights did however was somehow blink back at her, telling her nothing in the form of answers, stubborn in their silence.

"There are three sayings amongst the gue'la that seem prudent now, ones that were ancient even before their Imperium came to be,” Aun’Vesa started, slowly approaching Applejack. “Would you like to know them?”

“Ya gonna say ‘em anyway,” Applejack shrugged dejectedly, not turning around. “Might as well tell me.”

“They were, 'I would do anything for love,' 'Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you,' and 'The fault lies not in the stars, but within ourselves'. It seems the humans can be wise without the Greater Good…on very rare occasions,” Aun’Vesa recited, deciding to ignore the way Applejack was addressing him and instead attempting a small laugh, attempting to cheer the pony up with some humour. When he got no response, he continued.

“I’m sure you’d rather I not go into explaining why each one is prudent in this situation, you’re a smart warrior, you’ll see the parallels, but…”

Aun’Vesa would have continued, if Applejack had done something that he never expected of her, or anyone in the Empire for that matter. For any Tau, it would be tantamount to suicide, even Auxila members knowing the ramifications of such an action. Aun’Vesa knew Applejack knew the ramifications as well, but in her grief she had chosen to ignore them. Or maybe she remembered, and just didn’t care.

“Oh Aun’Vesa, please shut up!” she roared, turning around to face him for the first time, her face twisted with rage and sorrow. “Yer philosophies and sayin’s ain’t gonna help here! Do ya understand that?! The time fer talkin’ is over! Mah friend…the thing that used to be Rainbow Dash, she’s gonna come here to try and ‘save’ me, and y’all know what the monsters she’s fallen in with will do when they get here!”

Applejack was on her hooves now, although she couldn’t remember getting up. Letting out a wordless screech, she lashed out behind her, delivering a double legged buck into the wall, creating two huge craters and a spider web of cracks.

“Celestia damn ya Twilight!” she roared, falling to the floor as the damn finally broke and tears streamed from her eye. “Damn ya and all yer fuckin’ spells! If it weren’t fer y’all, Dash and I wouldn’t even be here!”

With her rage finally burnt out, Applejack lapsed into sobs, not caring that Aun’Vesa was watching her, or even that he came towards her, sitting down and wrapping his arm around her shaking form. He didn’t know how long he stayed like that, comforting the sobbing Equine, but eventually Applejack seemed to run out of tears to shed, wiping her one eye with the back of a hoof and standing up, swaying slightly as she tried to regain what little composure she could.

“Ya don’t need ta worry about me, mighty Ethereal,” she said, her voice just as monotone as before, but this time with a grim determination, rather than grief. “No matter what comes, ah’ll see it through ta the end, ah promise y’all. But…ah’ll need all yer help Ethereal.”

“It is given, of course,” Aun’Vesa smiled, bowing his head slightly, before walking over to the desk.

Much of the coverings that were strewn across the floor or broken beyond repair, but the desks projector was still functional. Sweeping aside what was left on the desk, he quickly keyed in a few commands, plugging in his own datapad, some holo-books appearing on its surface.

“I have fought alongside Eldar before in my time, as well as learning of their ways at the academies on T’olku and Dal’yth, and more importantly, the techniques best used to counter them,” he began, looking straight at Applejack. “Like us, they value speed over heavy armour, preferring a Mont’Ka approach of war, striking fast and fading before reprisals, their dark kin valuing this even more. Unlike us however, they are not only well-versed in, but relish close quarter combat over ranged fighting, although they are equally skilled in that as well. Any fight against them, any fight, will be costly, and we will need to rely as much on our auxiliary cadres as our Fire Warriors. They will hit us at range and then be amongst our lines without our eyes even being able to follow their progress if we are not careful. And that's even before we get to their...abilities. The dark eldar have developed a means of feeding off of the terror and suffering that they leave in the wake of their attacks, literally drawing sustenance from the pain they inflict. It revitalizes them, keeps them energized for a fight even when they've fought for hours on end, and if they capture you...well, after speaking to your friends about their experiences, I am sure I don't need to tell you that death by your own weapon would be preferable to being taken alive.”

Aun’Vesa spread out three hard light tomes out as he spoke, shaking his head as if to clear away the troubling thoughts as Applejack made out the title of the central book, ‘The Puretide Theorems’ just as Aun’Vesa tapped its surface, his eyes flicking to one of the books for the briefest of seconds before returning to Applejack.

“This is the training manuals of the late Commander Puretide, all of his tactical knowledge went into this book, I suggest you read it. It does deal mostly with combat against the Ork hordes, but his ideas of how to combat a foe intent on closing the gaps between forces may prove enlightening. I would recommend reading all three of these books, and you are also to report to the medical bay tomorrow at high sun, I have arranged for a Puretide Engram Neurochip to be released from our stores. We will need every edge in the coming fight.”

“Joy, more metal shoved inside me,” Applejack scowled, sitting down behind the desk and looking over the three books, seeing the other two books were titled ‘The Way of the Beast’ and ‘The Mirrorcodex’, the one that Aun’Vesa had looked slightly nervous about as he presented it.

“Yes, I know you are not a fan, but it must be done,” Aun’Vesa spoke as he moved to the other side of the desk, looking at Applejack. “But before you read any of these books, remember this. Puretide said that those with superior reach can dictate the terms of battle, and impose their will upon the foe, but another commander, one whose name I cannot speak, rightly said that if a foe can close the gap and come close enough to negate your striking power, all stratagem is lost, and when all stratagem is lost, the battle is lost. That commander understood something that few Tau have ever grasped, superior reach does not always mean longer reach, we out-range most enemies, but fall apart when close in killing happens...”

“Ah was a Breacher Team leader, ah know how lackin’ the Tau are in a knife fight,” Applejack cut in, before adding “Ethereal.”

“Yes, I remember, but we have two teams left, the Kroot and the Demiurg are the few close combatants that we have available to us, other than battlesuit teams, and even then we are shorthanded. The commander of a force, you, must know how to dictate when and where a fight happens, at what range, but you must never confuse superior reach with longer, or the Sept will die.”

As he spoke, Aun’Vesa drew his personal Equalizers from his side, placing the side by side on the desk carefully, before moving to the wall, reaching up and plucking a ceremonial sword from its bracket, the item untouched by Applejack’s fury.

“There is one more thing that you must do however, something I know you have the capability to do,” he spoke as he re-approached the desk.

“And that is, Ethereal?” Applejack asked, eyeing the sword and the Equalizers warily.

Aun’Vesa didn’t reply for a moment, before driving the sword deep into the desk in between the two Equalizers, letting the sword wobble slightly as he spoke with an air of finality.

“You must learn to shorten your reach even further.”

With that, Aun’Vesa turned to leave, getting to the door before Applejack called out after him.

“So, when were ya planning ta tell me?”

“Tell you what?” Aun’Vesa asked, turning around to face her once more.

“Oh come on, Ethereal, come off it,” Applejack sighed, shaking her head. “‘superior reach doesn’t equal longer reach’, that’s the teachings of Farsight,” she ignored Aun’Vesa’s widening eyes as she continued, making sure the door was locked before continuing. “So that’s strike one fer yer secret, strike two, y’all have a copy of the Mirrorcodex, that’s his book, ah doubt y’all just happened upon it one day, that had ta be sought out. So, why don’t ya tell me what strike three’s gonna be?”

“You’re getting too familiar,” Aun’Vesa warned, narrowing his eyes and for the first time, Applejack saw that he resented the informal relationship that they had developed.

“Maybe,” Applejack shrugged. “But ah’m also about to plan to fight mah best friend and ah’m the only warrior who can act as an ‘O’ for the foreseeable future, plus yer actin’ mighty familiar around an enemy of the Empire, so ah think ah’m allowed to be familiar.”

“What do you want to know,” Aun’Vesa scowled.

“Farsight doesn’t take kindly to yer kind, why d’you care so much about him?”

“I don’t care about him, beyond wanting him brought to justice,” Aun’Vesa snapped. “But he is not wrong in everything, and he is more capable than any of our Empires commanders, Shadowsun included. If he were not at Second Battle of Mu’gulath bay then the Imperium would have reclaimed the world, rather than spitefully destroying it, and from there the entire sphere would have been undone and we would have lost far more than we did, even amongst the other unspeakable cost of that campaign.”

“What else did we lose? You’re speaking of more than a planet and the gulf,” Applejack asked slowly, suddenly feeling like she didn’t have all the answers that she wanted.”

“That is a conversation for another time,” Aun’Vesa shook his head.

“It’s a conversation fer now,” Applejack shot back.

“No, it’s not,” Aun’Vesa insisted. “We have more important things to talk about than Farsight and Mu'gulath bay, but I promise, that if we repulse Rainbow Dash I will tell you everything, beyond what is common knowledge among the Empire.”

“Fine, ah guess ah’ll take that,” Applejack rolled her eye, before turning back to the desk and unlocking the door. “Ah’ll be at medical tomorrow, anything else send a messenger please, Mighty Ethereal.”

“Yes, Shas’O,” Aun’Vesa nodded, before backing out of the room and leaving Applejack to devour the books contents.

***

Koghad stared across the bench at Goge, a scowl written across his face. In return, Goge stared back at Koghad, his bionics giving away nothing, daring the Demiurg to make the first move.

“So…yer a human,” Koghad finally spoke.

“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” Goge shot back. “And you’re an abhuman Squat.”

“We go by Demiurg now, Squat’s an…antiquated term,” Koghad searched for the right word, ‘Squat’ being spat out like an insult. “Ya befriended a pony?”

“And I did it first, years ago,” Goge nodded.

“Aye, but mine ain’t a murderous bitch now is she?”

“I don’t know, you tell me. I’ve heard very little about Applejack in the Tau Empire.”

“That’s Shas’O Applejack,” Koghad growled, leaning closer.

“Not my chain of command, not my title,” Goge growled back, mirroring Koghad. “Unless you want to start referring to me as Colonel Goge.”

The atmosphere was tense for a few more seconds, both belligerents looking like they were trying to melt a hole through the other with their stares, before finally, Koghad failed to stifle a snort.

With that, it was like a damn opening, Koghad bursting into fits of laughter, while Goge’s face only got darker.

“I’m glad you’re finding the situation funny,” he deadpanned. “You’re only looking at a war with your commanding officers old friend. Why would that cause you to stop your childish laughing?”

“Because ah know Applejack, and ah know that she’ll do just fine against this new enemy. But,” Koghad snorted, pulling a bottle of whisky from beneath the bench and slamming it down, producing two glasses, “ah also know that she’ll be needin’ someone who ain’t moping around to advise ‘er. So, ah’ll be the lass’s breath of fresh air. Now, ah heard ya came here because ya wanted some booze.”

“Seems like the right time to drink myself stupid,” Goge nodded with a sigh.

“Alright, ah’ll cut ya a deal, human. Ya can have some of this, and some of the rest of mah stash, but, ya have to tell me about this Rainbow Dash, before all this crap.”

“It won’t help, I don’t think I know her anymore,” Goge shook his head, looking down. “Once, I thought I knew her, taught her things, built up a friendship. Who knows, maybe I never knew her. Maybe this was there the whole time, but I doubt it. Whatever she’s been through killed her, something just parading round in her skin now. So if that’s not enough for you, then I’ll take my leave and find a release somewhere else.”

“Oh stop bein’ melodramatic,” Koghad rolled his eyes, pouring two glasses and offering one to Goge. “Ah make it a principle of mine ta never drink alone, and since ah’m wantin’ a drink, and yer the only one here, guess ah’ve got no choice.”

Goge took the glass from Koghad, the pair knocking back a glass, followed swiftly by a second, and a third.

“I’ll give it to you,” Goge muttered, his voice slightly strained. “You Sq…Demiurg sure know how to make good booze.”

“Well of course, ya don’t think ta Tau keep us around for our devilish good looks, do you?” Koghad snorted, pouring them both a forth glass. “Ya should probably ease up though, this stuff will go right to a Demiurg’s head if he ain’t used to it, and we can handle our hooch far better than a human.”

“Don’t care,” Goge shrugged, downing the glass and looking at the bottle expectantly. “If this is going to be my last war, I might as well enjoy the lead up to it.”

“Stop bein’ so melodramatic,” Koghad refilled the glass. “Applejack’s gotten me out of worse situations before, this time on Styro she lead me and a group o’others through a war zone, even captured a titan princeps. Don’t count ‘er out or this Sept lost.”

“Maybe she will win, maybe she’ll repulse the Dark Eldar and kill this monster, but it’s still it for me,” Goge shook his head. “If I die in battle, that’s me done. If I live and go home, Commissars will execute me or the Inquisition will interrogate me and then execute me. I’m finished, the Cusatis line is dead, I’m just glad I never had any kids who’d have to bear this stigma.”

“Well that all does sound a bit shit,” Koghad nodded in agreement, pouring Goge yet another glass, not bothering with his own, before leaning forward, resting his elbows on the surface and placing his chin into his hand. “You know though, fer someone like you, there may be a third way.”

Goge looked at Koghad, swaying ever so slightly as the alcohol started to hit home. “I’m listening.”

Upgrades

Applejack

Aun’Vesa watched as the team of medics and drones moved around Applejack as she lay on the operating table, one doctor engaging her in conversation, while the others tightened straps around her body, making sure she didn’t jerk as the delicate surgery began. Aun’Vesa could see Applejack twitching and flinching each time a strap was added, but she never asked them to stop. The memories of her time with the human Magos, as old as they were, were clearly still fresh in her mind, but the benefits of the procedure outweighed them a hundred-fold. Applejack knew that, and she would face any nightmares required of her to face this coming storm head on.

“You’re sure this will work?” the Eldar, Juhani, asked, watching her with his own blinking gaze, beside him, the other Eldar, Tar’nek, having the same look on her face.

The pair’s armour had been removed and was currently in the quarters that they had been assigned. It had been completely unsavable to Aun’Vesa’s eyes, but the pair assured him that the Wraithbone would knit itself back together before the week was out. Aun’Vesa didn’t pretend to understand, and while part of him wished to learn of its secrets, he remembered his briefing on the Eldar race, especially those who inhabited Craftworld’s. They had powers the Tau Empire did not possess, that most of the Empire wasn’t even aware existed. The Tau and the Eldar were not compatible when it came to technology, or even ideology most of the time, but desperate times called for new alliances to be forged.

“I am,” Aun’Vesa nodded. “The Puretide chip has been refined since its first use, there will be no chance of loss of brain functions upon its removal, I have been assured of this over by a dozen Earth Caste scientists.”

“She’s a pony, you just hope that their brains are compatible with your technology?” Tar’nek pointed out.

“We are not operating blindly here, honoured guests,” Aun’Vesa turned to face them, forcing himself to remain completely calm as he looked up at the taller pair. “Applejack has been with us for years, in that time we have taken numerous brain scans. We have learnt much of their kind, or at least her sub-species of ‘earth pony’, this chip has been adjusted to account for that.”

“Well, it won’t do any good,” Juhani shook her head, looking down at Aun’Vesa. “Your empire has technology to put humanity to shame, the tactics to face down Orks, and even to resist the Great Devourer, but you’ve never faced an Eldar War Host, fighting alongside one is very different. And these are not even of the Craftworld’s, they are from Commoragh, akin to the ancient Empire, one that spanned the galaxy before yours even existed. They will land here, and they take Applejack away. If she fights, she’ll lose. If she fights at range, they’ll either outshoot her or just fade away and close to knifes range, if she engages them there…well, I used to be able to match her. Not any more.”

“We have way’s…” Aun’Vesa began.

“What? Kroot? Vespid? Demiurg? XV8 Crisis Suits? XV9 Hazzard Suits?” Juhani snapped. “I have studied your Empires tech and forces, I have fought alongside and against them, and you do not understand the ways of the sword. You pass at them, we excel, and Rainbow has eclipsed us.”

“Juhani, maybe…” Tar’nek began.

“Tell me I’m wrong, Tar’nek,” Juhani turned to face the other Eldar. “Please tell me I’m wrong, tell me there’s something I’ve overlooked, that the Tau have something that can match Rainbow. Please.”

Juhani’s eyes pleaded with Tar’nek, although Aun’Vesa knew that the pleading was only the surface emotion that she was expressing, and that Tar’nek could read hundreds more from the subtlest changes in Juhani. Even Aun’Vesa could see that Juhani wasn’t getting the answer that she wanted.

“I can’t Juhani, I’m sorry,” Tar’nek sighed.

“But perhaps I can,” Aun’Vesa cut in, turning and striding from the operating theatres viewing bay, beckoning for the other two to follow.

Aun’Vesa led the pair across the city, a hovercar taking them most the way to a large military facility on the outskirts of the cavern. Hundreds of Battlesuits were being tested and refitted here, but Aun’Vesa ignored them, leading them to a sealed off section which Tar’nek read as the Prototype labs. Eventually, Aun’Vesa stopped, pointing at the centre of the room.

“This is how we can level the field, it’s not finished, but it will be soon. Perhaps…with your assistance…it will be able to stand against this coming storm?”

“Well, not like we have anything else to do,” Juhani shrugged. “Tar’nek, want to stay here? I’ll give Applejack a crash course in craftworld combat.”

***

The days after Applejack’s brain surgery ticked by, at times seeming as if they passed agonisingly slowly, and at othesr feeling as if they rushed past far too fast, robbing the Tau of much needed preparation time. True to her word, Juhani had begun to put Applejack through what Aun’Vesa could only describe as hell. Every day the number of bruises on Applejack grew, while Juhani remained unblemished, as did Spitfire and Scootaloo, the pair volunteering to help with Juhani’s training, while Lightning shut herself in with the Earth Caste scientists and Tar’nek.

The three were doing their best to teach Applejack what they knew, but the techniques they were using could take years, if not decades or even centuries to truly master. Juhani fought in a very regimented style, although if Aun’Vesa had initially thought that would make her predictable, he was being proved wrong with every passing move. The Eldar style had more than enough moves to counter any possible attack, and Aun’Vesa got the distinct feeling that he had not even begun to see all of it.

Scootaloo and Spitfire fought different however, their styles being more akin to a loose collection of moves strung together with the ebb and flow of the battle, causing them to have even more of a dancer’s grace than Juhani possessed as spun around every blow aimed at them, avoiding it seemingly effortlessly.

Aun’Vesa could already see that Applejack would not be ready to even call herself proficient in the styles being taught to her before Rainbow arrived, let alone to be the master that she needed to be. With every lesson she learnt, she got closer to the readiness, but she would require far more to make her a turning point and give her a fighting chance against Rainbow in melee combat.

Aun’Vesa winced as Applejack spun on her hooves, spit being forced from her mouth after Spitfire's vicious blow. The small stick she was using in exchange for her own weapons may not have had any sort of cutting edge or power field, but it was still enough to cause damage, and from the look on her face, it had hurt Applejack, a lot.

“Oh come on,” Spitfire called out in exasperation. “You should have been able to see that attack coming a mile out.”

“Ah did,” Applejack snapped, spitting out a glob of blood before lashing out with her rear hooves, narrowly missing Spitfire, who leapt back just in time. “And y’all should have seen that coming.”

“As you should of seen this,” Juhani muttered softly.

Before Applejack could ask what she should have seen, or even turn to look for it, an unarmoured Demiurg leapt from the side of the combat square, revealing his shut down power hammer, bringing the heavy head down upon Applejack’s rear legs.

Applejack let out a roar of pain, jerking backwards as she attempted to use her smaller size to avoid the flurry of blows that were rained down on her by all four of her opponents, but it was a losing battle, and within seconds, Scootaloo weaved around her defences, leaping over her and wrapping her leg around Applejack’s neck, squeezing tightly.

“The Dark Eldar are the dirtiest fighters in the game, stealth teams,” Spitfire spoke, approaching Applejack as she collapsed to her knees still fighting against Scootaloo, but unable to dislodge her, even as she managed to land her first blows against her opponent. Scootaloo winced, but Applejack was not striking with her full strength due to the angle, and the younger Pegasi held on with grim determination. “When you fight them expect surprises and the unexpected, and then realise that no matter what you expect or plan for, they will always have something new they can throw at you.”

As Applejack’s face began to turn blue, Scootaloo finally released her, allowing her to sprawl forward, coughing and panting as she looked up at her trainers.

“Rainbow will not fight fair, and she will not conform to your battleplans,” Juhani continued where Spitfire had left off. “She will pull back and send waves of fodder at you if you ever seize an advantage in a fight, before moving to finish you herself when you are tired. Do not make the mistakes of the Avatar of Iyanden, not every foe will fight with honour. Some fight purely to win, and Rainbow Dash is one such opponent. Her pride is great, but her drive to win is greater still, and that makes her a deadly opponent.”

“The days lessons are over,” Scootaloo called out loudly, more to the crowd of onlookers than any of the participants. “Get to medical, see to the bruises.”

“No,” Aun’Vesa finally cut in, voicing his first words at the training session.

“Ethereal?” Applejack and the Demiurg asked in almost perfect tandem.

“Applejack, you will be able to see medical at a later stage, but unless your injuries are critical, then you are needed elsewhere with the upmost urgency. Thor’ungri, see yourself to medical and then return to your unit, and go with my thanks for your participation in this exercise.”

“It was mah pleasure, mighty Ethereal,” Thor’ungri bowed deeply as he spoke. “If ya ever need a training buddy again, them ah’d be happy for ya to call on me or any of mine again.”

“I shall keep that in mind,” Aun’Vesa nodded in thanks, before beckoning for Applejack, Juhani, Scootaloo and Spitfire to follow him. “Please, this way.”

***

Once again, Aun’Vesa found himself leading the group to the outskirts of the city and towards the Battlesuit facility. As he walked through, he attempted to keep a close eye on the group, specifically the ponies. He knew that at one time, Applejack’s eye would have been wide at the multitude of Battlesuits being tested around her, especially with the anticipation of what she must surely know was coming, but all the group kept the same forlorn look on their faces as they went through. It would take more than fancy tech to rouse any of them from their morose state.

“I know I don’t need to tell you all this, but this will be your greatest challenge yet,” Aun’Vesa began. “I know you may wish to take Rainbow alive…”

“She doesn’t deserve that,” Spitfire cut in, before Applejack waved a hood in front of her and answered herself.

“Ah know Aun’Vesa, ya don’t need ta state the obvious. Lives of the troops, and the mission comes first. Survival of tha Sept is a priority, capture of enemy command is secondary. Now, if yer done with statin’ the obvious, what are we doin’ here?”

“This has been a long time coming, Applejack, as you know,” Aun’Vesa nodded, the doors to the experimental wing opening before him. “You should have been granted this right upon your promotion to Shas’El, but complications in your species and battlesuit technology slowed our ability to properly equip you. Now though, we’ve come up with a prototype. Normally I wouldn’t advocate assigning a battlesuit to a brand new pilot with a potential war coming right for us, but…”

“But right now, you’ll pose no challenge to Rainbow at all, and you need a force multiplier,” Juhani finished for him. “Otherwise she’ll catch and do who knows what to you.”

“Harsh, but true,” Aun’Vesa muttered with a nod, before beckoning for an Earth Caste scientist to come over, the Tau bowing deeply as he approached.

“This is Fio’El Me’lek,” Aun’Vesa turned to the others. “He has been overseeing this project for the past five years, with some help from Tar’nek and Lightning Dust over the past week. I’m sure he can fill you in properly on what the project is, as I must take my leave. I am overseeing a retraining of the Gue’vesa, new tactics have come to light which are being trialled.”

“By your leave, Ethereal,” Me’lek bowed, before leading the group, minus Aun’Vesa, to a large workshop, pointing at the large mass of scaffolding and computer banks dominating the room, all surrounding a battlesuit of a designation that Applejack didn’t recognise from the Tau roster, but figured out what it was in an instant.

“This is the prototype XV74-02 Battlesuit, designated as the Equinox.”

The suit was a squat thing, half the height of a Crisis battlesuit, but longer, hunkered down as it was on four chunky legs, the rear two ending in oversized ‘hooves’, Applejack instantly drawing parallels with these designs and the Onager Gauntlets some battlesuits now wielded for use against enemy tanks. On its right foreleg, was a blocky fusion blaster, more powerful than the ones Applejack had used in her time, but it would do the same job, while on the left was a large shield disc, its generator humming softly as it idled, waiting for the pilot to activate its protective bubble.

“Ah didn’t know that the Earth Caste were workin’ on this,” Applejack murmured, slowly stepping towards the battlesuit, feeling her heartrate quicken.

“Mighty Aun’Vesa commanded that we do not mention this to you, Shas’O, so as to not get your hopes up in case we failed in our efforts,” Me’lek bowed his head. “We were not due to unveil it until we had run more tests, but it has passed our first VI tests, and we have concluded that a piloted test is safe. The more time you get to train in it, the better.”

“And I’m betting that Puretide chip they put in you will help as well,” Juhani pointed out.

“Indeed,” Me’lek nodded. “The chip should allow you to learn the technique of piloting quicker than normal, I hope that it shall be enough.”

“It will have to be,” Applejack shrugged. “So then, guessing we’re going to start testing it today?”

“We are,” Tar’nek called out, revealing himself from behind the suit, Lightning sticking her head out a moment later. “Just putting the final touches on it, Tau technology has a certain…elegance to it. Not quite our own technology, but certainly better than that used by the Mon’keigh.”

“Most things are better than what the humans use,” Applejack pointed out, a ghost of a smile flicking across her face. “We’ve learnt the mighty art of usin’ a toaster without prayin’ over it for an hour first.”

“Quite so,” Me’lek laughed, before pulling out a datapad and pressing a few buttons.

Almost immediately, the battlesuit purred into life, the head and chest section peeling back to reveal a heavily padded interior, albeit one that Applejack would have to squeeze herself into, and her armour would have to be removed to allow her to do even that.

“Gonna be a bit tight ain’t it?” Applejack asked, eyeing the space sceptically.

“You will have to adopt an approximation of a foetal position,” Me’lek nodded. “We also have modified a drive suit for you to allow for a better interface. You are ok with needles I take it?”

“I’ll deal with it, give me the drive suit and let’s get started,” Applejack grimaced, having seen the interface needles used in battlesuits before, bringing back bad memories.

Me’lek nodded, a drone coming over and presenting Applejack with an armoured jumpsuit, circuitry and connection ports dotting its surface. It took her almost ten minutes to work out the suit, pulling it on and adjusting it for comfort, pulling her tail through and giving it a few experimental swishes, before slipping the headset over her face.

“All right, let’s get this show on the road.”

Folding herself into the suit was an odd feeling, but not overly difficult, crossing her forehooves over her chest and tucking her rear hooves as far up as she could, the technician opening a panel in the back as she did so, preparing the main needle. Applejack had to grit her teeth to avoid crying out in pain as the monofilament needle was slid into the back of her head. For a moment, all she could feel was pain, before her world went blank, the needle rerouting her neural processes, everything from below her neck suddenly disappearing in her mind.

“This…this is weird,” Applejack called out as the battlesuit closed around her, plunging her into darkness, only exacerbating the growing feeling of panic she was getting.

“Shas’O,” the voice of Me’lek sounded through the headset. “Please remain calm, the suit will become active in a few moments, a calm mind will make the interface far smoother.”

Applejack bit her lip, but forced herself to remain as calm as she could. As the second ticked by however, she felt herself losing control, and she opened her mouth to cry out once more. Then she froze, as a feeling of ice cold water being pumped directly into her brain overwhelmed her, fixing her mouth in a silent scream.

“Systems active, XV74-02 Equinox battlesuit online, pilot interface active, link holding steady. Activating external sensor suite in 3…2…1…sensor suite active. Sending external information to pilot.”

The voice was a mechanised female one, coming from within Applejack’s own mind, but she didn’t bother to question it as feeling suddenly returned to her body. Or at least, it felt like her body. As she moved her head to try and look down at her hooves, all she could see was the battlesuit.

It was more than just machinery however, Applejack could feel the tiny breeze from the laboratory against the legs of the battlesuit as if it was her own flesh, while the plasma generator in the depths of the suit pulsed like it was her own heart.

“This…is what piloting a battlesuit feels like?” she asked, her voice being amplified by the suit, coming out as a more mechanical rendering of her own voice. “Ah can feel everythin’.”

“This is quite normal, Shas’O,” Me’lek assured her. “Now, you will remain tethered for today’s test piloting tomorrow we shall move onto basic movement, and so on and so forth, until you can pilot this like a second skin. While you are tethered in I will be able to get readings from your suit, and will explain its features to you properly.”

“Sounds good ta me,” Applejack nodded, getting sudden motion sickness as the head of the battlesuit mimicked the action she had tried to do.

“Shas’O, small movements to start off with,” Me’lek warned, dismissing a few warning lights with a tap of his screen. “At least until you get your bearings.”

“Ay, ah’ll do mah best,” Applejack nodded once more, making sure to keep the movement minimal, the battlesuits movement not catching her off guard this time.

“Very good,” Me’lek began. “As I said earlier, the XV74-02 Equinox battlesuit is equipped with an advanced sensor suite and vector thrusters, calibrated to aid leaps and dodges, as well as slow a decent from a dropship. They are not powerful enough to allow the suit to fly however.”

He tapped the screen a few more times, Applejack feeling her right leg come up unbidden, the fusion blaster stopping right before her eyes.

“This is a type four fusion blaster, common on Crisis battlesuits, and is longer ranged and more powerful than the infantry pattern you have wielded. However, this one has been modified with knowledge from the forbidden one authorised by Mighty Aun’Vesa, and refined by the ministrations of Tar’nek.”

As he spoke, Me’lek pressed the screen one more time, and the fusion blaster flared into life. Applejack moved to point it upwards, to avoid the deadly energy now being readied to fire, but as she did so, she felt the suit fight against her, as the fusion gun fired.

Applejack was transfixed as the shot seemed to slide outwards in slow motion, flattening until it was the shape of a long sword, made from the very substance of the stars themselves. Applejack could already feel the heat radiating from the blade, but it wasn’t unbearable, at least from here. If she touched the blade, she was sure that it would be a different story.

“That should be powerful enough to put any melee combatant out of action,” Me’lek nodded, taking a step back from the blade. “It will give you a deadly edge in a broken sword scenario.”

“Yeah, now all you have to do is be able to hit the bitch,” Juhani muttered dryly.

“Yes, quite,” Me’lek rolled his eyes, allowing Applejack to deactivate the blade and lower her leg. “To compliment this, the suit has two Onager Gauntlets on the rear legs, and a shield generator on your left foreleg. This has been calibrated to be more effective against blows from melee weaponry, but as a trade-off it is less able to deflect energy beams or other high powered ranged weapons, you’ll have to rely on your armour for that.”

“So ah’m all tooled up fer close range fightin’, just have to avoid the long-ranged enemies? Sounds like how ah’m used ta fightin all right,” Applejack chuckled.

“Precisely,” Me’lek nodded, before preparing to launch into a new speech about the suit, Applejack settling in for the long haul, pulling up the shorter version of the suits description from the headsets memory.

XV74-02 Equinox battlesuit

Armament:
2x rear Onager gauntlet hooves
1x fusion blaster/fusion blade – right arm mounted
1x experimental shield generator – melee spec – left arm mounted
1x advanced sensor suite
Vector thrusters

Designed to engage and destroy single high priority targets at close range, regardless of speed or armour their enemy may possess. The XV74-02 is faster than any XV8, 9 or 10 models, due to its lower weight class and additional legs, due to who it was first designed for. It lacks any sort of long range weapons however, a single fusion blaster making up its ranged capability, but this is more than offset by its deadly prowess in close combat. Unlike any other suit in the Tau’s arsenal, the XV74-02 is capable of both bipedal and quadruped movement, gyroscopic generators in the lower back enabling it to switch between modes with ease. In Bipedal mode, movement is substantially slowed, but all of the weapons may be brought to bear, in quadruped mode, only the Onager gauntlets are viable for use.

As Me’lek droned on, Applejack let herself smile, away from the prying eyes of everyone else. The situation was worse than she could ever have imagined, her worst nightmares paling in comparison to the cold hard reality she had to face it, but as Granny Smith had always said, clouds had silver linings. It was just in this case, her silver lining was made of a non-crystalline alloy. It had only taken her decades, but she had finally got herself a battlesuit.

The Worlds Burn

Rainbow let out a hiss of anger as she walked onto the bridge of her new flagship, the Torture class Cruiser Agony’s Beauty, slaves scattering from her wrath, those who were chained in place whimpering or praying to whatever gods they held dear that her ire wouldn’t fall upon them. The majority did indeed escape Rainbow’s notice, but one unfortunate prisoner screamed as Rainbow stopped right before her.

“Another planet, another failure!” she roared, her face mere inches from the terrified Tau water caste member. “How many worlds must I lay waste to before you give me what I want to know!?”

“I…I…I don’t…” the Tau blubbered, but what he didn’t do was lost as Rainbow raked her claws through his throat, tearing the vulnerable skin away, the Tau beginning to choke on his own blood almost instantly, a look of fear in his eyes.

“Do not let him die so easily,” Rainbow snapped, looking at one of Eethron’s underling Haemonculus, before striding to the command podium, Gilda vacating the central command throne at her approach.

“Our holds are bursting with new slaves Rainbow,” Gilda pointed out as she sat down. “The bodies of those we left behind were left as your ordered, it will send the desired message.”

“They better get it, or this pathetic thing they call an Empire will be a lot smaller.”

“Our empire…will defeat you…monster,” a weak voice called out across the bridge, followed by a howl of pain and the sound of a hot brand against skin.

“Hold, let him speak,” Rainbow smirked, looking towards the source of the voice.

It was a captain of the Air Caste, from the first ship Rainbow’s fleet had encountered in Tau space, where they had captured their first prisoners for information. All the others had long since broken in body or spirit, bargaining whatever they could away for a relief from the pain, yet it never worked. Only this one had retained his stubborn resistance, many of Rainbow’s warriors taking their turns to try and break him, but to no avail. Rainbow knew Eethron could break him in a heartbeat, but her crew enjoyed their latest toy, and there was no need to break it yet.

“Really?” she asked as she slowly approached him, her foreclaws clicking on the floor. “Your…Empire…did you call it?”

“Yes…you will fall before the might of the Fire Caste…they will kill you if you had the stomach to face them…rather than butchering civilians.”

“Yes, well, that’s certainly one point of view,” Rainbow nodded, closing a claw around his chin and gripping tightly, flesh parting before their razor edge. To his credit, he didn’t scream. “Now, allow me to paint another, much more likely outcome. Your Fire Caste will arrive at another world and find it burnt and put to the sword. They will strike at smoke trying to find my fleet, and while they do, I will destroy another world, and another, and another. Your armies are slow, and they will never catch me until I wish to bring them to battle. And when I am done, if I do not have what I wish, I will keep going. Pathetic ‘Empire’ will be so weakened, that you won’t even be able to resist the tiny attention the Imperium has afforded you. Your worlds, your military might, they are nothing compared to the true powers in the universe. The Eldar held dominion over the entire galaxy, a million million worlds bent to their will. Now the Imperium calls it theirs, able to call upon more soldiers than your entire species combined. The only reason you are still alive is because you are beneath anyone’s notice or concern. That changes now, I will show you the Eldar way of dismantling an Empire if I do not get what I want.”

“And yet you’re not an Eldar…you’re just as weak as I am.” He laughed through blood flecked teeth.

“I don’t think you understand what weak is, I control this ship and help to rule this fleet, my word is law and they will kill worlds to gain a scrap of my notice. But enough of this. You are beneath my notice, as you are with everyone in the galaxy. Contact Eethron, break this idiot.”

Moving past him, Rainbow stood before the viewport into the void, bringing up yet another world that was believed to have a clue for what she was looking for. This would be the ninth world they had ravaged in as many days, her forces were revelling in the slaves they had taken, and soon Rainbow would find what she was looking for, or rip a hole in the Tau Empire’s defences and leave them for the Imperium to finally finish off.

“Now, bring me that planet,” Rainbow grinned, already picturing the torture that would be inflicted upon the Tau captain later.

***

Applejack and the rest of the Pa’Laa high command stood around a holoprojector as a technician wrought the static into a visible image. They had recently lost contact with yet another world, all communications believed to be lost, like the ones before it. Scouts had reached the other affected worlds, telling tales of charnel houses and death on a planetary scale, but never any pictures, the Pathfinders had said they couldn’t bear to make a record of such atrocities.

When this world had fallen silent, Applejack assumed it would be the same story, until a junior Earth Caste technician had come forward, telling of a faint signal emanating from a drone that was still active upon the world. It was highly damaged, but she assured her she could get its optics and motivation systems working remotely, to at least provide some images.

“Almost,” the woman muttered, before pumping her fist in success. “Got it! Images coming online now, Sir’s.”

Applejack and the other O’s leaned forward, Aun’Vesa and Aun’Nan standing at the rear with Tar’nek and Juhani as the image finally became good enough to make out. Gasps went out across the room, and the Water Caste representative turned away, placing a hand to his mouth as if to stop himself from vomiting at the sights.

It was worse than anything Applejack had ever imagined. Fires ran rampant through what had to once be massive fields and orchards, the sheer size of them acting as a testament to the workers who had once tended to them, and to the barbarism of their murderers. From the drone’s height and speed, Applejack had not expected to see any of the true horrors of ground warfare. She was sorely mistaken.

Viscous crimson blood coated entire roadways and fields, and great chunks of gore were piled up into pyres and body-piles that burned with acrid black smoke, filling the sky with yet more foulness. Buildings and entire settlements were seemingly swept into piles of burning rubble- stone and thatch and wood and their inhabitants... all so much kindling and flame, so much so that it seemed that no stone was left resting upon another. Nausea burned in Applejack’s belly, but was quickly cast aside by a rising tide of white hot rage.

“They’re…animals,” the Fio’O growled softly.

“Animals only kill with a purpose, to eat or to protect their own,” the Por’O shook his head, looking paler than normal, but straightening up as he spoke. “This was done for sport, for pleasure.”

“My dark kin are far worse than any animals,” Tar’nek agreed, Juhani nodding to the statement. “Every planet Rainbow Dash goes to will look like this upon her departure.”

“And why is the Fire and Air Caste not protecting them?!” the Fio’O shouted, her sudden outburst taking everyone by surprise as she slammed her fist onto the table. “You are supposed to keep this from happening!”

“Keep yer tongue silent,” Applejack snapped, glaring at the man. “We aren’t fightin’ Orks or humans, we’re fightin’ Eldar. They’re faster than us, their technology is better than us. The Fire Caste is attempting to close ‘em down, but every time we think we come close, they strike somewhere else.”

“And our fleet has engaged in numerous picket actions,” the Kor’O pointed out. “So far, we have confirmed four ship to ship kills, more may have been crippled or destroyed, but can’t be confirmed. We are doing everything in our power to stop more of our colonies being destroyed.”

“You won’t corner them,” Tar’nek muttered from the side of the room, everyone falling silent as he spoke. “Look at it from their point of view. They are conducting a war of terror, they have no stake in this empire other than that goal. They don’t have bases for you to destroy or supply lines for you to cut, forcing them to stand and fight will be all but impossible.”

“Unless…” Juhani began, Aun’Vesa cutting her off almost instantly.

“That option is off the table, place it from your mind.”

“You know it will work, and it will force Rainbows forces to engage on our terms.”

“It is too risky, I will not sanction…” Aun’Vesa began, before Applejack stamped her hoof once, the room looking at her in an instant.

“What plan is this? Ah haven’t heard of any break through on ideas.”

“Shas’O…” Aun’Vesa began.

“If y’all have an idea, ah need ta know,” Applejack cut in. “Juhani?”

“They only want one thing. We leak information on that, and by that, be under no illusion that I mean you, and lead Rainbow and her fleet to a planet of our choosing. We fortify, we dig in, and we give it everything we have.”

“Expand it,” Applejack nodded.

“Three planets have potential,” Juhani nodded, bringing up an image of all three worlds. “Two have immense open fields and little atmospheric cover, meaning Rainbow’s forces will have to approach without cover under our guns, and the third has a unique mineral buried in the skin of the planet which disrupts anti-grav technology. It doesn’t disable it, but it does slow it down. Your aircraft operate on more rudimentary fusion drives as do your battlesuits, meaning only your Hammerheads, Skyrays, Piranha’s and Devilfish will be affected.”

“All things that in a defensive war could be dug in or have equals if needed,” Applejack muttered.

“Exactly,” Juhani nodded. “We don’t know how much Rainbow knows about you, but Scootaloo seems to believe she only things you are here, not that you hold rank. We leak that you’re on world, not where, and make our stand around the main city. One way or another, Rainbow will have to come straight for us. We can plan around that, we have ideas about how she’ll fight.”

“Not everything she knows though,” a voice called out as the door opened, the room whirling to look at him, Fire Warrior bodyguard’s hands flying to their weapons, before Aun’Nan waved them down.

“Gue'Vesa'El, I trust you are well?” the Ethereal asked.

“I am, thank you, mighty Ethereal,” Goge nodded.

Goge stood resplendent in armour burnished in the colours of the Pa’Laa sept, his armour sleeker than the carapace armour he had once worn, but Applejack knew it was easily equal, if not superior, to the Imperial armour. Likewise, his lasgun was gone, replaced with a bulked up version of a pulse rifle, complete with a bayonet lug that was absent in the Tau model. Even his cybernetic eyes were gone, replaced with much better augmetics that you could barely tell were there.

All in all, Goge was a completely different warrior, save for the Grav Pack on his back. It seemed certain bits of equipment were too precious to surrender, even in the face of more advanced models.

“The former colonel has been instructing some of our fire teams in Elysian drop tactics, am I pronouncing that right, Goge?” Aun’Nan asked.

“More or less,” Goge nodded. “Your tech is different, but the Elysians have been practicing combat drops for longer than your race has stood upright.”

“Not that this isn’t fascinating, but what are you doing here, Gue'Vesa'El?” the Fio’O asked.

“My apologies, Fio’O, I was waiting outside to give me report, and heard you speak of Rainbow’s combat tactics. You assume that she will fight purely as an Eldar would.”

“She’s spent the most time with them,” the Por’O pointed out. “It would suggest her favouring of their ways.”

“I believe that to be wrong,” Goge bowed his head slightly as he spoke, before continuing. “I personally taught Rainbow Imperial ways of combat, she knows the Eldar way, and the Dark Eldar way, only a few on this world know the smallest part of those at the best of times, one I would hesitate to say is known properly by more than myself, and the way of the Dark Eldar is only known by three, and even then partially. This is without even considering the combination on the three, mixed with her own tactics.”

“Rainbow ain’t a tactical genius,” Applejack pointed out. “I’m sure this room…”

“Will under-estimate Rainbow if that’s your opinion of her,” Goge cut in. “Forgive me, Shas’O, but I believe Rainbow is far more intelligent than you just gave her credit for. She is a daemon in close quarter battles, but she is also a commander. She leads troops into battle who would just as soon see her dead as follow her lead if they thought they could get away with it. That either shows incredible luck, or a strong grasp of tactical knowledge, and considering she is leading beings older than her by hundreds of years, she must have some advantage, I believe to be the fusion of all three doctrines.”

“So, how would y’all go about lurin’ her in?” Applejack asked, preparing herself for a long night of tactical planning, military deployments, casualty estimates, and everything else that would need to be decided upon before a single boot touched down on their defensive world.

***

“Three more worlds and nothing!” Rainbow roared, glaring at Gilda, and the Bloodbride she held in her talons.

“My Succubus, we followed your orders to the letter,” the Bloodbride stammered. “This world fell before us and we took scores of new slaves…”

“I don’t care about slaves!” Rainbow screeched. “They are irrelevant, there is only one thing I want from these Tau, and you have failed to deliver upon it!”

“My Succubus…” the Bloodbride tried again, but Rainbow was in no mood to listen anymore, continuing without heed of her underling’s words.

“I had such high hopes for you. I thought putting a Dark Eldar in a position of power within the Cult again would be a good thing. You gave me your word that if it was you who was chosen, you would bring me what I sought. More than your word, you gave me your life as a gesture of your assurance that you would bring her to me. Where is she!? Or have you failed me?!”

“Dash…” the Bloodbride whispered, fear written across her face.

“Do not ever address me as such, I am not your equal, I am your superior, in all things and in every way,” Rainbow snarled, before looking directly at Gilda. “I apologise for doubting you, it seems having a non-Eldar in command positions is indeed better. You’re my number two, don’t fail me. And someone throw this pathetic creature into the warp,” she gestured to the Bloodbride, “let’s see how she fares against She Who Thirsts.”

The Bloodbride screamed in abject terror at that threat, struggling against Gilda’s Iron Grip as she handed her captive to a pair of Incubi, the helmed warriors dragging her from the bridge without a single sound.

“Somebody better have some good news for me,” Rainbow growled softly, sitting down in the command throne and looking around at her confidants, a holographic form of Eethron and a Kabalite Warrior standing in for Ale’ri while the Archon was busy with his own business.

“I may have…something,” Eethron purred, his many limbs clicking against each other in anticipation.

“I’m not in the mood for games, Eethron,” Rainbow snapped. “Get on with it or allow others to talk.”

“Very well,” Eethron nodded, a flash of anger flickering across his face for the briefest of instants before his normal calm look took control again. “We captured a prison on the last world, many interesting specimens of Auxiliary and standard Tau were held within. The majority held no truths within their heads, speaking anything they believed would allow them to survive. One however…”

He trailed off, his image being replaced by a camera feed of an interrogation chamber, a Tau, water caste by the look of him, strapped to the razor edged table, blood congealing around the edges.

“Tell me again, what you said,” the recording of Eethron purred, grabbing the Tau’s face and directing it towards the camera. “And please, speak towards my beautiful creation, he is made from your kind after all, a shared kinship may help you to remember…all the details.”

“You’re sick,” the Tau whimpered, before swallowing, seeming to harden his resolve. “But…I will tell you…in exchange for the quick death we agreed upon. You’re looking for an equine, a sentient one, not like the Gue'vesa horses they use. Orange fur, blonde ponytail, brown human Stetson, a mark of a Terran Apple upon her flank.”

“That fits the description, yes,” Eethron nodded. “And the rest?”

“She is on the world of Darik, the Pa’Laa Sept has her, they know she is your target because of traitors from your own ranks. They are preparing to fight you there, to the last.”

“Thank you,” Eethron bowed graciously. As he straightened up, one of his tendrils shot out, passing through the Tau’s head like it was nothing more than smoke. The Tau was dead before a single drop of blood had hit the floor, and the image faded shortly afterwards.

No one dared to speak as Rainbow’s eyes went wide, her voice stuck in her throat, before finally, she managed to speak, directing her question to Eethron.

“And this information is accurate?”

“The Tau was telling the truth,” Eethron bowed deeply. “Every instrument I have confirms this. And I have the coordinates of the planet.”

“Travel time?” Rainbow snapped, springing to her hooves.

“For a single vessel? Two days. To find a viable route for our entire fleet will take us close to three weeks.”

“We should strike hard and fast,” the Kabalite Warrior spoke. “Three weeks will give them more time to prepare for our arrival.”

“They already will have had time, who knows how much,” Gilda disagreed. “Better we strike as a single fist that they will not stand against.”

“Enough,” Rainbow roared, flapping her wings and rising above her underlings, looking at the helmsman. “Plot the fleet a course to this, ‘Darik’, the full fleet, no longer than three weeks or you will follow the Bloodbride to the warp. The rest of you, you have three weeks to present me a plan for breaking this planet. I want this over, you will bring me that victory, or you will bring me your own death. Dismissed.”

With barely a glance back to check her orders were being followed, Rainbow landed by the doorway of the bridge and began to head towards her chambers, Gilda and the previously silent Kas following behind her without a word. She didn’t know what was going to happen when they reached Darik, but what she did know, was tonight would be a night to remember, Kas and Gilda would make sure of that.

Spheres and Warhosts

Over two hundred ships were in orbit around the Darik, from the smallest Il’Emaar Courier, all the way up to the huge Or’es El’leath Battleships, and everything in between. All in all, it was a mighty armada, the colours of the Pa’Laa sept resplendent on their hulls, and still, few of the commanders had any Illusions that the war would end in the void. They had all read the reports, and they all knew the plan. Not that any of them liked it of course.

“We’re bait, you know that Sir,” a Kor’El pointed out as he moved to stand beside his O.

“Of course, enough ships to draw the enemy in, not enough to stop them,” the O nodded, his lips a thin crease. “If the entire fleet was here then the enemy would go around and strike at other vulnerable areas, forcing us out.”

“I’ve read the plans, sir,” the El continued, dropping his voice so only the Admiral could hear him. “Which is why I question again why you are here? These ships are all but certain to be destroyed in the enemy first wave. Should you not be taking command of the second wave, your experience and skills there will be invaluable surely.”

“Probably, yes,” the Admiral sighed, rubbing his temples and turning to face the El. “A Kor’O should indeed have command of the reinforcement fleet. That is why I drafted these.”

Reaching into the folds of his uniform, the Admiral drew out a sealed scroll, turning to face the Captain and holding it out.

“Promotion papers, my last act as Admiral. They’re for you, old friend.”

“There cannot be more than one O in this fleet and you know that, these papers…” the El began.

“Have already been ratified by High Command, and counter-signed by over three hundred captains of the fleet,” the O cut in. “They want someone to follow, they know I’m getting on in years, that it won’t be long before I go to serve the Greater Good in the Great Beyond. I will not go peacefully in my bed, I am a man of war, I wish for my final moments to be on this bridge. She’s a good ship, I hope that you find one as good when you have command of the Pa’Laa fleet.”

“You don’t have to do this, you still have years left in you.”

“But no greater battle,” the Admiral smiled for the first time since the war meeting, laying a hand on the now O’s shoulder. “Where else would I rather die, than in the battle that shall decide the fate of our entire Sept? I do not envy you, Admiral. When the dust clears from this war, and we stand victorious amongst the stars, you will consider the great darkness, and know that whatever death may await you, your greatest battle will be here.”

“Then I will endeavour to prove you wrong,” the second Admiral smiled back, placing his own hand on the older Admirals shoulder. “When we meet again, I will tell you stories of a greater battle than you can ever conceive.”

“That’s the spirit,” the Admiral laughed. “Now, to the shuttle bay with you. Your new command awaits.”

***

“The Tau fleet has split into two,” the Fleet Master indicated runes on the map of the Darik system. “The smaller of the two has been left to guard the world, the rest has travelled to the neighbouring system of Fasturn, presumably in an attempt to flank us or to come upon our rear whilst we are attacking the world. I have already taken the liberty of sending some ships to break up the fleet, I have set plans into motion to break them for their hubris.”

“You are tasked with keeping them occupied while we search the planet then, Fleet Master, I leave the engagement in your hands,” Rainbow nodded. “I doubt that this will be as quick as some of our conquests, but we shall still wipe this pathetic planet clean of the Tau filth. When do we break from the Webway?”

“Ten cycles, Succubus,” the Fleet Master bowed.

“Good, then I will allow you to dictate the fleets actions, I shall take charge of the boarding teams. Send me a report of your plans, but you have my leave to run the engagement as you see fit. If you fail me, I will ensure your pain nourishes the entire fleet.”

“Yes, Succubus, it will be done.”

Rainbow stalked out of the bridge before the fleet master had finished speaking, Gilda following behind her, the pair already garbed and ready for battle, and eager to taste the blood of Tau once more.

***

Hundreds of hulks littered the void around Darik. Frozen corpses spun lifelessly, bouncing off the shields of the Dark Eldar vessels that were even now pushing their way through the wreckage of the battle towards the planet. The battle had been over in a scant few hours, the Tau had been outnumbered many times over, their ships were slower, their weapons were shorter ranged, and their shields were brutish things, relying on pouring power into a physical barrier, rather than the shadowfields and mimic engines the Dark Eldar made use of.

Only one ship remained intact, a great Battleship floating in orbit around the planet, all signs of life absent from an external glance. During the battle it had been struck by multiple leach torpedoes, each one draining power from the ship, until it was left without teeth or motion, without ever even firing a shot.

“Ready the boarding teams,” Rainbow grinned, looking at the terrified slave crew manning the controls, and the pair of Wyches standing behind them. “But only my party is to be transported to the bridge, the others can take whatever slaves they want from the rest of the vessel.”

“Y-Yes, mighty Succubus,” the slave stammered. “R-Right away.”

Rainbow licked her freshly filed teeth in anticipation as the world faded from around her. For an instant she felt absolute, blissful agony as she was pushed through the Webway, before she stepped out onto the Tau vessel. The knife in her left claw severed the throat of one Tau before anyone even knew they were under attack, followed swiftly by a second and third felled by a blaster shot as Gilda stepped through the Webway tear.

Unlike Rainbow, Gilda hadn’t enjoyed the pain, but she still fought like a daemon, ripping out throats of Kroot who dared to stray too close while blasting Fire Warriors to slag with her blasters. Rainbow had another prize in mind however, and dived forward, grabbing hold of the Admiral of the fleet and driving him to the floor.

“Such a shame you’re not a human,” she snarled, other Dark Eldar following her lead and forgoing the use of weapons as they dived to take the captives alive. “At least they may have had some skill with a blade. You don’t even carry one. You’re pathetic.”

“I…” The Admiral started, but Rainbow struck first, deftly grabbing his tongue with one claw, before slicing it off with a single talon.

The Admiral let out a wordless scream as he thrashed beneath Rainbow, blood pooling in his mouth.

“Your words aren’t required, Admiral, no knowledge you have is worth anything to. But don’t worry, you won’t die, not this time. I guess you could call this a merciful stay of execution, but I doubt that your kind would thank me for this.”

Rainbow turned to the other Dark Eldar, looking around as the bridge crew were almost effortlessly subdued, before raising her voice.

“Secure the slaves here, then spread out in the rest of the ship. Any you find there are yours to do with as you wish, but any on this deck are mine. If I find any have been taken then the one who attempted to defy me will join their ranks.”

Rainbow didn’t need a response, and the Dark Eldar didn’t give any, the last few newly captured slaves being bound with barbed chains, before their captors disappeared deeper into the ship.

Placing one claw around the admirals neck, Rainbow flicked on her communications, making sure to broadcast the sound for all the Tau to hear.

“Fleet Master, are our ships in position around the Fasturn star?”

The Admirals eyes went wide as he recognised the system name as where his fleet was ‘hiding’, the terror that rolled off him delicious, even Gilda seeming to relish in it as she stood beside Rainbow.

“They are, Succubus, and have not been detected. The fleet has not broken anchor, and will not be able to jump away before it is too late. Shall I deploy Obsidian Hand?”

“Do it, wipe them from the face of the galaxy,” Rainbow leered, looking down at the Admiral. “Did you know that the Kabal of the Dying Sun claims it can destroy stars, and by extension, entire systems? I didn’t believe it at first, but it seems that all they need is some technology from before the fall of the Eldar. Now, maybe the Dying Sun have more of this technology than I do, but I only needed one Hand.”

The Admirals eyes filled with tears as Rainbow spoke, Rainbow drinking in the pain rolling off of everyone from the bridge.

“As an Admiral, I am sure you know what would happen to a fleet of Tau vessels if the star of the system they were in suddenly went critical, and became a Supernova? My vessels can utilise the Webway to escape, yours cannot. Darik will not have the reinforcements you hinged your plan upon. You should have mustered your fleet, maybe then you would have had a chance to stall me.”

The Admiral let out a wail as Rainbow and Gilda began to pick up the chains binding their slaves, preparing to take them back to the fleet for the next stage of the plan.

***

“The fleet didn’t even last the day,” Applejack breathed softly, looking over the screens as losses were displayed for the remainder of the Pa’Laa High Command. “Have we heard anything from the Fasturn contingent of the fleet?”

“Nothing so far,” one of the Air Caste adjutants responded quickly. “There have been stellar phenomena’s in recent months that have been affecting long range communication speeds, and the system is many light years away, we do not have a proper ftl communications hub set up in that system yet.”

“How long until we can expect to hear word from them, or for them to hear a broadcast from us?” Aun’Vesa asked.

“Three days, maybe five at the most, mighty Ethereal,” the adjutant replied. “If we broadcast now, and they receive it quickly, they could be with us before the weeks end.”

“Send the signal then,” Aun’Vesa nodded. “We will want the fleet back here as soon as possible to catch our foes unaware.”

“As long as she took the bait,” Juhani huffed.

“Just so,” Aun’Vesa nodded. “Now, if…”

Aun’Vesa was cut off as a mechanical scream cut through the command centre, growing louder to the point of pain, a few of the Vespid letting out screams as their sensitive eardrums burst in welts of blood. Then, just as Applejack thought her own ears were going to burst, the sound started to recede, eventually fading completely.

“What…was that?” Applejack panted, before looking at a Fire Warrior who stumbled into the command room.

“Honoured…commanders, you should come outside. You need to see this.”

Staggering after the Fire Warrior, Applejack surveyed the scene outside that had moments before been peaceful, the calm before the storm of the coming war. Now, it was littered with bodies of the Tau, blood pooling around them, indicating that they’d been dropped from a great height, and from the looks on what was left on most of their faces, they had not been dead before they hit the ground.

“Bastards,” Applejack swore, not caring that both Aun’Vesa and Aun’Nan were right beside her. “Those…fuckin’…bastards.”

“Shas’O! We have a survivor!” A Fire Warrior called out, drawing Applejacks eye towards a metal spike that had seemingly been shot into the ground. Lashed to it was a brutalised Tau, his tongue and eyes having been ripped out, and hundreds of cuts crisscrossing his body from where the razor-wire that he was bound with had cut into his body. Even so ruined however, it was still unmistakable as the Kor’O.

“Get the Admiral inside, now,” Applejack grunted, her organic eye darkening with rage. “I swear on everythin’ or anythin’ that may be listenin’, ah am gonna see Rainbow answer for this murder. Shas’El, prepare the Fire Caste, Rainbow’s struck the first blow, ah think its about time we struck back.”

Author's Note

So, sorry for the incredibly long Hiatus, one problem after another IRL. They have been addressed now, and I should be able to get back to writing now, may take some time to get back into the full swing of things as I seem to have lost most of my planning documents. I hope that they are on my memory stick at my parents, but I will have to see at Christmas.

Until then, I guess I'll just go from memory and whatever else I can find :pinkiecrazy:

Anyway, hope you enjoy

Planetary Assault

The Dark Eldar fleet hung above the world like an omen of death itself. Every gun on the planet had tried firing during the void battle, and every shot had missed its mark and subsequently been silenced. The Dark Eldar could have attacked at any point during the last three days, everyone on the world knew that, but they weren’t. Bodies rained from the sky every hour, a macabre bombardment that sapped morale faster than any high explosive. Even within the cavern cities, bodies fell, dropped through portals that opened only long enough to deliver their cargo.

Fire Warriors had been found out of place in droves, the front lines around the capital city were sparsely manned at best, many mumblings from the Gue'Vesa about how a bit more discipline for the Fire Warriors would go a long way. Applejack and Aun’Vesa had crushed those thoughts, Aun’Nan volunteering to take up position on the front line instead, sharing the barricades at the entrance to the great cavern. Desertions had slowed since, but not nearly enough. If an attack came now, the defences simply wouldn’t hold.

Then finally, after almost four days of constant terror bombings, the first attacks happened. Silent fiends made of shadow themselves slaughtered whole detachments of backline troops, individuals identified as Harlequins by Juhani and Tar’nek eliminated El’s of all castes, and Jetbikes appeared in every cavern on the planet seemingly at random.

Of course, they had prepared for these eventualities, and the counter-plans were put into motion as soon as the attacks began. Stealth Teams specifically stationed near the rear caught many of the Mandrake warriors in a crossfire, driving them back to their shadowy realm, Kroot Hounds and Krootox were unleashed to drive the Harlequins away, even their skills wavering when faced with packs of slavering beasts which moved almost as fast as they did, and everywhere Jetbikes appeared, Piranha’s and Tetra’s were deployed to duel with them, deadly aerial combat breaking out across the planet.

But the worst had yet to come. The Assault on the front line of the caverns was about to begin, everyone could feel it. Every Tau strategist and their Eldar allies knew that Rainbow would make sure she was in the first assault wave, which meant Applejack would be there as well. They had one chance to blunt this assault, Applejack intended to take it.

***

“All systems reading nominal across the board, internal generators charged and locked,” the Earth Caste Drone buzzed as it flitted around the Equinox battlesuit. “Preparing to disconnect from external power source in three, two, one.”

Applejack let out a gasp as the high capacity cable was disconnected from the battlesuit, the steady stream of warmth that felt like it was emitting from it abruptly stopping as the internal power supply took control.

“Analysing Puretide Engram Chip signal,” the drone continued. “Signal’s reading as nominal, data within should be accessible when needed.”

“Thanks,” Applejack grunted, shaking her head, the battlesuit copying her movements perfectly. “Bloom, we ready?”

“Affirmative, Applejack,” the Battlesuit’s onboard VI had been reprogrammed to respond to the name Bloom and had even had its voice altered to have something equivalent to Applejack’s own drawl. “We’re ready ta defend the Greater Good.”

“Then let’s make it happen,” Applejack grimaced within the suit, the last few connection wires disconnecting from the suit as she dropped onto all fours and broke into a gallop.

The main Earth Caste battlesuit port was in the centre of the city, but Applejack had made sure that her own suit and those of her team were in a mobile port far closer to the frontlines. As she ran, her team joined her, the two XV9 Hazard leaping over obstacles to form up with her, one on each side of her.

“Shas’Vre D'yanoi Prinel, reporting in,” the suit on her left messaged her.

“Shas’Vre Ho'sarn Gras'en, ready Shas’O,” the remaining suit radioed.

“Stick tight ta me, and ta cover. Dark Eldar splinter weapons ain’t a threat ta us, but their dark matter weapons are. Remember, we’re not here ta turn the tide in open conflict, y’all need ta keep the bodyguards off me when we find Rainbow. I’ll engage ‘er, but take shots if ya have ‘em, I’m not so proud that ah have ta be the one ta kill ‘er.”

“Received and understood, Shas’O,” Ho'sarn responded quickly.

“Eta to frontline, two minutes,” D'yanoi added.

“Let’s hope there’s still a front when we get there,” Applejack growled, pushing her battlesuit to its limits as they sped towards the growing sounds of battle.

***

Rainbow let out a snarl as she leapt through the Webway portal that had been borne to the world by a flight of Raiders, scores of Wyches bursting forth beside her. Gilda was next through the portal, leading her own squad of Bloodbrides into the heart of the Tau defences. It had only been moments, but the first line had been breached in dozens of places, the Tau unable to bring their long range firepower to bear, and the walls being sparsely manned at best.

“Eethron, break through and occupy the backups, I don’t want them shooting more than they already have,” Rainbow roared, digging her claws into the neck seal of a Fireblade, easily slicing through the thin seal and weak flesh beyond. Her weapons were all secured about her person, including a pair of pistols mounted on an upgraded weapon harness strapped to her flanks. It had been a while since she used such a harness, opting to use her Jetbike weapons while she was a Reaver pilot, but now she would be facing battle on the ground, she had opted to take it out again.

“Gilda, Pathfinder squad to your left, silence their markerlights,” Rainbow indicated with a hoof, before sending a stream of splinters into a squad of firewarriors that was trying to fall back. “Ale’ri…”

“You don’t need to give me commands, Succubus,” the Archon retorted, Rainbow catching brief glimpses of the Archons swords separating heads from bodies. “But you may be interested to know about the reinforcements approaching. Three battlesuits, two Hazard class and one unknown. Shall we move to engage?”

“No, that’s not a counter attack, that’s a challenge,” Rainbow grinned, licking the blood off her lips. “Leave them, and get me a Venom, I want the lead pilots head.”

***

Applejack leapt into the air over the rear line tidewall barriers, her shield generator kicking in as a dark lance shot struck out at her being deflected upwards with minimal effort.

“Status report,” Applejack opened her communicator to all Tau frequencies, the Shas’El in charge of this portion of the defences quickly replying.

“Heavy assault on all fronts, Haemonculus forces have broken through to the third line of defence, Wych and Kabal forces are spread across the first and second defensive lines. Fourth and fifth are still secure, but they can’t draw clear lines of fire without risking hitting friendlies.”

“Keep the lines secure and order squad by squad fall backs of Fire Warriors, and a counter attack by Broken Sword capable Auxiliary forces,” Applejack ordered, before landing and rising onto her back legs, aiming at a low flying Raider and firing a flurry of fusion blaster shots at it. At this range, the craft had no chance of dodging, but it did manage to turn on its axis, the shots slamming into its rear and destroying its engines, sending it plummeting towards the ground.

“Shas’O, move!” one of her Hazard suited pilots roared, diving at her as the raiders shock prow slammed into the ground.

The prow narrowly missed Applejack and her teammate, but the remainder of the debris didn’t, peppering Applejack’s battlesuit with chunks of rock and wraithbone. Most bounced harmlessly off her suits thick armour, but a fist sized chunk of rock was not so harmless, smashing into Applejack’s helmet. Warning lights flared into life within the cockpit, Applejack feeling the damage even before Bloom spoke.

“Communications offline, voice projector offline, armour integrity 99.6%, power levels holding at 99.8%.”

“Bloom, find a work around, ah need ta be able ta talk to everyone,” Applejack grunted, pushing herself up, beginning to sign to her teammates that she was ok, before D'yanoi let out a roar, unleashing both of his twin burstcannons into the sky.

“Venom’s incoming, five targets full of Wyches,” D'yanoi called as he fired, the Vipers jinking around the hail of shots.

“Eyes on Rainbow?” Applejack roared, trying to project her voice from inside the battlesuit, but the sound dampening materials that kept her ears safe from the din of battle now was working against her, and her team members didn’t hear. They didn’t have to though, as with a screech, two figures dived from the venoms even as they sped towards the ground.

The first one was big, blasters covering thick armour that would have looked more at home on a cut down Talos Pain Engine, but was still unmistakably a Griffon, Applejack knowing instantly that it was Gilda.

The next however was what Applejack really cared about however. She was far more muscled than Applejack remembered, and she had always been muscular. Other than that though, she was like a completely different pony. Her wings were like those of a thestral, black and leathery replacing what had once been feathered or, more recently, wraithbone. A series of needles stretched along her back, filled with what Applejack knew where combat drugs of all kinds. Her face had changed, the skin had been removed and replaced with a black material that seemed to be boded directly to her skull. And there were the talons, currently clutches around the huge power sword Ravenous.

Applejack had heard what everyone who had escaped from Commoragh had told her, read every report and even seen the few pictures that Scootaloo had taken with her, but nothing prepared her for the reality, as Rainbow Dash streaked towards her with murder and hatred in her eyes.

***

Rainbow leapt from the Venom before it began to descend towards the trio of battlesuits, Gilda leaping out after her. The three suits had stopped in a clearing between defensive lines, the wreckage of a Raider sticking out of the ground next to them, and had clearly done some damage as sparks jumped from the unique battlesuits helmet.

She had never seen a suit quite like the one she was currently plunging towards. It was quadrupedal, two oversized gauntlets on its rear legs, while it had a fusion blaster and shield generator disk on its front legs. For a moment, Rainbow had a sickening feeling that she was about to cross blades with someone she knew, before she smashed that voice into the ground.

They know you’re looking for her. This is a trick to make you hesitate, make you weak. Rip that suit open and you’ll find a Tau, nothing else. Only they can pilot their battlesuits.

Nodding at the voice, Rainbow let out a scream as she hit the ground, drugs flooding her system as she leapt at the battlesuit, Gilda slamming home into one of the Hazzard suits even as it scythed down three of the Wyches that followed them both.

“I’m going to rip that head off your battlesuit and beat your Ethereal’s to death with it!” Rainbow screeched, swinging her sword in wide arcs around her. To the pilot’s credit, they moved well, avoiding many of the blows altogether and blocking the remaining ones with its energy shield, before surging forward, bullrushing Rainbow.

Taken aback by the uncharacteristic charge by a Tau warrior, Rainbow barely avoided the charge, Ravenous being knocked from her talons as she flapped her wings, spinning to avoid the hail of pulse rounds fired by one remaining Hazzard suit and activating yet another series of drug dispensers, time slowing as she dived back towards the main suit, drawing a pair of knives.

Then for the second time, the battlesuit surprised her. Tiny jets dotted along its sides firing and propelling it backwards onto its rear legs, but instead of falling back to all fours, it stayed upright, towering over Rainbow as its fusion blaster fired, the shot flattening into a blade.

“Looks like it’s a party,” Rainbow grinned, rising to her own hide legs with a flap of her wings and spinning her knives. “All your fancy toys, you can’t win this.”

With a screech, Rainbow lunged at the battlesuit.

***

Applejack couldn’t believe her eyes as Rainbow seemed to dodge rounds at point blank range, moving faster than her eyes could see, Bloom working to keep up and formulate a replay of the feat, even as Applejack was already preparing for close combat, readying her fusion blade and powering on her Onager Hooves.

Rainbow was faster than Applejack, she was more trained, and as Rainbow had said, Applejack’s advantage was fancy toys, but she had to try, swinging her sword forward. Rainbow didn’t even try to block it, weaving out of the way and inside Applejack’s reach, delivering a passing cut that severed a pipeline and set off new alarm bells.

Pushing on, Applejack followed her training, everything Juhani, Tar’nek, Scootaloo, Lightning and Spitfire had taught her rushing to the forefront of her mind. Everything became a weapon, her vector thrusters allowing her to aim kicks at Rainbow that would have broken her in half if they had landed. For her part, Rainbow scored dozens of blows, none of them doing more than cursory damage on their own, but they were slowly beginning to mount up, Applejack getting the feeling that she was being toyed with. More than that feeling however, a pit had opened in her stomach as she reached the final, inevitable conclusion that this fight was building up to.

She couldn’t beat Rainbow. Tar’Nek and Juhani had tried, Lightning and Spitfire had tried. They were all far more trained than her, and they’d all lost. Applejack was going to lose this fight, and there was nothing she could do about it except for prolonging the inevitable.

***

Gilda finally got her opening, swinging behind the remaining Hazzard suit and opening up with both her blasters. It was overkill, the suit simply ceasing to exist from the waist up. Turning, she looked towards the ongoing duel between Rainbow and the remaining pilot, before opening her comms to the rest of the force.

“Eethron, Ale’ri, what’s going on?”

“The first three defencive lines have already been over run, the fourth and fifth are in full retreat,” Eethron replied smoothly. “We are sending some forces after them, as well as to Rainbow’s position. We will end this pilot for her.”

“Oh no, no one’s ending this but her,” Gilda chuckled. “Bring something to capture this moment. I think people back in Commoragh will pay handsomely for this spectacle.”

Soon, the battlesuit was the only Tau figure left, Blood Brides, Trueborn and high-ranking Wracks surrounding the duelling pair, while other, less deserving members of the Triumvirate were hunting down stragglers, taking prisoners or simply basking in the pain of the dying. Only those of note could watch this in the flesh.

As they cheered or jeered, the Battlesuit lunged forward, Rainbow avoiding the blow, but an unsuspecting Wrack behind was not so lucky. The plasma blade passed right through his right arm, the Wrack letting out a screech as his limb was severed and cauterised almost instantly, before his screech turned to one of pleasure as the pain wave hit him and those around him. What didn’t kill a Dark Eldar made them stronger, even more so for the Haemonculus covens.

“This spectacle is starting to bore me,” Rainbow snarled as she delivered yet another blow, this time shattering one of the helmet optics. “Shall I end this?”

This last question was directed to the crowd, Rainbow spinning as she spread her talons wide, displaying her oil slicked knives, her muscles bulging beneath her bodysuit. A roar from the crowd was all she needed, and as the battlesuit surged forward once more, she made her move, dropping to the floor as the plasma blade passed through the air she had just been in.

Sliding beneath the suits legs, she grabbed the long since dropped power sword, switching it on with a hiss and the acrid smell of ionising air, before bringing the blade whipping round in a two-talon grip far faster than anything of its size should have been capable of. The battlesuit brought its own blade up, and for the first time it clashed with another weapon. Normally it would have held, but with all the damage it had sustained, the suit was leaking power, and with a pop, the blade phased out of existence, offering Rainbow no more resistance, and allowing her to hack into the head of the Battlesuit.

***

The battlesuit let out a squeal of protest as the powered blade severed the control module in the ‘head’. Many made the mistake of thinking the pilots head was also there, often just before their deaths as the battlesuit could function without it for a short time, and at a greatly limited capacity. This was not one of those times however, Bloom’s voice slowing down to the point where the AI was barely talking before following the blade and fading, all power from the suit finally expended. With a long creak, the suit fell backwards, Applejack wincing as she landed, even the gel-cushioning surrounding her not fully absorbing the blow but doing enough to rip the connection needle free. She briefly remembered the human titan pilot she had helped rescue a lifetime ago, how much damage had been done to him by being disconnected from his machine too quickly, and thanked Celestia that she didn’t have the same problem. Then she remembered where she was, and her thanks turned to curses. Dying quickly would have been a blessing.

She heard a pair of hooves impact the hull, and knew Rainbow was on top of the fallen suit, probably preening before the crowd that had surrounded them. A moment later, the tip of Ravenous slid through the cockpit seal, narrowly missing Applejack as it sliced the door open, overriding the safety locks. With a hiss of depressurising air, the doors flew open, Applejack staring upwards into Rainbow’s face as the Pegasus loomed above her, in the act of reaching down to grab her. Letting out a slow breath, Applejack closed her eyes, waiting for the end to come, and praying it was quick. She had been tortured once before in her life. She hoped that if there was any scrap of Rainbow left, she would at least get a quick death.

Barred Entry

Applejack was not, and would never claim to be, a psyker. She had met a few in her time, not many given the Tau’s lack of psychic ability, but here and there a few had crossed her path. Interesting people for the most part, crazed individuals for the rest. Nor was she a unicorn, that was obvious. She couldn’t control the world around her with unseen forces, nor could she sense the unseeable on the currents of an inaccessible realm, be it the warp or whatever unicorns drew on.

She had never overly wished that she was or wasn’t able to sense those things, but as she stepped through the webway portal she thanked everything she held dear that she was oblivious to the unsung song of reality. Pain rolled over her, palatable even to her, and greater than anything she had thought possible. It wasn’t her pain though, when she cried out it wasn’t in agony, but pure sorrow. Whatever being, or beings were causing this feeling, Applejack vowed she’d put a shot in their head to end their suffering.

Applejack collapsed to her knees, the battlesuit spasming as her mind fought against its presence, trying to shield itself from the sensations overwhelming her, finding entry through the crystal needle in her spine. She barely made out Spitfire, Lightning and Scootaloo following her through, but if they felt the same pain she did they showed no sign of it. They were probably used to it, Applejack thought, her own mind slowly starting to push back against the intrusion.

“This ship can be an interesting experience for those new to Commoragh,” Rainbow mused as she stepped through the portal after the group, Gilda right behind her. “My apologies, Applejack, but I’ve found a forewarning actually makes the sensation worse, makes it last longer. It will pass in a few moments.”

Rainbow offered a talon to Applejack, but she batted it away, rising on her own and glowering down at Rainbow.

“What…is it?” she managed through gritted teeth.

“The feeling?” Rainbow scoffed. “You won’t find a Dark Eldar ship that isn’t steeped in pain and suffering. Humans use their Gellar fields to force their way through the warp. Dark Eldar ships rarely need to enter that realm, we are far above that, but on occasion we must scrape against it. A cocoon of pain around every ship is enough to give those who dwell in the warp something easier to feed on. By the time She Who Thirsts is aware of the intrusion, the ships are long gone.”

“We is it?” Applejack scoffed. “Y’all still remember what colour yer blood is Rainbow? Yer got four legs just like me, even if they are all mangled. Y’all ain’t anything different.”

Rainbow scowled, turning away from Applejack, allowing her to actually look around the ship for the first time.

It wasn’t a large vessel from what she could tell, certainly not one of the capital ships that had darkened her skies with their presence, but it was big enough to fit them all in without being claustrophobic. Various doors led off from the main area which they were in, Applejack assuming some were rooms while others she decided not to try and guess at. This was a personal ship, not a war ship, any weapons it had would likely be for self-defence, rather than open war.

“Kas,” Rainbow’s call cut Applejack’s investigation short, a woman appearing almost immediately. She was clearly human, the ears gave that away, but she was garbed in a Dark Eldar racing suit, Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark emblazoned on the right and left hip, such a colourful mark looking out of place on the outfit.

“You called, Mistress?” the woman asked, her voice smooth as she bowed her head slightly.

“Y’all have a slave?!” Applejack roared before anyone else could say a word, rounding on Rainbow and towering above her.

“Stop shouting, Applejack. Your tone is making threats which we both know are empty. Kas is mine, yes. She has a better life than most within the Commoragh though, don’t you Kas.”

“Much,” Kas nodded. “Far better than the other prospects in the city, I couldn’t be happier.”

“Y’all are programmed ta say that,” Applejack snorted. “How much has she broken ya to say that? She beat you? It ends now, ya hear? Ah’ll make sure she doesn’t touch you anymore.”

“And why would I want that?” Kas asked, a smile spreading across her face that was equal parts predatory and sincere. She walked towards Rainbow as she spoke, slowly running a finger along Rainbow’s back from her tail to the base of her neck. Applejack’s eye widened within her helmet as the pieces clicked into place.

“Y’all are like that?”

“We’ll are like that,” Kas smirked, adopting her own version of Applejack’s drawl, Rainbow chuckling and shaking her head.

“Lay off her, Kas. Go set the course, I’ll be up to fly us out in a minute,” Rainbow smiled at Kas, looking at Gilda and gesturing for her to go with Kas, before looking back at Applejack and the others. “Applejack, there’s room for your battlesuit here, pick any room except the locked one. As for you three,” she paused as she looked at Scootaloo, Spitfire and Lightning individually. “I’m sure you can find a room to your liking.”

With that, Rainbow turned and headed after Kas and Gilda, leaving the four alone once more. As soon as she was out of sight Applejack turned to face the others, her battlesuit opening to allow her to speak face to face with them.

“She has a slave and they're sleepin’ together?” she asked in amazement.

“With her and with Gilda,” Lightning grimaced. “But that’s really what you’re worried about? We’re all on her ship now, if she decides…”

“Decides to what? Kill us?” Applejack asked. “If she wanted to, she’d have done it already. She’s a monster, not an idiot. We don’t have a choice but to follow her, but we do have a choice what we do when we return to Equestria.”

“Simple, we make sure everyone knows exactly what she did,” Spitfire spat. “We make her pay for her crimes.”

“No,” Applejack stomped her foot. “No, we cannot do that, as much as she deserves it. She’s right about one thing, and that’s the Elements of Harmony. She is loyalty, and even if we can replace that, which ah promise ah will attempt as soon as we get back, she is an element bearer. That will never leave, the image that comes with that is something that helps hold Equestria together, can’t put that snake back in the box. If everyone found out what we know…ah don’t think the country would survive that. Friendship is magic, we have to keep that magic alive.”

“But everything she’s done,” Scootaloo murmured. “She’ll just…get away with it?”

“Ah promise that ah will do everything ah can to work out how to get loyalty into the hooves of someone else, someone more deserving,” Applejack looked at Scootaloo. “As soon as ah do, ah’ll make sure she knows that she’s not welcome. She’ll see sense, she’s got to. She’ll keep it quiet and disappear. We just have to bide our time, all of us. You understand?”

“Fine,” Spitfire scowled. “But she ever gets out of hand, I’m bringing the hoof of Celestia down upon her.”

“Ah ain’t sayin’ it ain’t well deserved,” Applejack sighed. “Just promise me that y’all will wait, try ta do this quietly.”

“I promise that then, for you, not her,” Spitfire nodded.

“Me too,” Lightning agreed.

“Yeah,” Scootaloo’s voice was soft as she headed for a room, disappearing inside. Applejack went to follow her, but Spitfire held out her leg.

“I wouldn’t, if I were you. Scoots is complicated…we’ve been chatting a lot since she broke from Rainbow’s control. She needs a lot of alone time. Give it to her, ok?”

“Will she be ok?” Applejack asked.

“I don’t know,” Spitfire admitted. “I’m not a shrink, when we get back to Equestria I’ll make sure she sees one. The best.”

“Thanks, Spitfire. For everything,” Applejack smiled. “And the trust, it means a lot.”

“We got to trust each other, stand together against the monsters, eh?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

***

The journey took two days, Rainbow, Gilda and Kas sticking to the bridge and their room, while the others stuck to the lower deck, keeping to themselves as much as possible. The first they knew of reaching their destination was Rainbow descending to meet them, a panel in the rear of the bay opening, revealing the landscape beyond.

Applejack couldn’t describe it, even as she looked at it. Everything swam in and out of focus, patterns that should not have been able to exist twisted in and out of existence right before her eyes, her bionic going crazy as it attempted to quantify what it was seeing before Applejack turned it off with a thought.

“This is the webway?” she asked to no one in particular. “If Aun’Vesa only knew.”

“It would probably burn out his mind,” Rainbow shrugged indifferently. “Come on, time is wasting, the Black Library awaits.”

With that Rainbow exited the ship, Gilda following close behind her. It barely took Applejack anytime at all to climb into her battlesuit, the needle sliding back into her spine through the socket in place there. It was still strange to her, the implant only having been given to her a few days before her fight with Rainbow, but she had to admit not having to go through the pain of the needle sliding in and out whenever she left her suit was a welcome upgrade.

Following after Rainbow and Gilda, Applejack followed Rainbow, rounding the ship and laying eyes upon the Black Library of Chaos. Like the webway it was impossible to quantify, both huge and insignificantly tiny, shifting and yet imposingly immobile. Applejack had no idea how they would go about entering such a building, but Rainbow strode forward confidently, heading towards the fortress stroke library.

“Guardian!” Rainbow called as she walked forward. “I am Rainbow Dash, Swooping Pegasus, Succubus of the Lightning Fang, a leader of the Triumvirate of Half Formed Hope, the Element of Loyalty. By these titles do I request access to this library as was once given, so that I am my compatriots may return home!”

For a long time, there was no reply, Rainbow’s face darkening as she spoke again.

“Guardian! I am Rainbow Dash, Swooping Pegasus, Succubus of the Lightning Fang, a leader of the Triumvirate of Half Formed Hope, the Element of Loyalty. By these titles I request access to this library as was once given, so that I am my compatriots may return home! I know you can hear me! Respond!”

Again a long wait followed her call, Rainbow’s eyes darkening and her teeth grinding against each other before she spoke again.

“I know you can hear me, Guardian! I am Rainbow Dash and I demand entrance to your webway portals! Answer…”

“We hear you, Rainbow Dash, Succubus of the Lightning Fang, a leader of the Triumvirate of Half Formed Hope, the Element of Loyalty.”

The voice was soft, Rainbow whirling around to come face to face with an Eldar Harlequin. She was not the Guardian that Rainbow had seen when she had first walked the halls of the Black Library, and was garbed for war in the esoteric, over the top way of so many of their kind. In one hand was a lithe power sword, while mounted on the wrist of the other was a bulbous pod, one Rainbow recognised as the Harlequins Caress.

The Harlequin had appeared directly behind Rainbow, in between her and Gilda, and yet none had seen her arrive until she spoke. Rainbow felt her hair stand on end as she looked over the warrior but continued on undaunted.

“And? Will my request be answered?”

“Request? Or demand, you gave cry to both, Rainbow Dash,” the Harlequin pointed out.

“Request,” Rainbow replied instantly. “I wish to return home. I was allowed once, I wish…”

“You have never set foot in the lost Craftworld,” the Harlequin interrupted her.

“I have, the last time I was here, garbed in the armour of a Swooping Hawk, I walked the halls and entered the portal home,” Rainbow snarled.

“Rainbow Dash did that yes, Rainbow the Swooping Hawk, the Swooping Pegasus. You are not she, Succubus Dash. Entrance is not granted to you.”

“I am the same,” Rainbow snarled, taking a step closer. “I am the Swooping Hawk and the Succubus, the light and the dark of the Eldar kind. You will allow me access.”

“Or what?” The Harlequin cocked her head to the side, her half-mirrored mask reflecting Rainbow’s own anger back at her without the Eldar needing to change her voice at all. “Will you strike me down as you have done others? Ilithia? Ale’ri? Juhani and Tar’nek, Goge and Spitfire and Lightning? Or the many others beside them?”

“I have killed many, I had killed many when I first entered these halls,” Rainbow spat. “Do not tell me that the Eldar of the Lost Craftworld do not kill or strike those who oppose them.”

“Never with rage, never for pleasure,” the Eldar spoke softly. “The way is barred, Succubus Dash.”

Rainbow saw red at the words, letting out a screech as she dived forward, a pair of knives suddenly in her talons as drugs flooded her system, time slowing to a crawl. As she prepared to strike the Harlequin, she turned her head, looking at Rainbow with an impossible speed, before simply turning to the side, never raising her weapons as Rainbow missed her by a hair breadth.

Twisting in mid-air, Rainbow came at the Harlequin again, slashing and stabbing with her knives, each time the Eldar simply weaving around them faster than Rainbow thought were possible. After what felt like an hour, but in truth was a handful of blurred seconds, the Harlequin raised her sword, the casual action catching both of Rainbow’s blades and pulling them from her grasp.

Enraged, Rainbow let out another screech, rage filling her voice as she unsheathed Ravenous from her back, the mighty swords power field surging into life as she slashed down at the Harlequin. Again the Eldar raised her sword, but this time the effect was not the same, the two fields clashing, before the great sword over powered her thinner weapon, snapping the blade in two as it continued towards the Harlequins head.

Then it stopped, the Harlequins other fist wrapped around the blade like it was nothing, the Harlequins Caress humming as it generated a field more powerful than either of the swords. Rainbow hesitated at the sudden halt of her sword, and that was when the Harlequin struck.

Dropping the hilt of her destroyed sword, she punched forward, simultaneously closing her other hand around the sword. There was a flash of light as Ravenous, a sword from the Blood Ravens own Chapter Master, enhanced by Dark Eldar science, exploded, before the Eldar’s punch impacted Rainbow’s chest.

Rainbow felt bones break, impossible forces snapping at least two of her strengthened ribs, sending her cartwheeling across the floor. Before she had even come to a halt, the Harlequin had flipped over her, catching her in her hand and effortlessly lifting her from the ground, the Harlequins Caress mere millimetres before her face, deactivated once more, but ready to spring into life in a heartbeat. A tiny movement of her thumb pressed against Rainbow’s windpipe, constricting it and the voice box that lay beyond for just as instant, but rendering Rainbow mute instantly.

The whole fight had taken six point three seconds from start to finish, the others looking on with slack jawed awe as Rainbow was defeated with seeming ease. The Harlequin regarded Rainbow for a moment before letting her go, dropping her to the floor and returning to where she had first appeared.

“The council of the Lost Craftworld is willing to extend you entrance to our halls once more, on one condition,” she spoke loudly now, the webway seeming to darken at her words.

“There is a world, ruled by Exodites in the east of the galaxy. It is soon to be beset by forces of the Great Devourer, a tendril of the same Hive Fleet that once devoured the planet of Hannibal. You will go there, all of you, your fates are tied now, the skeins have foreseen it. That world is not to fall, when it stands secure once more, you shall be permitted to enter our halls, and return home. A portal awaits to take you there.”

With that, the Harlequin disappeared. Not teleported away or slipping away in a conventional manner, simply disappearing as if she had never been there in the first place. A split second later a new tunnel in the roiling mass of the webway opened behind the ship, Rainbow rising unsteadily to her hooves, massaging her throat, her voice still robbed of most of its power, coming out in almost unhearable whispers.

“On board the ship!” Gilda roared in her stead, reading Rainbow’s attitude in a heartbeat. “We have a world to save before we can go home. Hope you’re all ready for a fight, we all know how Tyranids are.”

Full Circle

Nobody said a word as Rainbow descended from the flight deck to the main bay. Truth be told no one had spoken much since they left the Black Library over a week ago, any conversations that did take place held in hushed tones with occasional glances in the direction of the cockpit. Nerves were balancing on a knifes edge, and no one wanted to be the one that upset the tenuous balance. Even Gilda and Kas were quiet, keeping to themselves and allowing Rainbow to follow her own plan.

Now was the first time Applejack had seen her since her fight with the Harlequin, though calling it a fight was hardly fair. It had been no more of a fight than the confrontation with the titan’s all those decades ago on Styro. Right now however, looking into the rage that was boiling within Rainbow, she would have rather lived that hell a hundred times over as opposed to being here now.

“Barank.”

A single word brought a hololith display to life, displaying the world that Applejack guessed bore the name.

“This is where we have to fight, one more mission. This Hive Fleet is old, or maybe its not by Tyranid standards, I don’t care. The last time I fought it it was at the height of its power and destroyed a world despite our best efforts. We will do better. I have contacted Eethron, we are lucky that he considers this an easy target with plenty of opportunities to take new specimens. He will be on his way, but I don’t know how long it will be before he gets here. Our one shred of light on this shit hand we’ve been dealt is we are on the galactic east, relatively near Pa’Laa. Applejack, get your forces back under your command and give them the worlds coordinates. I don’t care what it takes, they will arrive and help us destroy this tendril. Do you understand?”

Applejack kept silent, nodding once. In truth she didn’t know what she would be able to say if she could even still access the Tau’s deep space communication network, or if she’d be able to convince them to come to the aid of someone who had recently tried to destroy their planet, but she wasn’t about to tell Rainbow that. Even if she did fail, she wouldn’t be letting Rainbow know that fact, she’d take it to her grave if she had to.

“When we arrive at Barank I will take command, there will be no dissent from any of you about this fact. Command of this world will rest with me, if they don’t like it I will drag them kicking and screaming into the fight. Are there any questions?”

No one moved, Rainbow breaking into a simile, the gesture full of fury rather than joy.

“Good. We will be there within the week. Make sure you are ready when we arrive.”

With that Rainbow turned, heading back to the bridge, the door sliding shut behind her with a smooth hiss.

“Well that could have gone worse,” Lightning muttered, a murmur of agreement going around the room.

“Well, ah guess ah better try and contact the Empire,” Applejack sounded unsure as she spoke. “Ya think non-eldar signal’s will be able ta get out of the ship in ta webway?”

“They should be able to,” it was Scootaloo who spoke up now. “The Triumvirate ships were extensively modified to be able to broadcast signal’s as they approached. They bounce around a lot and are impossible to pinpoint, but they did the job of spreading fear through their enemies.”

“Sometimes I hate the fact you know so much about the upper levels of the Dark shits,” Spitfire scowled, before she realised how that could be taken, her features softening instantly. “I…didn’t mean that as an insult to you, Scoots, you know that right?”

“Yeah, I do,” Scootaloo nodded, but her gaze had fallen to the floor, her voice sounding deflated and hollow.

“A week then, lets get ta work,” Applejack cut in, trying to take the attention from Scootaloo once more, the orange pony managing a weak smile in her direction at the effort.

As the others dispersed, Applejack headed for her own room, grabbing her helmet and pulling the detachable communication from it. The earpiece was already attached to her battlesuit wirelessly, and the suits extensive communication suite was capable of reaching high orbit from a planet with ease. That being said, she had no idea if she would be able to figure out the ships communicators that Scootaloo had said existed.

Pressing on regardless, and not wanting to press the young mare for anymore details, Applejack set to work trying to decipher the Eldar technology. For a scientist this would have been an almost impossible task, and Applejack was no scientist. After an hour she had gotten nowhere, before Scootaloo had entered the room. She hadn’t spoken as she took the controls from Applejack, her hooves dancing over the runes with practiced ease, before she finally pressed the controls back into Applejack’s hooves and disappearing once more.

Again, Applejack wanted to run after the mare and wrap her in a hug, to tell her everything would be ok, but that would be lying, and right now that wasn’t what anyone needed to hear. When they got back to Equestria, Applejack would make sure she got help, but for now she focused on the communicator.

“Message is set to repeat, cycling on all Pa’Laa frequencies. This is Shas’O Pa’Laa App'ru'jak Or’es Fio’Shas, it’s Applejack. There is a weakened Tyranid Hive Fleet heading for an Exodite World just off yer boarders. Ah’m en-route to try an’ save it, along with Spitfire, Lightnin’, Scootaloo, Gilda and Rainbow. Rainbow has already called to her fleet fer aid, but ain’t gonna be quick, and maybe they won’t be enough. Ah know how much we’ve suffered because of their kind, ah know how much y’all will all hate them, and that’s fair, but ah need you. This world needs you. If it falls, that’s more biomass for the swarm, and next step’s Pa’Laa. We weren’t strong enough ta fight off the Dark Eldar, we certainly ain’t gonna be strong enough to fight off a full-strength Hive Fleet. The only choice ya have is to come and help here, the Exodites ain’t the Dark Eldar, they don’t deserve ta die. There’s been enough death in our Sept ta last a thousand life times, please, help me here, and we can keep yet more death comin’ to the Sept. Coordinates are encrypted in this message under Aun’Vesa’s key. I need y’all. Please. Applejack out.”

Applejack pulled her communicator from her head as the message began to loop, shutting off the audio feed as she placed it back within her helmet. She had no idea if that would work, or if Pa’Laa would agree with her statement of where it would be best to fight the Tyranids, but she had no more cards to play. She just prayed that the message would be received, and the answer would be a favourable one.

***

The ship touched down just in front of one of the great migratory communities that roamed this world, the huge megadon herd that they drove before them having come to a halt as the craft landed. By voidship standards it was tiny, but on the ground its true scale was revealed, dwarfing the largest tanks of the Imperial Guard.

Rainbow was the first off the ship, garbed in her standard Wych Suit, the overly wrought amour she had worn when she had met Applejack nowhere to be seen. A pair of knives were strapped to her rear legs, while a splinter pistol rested on her hip. Ravenous was conspicuous by its absence, the giant power sword still in pieces, but Rainbow still had the pommel strapped between her wings, a wickedly sharp piece of metal still jutting from the handle and intact power generator.

The others followed suit, each of them armed and armoured as well. Gilda still work her segmented war-suit, a pair of blasters on her sides, while Applejack rode in her battlesuit. Spitfire, Lightning and Scootaloo on the other hand wore cut down Tau armour, carrying Kroot warblades and pulse weapons. It was as much about making a point of their difference from Rainbow and Gilda as it was about anything practical, and Applejack wasn’t about to try and convince them to wear their arguably more advanced wargear from their time in the Dark City.

“That’s far enough!” a voice rolled across the plane, a lone rider on a megadon coming into view, his lance pointed at the group. “Who are you?”

“I am Succubus Dash,” Rainbow called back, having taken to using the name that the Harlequin had called her by in recent days. “I am here to speak to the ruler of this world. King, Emperor, Highlord, whatever you call him. You will organise that now, go.”

The rider hesitated for a moment, before turning and disappearing back over the horizon, heading for the migratory community. It took close to an hour, but finally a trio of hulking shapes swam into view. Three Eldar Knights strode towards the group, the central construct bearing four arms, each ending in a brutal fist weapon, while the two that flanked it resembled the centaurs of humanity’s ancient myth, a huge cannon taking the place of one arm, while an elegant looking spear was held in the hand of their other arm.

The knights did not rush as they approached, but ate up the distance rapidly regardless. In short order they reached the group, the two Bright Stallion centaur knights held back, while the four-armed Destroyer stepped forward, bending down to one knee and lowering its head almost to the ground, the cockpit splitting down the middle to reveal the pilot within.

“A Succubus, they told me,” the Exodite looked the group over quickly. “I believed that a Succubus disembarking from a ship of the Dark Kind meant that you would be of the Dark Kind, not a group of horses. This is a joke, correct?”

“Forget your jokes,” Rainbow snapped, flapping her wings and drawing level with the pilot. “Are you the Ruler of this world? The Knight suggests you are.”

“I am,” the Exodite nodded slowly. “And are this, Succubus Dash I was told about? What are you doing on my world.”

“A Tyranid Hive Fleet is on its way here right now, this Hive Fleet destroyed another Exodite World that I landed on decades ago, and we are here to make sure it goes no further,” Rainbow jumped straight to the point, not breaking eye contact as she spoke. “We need to organise this worlds defences so that does not happen, and so I can leave and make sure the Lost Craftworld holds up to their end of the bargain. Are you following me, Clan Leader?”

“I am not used to being spoken to in such a way,” the Exodite pointed out, a scowl spreading across his face. “I am High King Scoval,I suggest you recognise that title when you address me.”

“Get used to being spoken to that way,” Rainbow shot back. “I am not here to make friends, I have a task set by the Harlequins, I intend to fulfil that task from the top, not playing politics to the High King of a backwater world. Follow my orders and this world may just survive, do you understand, oh mighty High King Scoval?”

For a long, tense moment the pair glared at each other, neither one backing down, but in the end it was Scoval who relented, snorted as his face twisted into a thin smile.

“Very well, Succubus. If what you say is true then I suspect I will need your assistance, but you will be joint top, with me. If you are amenable to that, I will put out the call and gather the clans. I assume you have your own forces?”

“They are on their way, but they will not be here for some time,” Rainbow nodded. “Put out the call, we will put all our cards on the table and save this world. Then I can go home, and you can go back to…whatever it is you do.”

***

It took three days for the call to be heeded, and even then over half of the heads of the other clans were not present, having sent representatives ahead of them instead. When they had all arrived, High King Scoval had invited them into his great tent, taking prime position in his throne, the other Kings forming a ring around the central fire pit to listen to what was about to be said.

Finally, Rainbow entered, landing within the empty firepit and raising her voice.

“So there is no confusion, I am Succubus Dash. I have been sent here by the Harlequins of the Black Library to help you see off an invasion by a Hive Fleet tendril. I have already put the call out to my own forces, they should be here soon, but I don’t know exactly when that is. My compatriot, Applejack has likewise put a call to her forces, she is a Shas’O of the Tau empire. If her forces respond they will be coming here to help, but again, I don’t know when that will be. We currently have what is on this world, so tell what forces you can muster.”

“Clan Scoval is the largest of the clans,” Scoval began. “We can muster seventeen warrior clades, as well as four Dragon Knight clades. We also have access to seven Knight Constructs, one Destroyer class and six Bright Stallion class. They are the only ones of their kind on the world.”

One by one the other tribes gave their own strength, some willingly, while others hand to be coerced to show their full strength for all to see. Eventually however it was done, the world managing to muster sixty-three warrior clades and thirteen Dragon Knight clades. It was a force to be reckoned with, that much was obvious, but Rainbow knew what Hive Fleets were capable of, the scales still being far from balance in her mind. The only thing that even began to close those scales was the world itself. Commanded by the world spirit like the craftworlds were commanded by the infinity circuits, the world itself would rally to repel the invaders. Plants and animals would lash out at any invader, and for most it was enough to see them off, but against the Tyranids, she doubted it would be anywhere near as effective. Attrition was not an option, Tyranids didn’t need supply routes, and unless you could torch the bodies of those you killed the dead would taken back and recycled into the next wave of mindless killing machines. They had to break the swarm, they couldn’t outlast it.

“It’s not enough,” she raised her voice as the last clan representative finished speaking. “but it will have to do for now. Tell me, which Craftworld promises you protection? Can we expect aid?”

“We have already called from the world spirit,” one of the World Speakers answered. “She will sing our plight across the webway to Saim-Hann, they will respond as best they can.”

“I’ve seen their response to an Exodite World being consumed by this very swarm,” Rainbow snorted. “I don’t think we can expect them to save us completely. We will make do with what we have and hold out until either the Dark Eldar, Saim-Hann or Tau reach us. That is all we can do at the moment, hold out, survive. We do that we win. We don’t, this Hive Fleet strengthens and moves on, and we’re all too dead to care anyway.”

She breathed out, waiting to see if anyone would speak, but all eyes were on her and she had their full attention and she pressed on.

“We have no fleet, no orbital presence whatsoever, so we can forget about weakening them before they land. When they do make planetfall it will be on all fronts, but that will be the smallest creatures. We pull together, make sure no smaller clans are left to fend for themselves and feed the swarm. We need to strike at their primary landing hives though, where they begin to convert the landscape in reclamation pools. Fast movers can strike and retreat, buying us more time. We need that time, any objections?”

Nobody spoke, even High King Scoval seemed content with the plan laid out before them, nodding his approval to Rainbow.

“Let’s get to it then. Who knows when the fleet will arrive, we have to be ready!”

With those words, Rainbow headed from the tent, taking to the skies to search for any sign of the stragglers and to speed them on their way, by any means necessary.

The Remnants of the Swarm

The swarm entered the system with no fanfare, simply appearing in the depths of space as they finally came within range of the scanners on Rainbow’s ships. They would have been approaching the planet for years, maybe even decades, and yet when they arrived the world had barely even had a fraction of that time to prepare.

Just as Rainbow had said, Barank had no void defences, the only ship on the world belonging to Rainbow, but even if it had been the finest warship in the arsenal of the Triumvirate of Half Formed Hope, it would have been destroyed by the swarm in a heartbeat. So, the swarm came on, swimming inexorably towards the planet. It took them yet more weeks to reach the world itself, the ships almost blotting out the sun as they prepared for the consumption of the world.

Then the first wave came, and everything began in fire.

Small organisms, Gaunt’s as they were known, rained down in seemingly disorganised packs in giant pods. Alone the pods were hardly dangerous, but none could be ignored, the swarm growing inexorably more dangerous as their numbers swelled. It was a simple tactic to delay the defenders, to stop them striking at the true landing zones, those areas that would be the first to be terraformed to suit the Tyranid swarm.

For some, this tactic would have worked, few forces having the numbers required to both defend themselves from the smaller creatures and simultaneously strike at the landing zones, and that was also true of the Exodites, but it was also true that they were led by someone who was more willing to accept losses than most.

Over the weeks Rainbow had pressed her authority, breaking the power of High King Scoval bit by bit, never enough to raise suspicion and certainly not enough to depose him completely, she did not have anywhere near the time for that, but with just the right application of persuasion and assassination, his power had faltered, and Rainbow was the sole commander of this world, no matter what Scoval may have wanted to believe.

When the Gaunt’s landed they were opposed of course, but not the warrior clades, not for the most part. Civilians armed with whatever weapons they could muster fought the beasts, dying in droves to ensure the pods contents never linked up to form a more dangerous opponent. It was distasteful, but it worked, and the true Warriors, most importantly the Dragon Riders, were free to act as they needed.

Rainbow smiled as she surveyed the force she had assembled as her own, three hundred of the finest Dragon Riders on the planet, backed up by two Stallion Knights from clan Scoval. All of them were moving fast, though for Rainbow they may as well have been travelling at a snail’s pace. She wished she could break out her Jetbike, to feel the rush of true speed once more, but alone she would be more of a liability than an asset, and so was stuck with her wings.

Dust was thrown up behind them as they charged, it was inevitable with moving a force this large, this foe would see them coming, but they had no choice. A large cluster of pods had come down together, no movement outwards, meaning only one thing. The terraforming was beginning, the true invasion. They wouldn’t stop it this way, already reports were coming in about dozens more such sites and they barely had the forces available to hit half of them, but every one that was destroyed was time brought, no matter how little it may end up being.

“Ninety seconds!” Rainbow roared, not that many in the host would hear her, this pathetic backwater world swore off a lot of technology when they joined the Exodite clans, but the Knights would hear. “In and out! No heroics, no funny business! If your friend dies, you leave them, we do not go back!”

The Tyranids were visible now, hundreds of dark shapes skittering before them, a few larger shapes seeming to direct the swarm. It didn’t look like they were anything larger than warriors, but Rainbow was not taking any chances. If they met staunch resistance here, they’d fall, it was as simple as that.

Nothing else mattered to Rainbow as her vision focused in on the swarm, tunnelling in until she could see nothing else but her foes. She let out a screech that she couldn’t hear, nor could she hear the hundreds of megadon howls or the thunder of their feet.

Sound was leached from her world as suddenly she was clad in Exodite armour once, flying over the plains of Hannibal, not Barank. The skies had already darkened from the Tyranid spores, but she could still make out the distant forms of fighting Eldar. And if she really squinted, she could make out a Carnifex with a little blue creature flitting around its head, trying to defeat a god with a flower for all the good it had done her. That was her trial, a simpler time, where good and evil were simple, where everything made sense, where she still knew her own mind. Those days had long since passed.

The two forces slammed into each other, sound rushing back to Rainbow in a deafening thunderclap, and like that she was back, clad in her bodysuit, talons already ripping out the throats of Tyranids on reflex as she was forced back into reality over memory.

Letting out a screech she renewed her charge, her muscles bulging and her pupils widening as drugs flooded her system. She became a blur dancing through the lines of Gaunt’s, occasionally using her knives, or the splinter pistol she carried, or the remnants of Ravenous, but no matter what she used, she killed. Low level Tyranids were no warriors, their only strength was in numbers and the coordination of their psykers beasts, and Rainbow had already spotted the first one.

It was a Warrior Organism, a lashwhip and bonesword in one set of hands while a massive venom cannon spat death from its second set. Faster than any of its lesser it turned to face Rainbow, bringing its cannon round and lashing out with its whip, the tendrils moving with a mind of their own.

One grazed her as she barrel-rolled over the tendrils, driving her claws through the creature’s eyes before it could swing its sword at her. The wound stung before the pain rolling from the battle washed over her, knitting her skin closed in a facsimile of the Dark Eldar’s own abilities.

The creature died with a scream, echoing through Rainbow’s head as the Gaunts around her reeled backwards from the psychic backlash, giving Rainbow a split second to look around before another Warrior reasserted control over them and sent them back into the fray properly.

They had carved a huge gouge into the Tyranid lines with their charge, the bigger megadon’s simply crushing Gaunt’s underfoot, and that had driven them in deep, but already the swarm was reacting, forcing the charge to a halt and beginning to wear down the Dragon Knights with sheer numbers. The Stallion Knights were faring far better, every shot of their prism cannons carving lines through the Tyranids, and every swipe of their spears cleaving dozens of them in tow, but there were only two of them, and given time they too would be worn down and destroyed. They had to move, fast.

Taking to the skies, Rainbow let out a screech, magnifying it with a bead built into the neck of her bodysuit. At the signal the Dragon Knights turned, no longer trying to push through the horde and instead rushing to the feet of the two Stallions, beginning to run circles around them, forcing the Tyranids away from the machines, defending them from all angles.

They were surrounded now, the swarm having closed in, but with the riders no longer standing still and fighting downwards the Gaunt’s struggled to overwhelm the riders. The few who did get hit died quickly, falling from their mounts only to be trampled to deaths by their fellows. Nothing would stop the circle as they closed on the capillary tower the swarm was doing its upmost to protect.

“Time to firing range five seconds,” one of the Knight pilots called across the communicator. “Beginning calibrations now.”

The two Stallion’s cannons began to glow, the crystals growing brighter until it hurt to look at. When the first one fired it wasn’t at the enemy, but at the other Knight, the beam of energy striking the second Prims Cannons crystal, the glow increasing even more, blinding any who looked at it. The Exodites had been forewarned about this, but the Tyranids hadn’t, thousands screeching in pain as their eyes were irreparably seared away. The injuries barely slowed them however, spurned on as they were by their superiors, they were Psychically guided forwards.

The Hive Mind had realised what was happening now, the swarm moving into a thrust of its own, trying to break through the circling megadons. Slowly their push bore fruit, Dragon Knights falling, while the others were forced to swerve around the intrusion, creating a bulge in the circle. In a few moments the bulge would become a breach and they would be overwhelmed. Luckily for them, they didn’t need a few moments.

The second Knight fired, its weapon still being charged by the other cannon as the shot lanced across the sky, striking the capillary tower squarely at its base, slicing through hardened cartilage and bone with ease. This shot would have felled titans and used against the tower it had the same effect.

With the wet, sticky sound of tearing meat the tower began to fall, a visible shockwave pulsing from its base as the Hive Minds connection was severed. Rainbow’s head felt like it was on fire, but for the Tyranids it was infinitely worse. Gaunts simply died as the shockwave hit them, or else collapsed in pain as their minds were burnt from the feedback. Even the larger creatures faltered, the Hive Mind working furiously to bring them back to full strength. It was the only chance at retreat they would get.

“Pull back!” Rainbow roared, amplifying her voice once more. “Break out and reform beyond the swarm!”

The Dragon Knights moved with a grace few would think possible atop their feral mounts, the Stallion’s following behind. It took them over a minute to break out, cutting down or crushing any Tyranids who stood before them as the swarm recovered. Just before they broke free control was re-established, screams sounding from the back of the pack as riders were pulled from their mounts and consumed. Their deaths were not quick or pretty, but Rainbow cared little for them as the majority of the force punched their way out, heading onto the plain, away from the swarm. A few Gaunts tried to follow them, but they could not match the megadons for speed and soon gave up the chase.

“A fine day,” a Dragon Knight approached Rainbow as they ran, the crest on his helmet marking him out as a rider of consummate skill and authority. “We made them bleed for coming to Barank.”

“Yes, we did,” Rainbow mused, barely paying attention to the conversation as she flew. “How many did we lose?”

The Dragon Knight responded, but once again Rainbow could not hear a word that was spoken, her mind fleeing to the past. She blinked, and when she opened her eyes she was in the armour of the Exodites once more.

Around her were not the Dragon Riders of Barank, but a battered squad from Hannibal. They all wore helmets, but Rainbow knew them regardless.

Aranel, Dorgolmar, Egarion, and finally Elarique.

They had been the first Eldar to take her in, Elarique had found her and saved her from a Hormagant when she had first appeared on Hannibal. There had been others too in that squad, once upon a time. Elensar, brother of Aranel, had died on the fields of Aspoh, the doomed defence by the Exodites standing alone. Rainbow hadn't seen him die, but she had seen the final member fall. Talvan, Eldar arrogance made manifest in a single Warlock, but she had saved Rainbow in the end, even though it had cost her her life.

They had been proud warriors once, but now they were running for their lives, leaving behind the slaughter they had barely escaped from. Twisting around, Rainbow saw the monstrous forms of the bio-titans finishing off the last remnants of the Wind Rider host, an army capable of laying waste to whatever they set their sights on being taken apart in the space of a single battle. They had lost badly, there had been no glorious last stand for them. Hannibal had died screaming to the warp, hearing only the laughter of capricious gods in response.

Even though she knew she was not there, that Hannibal had perished long ago, as had Elarique, Rainbow had to fight the urge to turn and face the horde, to stand and fight for as long as it took for more to get off world.

She didn’t turn, rationality winning out as she was pulled back into the present day, but even as she flew clad once again in the trappings of a Succubus, she could not shake the feeling that she was retreading ground that better commanders had already covered with less certain forces at her disposal, and yet somehow she had to pull victory from this mess.

Her vision began to swim as the drugs started to leave her system, and with a thought she pumped a controlled dose back into her veins. She could not afford withdrawal now, even if her reserves were running low. As the drugs entered her system once more, all thoughts of Rainbow’s past battles faded from her mind. They had been weak to let the world fall, it was as simple as that. She was not weak, she couldn’t be weak. She had to remain strong until there was nothing left to remain strong for. Until she and Applejack were safe back on Equestria, with the Elements of Loyalty and Honesty firmly around her neck, she could afford no weakness, no mercy, no respite from war.

Succubus Dash flew on, her mind racing as she planned for the next stage of her plan for Barank.

Author's Note

I forgot how difficult battle scenes are to right, please excuse the shorter chapter

Also, 200,000 words!! :D

Breakdown

“We managed to destroy seven different towers,” one of the clan leaders spoke. “It’s over half of the initial wave, but they keep coming down and they’re wising up. Larger organisms have been spotted at the new tower, Carnifexes, even a Dimachaeron. We lost a Stallion in our last assault. We could push for more, but…”

“No,” Rainbow shook her head. “We played for time, the Hive Mind pushed back. If we continue to strike them at their home we do nothing but tire ourselves out without bleeding them at all. All that biomass is still in their possession, every Tyranid we killed will be back at some point. How are we with the next stage of the defences?”

“Two hundred leagues of dense jungle separate our next line from the Tyranid landings, all Exodite clans have been relocated away from there to make sure there’s no easy biomass for them to feed on.”

“Sorry, but ain’t a jungle full of biomass?” Applejack asked, speaking for one of the first times in these meetings.

Applejack had been quiet these past few weeks, but that was not a sign of disinterest. Even Rainbow was surprised by the zeal with which she prepared the defences assigned to her, and the ferocity with which she took the fight to the swarm. Her battlesuit was a technological wonder, proving the rising star of Tau technology again and again.

She never spoke in the meetings though, despite being present at all of them. Whether she was content to just listen, or trying to make a statement, Rainbow didn’t know, and truth be told she didn’t care either. Applejack fought and killed and stayed alive, that was all Rainbow wanted from her. She had been fighting and killing for far longer than Applejack, that was why she was in command.

“The world spirit has already risen against the threat to it,” a wayseer looked at her as he spoke, Rainbow closing her mouth and staring daggers at the woman. “The bio-mass could be consumed by the swarm, but it will also lash back at them, dragging Tyranids beneath their roots to be killed and consumed in kind. It will stall them efficiently.”

“And allow us to keep harrying their flanks,” Rainbow finished, scowling at the wayseer. “The swarm will have another enemy to fight, we increase our forces and keep pressing them. We hit them hard at every turn, we kill synapse creatures, we assassinate those who command portions of the swarm. We strike Lightning, with speed and murder in our hearts. The Dark City taught me this well, if we want to survive we fight like them. A single thrust of a knife through the weak points in the armour is more devastating than a hundred swings at a breastplate.”

“This is all just a delaying action though,” Scoval pointed out. “Nothing we have done will harm the Tyranids for long, we need to strike a telling blow.”

“What, against a Norn Queen?” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “We have a single ship, and not even a warship, and the Norn Queens will all be on board their Hive Ships. So Hive Tyrants are next on the list. We can kill them, but until we can disrupt the fleet, more will be spawned. Holding is all we can do. If Saim-Hann or the Triumvirate or Pa’Laa don’t turn up, we can’t win. It’s as simple as that. You have a better idea, let me know, but if you don’t, we do things my way.”

Scoval scowled, grinding his teeth, but he leant back, relenting the point, Rainbow smirking at the victory.

“Good. Get to work. Sharp-shooters are to begin targeting any synapse creatures they find, don’t bother engaging the smaller beasts, the jungle will sort them out. Scoval, organise your remaining Knights, if any titans appear, you’re up. The rest of you, have your Dragon Knights patrol the jungles edge, run raids within if it is safe to do so, but report instantly if any Tyranids reach within a league of the jungles edge.”

Without waiting to hear confirmation of her orders, Rainbow stalked from the tent. She probably should have stayed for longer, but she could already feel her skin beginning to crawl, the shakes threatening to break to the surface and overwhelm her. She longed to flex the muscles on her back, to release the cocktail of drugs that her body craved. It would be so easy to do, just a little twitch and…

She fought the urge back down, snorting with the effort. Her supplies had reached critical level now and she couldn’t manufacture anything close to the potency her body was used to, not with what was available on Barank. Her body screamed in protest, her skin feeling like it was on fire. Her entire body began to shake and she scrunched her eyes shut, wrestling with the pain. Just when she felt it was going to force her to cry out, it stopped, the sudden lack of it jarring Rainbow, her eyes shooting open.

It had been mid-day when she had exited the tent, the worlds star high in the sky beating down on all of them. Now the moon was in ascendancy, casting long shadows through the quiet streets of the tent city.

Rainbow didn’t know what drove her onwards, but she began to move, her body low to the ground as she loped forward. Something was different about her, but it felt so natural she barely questioned it. She could smell something, something close, something dangerous to her, more so than anything else on the planet. She couldn’t explain how she knew or why she ran towards it, she just acted, moving through the tents with ease, even as she towered over them.

She rounded a corner and instantly froze. Rainbow was looking at her, Rainbow Dash, not the Succubus she was now. She was terrified, looking up at the true Rainbow with terror in her eyes. For the first time, Rainbow spared a moment to think of what she was, looking down at the rending claws and scything talons that ended all four of her arms, or the worm like protrusions that swam in her vision where her mouth should have been. She had seen such a creature before, she had killed it once, a blast pistol shot to the head.

A Lictor.

Rage, pure, hot rage, boiled inside Rainbow’s body as she let out a bloodcurdling screech. She was sick and tired of these memories, seeing the weakling she had once been. Her mind was rebelling, and only one side could remain victorious.

The Rainbow that was bolted, turning and sprinting down the alleyway of the now solid buildings of Hannibal. The true Rainbow set off in pursuit, all pretences of stealth forgotten as she crashed after the memory. The body of the Lictor was fast, powerful, and for all the speed of the Rainbow that was, the true Rainbow was faster.

Striking out with a claw, the true Rainbow caught the Rainbow that was full across the muzzle, leaving a scar that burnt across the true Rainbow’s face as she inflicted it. The scar was long gone from her face now, replaced by wraithbone by Eethron, but the pain renewed itself a million times worse than it had been when she had first received the cut.

The Rainbow that was backed into a corner, whimpering as blood poured down from the cut, blood mingling with tears that streamed from her eyes. The true Rainbow remembered what came next but let out a howl as she charged forward anyway.

The blast pistol was brought up, firing in slow motion, but forewarned by performing the action herself, the true Rainbow twisted around the bolt with almost lazy easy. Time froze as the world faded to black, only the Rainbows remaining in an endless void of darkness.

Rainbow was back in her body again, clad in the raiment of the Succubus, and letting out a screech she charged, determined to end this once and for all.

“I am in command here!” She bellowed, swiping at the Rainbow that was with impossible speed, only for the apparition to dodge away from her every time.

“Leave, me, the fuck, alone!” Rainbow continued screaming, continued slashing, finally hitting the phantom Rainbow, her talons tearing through flesh, muscle and bone, puling out part of her own windpipe in a bloody welt of blood. Her own throat burnt at the injury but she ignored it, watching in disbelief as the phantom merely cocked its head, heedless of the mortal injury the true Rainbow should have done to it.

Mesmerised, Rainbow did nothing as she saw the blast pistol raised again, pointing directly at Rainbow as the apparition finally spoke, just two, simple words.

“You’re wrong.”

The blast consumed her, Rainbow screaming as she opened her eyes on the harsh sunlight of Barank again. Exodites were crying out, scattering from around her, and it took Rainbow a few minutes to find her bearings.

She was standing atop of corpse. Well, several to be precise, half a dozen megadon’s lay around her in various states of dismemberment, Rainbow’s talons still dripping with the blood of the animals. She tried to speak, but her throat let out a wet gurgling instead, blood dripping from around in her throat.

She felt woozy as soon as she realised it was there, her talon flying to staunch the blood flow. The pain of the creatures was fading, and it was not enough to heal the wound, but it kept it from killing her, even though by all rights she should have died there and then.

Still swaying she looked around herself, the Exodites surrounding her looking at her with fear and hatred. A trio looked angrier than all the others, the owners of the beasts maybe? Rainbow wasn’t sure, nor did she care.

She roared at the crowd, spreading her wings and flicking blood from their membranous surface, splattering the front ranks of the onlookers. This was not the arena’s of Commoragh however, no cheers from the spectacle and showering of blood were forthcoming, and the roar was far from defiant or victorious, coming out as yet another yet gurgle.

The crowd began to close in, but Rainbow was not about to find out how mob justice would work on Barank. Beating her wings, she shot into the sky, leaving the scene of carnage that she had wrought behind her, trying and failing to push the words of the Rainbow that was from her mind.

***

Weeks past, the Tyranids slowly but surely advanced, Rainbow’s wounds stitched back together with every kill, every creature she tore apart, but the scar never faded, now did the groove across her face from where a megadon claw had raked across it, despite the fact wraithbone should have easily been able to repair such inconsequential damage.

As the wound refused to heal, Rainbow began to fight and kill in ever more exotic ways, isolating lone creatures and staging her own gladiatorial games, alone at first, but soon Gilda caught wind, as did some of the more violent Exodites, those that agreed with Rainbow’s strategies far more than the majority did.

Tyranids were herded and captured, forced into makeshift arena’s for Rainbow to fight, recapturing little of the glory of a true arena, but drawing cries of delight nonetheless from the crowd. They were all young, all of them had been born after the fall. They didn’t remember those times, nor did they heed the stories of what excess would lead to. They revealed in the kill as Rainbow did, always eager for more.

And still the wound in her neck did not heal, stubbornly remaining as a large knot of ugly scar tissue, her voice coming out in a cracked rasp now when she did speak. Eethron may have been able to repair the damage, but he wasn’t here, so Rainbow did the only thing she knew how to do anymore. Kill anything before her until the path became clear. The bodies of the Tyranids she slew piled high before being burnt away, trophies lining her ship, but the more she killed the more uncertain the path ahead became.

Part of her screamed to go back, to make sure the defences were still being commanded properly, but what did that matter? She had given the orders, she had made the plans. Everyone knew what was at stake and what had to be done. Killing was required to make that happen, and Rainbow and her new group of acolytes, her new Cult, were adapt at the art of death above all others on the world.

And so they killed, they tore enemy apart, treating it like sport, giving into their primal nature to fend off this foe. They were not Wyches, but they were close, and they were loyal, Rainbow didn’t care beyond that. Free from the restraint of command or the pressure to find Applejack, Rainbow was free once more to enjoy the hunt and the kill, the brutal whirlwind of talon on talon combat.

***

Applejack landed heavily on the street, her suits vector jets firing to ensure she didn’t overbalance as she sprinted. Just as she hit the Tyranid lines she pushed herself up onto her hind legs, firing three blasts with her fusion gun. The first two melted the Warriors they hit, while the third froze mid-firing, flattening into a blade as she found herself in hand to hand combat with the swarm.

The Tyranids had broken through the jungle cover less than an hour ago, their numbers making the horizon writhing as the living carpet rushed towards the mass of tents where the Eldar had been planning the jungle defences from. A mass exodus had already started, fleeing to the final defences in the mountains to the south, but many had stayed behind, either by choice or because they were cut off. The swarm had to be held here for a time to give the next line a chance, but as they came on it became more and more unclear if they were actually doing more than annoying the swarm.

“Applejack, watch out!” a voice called from behind her, Applejack instinctively activating her vector jets and jinking to the side, narrowly avoiding the bio-plasma that had been streaking towards her back.

Lightning landed next to her, Spitfire close behind, the Tau jet pack she wore burning hot, making up for her lost wing. The trio fought together, Exodites streaming to reinforce them. Scootaloo was just ahead of them, Exodites surrounding her as well, but she barely needed them. As much as she may have hated to admit it, she had become a proficient killer, Rainbow teaching her everything she knew while they were in Commoragh, while Lightning and Spitfire languished in a torture chamber.

Eventually the group cut down the last of the pack, taking a few moments to catch their breath. The sounds of fighting and dying still echoed across the tent city though, they were far from finished it seems.

“Where’s…she?” Spitfire panted, still managing to spit out the last word, making it clear who she was talking about.

Nobody had seen Rainbow for weeks now, not since the last command meeting she had attended, and the slaughter of the megadons that came afterwards. No one knew quite what had driven her to kill the beasts, though there were a hundred different theories whispered among the Exodites. Applejack didn’t buy into most of them, Rainbow was many things, but she was not a genestealer cultist or a biological weapon. The rumours of a mental breakdown however were much more believable, and Applejack had to admit it was a compelling argument.

The reports had come in about her activities of course, Tyranids slaughtered in ritualised combat, close to an entire Warrior Clans worth of Exodites disappearing to stay in the jungle constantly, and those Applejack had believed, as had Scoval. The High King was disgusted that men he knew and had fought with would fall prey to such behaviour, vowing that they would answer for their actions once the swarm lay defeated.

“Ah don’t know,” Applejack muttered back. “Bloom, any chance y’all can see Rainbow on any of yer scanners?”

“Negative, Shas’O, my scanners are picking up more movement than can be traced accurately as it is, to pinpoint the difference between the swarm and Succubus Dash would require far more advanced sensors than we have available. I am sorry.”

“Don’t be, ain’t yer fault,” Applejack shook her head within the suit. “Come on, we need to get back in the fight. She’ll be somewhere around here, her and her Cult ain’t gonna miss out on this fight. They’ll probably be enjoying themselves.”

“We most certainly are,” an Exodite spoke as he rounded the corner, a sword clutched in each hand and blood covering him almost head to toe. “Applejack, you are not hard I am glad to say. The Succubus wants to link forces and cut through the swarm in the lower quarter, create a line for a defence.”

Applejack ground her teeth at the summons that seemed to be given but swallowed her pride and dropped back to all fours.

“Let’s get a move on then, this day ain’t getting’ any easier, may as well fight as one.”

The Exodite grinned manically, before turning and sprinting off through the streets, Applejack and her command following behind them. As she ran she managed to catch sight of more of the battlefield, her heart sinking as she saw the looming shapes of two Bio-titans approaching from the jungle. It looked like Clan Scoval was already engaging them, pitting their Knights against the biological monstrosities, and from this distance Applejack could not tell who was winning.

Then the view was snatched away, a winged warrior diving at her, only to be cut down mid-dive by Scootaloo. The mare didn’t say a word, didn’t break stride. She killed, and she carried on, her eyes focused on the horizon. Was that the war mask Rainbow had once spoken of? Was it why Scootaloo was so meek out of combat and yet so vicious within it? Applejack couldn’t say for sure but filed it away as something to ask later on.

The swarm pressed them hard as they forced their way through, but finally they managed to catch sight of Rainbow. She was covered in blood, not just dripping in it but actually covered in it. It stained her bodysuit and the armoured plates on it, it matted her mane and it seemed to have soaked in to the wraithbone on her face, not just recently, but after weeks of indiscriminate slaughter. Applejack balked at the sight, it was that of a monster unleashed not her former friend, but right now, as much as she hated to admit it, that was exactly what they needed.

“Rainbow!” she called over the din, activating her communicator and synching with Rainbow’s with line of sight communications. “Yer wantin’ to take the lower quarter?”

“Yes,” Rainbow reply was a rasping gasp, the clipped words making it clear her mind was barely on the conversation at all. “We move, now.”

As one the two forces began to move, Rainbow’s Exodite Cult taking the lead, slicing through the swarm with reckless abandon, heedless of their own losses, while Applejack forces focused on keeping the horde back with precise shots from their shuriken catapults. They complimented each other well, but for every step they took they were forced to stop for longer, for every beast they felled, they lost one of their own. It was simply a numbers game now, which side would outlast the other.

There was no contest, Applejack knew it, and from Rainbow’s change in expression, she did too.

“Incoming!” one of Applejack’s Exodites called, pointing to the sky.

Applejack followed his finger and felt the odd calm of realising the inevitable fate was upon her.

A huge brood of gargoyles, hundreds of them, was heading for the group, their devourers firing as they came on. They couldn’t fight them, they couldn’t escape through the air. This was it, thirty-seven years of war, everything Rainbow had done to find her, this was where it had led.

Applejack closed her eyes, awaiting the inevitable before the sound of massed plasma fire ripped across the battlefield. Her eyes flew open in time to see a hail of blue shots ripping through the brood, and of a welcome sight descending on tongues of fire.

Author's Note

You know when you find yourself on a roll and not stuck with writers block? I forgot this feeling XD

Pa'Laa

Dozens of Crisis Battlesuits slammed into the ground, crushing Tyranids beneath their feet or tearing them apart with high velocity pulse rounds as they surrounded Applejack and the group of Exodites. Half of them remained pointing their guns outwards, keeping up a near constant wall of fire, while the other half smoothly turned inwards, all guns pointed squarely at Rainbow.

A battlesuit bearing the markings of a Shas’El approached Applejack as the Exodites stopped, taken aback by the sudden intervention. Rainbow, Gilda and her ‘cult’ all looked like they would happily tear into the Tau forces, but even to them it was clear they were outnumbered and outgunned.

“Shas’O App'ru'jak, my complements. We have air cover inbound and Orca’s en route to extract survivors,” he saluted as she spoke, before turning his head towards Rainbow. “Permission to gun down that one?”

“Denied, make that a standing order,” Applejack glared through her helmet. “Rainbow is off limits, ah’m handlin’ her.”

“Your call, Shas’O. Once we’re away I will fill you in on the situation, but for now…”

He trailed off, raising a fist before turning back to the Tyranids, those battlesuits who were facing Rainbow following his lead. As one the new suits opened fire, those who had been firing before taking a step back, allowing their guns to cool down and recharge. The hail was brutal, no living thing could survive it, but the Tyranids cared little for casualties. Body by body they advanced, when the front ranks fell the second rank pushed forward, taking an extra step before they fell and the third rank took their place. They were advancing, but they wouldn’t punch through in time, a trio of Orca’s already streaking towards the group, other aircraft descending to other parts of the city, presumably picking up more survivors.

As soon as the Orca’s touched down the Exodites piled onboard, Applejack making sure everyone else was on before stepping on herself. Even Rainbow and Gilda had opted to clamber into one of the dropships, unwilling to risk the skies with so many enemies still contesting the air.

Banging her battlesuits foreleg on the Orca three times she took her place, locking herself into the single battlesuit cradle as best she could, her suit not perfectly fitting the socket which was designed for an XV9 suit. Within moments the ship was away, the rear hatch slamming closed and plunging the compartment into a dark red glow.

It was odd for Applejack to travel in the Orca and yet have no idea what was going on outside. Normally she would have been able to interface with the pilot’s command networks and access the external cameras, but all the codes she had been issued with once no longer accessed anything. It seemed the invasion of Pa’Laa had brought on more than a few changes in the Fire Caste.

For ten minutes they flew in almost complete silence before they began to descend, Applejack moving as soon as the door swung open again, emerging into a clearing bustling with Tau and Exodite forces. Fire Warriors stood next to megadon riders, securing a perimeter as more ships approached for landing. Applejack could barely make sense of what was going on, but she didn’t have to for long, the Shas’El from before landing beside her and gesturing for her to follow.

“Shas’O, Aun’Vesa is awaiting you in the command room. This way, please.”

Following the Shas’El, Applejack was led inside a hastily erected command centre. It was small at the moment, but it was already packed with Tau and Exodites. Applejack recognised a few of the various clan leaders from the world, a smile spreading across her face as she saw Aun’Vesa on the other side of the room, conversing with one of clan Scoval, though not the High King himself.

“Shas’O, it is good to see you once more,” Aun’Vesa smiled, Applejack knowing the man well enough to know he was actively stopping himself from being more informal. This was not a place for such informalities, appearances had to be upheld after all.

“Now that we are all here I can lay out the facts for…” Aun’Vesa began, before a clambering from outside interrupted him, Tau voices shouting before a Fire Warrior flew backwards into the room, landing in an unceremonious heap.

“Now we’re all here,” Rainbow rasped as she entered, Gilda following behind her.

“You are not welcome,” Aun’Vesa shot back, venom heavy in his voice. “Remove yourself from this meeting.”

“I command the forces on this world,” Rainbow shot back, glaring at the ethereal. “Don’t make this get ugly.”

“Rainbow,” Applejack growled, standing in between Rainbow Dash and the rest of the room. “Outside, now. Ah want a word. Now.”

Rainbow continued to glare for a minute, before snorting and turning, trotting outside with Applejack right behind her. As soon as they were clear Rainbow rounded on Applejack.

“I am in command, Applejack, don’t forget that,” she snarled.

“No, ya ain’t,” Applejack replied simply, her face impassive. “Y’all might have been in charge once, but y’all ain’t been seen fer two weeks before today, been off in the jungle…”

“Fighting our enemy,” Rainbow finished for her.

“Yeah, ya have been doin’ that, and we’re grateful, we are, but y’all gave up yer command when ya stopped commandin’. This ain’t yer ‘Dark City’, Rainbow. Commander need ta command, and y’all didn’t do that. The Exodites won’t listen to ya now, and the Tau sure as shit ain’t ever gonna let you speak to them, let alone give them orders.”

“I’ll make them,” Rainbow grinned. “Fear is a motivator, Applejack, I thought I taught you that lesson.”

“Aye, ya did,” Applejack scowled now. “Ya made me scared of one of mah best friends ta prove a point, now ah’m provin’ a point back to ya. The Tau are here because ah asked them to me, there still callin’ be Shas’O, so they’ll listen ta me, never you. Y’all want to save this world? Then stand aside. Keep the Exodites who follow yer if ya want, but don’t try and give out orders anymore. Y’all don’t have an army, ah do. Y’all are a warrior, better than anyone else on the planet probably, but that’s what ya are, Rainbow. Ya got to command because for a Cult, fightin’ on the front is everythin’, but ya ain’t a leader, ah am. Ah got promoted to Shas’O because ah know how to plan a war, not just a battle. Yer running off ta the front lines as soon as the last words out of yer mouth, leadin’ from the front. That’s great and all, but we someone better than that, and that’s what ah’m trained to do. Y’all can fight, ah can lead. Let me do what ah’m good at, and ah’ll make sure you’re not interrupted when y’all do what yer good at. Ok?”

Rainbow snarled, flapping her wings and stopping inches before Applejack’s helmet, her breath fogging the lens. For a minute Applejack expected Rainbow to launch into an attack, preparing herself to leap backwards if it happened, before Rainbow snorted, turning and leaving without a word.

Applejack let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding, taking a few moments to compose herself before heading back into the meeting.

“Ah’m sorry about that, please continue, Aun’Vesa.”

Aun’Vesa nodded curtly as she reappeared, before continuing with the meeting.

“As I was saying, now we all in attendance I can explain what we have to work with. The Pa’Laa fleet entered the system on the opposite side from the Hive Fleet, and we have managed to punch a workable hole in the blockade around the planet. We are holding it now because almost all of the Hive Ships are focused on taking the bio-mass from their primary landing points. If they turn, our fleet is under orders to retreat to fight another day. We cannot win the war in the void, not yet. I understand you have taken heavy casualties in recent hours, but can anyone provide me with up to date numbers of the forces we have left at our disposal?”

It took some time, various clans having different pieces of the greater picture, but eventually a close approximation of their current numbers was arrived at. Applejack felt sickened by the number, it was far worse than she had hoped, but if she was honest it was far better than she had feared.

Of the Sixty-three warrior clades they had been able to muster before the invasion, only twenty-one remained active, although they were made up of lone Exodites from a dozen different clans, getting them to fight together would be far harder now they weren’t fighting exclusively with their own kin. The Dragon Knights had fared a little better, from thirteen clades to nine, a similar situation to the footslogging warriors developing as damaged clades were merged to keep the units active. The biggest blow was from Clan Scoval however, seven knights had once walked under their banner, now only one remained, a Bright Stallion class, damaged but still active. High King Scoval had fallen at the outskirts of the jungle, the bio-titan ripping his slower knight apart and plucking him from the cockpit with almost contemptuous ease.

It was a precarious situation, the scales far from balanced, but the arrival of Pa’Laa brought them close to parity. An entire Contingent, dozens of Hunter Killer Cadre’s and an Auxillia Cadre. Kroot, Demiurg and Vespid, all those left alive in the Pa’Laa sept. They had brought almost all of their remaining military might to Barank, something many were opposed to after their most recent attack, but Applejack’s own call for aid coupled with Aun’Vesa’s backing had brought the naysayers on board.

Their fleet however was decimated, Aun’Vesa had not be exaggerating when he said they would have to run if even a single Hive Ship turned towards them. So many had been lost defending Pa’Laa, or the devastating gambit at Fasturn, barely a handful of those that had survived were operational, the rest still in drydock, probably for years to come.

A single Or’es Battleship led the fleet, a pair of Gal’leath battleships backing it up, but that was it for capital ships, and apart from the Or’es, all the ships were classes that had been designed before the Kor'Or'Vesh initiative. They were relics and pirate hunters, and now they were pressed onto the frontline. The corridor they now held was a tenuous one, but the Tau were making full use of it, landing in force to bolster the last line of defence the world had. They weren’t planning a retreat; every command had been briefed that the swarm had to stop here. If it didn’t all the might of Pa’Laa in its prime wouldn't have been able to stop the resurgent swarm. This was there one chance, they would take it, or die in the attempt.

“Well, it’s a far cry from where we stood once, but it’s certainly better than a buck in the teeth,” Applejack sighed. “We can’t run anymore, we all know that. First stage fell, the jungle fell, the mountains are all that’s left. We have a day, maybe two, before the swarm reaches us, so we best get movin’. Fio’O, ah’m leaving you in charge of getting’ the Tidewalls up an’ runnin’, Take a Shas’El for help plannin’ their placement. Kor’O,” she addressed the only hologram in the room, the admiral high above them in orbit, “Set out aerial scouts, probe the swarm and find out where it will strike the hardest, and if there are any tendrils breakin’ off. Have yer bombers standin’ by to launch when the assault does begin, we’ll make sure there are a few landing zones down here in case the Hive Fleet turns it’s attention to ya.”

All eyes were on Applejack now. It wasn’t like when Rainbow had been in charge, fear of her rage keeping people in line. Now everyone was listening to her because they respected her, the Tau had had a long time to build that respect, but even the Exodites saw the value in listening to her, especially now their own High King had fallen. As much as she loathed to admit she enjoyed anything about this situation, Applejack found it reassuring to be back in command once more.

“Fire Warriors, Broadsides and Exodite Warriors will dig in along the tidewall defences,” she continued. “Hammerheads and skyrays will provide rolling support to squads where needed, we’ll spread them out across the line. Piranhas, Crisis Suits and Dragon Riders will be on standby to plug any gap that opens in our own lines. Everythin’ heavier is to steer clear of the battle until titan class bio-forms are detected, then ya move in to take ‘em down. Ya all work together, no heroics, no suicidal charges. The Greater Good will be best served by us survivin’ here. As much as ah hate to admit it, we can’t break the swarm on our own, so we hold until reinforments get here. If we’re lucky we’ll get help from Saim-Hann first. If not…we make do with the allies we have. If they come, we’ll stand with them, but be on yer guard, especially if we win this thing. General orders are ta not fire first, but if they fire, we do what we must. Are there any questions?”

No one did, and with the knowledge that detailed plans would be sent out to those who required them as soon as they were available, the room slowly emptied until Applejack and Aun’Vesa were alone, the Ethereal looking up at the battlesuit-clad pony and smiling.

“It is good to see you, Applejack. Truly it is, though I wish it were under better circumstances.”

“Likewise,” Applejack sighed, the front of her battlesuit opening as she slid free, clad in her neural interface suit. “Thank fer comin’, we wouldn’t have held out long without ya, and the fact that yer here first makes things a lot easier. Saim-Hann won’t be here before the Triumvirate arrives. They have the forces to help win this, but bad blood’s still there, ah’d imagine. If we do win, and it’s just us, the Exodites and the Triumvirate left on the field, what do ya think the chances are we’ll be able to keep things civil?”

“You’ve given your orders, Applejack. None of the Fire Caste would go against them. We make sure the Kroot and Vespid are separated from the Dark Eldar, and I think we can safely say we won’t start any fight. I wouldn’t say we long though, once we’re done here we need to be back to Pa’Laa sooner rather than later. The presence of the Triumvirate makes that expedience all the more important.”

“And the Exodites?” Applejack asked. “If we leave and the Triumvirate is still here, what then?”

“We can’t save everyone, Applejack,” Aun’Vesa sighed. “As much I would like to stay and ensure they survive, Pa’Laa’s borders are not safe until we return. The Triumvirate probably won’t do anything to harm these Exodites anyway, I hear they have a significance to their races attempts to rebuild.”

“But to just leave them…” Applejack began, struggling for the right words. “It just feels wrong, ya know?”

“More than I would like to know,” Aun’Vesa nodded solemnly. “We make choices every day, Applejack, it’s the burden of command as you well know. If we succeed before Saim-Hann arrives, the choice will be to leave the Exodites, or risk another fight with the Triumvirate. We won’t survive that, not now. We didn’t survive it before.”

“Yeah, ah know,” Applejack sighed. “Ah should go, lots ta do, deployments to finalise.”

“And sleep to fall to,” Aun’Vesa pressed. “You have just come from a great battle, Applejack, it is showing. You need to recover before the swarm comes again.”

“Ah’ll sleep when the defences are up, ah wouldn’t be able to get ta sleep before anyway,” she smiled as she tapped the battlesuit. “Mind if ah leave this here fer the Earth Caste to pick up? Thing needs one hell of a repair job if it’s gonna be functioning when tha time comes.”

“I see no problem with it,” Aun’Vesa nodded. “Go with conviction, Applejack. The Greater Good protects.”

“The Greater Good protects,” Applejack placed a hoof against her chest in response to the mantra, before exiting the command complex into the busy camp beyond once more.

For a time she walked the perimeter that was being set up, the Shas’El that had been assigned to oversee the walls placement was one of the finest in siege engineering that the Pa’Laa sept could offer, interlocking fields of fire and fall back positions covering every approach she visited already, with more defences being erected by the minute. It was strange to watch as Tau Earth caste worked alongside Exodites, their usual racial prejudices put aside entirely in the face of the impending doom. There were no Tau and Exodites on this world, Applejack realised. There were only Tyranids and everyone else. If you were everyone else, then you were a friend, albeit a tenuous friend in some circumstances.

Only when she was starting to struggle just to walk as adrenaline wore off and the fatigue from the last battle set in did she turn and head back towards the centre of the rapidly rising fortress. Barracks had been hastily constructed, little more than rectangular structures stacked on top of each other with as many bunks crammed in as possible. They weren’t comfortable, but they would do for now.

Before she could reach the barracks however she came to a halt, Rainbow standing before her. She was still covered in blood from the battles she had fought, but her eyes were unfocused, and as she slowly drew closer she could make out that Rainbow was shaking across her entire body.

“Y’all ok?” Applejack asked softly, unable to simply pass her one time friend by, regardless of what she had done.

Rainbow jumped at the sound, rounding on Applejack and lashing out with a talon, snatching it back a hairs breadth away from Applejack’s muzzle.

“I’m fine,” Rainbow rasped. “I’m fine, Applejack.”

“And the shakin’?” Applejack pressed.

“Just combat drugs leaving my system, don’t have enough left for a come-down cocktail. It will pass.”

“Yeah, ah’m sure it will,” Applejack sighed, part of her screaming that she should leave now, while the other part screamed at her to stay. In the end the latter voice won, Applejack putting a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder, the Pegasus actually flinching at the touch.

“What have you done ta yerself, Rainbow? All these drugs, the modifications, did ya never stop ta think that maybe…enough was enough?”

“Enough was only enough when I found you,” Rainbow shot back, but there was no venom in her voice. “What I thought was enough wasn’t enough to save Windchill, it wasn’t enough to find you quickly. Even now it’s not enough. I need more, Applejack. And this planet doesn’t have anything I can use to make more.”

“So, what? Yer gonna go begging to that Eethron character ah’ve heard about? Ask him to get ya some more of the drugs?” Applejack scoffed. “Come on, Rainbow, y’all were an athlete once. Ya know as well as ah do that supplements don’t pay off.”

“Spare me the shit, Applejack. These are steroids, they’re far more. I’m alive because of them.”

“And dead because of them,” Applejack countered. “Ya look like can barely stand up yer shakin’ so much, ya really tellin’ me that yer better off with them?”

“Yes,” Rainbow snapped, pushing Applejack’s hoof from her shoulder.

Applejack looked at Rainbow in that moment, and she didn’t see the monster that she had every other time she had seen her. She saw beyond that, to the scraps of whatever was left of the Rainbow she had once known. All the drugs and the modifications had done an almost perfect job of stripping that all away, but now, with the drugs leaving her system, that pony was visible. Only just, but visible nonetheless.

Rainbow saw the concern seep into Applejack’s eyes and her face hardened.

“I’m going,” she turned, spreading her wings, only to find Applejack’s hoof on her shoulder once again.

“Rainbow, Dash. Let me help ya, please? Ah want mah friend back, help me get ‘er.”

“I’m her,” Rainbow said dismissively, shrugging the hoof off once more. “You can’t get her back because she never left. I am Rainbow Dash, that is all I am, and I will not…I can’t...change that now.”

Rainbow’s voice wavered just slightly as she spoke, but before Applejack could press any further the Pegasus was off, taking to the sky and disappearing from sight.

“What did the monster want?” Spitfire asked, walking up beside Applejack.

“How much of that did ya hear?” Applejack asked in reply.

“None,” Spitfire admitted. “I hung back, never did like eavesdropping, but you two seemed to have quite the conversation, so what did it want?”

“Ah don’t know,” Applejack sighed wistfully. “Ah don’t know what she wants, Spitfire, ah don’t know what she needs, but somewhere in there is the pony y’all once followed, that ah was called friend. She’s broken, Spitfire, more than any of us realise. We have ta help her.”

“Help her?” Spitfire scoffed, turning and twitching the nub of her torn off wing. “Fuck that.”

Applejack didn’t look round at Spitfire, her eyes still fixed on where she had lost track of Rainbow. Spitfire was right, Rainbow was a monster, right up there with the worst tales of Nightmare Moon and Discord, but for all their flaws, they’d been reformed. Why should Rainbow be any different?

The thought burning in her mind, Applejack trotted towards the barracks, her body crying out for sleep, but her mind racing a mile a minute, trying to rationalise her own thoughts against the actions of a monster.

The Triumvirate

Applejack grunted as she took a venom cannon shot to her shield, the circle of energy barely deflecting the powerful shot, calibrated as it was for melee combat. Before the creature could get off another shot she pounced, the vector thrusters dotted across the suit transforming the movement into graceful leaps and bounds, unleashing a spray of fusion shots at the beast as she ran, only stopping when the creature was so much slag. Her suit had been upgraded recently, the fusion blaster on her leg was perfect for when she was likely to face a single target in hand to hand combat, but against the swarm she needed something more. To that end, a pair of Fusion Cascades had been mounted on her shoulders, one on each. Faster firing than the fusion gun but weaker as a result, the guns could swivel and target enemies even when she was on all fours, putting her main blaster out of action, and when she stood to use her fusion blade, the Cascades slid forward, still able to spray death to any who tried to oppose her.

There were drawbacks of course, the suits power had to compensate for these new weapons and she couldn’t fire either of the new weapons for long yet. Supposedly the Earth Caste were working on something to rectify that, but for now Applejack was content with the new upgrades, even if they weren’t perfect.

Panting hard she looked around, seeing the devastation she was standing within. Hundreds of dead Tyranid organisms littered the mountain pass, many more were likely buried under the carpet of death, but she couldn’t even begin to guess at their numbers. A quintet of XV9 suits followed Applejack, occasionally firing into a corpse pile where they saw movement, tearing bodies to shreds before continuing.

High above them up the mountain pass was the rest of the Tau forces, hundreds of pulse rifles still jutting out from across the stationary Tidewalls, the rock upon which the Tyranid wave had broken. Their foe would come again, as they had done the time before and the time before that. Each time they got closer, using the bodies of the fallen as cover. Applejack and the other Tau commanders had initially tried to burn the corpses to stop that from happening, but the Hive Mind had become aware of that plan, subsequent generations becoming harder and harder to burn away, and eventually the Tau had been forced to abandon the plan for fear of depleting all their fuel reserves on the fruitless task.

“Reform the lines, take on ammo an’ water, rotate watches,” Applejack spoke into her helmet, her voice weary from the near constant fighting. “Shas ’El’s report in on current situations.”

For the next five minutes all she heard was numbers of dead and living, ammunition counts, water and food rations remaining. Truth be told she didn’t need to hear it all, she would have it all in a data packet by the end of the hour, but it had become a sort of mantra after each fight, a calming technique to wash away the battle by overwhelming her mind with mindless drudgery. It was boring, but it worked, and that was all she cared about.

The foe did come again, just as Applejack and every strategist left on the world said they would. Mawlock’s this time, tunnelling up behind the tidewalls to deliver their deadly cargo, only to be cut down by packs of Kroot unleashed for that very purpose. Applejack would never get used to seeing their way of war, but she was grateful that they didn’t set about consuming the corpses as they usually did, Tyranids being considered inedible for the Kroot, which was far more horrifying for them than it had first seemed to Applejack. Small mercy’s she supposed.

When the attack was driven back she once again demanded a status report, the numbers ever counting down to zero marks. Soon, very soon, they’d have nothing left to throw at the Tyranids. Something had to give, and luckily for her, it did.

***

Eethron smiled as his ship materialised from the webway almost on top of the Tau fleet. They were in perfect range to cut the young races belly and leave them to die if they had so chosen. The Tau commanders had clearly realised the same, the fleet beginning to scatter in an attempt to save themselves. It was futile of course, the Dark Eldar were far superior to these upstarts, and Eethron took a moment to savour the fear he could imagine rolling off all of them.

All goods things had to end however, and with a sigh he turned to one of his subordinates.

“Signal the Tau fleet, convey my warmest regards and inform them we shall be effecting a landing soon.”

His voice was smooth and silky, and if he wasn’t sending a message to a people he had tried to destroy mere months earlier, the Wrack silently obeying his command.

“When you are with that, send a message to the surface,” he continued. “Inform them I shall meet with them in their command room, I desire all of their leaders present when I arrive. Ensure the message bears the seal of the Coven, and then the Triumvirate.”

The bridge was a bustle of activity, blood red Wracks working the consoles to bring the ship into the desires position. Already dozens of fighters had been launched from the belly of this ship alone, bearing temporary webway portals to the surface. In this moment, Eethron had a moment to ponder the planet below, the fleet assailing it and those defending it. Alone even he would have failed to defeat the Hive Fleet, though he had the largest force present by far even after the barest of glances at his new ally’s disposition.

Good, he thought to himself, smiling at the thought. With size came power, with power came the ability to dictate the ebb and flow of a war. No mere defence would be undertaken now, the specimens of the Hive Mind were always valuable to his work, especially his latest project, but they were always tricky to catch, rarely found in small numbers.

Eethron’s mind ran wild as he began to formulate a tally of those beasts he required above the others, those he had already dissected and learnt from, and those the swarm might have produced to combat this new world. Only when a webway portal ripped its way into existence in front of him close to an hour later did he move, stepping through the portal and appearing within an unmistakably Tau building.

***

Applejack couldn’t hide the disgust on her face as Eethron appeared, not that she overly tried, the other Tau in the room clearly following her lead to not treat the arrival as anything more than the enemy of their enemy, never their friend.

Only Rainbow Dash looked pleased to see the Haemonculus, nodding her head to him and receiving a similar gesture in kind. For a long while nobody spoke, no one knew what to say to break the tension created by the presence of such a creature. In the end it was Eethron who took the first step, spreading his many arms wide and affecting an overly gracious bow.

“Mighty Ethereal,” his voice made it clear he saw the Ethereal as anything but mighty. “Honoured commander of the Pa’Laa sept. Rainbow Dash. It is so good to see all of you alive and well, I must admit I feared that by the time I got here you would all have been overrun by the chittering masses at your doorstep. I am glad that is not the case, on that you must believe…”

“Please, spare me the simpering, Haemonculus,” Aun’Vesa cut in, his steely gaze fixed on Eethron. “We all know that you do not come here for any reason other than the fact it benefits you.”

“And to see my favourite project,” Eethron didn’t disagree with Aun’Vesa’s words, turning to face Rainbow. “Succubus Dash, I trust you are doing well? Though looking at you you seem to have been in a recent fight. If there is anything I can do, my laboratory is open to you, as you well know.”

“I know,” Rainbow smiled, before catching sight of Applejack. Her one-time friends eyes were wide, the earth pony silently mouthing for her not to do it, pleading with her from across the room. Looking away, Rainbow continued. “But for now I would settled for a refresh on my combat drugs. I’m running on empty.”

“I will of course help to furnish you with what you need,” Eethron nodded, before turning back to face the room at large. “Now, I am sure I do not need to tell you that the Triumvirate is the largest force on this planet, other than the Tyranids themselves of course, and I intend to use those numbers not merely to defend as you have clearly been doing, but to strike out at our foe and break this invasion force. It should not be difficult now a competent force is present.”

“Maybe we would have been in a better position if y’all hadn’t helped destroy half our holdin’s,” Applejack snapped hate filling her heart as she finally spoke to the creature at the heart of so much of the darkness that Rainbow had opened herself to. “Since ya came ta us rather than just engagin’, it’s clear that ya need us if ya want ta take ya pick of the specimens.”

“My my my, not just a pretty face, are we?” Eethron smiled, fixing Applejack with his stare. “I must say it is nice to finally meet you, Applejack. I have heard so much about you and your sub-species, what I…”

“Eethron,” Rainbow cut in this time, scowling at the Haemonculus. “Leave, her, alone.”

“But of course, my Succubus,” Eethron bowed. “We should get down to planning our next move then.”

The meeting stretched on, first rolling into an hour, and then two. An attack was sounded part way through, but Eethron’s assurances of his own forces ability to handle themselves without his oversight stayed the intervention of the Fire Caste commanders, the screams of dying Tyranids proving his words correctly.

The plan was simple, and typically Eldar, calling for a hundred different cuts across the entire swarm. His ships had already identified the key points, Hive Tyrants, gestation pools, key locations in the fleet above. All of them could be struck, but only by striking them all at once could victory be snatched from the jaws of the looming defeat. Applejack hated to admit it, but as Eethron and Rainbow discussed the attack, her appreciation for their abilities as leaders increased, though not enough to stop her despising the Dark Eldar.

Their plan was complex, filled with dozens of feints to position everything just right, before the final killing thrust. It was a game to them, a contest to be won, the greatest gladiator match Rainbow would have ever faced. Applejack could see the fire returning to Rainbow’s eyes, the drugs Eethron had promised her being delivered and doing their work quickly. The innocence was gone, the Succubus was back in control.

Applejack had stepped out after that, it was clear the plan had already been formulated and she couldn’t take watching the pair any longer. As she walked she caught sight of a familiar group just as they caught sight of her, walking to meet her half way. Koghad, Goge both had the same grim expression on their faces, saluting as they stopped before Applejack.

Both of them bore the signs of battle, weary faces and rents across the armour that they wore. Even Koghad was arrayed for war, clad in a suit of ancestral exo-armour, the Earth Caste Demiurg clearly refusing to stay off the front lines for this fight.

“We saw tha new arrivals on tha frontlines,” Koghad wasted no time with preamble. “Guess that means Saim-Hann ain’t arrived yet.”

“Sadly not,” Applejack shook her head. “We’ll make do, ok?”

“Make do? Ah’m sorry lass, but make do with the people that killed half the worlds under Pa’Laa’s flag? And just how in the world do ya think that’s gonna go down?”

“Badly, but we have no choice,” Applejack sighed. “Goge, how are the Gue’vesa faring? I apologise that ah ain’t had the chance ta check up on y’all.”

“Not to worry, we’re handling ourselves fine,” Goge nodded. “It’s not the first time I’ve fought the Tyranids. I must agree with Koghad though, Shas’O. This will not go down well with…”

“What do ya want me to do?” Applejack snapped at the pair, instantly regretting losing her temper. “Look ah’m sorry, but we have precisely two options here. We fight with them, or we die and get eaten. Ah ain’t plannin’ on lettin’ Pa’Laa die on some Exodite world. Now come on, ah need to rest and drink after all this.”

“Now yer speakin’ mah language,” Koghad chuckled, leading the pony and human towards the mess hall the Demiurg had co-opted for their own kind.

***

“It is truly good to see you again,” Eethron smiled, handing Rainbow a goblet of clear liquid which she drained after a quick sniff. The pair had travelled back to his ship after the meeting, wishing to talk away from the primitives as Eethron had put it.

“And you,” Rainbow nodded, before exposing her neck. “Eethron, what is this? I heal from everything given time thanks to your ministrations, but not this. Why?”

“Curious, I did wonder why it had not faded like your other scars. I presume the scars across your face is a similarly stubborn marking?”

The Haemonculus reached out for Rainbow as he spoke, his numerous tendrils stretching her neck out so that he may better examine the wound. Rainbow had learnt long ago not to bother voicing indignation at the handling, the thin tendrils being far stronger than she was. Besides, this was the least invasive way of getting him to look at it, the next stage was to find herself in his laboratory again, and as much as she craved that, to grow stronger once more, every time she thought of it her throat and face burned white hot.

“Curious,” Eethron mused, running a scalpel along the scar tissue and watching as it knitted itself back together. “Why am I never present when you receive such interesting injuries, Succubus? This wound is more than just flesh and blood, it seems…mental? Spiritual? I am not sure just from this, but far beyond merely the physical, that much is obvious. You body sees it as you, an intrinsic part of you, at you grow it back every time, just as you would heal from any other wound done to you.”

“Do something about it,” Rainbow grimaced. “Adapt my drug cocktail or something, I don’t want it there, understand?”

“Perfectly,” Eethron nodded. “But I cannot comply. This is admittedly new to me, and unless you will allow me to study it in more detail…”

“No,” Rainbow snapped, her throat burning as she pulled away, Eethron letting her go and turning to face the void beyond his window.

“Well then I am afraid I cannot help you. You may see yourself out when you are ready, you know the way to the portal.”

Rainbow snorted in anger, before turning and heading for the door.

“Oh, Succubus,” Eethron called out just as she reached the door, Rainbow turning to find him staring straight at her. “You do have my thanks, without you I would have been forced to dispose of Ilithia and Ale’ri myself before long, those two were such a drag on the Triumvirate. You opened the way for me, and for that I thank you, but this little world is the last time I will help you. After this your rank of Succubus may hold up in the Cult of the Lightning Fang if you were ever to return to Commoragh, though I highly doubt it. The Triumvirate is mine, it is yours no longer. Do not forget that.”

“I won’t,” Rainbow growled, before turning and walking from the room.

“Besides,” Eethron murmured to himself, raising the scalpel to his eyes to inspect the blood and cell tissue that he had collected upon its blade. “You are fast becoming obsolete, little pony.”

Another tendril, this one bearing a small crystal took the scalpel from the Haemonculus, sealing its precious cargo within a tiny bubble of time. Once he was sure the specimen was preserved, he turned and headed for his laboratory.

Author's Note

We are fast approaching the end game, got to say I remember why I started this story now, I'm enjoying this :D

We Stand Together

Applejack sent out a ping from her battlesuit’s sensors, the response coming back almost instantly, registering the strike force around her and automatically checking it against the battle order that had been uploaded into its sensors just hours ago.

They were all there, Hazzard and Crisis battlesuits, Piranha’s and TX-42’s, a pair of Hammerheads. It was a brutally powerful force, but more importantly it was fast. A pair of Manta’s would be deploying the strike force deep into enemy lines, while across the planet Tau and Exodites engaged in similar attacks. Some were fast strikes like Applejack’s team, others were slower affairs, led by Fire Warriors on foot, their transports destroyed in the fighting before this day.

There were few Dark Eldar on the world, most had been deployed aboard the fleets in orbit, ready to board and destroy the Hive Ships when the mission clock hit zero. Only two forces remained planetside from their kind. The first was a personal ‘gift’ from Eethron, his finest work as he called them. Legions of wracks, grotesques, Talos’s and Cronos engines all waited to rip into the Tyranids. The Tau empire had seen what happened when their kind fought the Great Devourer in the War of Dark Revelations, the commanders well versed in what they specialised in, and what they were made from.

The final force was Rainbow’s own, thousands of Wyches, hundreds of Reavers. This was the full might of the Lighting Fang Cult, putting even Applejack’s force to shame in terms of speed. They would be the first to strike, just west of Applejack’s own target, the primary gestation pool.

“Alright everybody,” Applejack murmured into her suits communicator. “Let’s mount up.”

Without a word the strike force moved forward, entering the holds of the Manta’s, taking to the sky the moment the last foot was on board. It was like a well-oiled machine. A well-oiled machine that was about to be dropped into hell and expected to come out the other side still working. Applejack didn’t expect over half of the strike forces to survive this. They were putting everything they had into this, if it failed…

“Shas’O,” Aun’Vesa’s voice came over the communicator from half a continent away. “Applejack, is your force in the air?”

“We are, Mighty Ethereal,” Applejack responded quickly. “You set off yet?”

“My Fire Warrior teams are advancing as we speak. Once we eliminate our target I will be rerouting my forces to you, you are to order your Manta’s to provide initial air cover for your landings, then redeploy to pick us up. I’ll bring the cavalry.”

“Y’all have been spending to much time with Goge,” Applejack chuckled. “Received though, Aun’Vesa. We’ll send ‘em over to pick you up. Applejack out.”

Applejack turned off the communicator, sighing deeply as she did so.

“Shas’O? Is everything ok?” One of the Hazzard suits standing beside her asked.

Applejack wanted to say no, to say that she was sure she’d be losing at least one friend before the day was out. That Aun’Vesa taking away their air support to provide reinforcements made it far less likely that there would be anyone left to reinforce when he arrived. She wanted to scream and rage as she dropped into the forces of the Great Devourer, to let hatred and frustration guide her.

“Everything’s fine, Shas’Vre. Everything’s just fine.”

***

Rainbow let out a scream of exhilaration as she slammed into her first Gargoyle, cutting it apart with her bikes blades without slowing. The swarm they had flown directly into seemed to part as they streaked forward, splinter rifles spitting death into the swarm, felling hundreds before the jetbikes even had a chance to cut them apart in close combat.

Behind the leading edge of the aerial assault were Raiders and Venoms, each one packed to bursting with Wyches, all of them eager to get to grips with the enemy. Rainbow could smell the combat drugs in the air, even at this speed and surrounded by the blood of the dying Tyranids. It was intoxicating, making her vision sharper and her reactions quicker. Her own drug dispensers were refilled and ready, already pumping her own cocktail into her blood stream.

Most warriors would hate to fight the Tyranids, fighting for their lives and the survival of their empire rather than enjoyment. The Dark Eldar were different, Rainbow was different. The Tyranids were the perfect prey for the Dark Eldar, their greatest bio-forms being just as vulnerable to their splinter weapons as the smaller forms, and in combat, few foes were as brutal or as primally vicious as they were. Even the Orks paled before them. There was no cruelty behind the Tyranids blows, no malice, only a complete and utterly alien hunger, the instinct guiding their weapons to kill. It was pure violence, no dilution. Rainbow loved it, the purity of their violence.

Without a word the formation went into a steep dive, streaking towards the ground, the gargoyles they killed falling with them. Wyches leapt from their transports as soon as they arrested their dives, flipping across the heads of their foe, landing on bodies or jetbikes before diving forward again, killing with each move before landing back in a transport, their feet never once touching solid ground.

Pain rolled off the battlefield, from the Tyranids and those Dark Eldar too slow to avoid them. It was glorious, Rainbow letting out another victorious screech as she tore the throat from a warrior form. She was already drenched in blood and ichor, but she didn’t care. She was home, and she was more than happy to welcome the Tyranids in.

***

Koghad grunted as the Pulse Blaster kicked in his hands, blasting back a gaunt that had been leaping towards him. On either side of him were more Demiurg, similarly armed, armoured and pressed into combat. They were Earth Caste, engineers and repairmen normally, but here and now they were warriors like any other, everyone had been pressed into service to smash this foe.

Behind the Demiurg were Fire Warriors, standing taller than the diminutive shotgun toting dwarves and firing volley after volley into the oncoming horde. The Tyranids were pressing them hard, getting closer with each death, coming on like a wave. Then, just as they seemed poised to overwhelm them, a single missile streaked overhead, detonating behind the Tyranids frontline. Robbed of their momentum, the Tyranids advance faltered, the momentary hesitation allowing the Tau to cut them down where they stood, before taking another step forward and beginning the procedure again. It was working exceptionally well, but it wouldn’t hold forever, the next stage of the plan had to happen now, or they would all be dead.

As if to answers Koghad’s thoughts, a wing of five Orcas streaked overhead, barely slowing as their ramps slid open, close to a hundred small dark shapes jumping from the transports and streaking towards the ground. Normally they would use battlesuits or fire warriors equipped with jump packs, but for the same reason the Earth Caste were currently on the frontline, there hadn’t been enough Tau to commit to such a reckless assault. Luckily for the Pa’Laa sept, they had someone who had done just such a manoeuvre more times than he could count.

Goge Cursatis, former Colonel of the Elysian 212th and current leader of the Pa’Laa Septs Gue’Vesa, streaked towards the ground, his rebreather mask strapped tightly in please, and a pulse pistol held tightly by his side. Much of his gear had been lost in Commoragh, but the Tau had made sure he was armoured and ready for war. Though the Emperor may damn him for even thinking it, the new equipment he had been provided with made his old weapons look like toys and he said a hurried prayer to the God Emperor even as the ground rushed up to meet him.

An altimeter in his helmet shot downwards, the display suddenly turning red as he passed into the ideal zone. With practiced ease, Goge twisted in mid-air and activated the grav-pack on his back, his stomach lurching as he suddenly cut his speed by more than half. Around him the other Gue’Vesa did the same, though with far less ease, descending towards the foe who were even now turning to shoot up at them.

“Second phase!” Goge roared over the vox, grabbing hold of a bandolier of a dozen pulse grenades as he spoke. They had been linked together for just this purpose, a single button arming each of them for contact detonation.

Moments later, the ground beneath them erupted in blue flames as over a thousand grenades detonated almost simultaneously. Goge felt the shockwave travel through him, his eyes and ears protected by the auto-senses built into his helmet, returning to normal the instant he touched down, his pistol already up and firing into the horde.

“Push forward!” Goge roared, unsheathing a chainsword and revving the motor before swinging it towards the swarm.

It was a brave charge, but it was also suicidal. They were outnumbered, and even as they pushed through they began to fall, one by one. Soon, only Goge and his squad were left, Goge grunting as his pulse pistol finally ran dry, switching to a two-handed grip on his chainsword.

“This is Colonel Goge Cursatis. Aun’Vesa we are in position, drop the hammer now!”

“Your sacrifice shall not be forgotten,” Aun’Vesa’s voice was heavy on the other end of the vox link. “You have served the Greater Good well, I hope you will sit at the table of your God Emperor.”

Aun’Vesa waited for a reply, but there was never going to be one. Colonel Goge Cursatis lay atop a mound of bodies at the mouth of a gestation warren, his chest ripped apart, tiny lava already growing and feasting on his still warm flesh. A single blinking light glinted on his breastplate, before that too was covered with writhing bodies.

Far above, a shoal of Sunshark bombers began their attack run, pulse bomb generators flaring into life even as their other weapons fought to protect their crafts from the airborne swarm. As one, the plasma balls were released, streaking towards the ground, accompanied by a dozen Seeker Missiles. Guided in by the locator beacon Goge had carried to the heart of the swarm, the payload struck their target almost perfectly, detonating in a brilliant plume of roiling plasma. The gestation warrens had been well protected by the environment, saturation bombing the area would have done little to damage them, but guided as they were, the full force of a blast that could level cities or destroy titans was funnelled directly into the tunnels. Tyranids screamed as the local Hive Mind was snuffed out in an instant, the creatures deep below the surface that had been directing the swarm being boiled alive in an instant. Soon, the swarm had been cut back, the surviving Tau forces already retreating towards the two waiting Manta’s.

Aun’Vesa was the last to board, casting his gaze back at the scorched ground of the battlefield. Bowing his head, Aun’Vesa placed a hand over his heart, vowing to not forget a single one of the valiant warriors who had made the victory possible, before stepping onboard the transport, the pilot shooting off towards the final fight.

***

Across the planet the story was the same, sacrificial units guided missiles into place, or dropped on their targets to destroy them themselves, knowing they would not survive to retreat. Everyone knew what was at stake here. For the Exodites it was the survival of their world, but for the Tau, it was the survival of their entire galactic border. The fleet could not be allowed to survive and move on from here or it would threaten far more than just Pa’Laa. Every soldier of the Sept knew that, and they were willing to lay down their lives for the Greater Good if and when it was asked of them.

Gestation warrens and pools, capillary towers and Hive Tyrants, all were struck with precision aided by the Dark Eldar fleet in orbit, even as they themselves struck at Hive Ships, disgorging thousands of Grotesques into ships just as a diversion, heedless of the deaths of the aberrations. Every force was feeling the losses dearly, but as more and more missions reported in as successful, the tide of the war slowly looked to be changing. With horrendous casualty rates the Tyranids were being forced back, until there was only a single target left. The Alpha Gestation Pool, capable of birthing the most terrifying monsters of the Swarm. All forces that had completed their missions and were still able to were making their way there, but for now, there were only two force fighting their way to the centre, one of the Tau, one of the Dark Eldar, but both led by an equine xenos.

***

Applejack twisted as she landed from another elongated jump, delivering a brutal buck with both her Onager Hooves, popping the creature before her in a spectacular fountain of blood. Beside her two Hazzard suits opened up with their burst cannons, spraying superheated rounds into the horde before the trio jumped again.

Overhead, Rainbow and her warriors duelled with flying bio-forms, keeping the skies clear for Applejack and her force. Ahead was the pool, the last stand for the Hive Fleet. If they could win here, the fleet would crumble, unable to replenish itself from the losses it was sustaining in orbit, if they lost here, everyone would die, and their names would be forgotten. There was no turning back, Applejack knew that as she landed once more, standing and catching a Tyrant Guard’s massive claw on her shield before impaling it with her fusion blade.

“Where’s tha Hive Tyrant?” Applejack roared, looking around for the towering creature that usually accompanied these bio-forms but seeing nothing.

“No sighting of one has been reported for some time, Shas’O,” one of the Crisis suits far to her left responded.

“Perhaps we already killed their charge,” Rainbow grunted, shooting past as she spoke.

“They ain’t fightin’ like Guard who lost their master,” Applejack grunted as the impaled Tyranid slid from her blade and leapt at her once more.

The Tyrant Guard were terrifying foes, little more than armour and claws. They barely registered pain or mortal injuries and were completely slaved to the will of the Hive Mind. They were not synapse beasts, but they only listened to the will of a Hive Tyrant. If that will was slain, they became feral, fighting with a near impossible ferocity and savage abandon. These creatures were not fighting like that however, they were protecting the gestation pool like they would protect a Tyrant, and that could only mean one thing.

“Brace for a Tyrant birth!” Applejack bellowed, leaping backwards even as the churning waters of the gestation pool erupted upwards, a massive beast forcing itself clear of the gelatinous water.

Taller than even a Crisis battlesuit, a Hive Tyrant was a terrifying foe, but what lifted itself from the pool was not a normal Tyrant. Standing even taller still, the creature oozed malevolent, ancient power merely by its presence. Even though she was not a Psyker, Applejack could feel the Shadow it cast into the minds of those who could manipulate the higher plains, a dense darkness closing in on her mind.

The creature raised its head and let out a bellowing cry, one taken up by the rest of the swarm who surged forward as one once more. The cry was not what drew Applejack’s eye however, her gaze falling upon the weapons the Tyrant wielded. Bone swords were not uncommon amongst the ranks of the Hive Tyrants, but they were long, flat ended cleavers almost universally. These however were shorter, ending in a vicious point, and covered in a strange mineral protrusion. The Tyrant wielded four such blades, and Applejack’s eyes went wide as she finally realised just what this creature was.

Her blood ran cold as she screamed a single word across all channels.

“Swarmlord!”

***

Rainbow twisted as she heard the word, catching sight of the towering monstrosity instantly. In a heartbeat she had leapt from her bike, heedless of what would happen to it as she streaked towards the creature, drawing two Husk Daggers as she flew.

The Swarmlord was a true threat, stronger than anything else the Hive Mind could summon, even compared to the bio-titans and gargantuan space fleet. Legends told that the creature was as old as the Tyranid race itself, the first creature born from the Hive Mind. A monster of the darkest nightmares, the Swarmlord had preyed on Empires and exterminated whole species for many times Rainbow’s own life, rumoured as it was to have come from a galaxy beyond the one they currently fought in. It had died a thousand times, but each time it grew smarter, the Hive Fleet birthing it in times of dire need with all the memories of its prior incarnations intact. It learnt from death, and its presence here showed just how desperate the situation had become, and how close they were to victory.

Rainbow emptied her drug canisters into her system, mental warnings flaring in her mind of an overdose warning, but she pushed them aside, time slowing as she raced to engage the Swarmlord, swinging a husk blade at its neck.

The Swarmlord moved fast, even to Rainbow it was almost a blur, knocking aside the blade with contemptuous ease before delivering a flurry of its own attacks, Rainbow dodging and weaving every one, even as she was forced backwards, her avenues of escape being cut off one by one. There was no artistry in the creatures bladework, only pure skill learnt across a thousand lifetimes. For the first time in many years, Rainbow knew she was outclassed, and knew she could not win.

Applejack tried to watch as Rainbow and the Swarmlord clashed, but they were moving faster than her eye could follow. Her bionic was trying to keep track of the fight, relaying the information to Applejack’s brain slower for her to observe, but she could not waste time on making sense of the fight, the Tyrant Guard closing in on her again.

“All Tau forces to my position,” Applejack ordered as she finally put down the creature she had run through, having to cut it almost in half before it finally stopped moving. “We need to break the guard and engage the Swarmlord.”

Tau immediately followed her orders, breaking off from their own fights and landing by her side. They were down to half a dozen battlesuits, all piloted by veterans of the Fire Caste. The Tanks and Piranhas had been overwhelmed in the opening shots of the assault, leaving only the more mobile battlesuits left.

Together the size warriors tore forward, overwhelming the Tyrant Guard with bursts of fusion shots, gouts of fire, missiles and every other weapon they carried with them, even resorting to their fists when the Tyrant Guard, heedless of their injuries, leapt at them. Applejack saw two battlesuits get dragged down before they finally punched through.

The Swarmlord lashed out at Rainbow, Rainbow managing to weave away from the blades edge but still taking the full brunt of the blow on her knives. The Huskblades did their work, eating the blade as they evaporated all the moisture from the bio-weapon, but even as it was destroyed, the strength behind the blow threw Rainbow across the battlefield away from the Swarmlord. Before she could leap back into the fight, the gargoyles overhead began to swarm, the Reavers struggling to keep the skies clear, forcing Rainbow to stay on the ground.

A trio of carnifexes, each of them having been fighting separate battles a moment earlier, turned as one to face Rainbow, commanded directly by the Swarmlords impossibly powerful mind. Rainbow let out a curse as she realised she couldn’t avoid them, leaping forward with a wordless cry, blood spilling from her tongue where she had nearly bitten it off.

“Forget her,” A Shas’El roared at Applejack. “We need to kill the Swarmlord!”

Shaking herself from watching her friend fight, Applejack nodded before charging forward with the last of her command, peppering the massive Tyranid with shots, only to have it block them with its swords, the three remaining weapons somehow surviving being struck directly with weapons capable of burning holes in battle tanks.

In two short thrusts that Applejack barely saw, a battlesuit was bisected, another was caught by the beast’s tail and slammed under the acidic water of the gestation pool, his screams echoing across the communicator as the acid as millions of tiny Tyranid organisms ate through his armour and into his flesh.

Applejack leapt forward, pouring everything she had learnt into her strike as she roared in anger. The Swarmlord turned his head towards her, a trio of blades rising to meet her mid-jump.

***

Rainbow let out a screech of anguish as she watched Applejack’s jump and the Swarmlords response. Driving both her daggers into the remaining Carnifex she took to the air again, leaving the weapons behind in the rapidly decaying corpse, beating her wings harder than ever before as she sped towards Applejack.

Her vision became tunnelled as her entire world became the fight before her. Her eyes watered even as the bio-lens Eethron had installed years ago kicked in, flicking down across her sensitive eyeballs to stop them from drying out in the wind.

A Mach cone began to form around Rainbow, the tell-tale signs of something she had not done in decades. She flew faster than she had ever done, she swore it was faster than all the previous times she had caused a Sonic Rainboom and yet still she sped on, her body feeling like it was being crushed.

She didn’t care. All that mattered was Applejack and the Swarmlord.

Applejack’s blade missed its mark.

The Swarmlords blades slammed through Applejack’s battlesuit.

Rainbow screamed.

The world erupted into darkness.

Apple of her Eye

Rainbow had done her signature Sonic Rainboom dozens of times in her life, she had even done it on Hannibal when she had first arrived in this hellscape of a universe. She knew everything about how it felt, how it sounded, even how it smelt. No matter how long she went without doing one, she’d never forget that feeling.

This wasn’t that feeling.

Rainbow shot forward, moving faster than she had ever moved before. She couldn’t see anything, powering forward through the void that she had created. Then suddenly a shape appeared to her left, light beaming outwards from it before it coalesced into a familiar shape.

Once again Rainbow looked at herself in the past, free from augmentations, bearing scars she had gained when she was still a member of the Swooping Hawks. Then another light burst into being, another Rainbow to the left of the first. Younger again, she bore no signs of battle at all, completely unblemished by war. More lights began bursting into being, on the left and the right, stretching as far as Rainbow could see in both directions.

When she looked to the left it was like looking into the past, a million million iterations of her stretching back through the years. She didn’t want to look right, didn’t want to see what the other side would hold for her, and for a moment she resisted, still feeling herself streaking forward, before she caved, her head turning to look to the future.

The first one was close to herself, bearing the same scars, completely covered in the ichor of some Tyranid beast. Then they began to move onwards. She got cleaner, scars began to fade.

Rainbow’s heart leapt. She was going to get through this, she was going to live!

Then the scars reopened, new ones blossomed. Rainbow wanted to look away as she saw moment by moment her body being flayed apart but her eyes were locked on to it.

Rainbow screamed as she felt herself hit something, thick armour and muscle parting before her as she was ripped back to reality.

Rainbow tore through the Swarmlord in the time it took the creature to blink. Its reflexes were fast, but there was no stopping the black shape that had taken the place of the spectral Pegasus. She tore free from the other side, slamming into the ground as the darkness that she had created pulsed outwards. Everything screamed now, Dark Eldar, Tau, Tyranids, all were the same. Synapse creatures were the worst, their blood curdling cries eclipsing all others as blood began to pour from eyes and mouths. Finally, just when they reached a crescendo, the screaming stopped, the synapse creatures collapsing to the floor, dead.

The rest of the swarm fared little better, their movements sluggish as they struggled to regain some of their senses. The Dark Eldar too were suffering, jetbikes careening into the dirt as Raider drivers fought to remain conscious and protect themselves and the lives of those they carried.

Only the Tau seemed to remain unaffected, the few battlesuits that remained rushing to the prone form of Applejack, unleashing all of their rage into the confused swarm. Two Manta’s were approaching even as Rainbow pushed herself up from the crater she had smashed into the ground.

Her head was swimming, the bones in her wings felt like they were powder, and her legs were bent into angles no leg should ever be at. With a cry of pain she pulled herself forward, the grinding of bone against bone digging into her brain even as he own pain pushed the feeling aside, ensuring she was lucid enough to feel everything.

Screaming, Rainbow pulled herself to the prone Equinox battlesuit, roaring in pain as she willed her limbs to work normally. Her muscled bulked as the last of her drug reserves were pumped into them, but all the drugs in the world could not bring her mangled form to bear on the rent metal.

Still screaming, Rainbow slammed her limbs against the cockpit, pain lancing through her body, threatening to knock her out even as that very same pain kept her mind alert. She was in a hell of her own making as she finally flopped over, too tired to move, looking up into the sky.

A huge pair of wings unfurled above her, talons glinting as Gilda landed beside Rainbow. She was covered in blood, her armour scorched by bio-plasma, but she was looking one hell of a lot better than Rainbow was.

“Fuck! Hang on Dash, we’ve getting out of here,” Gilda swore, scooping Rainbow up in her talons.

“N…o…” Rainbow managed, the word coming out in a garge, Rainbow realising for the first-time half her tongue was no longer in her mouth, bitten off in the fight somewhere. “Savvv….Appp…accc.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Gilda scowled, before dropping Rainbow and leaping atop the battlesuit, grasping the hole and pulling. Her muscles bulged, Rainow could almost hear them tearing, but millimetre by millimetre the metal moved. With a final screech the hinges tore, the opening flying open in her talons, just as the Manta’s finally touched down, Fire Warriors spewing forth alongside Exodites to finish the swarm before it recovered. Gilda saw a squad of their elite ‘Honour Guard’ sprinting after Aun’Vesa, the Ethereal heading straight for Applejack’s fallen form.

“She’ll be fine, you’re coming with me,” Gilda growled, picking Rainbow up, taking to the skies before Rainbow could voice any objections.

As she flew free from the battlefield, Rainbow’s eyes finally drooped as she sunk into blissfully pain free unconsciousness.

***

The peace didn’t last, it couldn’t last. Rainbow awoke screaming, strapped to an upright table as Eethron stood before her, scalpel in hand.

“I am glad you are back with us, Ms Dash,” he preened, Rainbow not believing his apparently sincerity for an instant.

“’Ere’s…Appleack?” Rainbow managed, surprised by the new tongue that rested in her head, her words still slurred but far better than earlier.

“Appleack?” Eethron mused with a smile. “You friend is being seen to by the Tau. They would not let me take her and save her life, so I do not know where the primitives have taken her. I have had by hands full with you however, Dash. Did you know that you can apparently survive with over ninety percent of your bones shattered, and remain coherent enough to move about? I didn’t, and even with my own modifications to your form, I can only claim perhaps twenty percent of that figure. You never cease to amaze me, you and your kind.”

“What…happened?”

“Well we won, that is obviously what you are referring to in the grand scale. My forces in the void destroyed the Norm Queens, but it was you, Rainbow who struck the final blow. I do not know how you did it, but you disrupted the Hive Mind’s own powers. Just for an instant, your…disruption tapped into the Psychic force of the Tyranids, empowered it. You overloaded the heads of any synapse creature within the nearby vicinity, the rest of the swarm was hardly a threat after that.”

Rainbow didn’t respond as she felt the coldness of a hundred needles pulling free from her spine, the restraints holding her upright disappearing, dropping her to the floor. She stayed there for a minute, panting hard before pushing herself up, unsteady on her hooves and talons for a moment but rapidly finding her balance. Her legs felt stronger now, the bones within had likely been replaced with something by Eethron, but right now she didn’t care, breaking into an awkward gallop out of the Haemonculus’s lab, heading for the webway portals. As much as she was grateful for the work Eethron had done once more, she could not help but thank whatever higher power there was that someone had stopped him from taking Applejack…and that he’d not simply taken her anyway.

Eethron watched her go with a smile on his face before a Wrack appeared in front of him, dropping to his knees and bowing his head.

“My lord, the forward elements of the Saim-Hann defence fleet have just exited the webway at the system’s edge. The rest of the fleet will be coming soon, along with the Craftworld itself.”

“Then we had best be off,” Eethron nodded. “Issue the withdrawal order across the Triumvirate. Any live specimens are to be captured and left alive. You have command of this, Acothyst. Do not allow us to be intercepted by the Craftworlders.”

The Wrack rose, bowing once before running from the room, Eethron moving towards a large crystalline screen. Waving his hand above its surface, the cloudy crystal began to clear, a shape taking form within, cyan fur and a rainbow mane coming into focus.

“Let us see where you run to, Ms Dash.”

***

Rainbow was running as she hit the other side of the webway portal, Gilda catching sight of her and flying to her side, matching her pace for pace.

“Where?” Rainbow snapped, Gilda turning without a word, Rainbow following her moves.

As they ran, Rainbow realised just how costly their victory had been. Wounded Tau and Exodites littered the roads, some of them looking like they would not last the hour, tended to by a host of bone white medical drones or Exodite doctors. No distinction was made between the patients species, enough blood had mingled together in the war for this world that such a separation was meaningless.

The pair finally reached one of the few medical facilities that had been set up, pushing their way inside, ignoring the weak glares thrown their way by those who could muster the strength to do so. Once inside, Rainbow grabbed hold of the first uninjured being she saw, holding the Tau my the shoulder with her talon, careful not to put too much pressure on the Tau, but making it clear she could if she so wished.

“Where’s Applejack?” She asked slowly, making sure to pronounce the words clearly despite her new tongue.

“I am not…” the Tau began, before wincing as Rainbow’s talons broke the skin. “She’s down the corridor…the main recovery room.”

“So she’s alive,” Rainbow spoke quickly this time, her words slurring as she released the Tau.

“I can answer that,” a bonesinger said as she approached, glaring at Rainbow and Gilda as she pointedly removed Rainbow’s Talon from the Tau’s shoulder.

“Go, you are needed elsewhere,” she spoke to the Tau, her melodic voice soothing even in this time, before she turned back to Rainbow and Gilda.

“Applejack is alive, yes, but not without cost. She has suffered greatly to save our home, and we have gifted her much in return, as have the Tau’s greatest minds. We could not save much of her right side, nor her spine. These have been replaced, the Tau did provide their own prosthetics which have been incorporated with my own knowledge of bone crafting. “

Rainbow turned to leave, heading towards the direction the Tau had indicated, but the bonesinger stopped her, laying a hand upon her wing.

“We almost lost her several times, you know. She must have had something worth fighting for. With the darkness I can see in you, I doubt it was yourself, be sure to remember that when you look upon her at something you caused with your weakness.”

With that the bonesinger turned, Gilda snarling as she left.

“Get the fu…” she began, before Rainbow cut her off.

“Leave it, Gilda,” she all but whispered. “She’s…not wrong.”

“She can’t speak to you like that,” Gilda snapped.

“She just did,” Rainbow sighed, before slowly walking down the corridor, pushing aside a transpariplastic sheet that served as a door to a recovery room.

The occupants within were immediately alert, weapons flying into hands and hooves and pointing at Rainbow. Lightning, Spitfire, Scootaloo and Koghad all looked ready to blow her head off, even Aun’Vesa, the only one to not draw a weapon, looking displeased at her presence.

“Shoot me or get those out of my face,” Rainbow murmured, looking at the four guns before moving past them, no one lowering their weapons, but no one firing either.

Rainbow couldn’t care less about their posturing, her eyes focused on the form of Applejack floating in the middle of the room.

A thin field of anti-gravity held Applejack suspended, her eyes shut as an IV pumped something into her veins, most likely a sedative. The bonesinger hadn’t been lying about the damage she had sustained, her right side almost entirely replaced with smooth, polished metal, her foreleg and hindleg included. Her spine too had been strengthened, segmented pieces of metal running along her back and up the back of her head, her mane cropped short to allow the doctors to properly operate and install the cybernetics.

They were sleek, far more so than the Tau bionics Rainbow had seen, and certainly more so than the crude human bionics, and while not the wraithbone replacements she had once worn, they seemed to fit her far better than Eldar replacements would have.

Nobody spoke as Rainbow took in the ruination that had been done to Applejack, tears welling up in her eyes for a split second before the lens slid into place, stopping the outburst of emotion. Without a word, Rainbow turned and left, Gilda snorting and following after her, leaving the others alone with Applejack.

“Is…she…gone?” Applejack asked, her eyes cracking open just a fraction. The sedatives were indeed pumping through her body, but she was conscious enough to see and slurringly speak.

“They’re gone,” Aun’Vesa nodded, coming to her side once more. “You should get some rest, Shas…”

“Leave…rank…out of it,” Applejack smiled. “Ah…quit. Ah’m goin’…home, ya hear?”

“Perfectly,” Aun’Vesa smiled. “Though I will say this, Applejack. You will always be a Shas’O in the Pa’Laa sept. no matter where you are, you will always be one of us, quitting or no quitting. I will leave you with your closer friends, I must go and supervise other matters, but before you leave, do come and find me. I would say my final goodbyes under better circumstances than our last one.”

Bowing deeply, Aun’Vesa swept from the room, the others watching him go, leaving the four ponies and the Demiurg alone in the room. No body really spoke, a few words passed here and there, but for the most part they stayed silent, all of them simply resting in each other’s company. For the first time in years, they all felt at peace, no more wars to fight. The last hurdle had fallen and soon, they’d be going home and all that entailed.

Author's Note

Applejack's new form

Slightly eddited version of this
https://derpibooru.org/626187?q=appleborg

What We've Done

Nothing was said. Nothing of true substance had been said since they Barank, Rainbow and Gilda keeping to their own quarters, while Applejack and those who followed her had remained on the lower levels of the cutter. Nor was it just those of Equestria who were lost in silent contemplation. Kas still stood with Rainbow and Gilda, the pseudo-slave trying to bring her two mistresses something to take their mind off of the imminent homecoming, while on the lower deck, Koghad remained by Applejack’s side, refusing to be parted from it for even an instant, even if it cost him his place within the Pa’Laa Sept.

Goge had been offered a place amongst the odd band, Applejack seeming him out before they left for the final to personally extend the offer, if any of them survived, but he had kindly, and firmly, refused. Too much bad blood he had said. Applejack could understand that. He had been Rainbow’s friend, not hers, they had only met through fate. He couldn’t reconcile what she had become, and he certainly couldn’t contemplate travelling with her, watching her day after day, knowing what horrors she had wrought. Applejack could respect that, the lies he was refusing to tell by playing along with the story they had all agree to, though no one had ever outlined the plot. His death had hit her hard, and not for the first time did she wish she’d spent more time getting to know the ex-Imperial soldier.

They were all liars now, and Applejack hated that almost as much as the idea of telling the truth. Things were so complicated now, so faceted. Tell the truth and expose Rainbow, it’s what she deserved, no doubt about it. She would be punished, thrown into the deepest cell in Tartarus and consigned to history. She would destroy the faith in the elements of Harmony, the others would never regain the fortitude to defend their world, and in some way, Applejack still felt sorry for Rainbow. After everything she had done, she was still loyal. Twisted, wrenched out of alignment until she barely resembled what she had once been, but she was still in there, somewhere.

No, she could not tell the truth, not this time. Rainbow’s secret had to be her secret too, all of the others in agreement about this, as much as Spitfire and Lightning ground their teeth at the thought.

“We’re approaching the Black Library,” Rainbow’s voice floated over the ships comm system. “Five minutes.”

That was it, no long speech or impassioned desire for home. Flat, emotionless, hollow.

“Well, we best get ready,” Applejack stood up, her new augmetics humming softly as she stood, heading towards her repaired battlesuit, a final gift from Pa’Laa and Aun’Vesa. It had been made for her, nobody else could use it anyway. The others followed her lead, strapping on armour and weapons as the ship touched down.

Rainbow and Gilda were already at the ramp by the Applejack reached her. Kas had evidently remained in the cockpit, looking after what seemed effectively like her ship some days. Without a word, Rainbow lead the group out of the ship, approaching the impossible structure without hesitation, a single figure awaiting them at the mighty gates.

“Guardian,” Rainbow spoke as she approached, echoing the words she had spoken the last time she had stood before the lost Craftworld. “I am Rainbow Dash, Swooping Pegasus, Succubus of the Lightning Fang, a leader of the Triumvirate of Half Formed Hope, the Element of Loyalty. By these titles I request access to this library as was once given, so that I am my compatriots may return home.”

The last time she had spoken the words they had been a shout, a challenge that demanded an answer. Now it was simply a request, a plea from a broken thing.

The Guardian remained still for a moment, an eternity in the hyper-sensitive body language of the Eldar race, before cocking his head.

“Do I address the Hawk, or the Succubus?” he asked.

“You…” Rainbow began. “You address Rainbow Dash. We have done as you asked, Barank is safe once more, the tendril of the Hive Fleet is vanquished. We only wish what was promised.”

“You have paid dearly for your aid,” the Guardian noted, before standing aside. “The way is open to you all. Know this however, when you step through the portal, it will be the last time I can guide you to your world. There is but one more journey I can…”

“We take it now,” Applejack stepped forward, towering above all others in her battlesuit. “Mighty Guardian, we want ta take our path home.”

“Of course, I will not stand between you any longer. Rainbow Dash, I trust you know the way.”

“I do, Guardian,” Rainbow nodded, before stepping forward, the huge gate seeming to simply fade away, rather than open in any conventional means. When Rainbow looked back, the Guardian had already disappeared, leaving Rainbow leading the group alone.

In truth, Rainbow had never seen this part of the Black Library, the last time she had entered its halls she had been unconscious, carried deep within before waking up once more. She knew the way though, she didn’t try and explain that knowledge. Soon they were in familiar falls, passing by small glowing power fields. Rainbow noticed a single ball of crimson energy, a frozen moment of time shot from her own weapon decades ago.

“This is it,” she came to a halt suddenly. “This…is the way home.”

Applejack stopped behind Rainbow, following her gaze towards the arch they had stopped before. A silky sheen of energy stretched upwards, being lost to height.

“So…we just walk through it?” Applejack asked, slowly extending her hoof, making to touch the sheen before snatching it back. She had only gone through a webway portal once, and while she knew the feeling had not been due to the portal but the destination, she still did not want to be the first to step through it. “Rainbow? Ya gonna take us all the way?”

Rainbow’s breath caught in her throat at the words, before nodding. Pausing only to speak a curt command to Kas, the ship following behind the group, Rainbow stepped forward, disappearing into the portal, Gilda close behind her.

“I guess this is it,” Applejack turned to the others, taking advantage of the one time she knew Rainbow and Gilda could not overhear her. “Ah…ah couldn’t be more proud of y’all. Each of ya.”

“Don’t go getting’ all sappy on me now, lass,” Koghad managed a smile.

Applejack returned the smile, looking over the others. They all looked so tired, but there was enough determination in their eyes to get them home. Driven by that faith, Applejack stepped through the portal.

***

Luna and Celestia stood facing each other on the balcony of Canterlot Castle. As one their horns lit up channelling their magic into the heavens, each seizing their own heavenly body with unimaginable strength and precision. Slowly the moon began to sink beneath the western horizon as the sun peaked over the eastern mountain ranges that marked the edge of where the eye could see. There was nothing remarkable about this night, the two sisters had conducted the same ritual since Luna had been returned to Equestria.

A blinding flash lit up the sky, brighter than even the brightest sun.

“What in blazes…” Celestia began, shielding her eyes with a hoof. Luna followed her lead, her wings covering her face.

As quickly as it had arisen, the light faded to bearable levels, the pair risking looking out, the sun and moon momentarily forgotten, as they both scanned the area for the source of the flash. It was Luna who found it first, her mouth falling open as she pointed with a forehoof.

“S-Sister…look,” she managed.

Celestia already was, equally dumbfounded by what Luna had seen. The flash had come from what had once been the Wonderbolts stadium. It had not been seen as such for years now, instead standing as a monument to those brave souls who had willingly stepped from the surface of Equis, the first in the history of Ponykind, neigh, any species that called the world their home.

Almost everypony had given up hope that there might still be hope for the warriors of the Swooping Pegasi. Celestia was one of the few who hadn’t. She knew better than anyone that time was nothing when it came to reunions.

Without a word, Celestia disappeared from the balcony, Luna following close behind.

The pair arrived just as the portal opened just as it had all those years ago. Now, as then, a lone figure stepped onto the central field, kept pristine for just such an occurrence. Celestia let out a gasp, tears springing to her eyes as she recognised the rainbow mane. Smoke obscured her form, but no one could mistake that look. Another figure joined the first, a griffon, Gilda. Then another and another, a cluster of ponies stepping through. Celestia couldn’t believe her eyes, her heart almost bursting with pride.

Then a large shape stepped on to the field, far larger than even a griffon. The ground shook as it stepped onto the field. Celestia took a step back, Luna’s horn lighting despite herself.

A shape shot out of the portal above the group, faster than a Pegasus and the size of an airship. Its engines screamed with a pitch than set Celestia’s teeth on edge, but more importantly, it cleared away the smoke that was obscuring the group.

Now Celestia really did faulter, taking a step back, her own horn lightning, quite intentionally.

It was the Swooping Pegasi alright, though none looked like they had when they left. Scars too innumerable to count, even a missing wing amongst them, talons replacing hooves, a face that seemed stripped down to the bone, leathery thestral wings. The monster behind them was one of metal and technology, bristling with weapons of all kinds. A small creature, looking something skin to a hornless minotaur stood beside the golem, it’s creator? It’s controller?

They were the ponies, but they weren’t the same.

“R-Rainbow Dash?” Celestia stammered.

“Yes, your highness,” Rainbow nodded. Once she would have bowed, Celestia noted, not anymore.

The metal golem began to move, the front sliding open, revealing that it was merely a vessel, a familiar pony sliding from within.

“Yer highnesses,” Applejack whispered, pressing her head to the floor, revealing that she too was ruined by the hellish place they had all disappeared to.

“Y-You’re back?” Luna whispered, equally taken aback.

“We’re back,” Spitfire took a step forward, glaring at Rainbow.

“Spitfire…don’t,” Applejack whispered, looking at the wingless Pegasi with pleading eyes.

“It has been too long, your highnesses,” continued, dropping to her knees and bowing beside Applejack.

Lightning and Scootaloo quickly followed suite, bowing before the stunned monarchs until it was only Rainbow and Gilda still standing, even the strange creature dropping to its knees.

“What…what happened to you all?” Celestia asked, raising a wing as the dark metal shape that has flew over head earlier touched down on the field, kicking up dust and dirt as it set down.

“You don’t want to know,” Rainbow shook her head.

“We should celebrate,” Luna began, trying to regain some sense of composure. “The element bearers, neigh, the whole of Equestria will be overjoyed at your return!”

She sounded like she wanted to believe it, but her eyes betrayed the worry in her mind, the scars they all bore would not be easily looked past by the massed.

“You need to work on yer poker face, yer highness,” Applejack ventured.

It was an innocuous comment, a throwaway jab and little more. Then Celestia snorted, covering her mouth as she tried to supress a snort.

It was infectious, the small creature letting out a snort of his own, throwing his head back and letting out a deep laugh. It was as if a dam had broken on the impossibly tense situation. Applejack was next to break down into laughter, followed by Luna. Spitfire, Scootaloo and Lightning were slower to take up the humour, looking more awkward as the others collapsed, overwhelmed by the situation and doing the only thing that seemed to make sense. Even they joined in however, soon rolling around on the floor, true laughter escaping their lips for the first time in who knows how long. Gilda smirked, her low tones adding to the raucous sounds.

In a situation like this, there were only two options, to laugh, or to cry, and the greater the laughter, the more powerful the sobbing would be.

Even Pinkie would have been hard pushed to match the laughter almost everyone was displaying.

Rainbow wasn’t laughing.

Homecoming

Author's Note

So, here it is, ~~a mere year and a half down the line~~, a new chapter, and a penultimate one at that! In all honesty, this has been on my mind a fair bit recently, but I never could find the drive to finish it. Don't ask me what prompted me, I am not entierly certain myself, but I hope you all enjoy it, and will stick with me, one final time, as the Descent draws to its conclusion.

Homecoming

It didn’t take long for the word to spread. A scroll sent from Celestia arrived in Ponyville, vomited forth from Spike. Pinkie’s cries of pleasure could be held all the way in Canterlot, moments after it faded, a letter appeared before Celestia, this one in a puff of pink smoke. Applejack couldn’t help but laugh at that, and at the fact the party had already been planned out in exacting detail. Leave it to Pinkie and this ‘Cheese Sandwich’ to have something planned just on the off chance the impossible happened.

Soon they were on their way to Ponyville, the train empty, save for the group by order of Celestia. Unlike last time, Celestia had wisely decided she didn’t want to hear the details in their entirety, content to allow them to open up in their own time. Even the two aliens had been widely left in peace for the time being, though Celestia had attempted to speak to both of them when they had passed her.

The first, the diminutive creature Celestia now knew was Koghad the Demiurg, was the far nicer of the two, speaking in an accent very similar to Applejack’s own, and keeping his statements curt but respectful. The second, the human known as Kas, had barely spoken a word, ignoring even direct questions from the Monarch. She had exited the craft moments after the laughter had started, rushing to Rainbow’s side and placing a hand on her shoulder. From the tensing, Celestia could tell that something had passed between the pair at some point, but that was for Rainbow to reveal, not for her to pry.

The train moved quickly by Equestrian standards, massive advances in magi-tech had allowed previously unthought of innovation, but it was barely a crawl compared to what they were all now used to. Applejack and the others separated themselves on the train, speaking in low, hushed tones and occasionally glancing over at Rainbow, Gilda and Kas. It wasn’t hard to work out the subject of their conversation, Rainbow soon standing and moving to another cart, picking up one of the books on recent history that Celestia had provided for their journey. To ‘catch them up’ as she had put it.

“Steady on egghead,” Gilda cracked a smile, following after Rainbow, the attempt at levity falling flat. “What’s with the reading?”

Rainbow didn’t look up, instead flicking through the pages, staying as silent as she had done since they had returned. Changing tact’s, Gilda spread her wings, knocking a few of the other piles of books flying as she stretched, the act far too accidental to be anything but planned.

“Come on, lets blow the train and just fly down, you both know we’re faster.”

Again, Gilda got no response, a scowl spreading across her face.

“Rainbow?” she growled, no response once more.

“Rainbow!”

She roared, slamming a fist into the floor and pulling the book down with the other. Rainbow paused for a moment, slowly looking up as she finally spoke.

“Let, go.”

The words were icy cold, malice seeping from them like a physical entity. Gilda paused for a second, looking as if she was going to retain her grip on the book, before her tail dropped, her claw falling back to the floor.

For a long moment nothing was said, before Rainbow finally spoke again.

“We’ve been gone for a while,” she murmured. “Decades in Equestrian time from what I can gather. Twenty years almost to the day. Time…must really work differently here than it does…out there.”

She trailed off, looking wistfully out of the window.

“Twenty years?” Gilda breathed softly, trying to wrap her head around the time. They had all known it was a long time, but for it to be so radically different from the time they had felt, close to half, was a shock that hit the Griffon like a body blow from a Warboss.

The rest of the journey continued in near silence for Rainbow, the Pegasus brushing off questions from Gilda and Kas, focusing on looking through the window at the land beyond. Eventually they reached Ponyville, the train pulling to a halt, Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy all standing on the platform, beaming from ear to ear, Pinkie barely able to contain herself, looking like she might pop at any moment. Standing beside the older mares were the equally excited Apple Family, Applebloom, Granny Smith and Big Mac all waiting, their fresh, tear stained faces plain for all to see. Sweetie Belle was with them, standing beside Applebloom, looking expectantly for the last Crusader.

Applejack was the first off the train, her battlesuit wisely left behind on the train, a squad of Canterlot Guards standing around it, half protecting it, half in awe of it. The pink blur that shot towards Applejack was predictable, but what was less predictable was the red blur that knocked Pinkie Pie aside, the pink earth pony spinning as she fell in a cloud of dust, Big Mac grabbing hold of his sister and pulling her close.

His strength had not diminished with age, Applejack’s cybernetics groaning in protest as her brother sobbed into her mane.

“It’s good ta see ya too, Big Mac,” Applejack whispered softly, her words genuine if short, her mind still too overwhelmed by the mere act of being back to think of something more comforting. She doubted Big Mac would mind, based on his equal lack of words, it didn’t seem his stoic attitude had changed at all.

Following closely behind Big Mac was the rest of the Apple Family, Applebloom having grown into a fine young mare, the spitting image of Applejack, though still sporting her reddish pink hair, while Granny Smith looked as old as ever, somehow still holding on to life with a fire that would have put any to shame. Tears were in all their eyes now, the Apple Family clan embracing hard as finally, Pinkie got back to her feet, Twilight and the others rushing towards the rest of the occupants of the train.

For a long time, little of substance was said on the platform, sobbing or screams of delight as Pinkie embraced another long lost friend, or friend to be in the case of Koghad and Kas, echoing around the vastly expanded Ponyville station, guards at the entrances keeping back the majority of the crowds. Finally, after what felt like hours but in truth was probably not even half an hour, the sobs had subsided, Pinkie seemed to have tired herself out, and conversation began to break out, Twilight the first to speak, bowing her head in shame before Applejack.

“Applejack…I know words aren’t enough for this, but I’m so sorry for putting all of this in motion.”

She raised her head to look around at all of them, spreading her wings as she did so.

“The same apology goes for all of you, all those my actions endangered. I swear, upon my crown, as the Princess of Friendship and the Element of Magic, no harm shall come to you again, no more shall you have to return to the dark places Rainbow spoke of.”

Rainbow watched as Twilight continued her speech, her eyes flicking to her friend’s wings. She hadn’t been an Alicorn when they had left, normally such a change would have surprised her, and everyone who she had brought back, but in light of everything they had seen, this was a minor change that could be addressed at a later stage.

Clearing her throat, Rainbow stepped forward, her voice hoarse from barely speaking since they returned.

“I don’t want to cut you off, Twilight, but…could we save this until we have had a bath? We can catch up on…” she trailed off, unsure of what exactly they could catch up on that wouldn’t give her friend more nightmares than she could ever escape from. Luckily, Applejack took up the reigns, nodding her head in agreement.

“Can catch up on all we missed while we were gone,” she finished smoothly. “Ah don’t know about the rest of y’all, but Pinkie’s party sure sounds sweet right about now, and ah think she’s likely gonna explode if we don’t move this along so we can get ta it sharpish.”

“I know right?!” Pinkie all but screamed. “Do you know how hard it is organising something to celebrate not one, not two, but six returning friends and two new ones???”

“And one who didn’t make it,” Lightning murmured softly, looking directly at Pinkie. “Wavechill was with us when we left, and he’s not with us now because he fell. Throw the party in his honour.”

With that, Lightning pushed past the crowd, Pinkie looking like someone had punched her in the gut with a power-fist, Applejack realising that no one had told them of the one death in the group.

The silence returned, before Rainbow once again broke it.

“The library, may we use the bath there?” her voice was devoid of emotion again, Wavechill’s memories brought up as Spitfire glared at her, wishing a mere look could kill.

“It’s…not a library anymore…” Twilight whispered, her voice equally diminished, her ears flat against her head as the realisation that her actions had caused not simply suffering, but a death, hit her full force.

“Can we use it.” Rainbow reiterated again, receiving a nod, before shooting into the sky, buffeting the others with a powerful downdraft. A second later, Gilda followed suite, no one else coming after the pair, Kas looking around awkwardly as she was left behind.

***

Tears streaked down Rainbows face as she flew at full speed, her feathers ruffling as she felt the build-up of energy that surrounded a Sonic Rainbow surging forward. She kept herself just below the threshold for creating such an event, content to merely speed away from everyone as she took in the city below her.

When she had left, Ponyville had been tiny, a ten-minute walk from side to side if that. Now, it was a sprawling metropolis of metal and glass, ground vehicles plying the many roads of the village powered by what could only have been magi-tech engines, and in the centre of it all, a giant crystalline tree. This was what Twilight had meant when she said the library wasn’t a library anymore. Now it was more of…a…

Rainbow couldn’t think of the words anymore stopping in mid-air, hovering in front of the great tree as someone approached her, Rainbow expecting to find Gilda, but instead turning to see Twilight beside her, her friend fixing her with a hard stare.

“My castle,” she said, gesturing at the tree.

“What happened to the library?” Rainbow asked, allowing her gaze to fly back out across the city.

“Tirek,” Twilight responded simply. “I’ll tell you all about it, in return for knowing how Wavechill died.”

“You don’t want to know that,” Rainbow whispered.

“Yes, I do,” Twilight insisted. “My actions…my actions caused the…”

“Your actions caused nothing!” Rainbow snapped, her teeth flashing as ager swelled inside her. Twilight once again looked shocked, moving backwards as fear shot across her face. Rainbow forced her rage into check, before continuing. “Your actions, Twilight, caused nothing. You made a mistake, I took my team in, I led them to where it happened, I oversaw the action. Me, Rainbow Dash. I am responsible, not you, and you do not want to know about it.”

“But…” Twilight began.

“No buts,” Rainbow cut her off. “If that’s your castle then that’s where I’m going. I…I will tell you what bits I can at the party. I promise. But not now.”

With that, Rainbow shot off again, disappearing inside the castle, Twilight watching as she went, Gilda close behind her, having held back as the two conversed in mid-air.

“What happened out there?” Twilight breathed softly.

She had expected scars, Rainbow had borne her fair share when she had returned the first time, after a far shorter period in that universe, but the level of those changes was beyond believe. Spitfire missing a wing, nearly all of Applejack's body being replaced with strange cybernetics completely different that what Rainbow had once borne, Lightning and Scootaloo looking like they had heard more screams than anyone could have been able to count, Gilda looking even colder and harder than normal, Wavechill simply…gone.

But it was Rainbow who drew Twilight’s fears the most. She was barely recognisable anymore, leathery winged, sharpened fangs, talons in place of forehooves, even a face devoid of fur and skin, replaced with what looked like smooth ceramic. The other changes could be explained, natural responses to seeing warfare up close, PTSD as Twilight had read it was called, or replacements for battlefield injury, but Rainbow’s modifications were not simply replacements, they were augmentations. She had changed her body to fit in with wherever she had ended up to such an extent that she was barely a pony anymore. And the way others looked at her, Spitfires abject hatred, Scootaloo’s fear, Lightning’s disgust, Applejack’s pity and Gilda’s…Twilight didn’t know if admiration was the right word, but it was as close as she could think of. What events had transpired to cause them? And why, with everything Rainbow had told them of her first time in that place, all the gory and sordid details, did she now not wish to speak of any of it.

With a million questions burning in her sorrow fuelled mind, Twilight returned to the others, resolving herself to do as Celestia herself had done, allowing the group to come out in their own time, to learn what had happened when they were ready to tell her, and not a moment before.

***

Twilight’s palace was a huge building, having grown alongside Ponyville itself, the city spreading out from this one dominant building, safe in its great shadow, the city now looking akin to the Crystal Empire itself, and yet even it now struggled to contain the throngs of ponies who filled its halls, the entire city seemingly coming out for this momentous occasion. In the twenty years that had passed, the Swooping Pegasi and Applejack herself had become legends, stories conjured up about their deeds and heroic struggles that had since become fact. Now, everyone was clamouring to see the real deal, those that did would not soon forget what they saw.

Of all the returned ponies and one Griffon, Applejack took the change the most in her stride. In the back of her mind she wondered if that was thanks to the T’au mentality of adaptability compared to the ancient and entrenched Eldar ways, but in her heart, she knew it was primarily because she was still so much an outsider to those who had braved Commoragh. She had seen the Dark Eldar as a foe, not as an ally, and she was now sure she would rather stand against them for eternity, than with them for a second.

Koghad helped as well, the Demiurg’s booming laughter echoing around the castle, a mug of cider always in his hand, the other hand usually pulling in ponies for nearly bone shattering hugs. Whatever his personal feelings on the world, Koghad was clearly in his element at a party such as this.

The others were not devoid of their own share of the party of course, numerous ponies approaching Scootaloo, Spitfire and Lightning to gawp at them, or work up the courage to ask the scarred ponies for autograph’s, each of them being politely but firmly turned away.

“We’re not hero’s,” Applejack heard Lightning say as she turned yet another pony away. “We’re survivors. You want to honour someone, make sure to remember those of us who didn’t come back, ok?”

The pony walked away, looking dejected, Applejack couldn’t blame him, but then again, she couldn’t blame Lightning either. No one was to blame, that was partially the problem with their return. A world that had moved on, six friends who had become legends they had never asked for.

It was only Rainbow, Gilda and Kas that stood apart, at least apart from the crowds, none wanting to approach the trio, Rainbow’s visage and Gilda’s fearsome attitude putting off any within the sizable crowd from actually approaching.

“She’s popular.”

The voice made Applejack jump, turning to see Twilight beside her.

“Yeah, that she is,” Applejack nodded. “Comes with bein’ a leader ah suppose. The legend is far prettier than tha facts though, that’s for sure.”

“And what are the facts?” Twilight asked, not wanting to press but also not able to contain her curiosity.

“Ya don’t want to know, Twi,” Applejack signed.

“Rainbow told me the same thing,” Twilight signed.

“Aye, but she’s right ya know,” this time it was Koghad, the Demiurg swaying as he approached the pair, his mug sloshing as he walked. “Some things ya drink to remember, but ah feel if you knew what the facts, ya’d be drinking the same as me and tha others.”

“Applejack’s not drinking,” Twilight pointed out, fixing the squat figure with a withering stare.

“Oh, she would be,” Koghad smirked, pushing a playful elbow into Applejack’s side, the metal making a satisfying tap as he did so. “Hard ta get drunk on an iron stomach though, eh lass?”

“Go have mine then,” Applejack rolled her remaining eye. “Ya seem ta be able to take enough of it for you, me and about five others besides.”

“Ya know, I think ah will,” Koghad laughed, disappearing into the crowd in a heartbeat.

“He’s a strange one, isn’t he?” Twilight mused.

“Aye, that he is,” Applejack nodded. “But he’s one of the best men ah’ve ever known. Dependable, tough, honest. Ah wouldn’t be here without him, that’s for sure.”

Twilight nodded, before trying one final time.

“So…it can’t be as bad as he’s saying, right?”

Applejack turned to face Twilight, just enough so the maximum cybernetics were on display, her robotic eye staring unblinking at the alicorn.

“Words don’t do it justice, Twi. Whatever ya hear, double it.”

“But how?” Twilight pleaded. “Nothing can be…”

“It was,” Applejack’s words were firm. “Twilight, ah know ya have always been a glutton fer knowledge, but ah’m askin’ ya, please, let this go, ok?”

“Fine,” Twilight signed, Applejack not believing her for one second. “I suppose I can at least fill you all in a bit on what’s happened, we have so much to catch up on!”

The sudden change of topics startled Applejack, but she smiled nonetheless, nodding in agreement.

“That we do. Ah’ll round up Scoots and the others, ya gather the rest of the gang, and we’ll have a big ol’ catch up, just like old times?”

To say Twilight smiled was an understatement, the Alicorn looking like a weight was off her shoulders at the prospect of things returning, or starting to return, to how they had once been. A few minutes later, Applejack had found a small secluded room, Rainbow and the others filing in behind her, while Twilight rounded up Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Spike, as well as Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, Applejack surprised but not unwelcoming of Scootaloo’s old friends.

For a time, they chatted about how their day to day lives had changed and evolved, Rarity telling the others all about the Carousel Boutique’s numerous new locations, up to eleven as of a few months ago, Pinkie plying the entire group with her newest recipes for baked goods, pulled as always from seemingly nowhere. Fluttershy even mentioned she had opened a successful veterinary hospital, renowned as the finest institute for treating sick and injured animals across the whole of Equestria and beyond. However, eventually the small talk was exhausted, Rainbow asking the question everyone else had been dying to ask.

“So…the library, this Tirek. What happened?”

The mood instantly became heavy, a snort of derision sounding from Spitfire as the conversation was brought to a clearly less comforting place.

“Where to begin?” Rarity signed, looking to Fluttershy, who took the lead.

Surprisingly, the once shy Pegasus spoke with a smooth, almost practiced confidence as she filled them in on everything that happened around the time of Tirek’s invasion. From Discord’s role and betrayal, to Tirek turning on Discord and Twilight being granted the magic of the other three Alicorns, culminating in a great battle between the pair, only stopping when Twilight gave up her powers.

“So, without the elements, how did you stop him?”

It was Applejack who asked this question, beating Rainbow to the punch, wanting to know almost as badly as the Pegasus.

“Well, the Tree of Harmony helped there,” Twilight beamed, eager to impart her own knowledge. “The Tree is where the original Elements of Harmony came from, and it still contained a power as significant if not more so than the four elements that we had left. When we needed it most, the medallion that Tirek gave to Discord became the final key we needed to open the chest, and in doing so, gave its power freely once more, empowering us all with the Elements of Harmony, and allowing…”

“The four elements,” Rainbow cut in, standing up. “Right?”

“I’m sorry?”

“The four elements,” Rainbow repeated. “Laughter, Kindness, Generosity, Magic. Four.”

“Well, yes there were only four with your disappearance,” Twilight conceded. “It was a difficult few years, we hoped you’d return, but when you didn’t, and when the Tree called to us, it also called to Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, and gifted them the powers of Honesty and Loyalty respectively.”

“Mah sister is an Element bearer now?” Applejack asked, a smile spreading across her face. “Talk about keepin’ big news secret sis! And loyalty too? It fits, that’s fer sure.”

“And my little Sweetie Belle just makes the perfect honesty bearer,” Rarity beamed. “Even if at times she can be a little bit too honest.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault that…” Sweetie Belle began before Rainbow cut across her.

“The tree…replaced us…after two years?” she asked softly. “That’s...all it took?”

“Well, yes,” Twilight admitted. “In our greatest time of need, the tree…”

“FUCK THE TREE!” Rainbow roared, her wings flaring, her fanged bared as her muscles bulged instinctively. Fluttershy, Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom all let out shrieks of terror at the unexpected and unprecedented outburst of rage, at least in their eyes, the others all on their feet themselves, though none dared step forward.

“It took mere years to replace us?! After all we did? After all I went through to get home?!” Rainbow continued to roar, taking a step towards Twilight. “I may have still been on Saim-Hann when it happened. I may never have needed to go to Commoragh, I may never…”

A shape slammed into Rainbow as she took another step, Scootaloo diving at Rainbow to stop her from seemingly ripping Twilight apart. Scootaloo’s attack was fast, but Rainbow seemed to move like light itself, absorbing the blow, wrapping a talon around Scootaloo’s neck and lifting the pony into the air, before slamming her down, her talon tightening around her neck, blood swelling from beneath her claws. The act was over in the time it took anyone to blink.

Fluttershy let out a scream as Scootaloo thrashed in Rainbow’s grip, Twilight charging her horn as she took her own step forward.

“Rainbow Dash! Let go of her!” she roared, not waiting for a response as she let fly with her magic.

The blast was powerful, hitting Rainbow square in the chest and knocking her backwards, the others diving to get out of the way. Rainbow did not stay down for long however, leaping back to her hind hooves and standing upright, snarling as she prepared to charge. Spitfire and Lightning tensed to leap into combat, even Gilda looking unsure of what to do, but the charge never came.

Instead, tears flew to Rainbow’s eyes as the reality of everything crashed down on top of her. For years, all that had mattered was getting home, bringing Applejack home, to reunite the Elements of Harmony and make Equestria safe once more. Any price had been worth paying, any actions justifiable under that singular goal. Now, it was clear that was all utterly worthless, her actions striving towards a goal that no longer needed fulfilling.

With a scream, Rainbow took to the air, smashing through the door and sending party go’ers on the other side flying as she streaked into the night, Lightning and Gilda close behind her, while the others rushed towards Scootaloo, Fluttershy taking some bandages offered by Pinkie from seemingly nowhere and wrapping them around her torn throat as Applebloom and Sweetie Belle rushed to the fallen Crusader. The damage was superficial to any with even an ounce of combat knowledge, but to those without it looked mortal to say the least.

“What was that?!” Twilight roared, rounding on Applejack and Spitfire.

“The real Rainbow,” Spitfire spat. “You wanted to see her, that’s her. Excuse me while I go and deal with her properly.”

And with that, Spitfire was also gone, galloping through the now silent party as Twilight turned to Applejack.

“Ah said ya didn’t want to know, this is why,” Applejack said bluntly, stooping to aid Fluttershy. “Rainbow ain’t the same as she was, she ain’t even close. Ah don’t know if it’s the war mask, Commoragh, both or somethin’ else entirely, but ah do know that there’s still somethin’ good in her. Spitfire and Lightning don’t see it, ah doubt you do either Scoots, but ah do, and ah will find it.”

“What is this Commoragh place?” Rarity managed, placing a hoof to her mouth as she saw the bloody flecks across the floor. “Rainbow mentioned it once when she first returned, as somewhere she never wanted to visit. Don’t tell me she actually went there?”

“We were all there,” Scootaloo managed, her voice a pained rasp. “It changed her…changed all of us.”

“All she wanted ta do was get back here, to bring the Elements back together. Ah think she held onto that above all else, used that ta keep herself together, as much as she did at least. Now that she doesn’t have that…ah don’t know what she’s gonna do.”

“We have to find her,” Pinkie cut in. “We have to make sure she’s ok!”

“No,” Applejack shook her head. “We need to find her alright, but we need to be prepared to stop her again, if she’s…reverted.”

“Again?” Twilight asked, her eyes wide. “You had to fight her before?”

“Ah did,” Applejack sighed heavily.

“But…ya won, right, Applejack?” Applebloom asked, looking up from Scootaloo. “Ya beat her and made her see that y’all were just tryin’ to help her, right?”

“No,” Applejack shook her head solemnly. “She beat me, and ah don’t know what we’ll be able ta do if she’s got her War Mask back on.”

“We’ve got this,” Twilight assured her, stomping a hoof down resolutely. “Together. We’ve got this.”

Little else needed to be said, Scootaloo pushing herself to her feet and nodding, standing firm alongside the Bearers of Harmony and Applejack. In a blinding flash, six necklaces materialised around each of the Bearers necks, bearing their Cutie Marks, Applejack barely phased by seeing honesty around another’s neck, far more pressing things on her mind.

Without a word, they galloped off after the others, leaving the now utterly ruined party behind without a second thought.

***

Lightning let out a roar as her hooves connected with Rainbow’s back, all of her pent up rage going into the blow, catching the sobbing Pegasus unaware and sending her careening to the ground. If she had been focused on her flight, the move never would have worked, but as it was, Lightning had the upper hoof, and she was determined to make use of it, delivering another thunderous blow to the prone Pegasus before Gilda caught up.

“Get off her!” the Griffon screeched, the pair grappling and exchanging punches, blood flying everywhere as Rainbow slowly rose, turning to look at the fighting pair with hazy, unfocused eyes, before she launched forward.

Neither of the pair were safe as Rainbow collided with them, her razor-sharp talons lashing out at both Pegasus and Griffon, the fight becoming a three-way brawl. A kick sent Lightning flying, a talon very nearly ripped Rainbow’s eye free, the chromatic warrior lashing out in barely coordinated fury. Even so, it was clear that only one had the upper hoof in the fight, Lightning knew it, Gilda knew it.

Spitfire didn’t.

Running full tilt, the grounded Pegasus slammed into Rainbow, knocking her to the ground once more and delivery a thunderous blow that shattered teeth. Rainbow made to rise, but something cold pressed against her head, her vision clearing to reveal a T’au Pulse Pistol in her grip, the barrel pressed firmly against Rainbow’s head.

“I should pull the trigger,” Spitfire scowled, Lightning and Gilda approaching her, Spitfire glaring at the Griffon. “One move from you and she gets one, then you do, understand?”

“Where did you even get a gun from?” Gilda snarled.

“Call it insurance,” Spitfire smirked sarcastically. “You don’t think I’d let myself stay in a room with her and not be armed, do you?”

Not waiting for a response, Spitfire turned back to Rainbow.

“Like I said, I should pull the trigger, you’ve earnt death, but we’re back in Equestria now, and I respect laws.”

“Do it,” Croaked Rainbow.

“No,” Spitfire smirked. “You don’t get off that easily.”

With a grunt, Spitfire slammed the pistol into Rainbow’s head, before bringing it around to aim at Gilda.

“So, here’s the deal, for the both of you; leave, and never come back. You got us home, but this isn’t your world anymore, and you’re not in charge of anything, not now, not ever. Go skulk in whatever’s left of the Shrine we all once cared about, that is your territory now. You have no home beyond that, you have no friends beyond the monsters you’ve both got, and your pet, Kas. Go now, and I won’t kill either one of you, I won’t even tell the world what daemons you are. But push me, and I will make sure Celestia and Luna hear of everything you did. I’ll tell every pony under the sun, I’ll travel to Griffonstone, to Yakyakistan, to Mount Aris, hell, even to the Changeling Kingdom. I will make sure everyone on this world knows exactly what you are and what you’ve both done, and I will bring them down upon you so that not even a smear remains.”

“You wouldn’t,” Gilda snarled.

“Try me,” Spitfire snarled back, the Pulse Pistol whining as Spitfire increased the charge to emphasise her point.

Gilda looked like she was about to say something else, before a grunt came from Rainbow, the Pegasus rising, the blood already stopping as the pain began to seal shut her wounds. Instantly, Spitfire turned the pistol on Rainbow, but Rainbow made no effort to move or avoid it.

“Done,” she whispered.

“I…” Spitfire began, tightening her grip on the trigger, before stopping. “Wait, done?”

“We accept,” Rainbow nodded quietly. “You won’t see us again. I’ll send Kas coordinates for the ship. She’ll bring it, and we’ll be out of your manes.”

“Rainbow…” Gilda began to protest.

“Be silent,” Rainbow snarled, before turning, Gilda reluctantly following closely behind. Spitfire kept the pistol trained on the pair as they headed towards the forest, still aiming it at the place they entered for a good five minutes, enough time for Applejack, Scootaloo and the Elements of Harmony to find them, only then did Spitfire drop her aim.

“It’s over. She’s gone.” she breathed a sigh of relief, slipping the pistol back into her saddlebag. “It’s finally…over.”

Survivors

A scream echoed around the Shrine of the Swooping Pegasi. The emotion in that cry was plain for all who heard it, anger and sorrow mixed with pain, not merely of the body, but of the mind as well. Almost as soon as the scream had faded, a second one ripped its way forward as Rainbow’s back arched and twisted, her entire body seemingly convulsing and fighting against itself.

“Take the fucking drugs!” Gilda roared, the Griffon advancing towards Rainbow, a cluster of needles in her talon, only to be stopped by Kas, the woman glaring at Gilda with steely determination.

“She’ll take them over my dead body,” the former slave hissed.

“That wouldn’t be so hard now would it?” Gilda sneered, puffing up her chest in an act of intimidation. “What? Five seconds? Four?”

“Try it,” Kas’s voice was laden with venom. “How long do you think you’d last after that?”

“Longer than you.”

“Oh brilliant, such a witty comeback,” Kas snapped. “Rainbow doesn’t want that shit, not anymore!”

“Well what she wants is getting her killed!” Gilda roared, shouting to be heard as another scream echoed around the room, before finally, mercifully, Rainbow fell backwards, her chest heaving, but no fresh screams erupting from her throat.

“There, it’s over,” Kas grunted dismissively, not taking her eyes off of Gilda.

“This one is over,” Gilda corrected her, before turning and leaving, stalking from the room.

It had been like this for the past six months, since they had all returned and left for the old Shrine in the middle of the Everfree Forest. Kas had struggled to wrap her head around this place at first, nothing conforming to even the Dark Eldar’s view of fundamental sciences, but she had gotten mostly used to it by now. She had had to, neither of the others had seemingly been able to put much focus on her.

Rainbow had taken the banishment hard, potentially far harder than anyone had predicted. The abandonment had been bad enough, the War Mask that Rainbow struggled against every day becoming more and more powerful, slipping on and off her psyke seemingly at random. Those first few weeks had been the hardest, Gilda was competent in battle, but she could not hold a candle to Rainbow’s skill. It was only thanks to Rainbow’s more lucid moments that her War Masked alter self had been restrained, thick chains forged in the Shrines mighty furnace, easily capable of holding even Rainbow’s enhanced strength.

Kas had hated seeing Rainbow like that, hated the pain and the rage of betrayal in the War Masked ponies face. Kas may have started life as a slave, but she had moved beyond that now, she cared for Rainbow, she even cared for Gilda, despite the Griffon’s external qualities, and she thought that deep down, they both cared for her, but here, the citizens of Equis were finally at a true disadvantage.

Emotions ran hot on this world and amongst those species that called it home, far hotter than amongst any other species that Kas had encountered. They laughed more for far less, they were empowered by the very fundamentals of friendship, something Kas had initially scoffed at but had quickly come to realise was true. For every positive however, there was a negative, every ying and yang, every action a reaction. This was no different.

Simple anger became rage, a hurt feeling could become an all consuming sorrow. Everything was amplified a hundred fold, and that was biting Rainbow now.

“Thank you,” Rainbow croaked, Kas whirling at the words, watching Rainbow closely for a moment, before satisfying herself that it was truly Rainbow and not the War Masked pegasus.

“You ask, I obey,” Kas bowed her head with a smirk, crossing to one of the chains and placing her hand upon it, intricate magi-tech woven into the metal reacting to her, and only her, touch, unlocking Rainbow and allowing her to fall free of the table she had secured herself to.

“You’re not a slave anymore.” Rainbow muttered.

“I thought friends helped each other?” Kas folded her arms. “Doesn’t matter anyway, you’re in no position to argue, so don't try it.”

Rainbow grunted, but she didn’t continue the argument, turning and walking away from Kas, the human rolling her eyes before setting off after her.

“Gilda does have a point you know,” Kas broke the silence. “Your body is rejecting your noble decision, it needs the drugs as much as it needs food or water, what you’re doing is little different than starv...”

Kas trailed off as her eyes fell towards Rainbow’s ribs, fully visible beneath skin stretched tautly across the bones beneath. Her body was gaunt, no longer lean and muscled, but truly malnourished, implants creating unnatural bulges at seemingly random intervals. Her coat had lost almost all of its luster, closer to a blue-tinted grey than its previous, glorious cyan, her mane likewise weakened and washed out.

“Finish,” Rainbow said the one word, pausing to look at Kas with deeply sunken eyes.

“Starving yourself,” Kas sighed. “And as always, I wish you would reconsider.”

“As soon as you answer my question,” Rainbow snorted. “Can either you or Gilda best me in combat on my best day?”

“You know the answer,” Kas snapped. “No we can’t, but nor can I stand by and watch you waste away.”

“Until you can answer that, nothing’s changed,” Rainbow sighed. “The War Mask is getting stronger, Kas. One day it will slip on when I’m not ready for it, or it won’t come off, or a hundred other possibilities. If that happens then Celestial help Equestria. How many lives would be ruined or cut short before the Princesses caught up? Or the Elements of Harmony? Applejack? Even Discord?”

“I don’t...”

“Exactly. You don’t know, no one does, so until you can tell me that you and Gilda could stop me here and now, this is continuing.”

“For how long?” Kas asked, stopping at the bottom of a stairwell and calling up after Rainbow.

“Until I find a cure or die, whichever comes first,” Rainbow whispered, before turning a corner and disappearing from sight.

“We both know which one’s going to come first.”

Kas whirled at the voice, glaring at Gilda.

“Don’t eavesdrop,” she snarled.

“Oh drop the act,” Gilda snapped. “You’re as worried for her as I am and you are thinking the exact same thing. We’ve got to stop her.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Kas snapped back. “Starving herself would be bad enough, trying to quit the drugs cold turkey would be bad enough, but both? You’ve seen her, I don’t know how long she can keep that up.”

“We could force her,” Gilda insisted. Come on, Kas. You want to as much as I do, and with the pair of us now, we can beat her and get her to see sense.”

Kas hesitated for a moment, Gilda taking the silence as an opportunity to follow up on her point, capitalising on the weakness as she would have done in the arena itself, Kas feeling very much like prey in that split second.

“Between the two of us, we can force her to at least eat, if not taking the drugs. She’ll probably appreciate it, you know how much she enjoys being told what to do at times, plus she wants us to be able to beat her anyway.”

“I hardly think her desires in the bedroom hold true in this,” Kas retorted dryly, before sighing. “But...you are correct in your latter statement, she does want assurances that she would be containable if the worst should happen. This could prove that we are ready for that.”

“Exactly!” Gilda grinned, moving in for the proverbial kill as she passed Kas a tightly bound bundle of micro-fibre. “Even took the liberty of getting your net ready, just in case.”

Kas sighed, looking down at the bundled net, before nodding, unfurling it with practiced ease. Both she and Gilda had been practicing day and night since their banishment, Kas having become proficient with the Dark Eldar Shardnet and Impaler combination, though the weapon she now held had swapped viciou barbs for magi-disruption tech, designed to stun and incapacitate, not maim and kill.

“Are you prepared then?” Kas asked.

“As I’ll ever be,” Gilda nodded, sheathes around her fore-talons crackling with electrical energy as she spoke.

With no further words needed, the pair bolted up the stairs, Gilda leading the way with Kas hot on her heels. Rainbow quarters were this way, being the obvious place to start their search, Gilda barging through the door without hesitation.

“Gilda...” Rainbow began, turning to look at the Griffon, before Gilda let out a screech and dived forward, extending her right claw to deliver a devastating opening blow.

It was a predictable strike, Gilda telegraph her intentions like a novice pugilist, Rainbow’s face darkening as the war mask forced its way forward, the pegasus effortlessly dodging the blow, moving to the left and preparing her own strike, stepping directly into Kas’s path.

With a grunt, Kas hurled her net forward, hitting her target perfectly, the weighted ends tangling themselves around Rainbow’s wings, locking them to her side. For a moment, Kas thought that the fight was already over, activating the disruption field as soon as the net had struck home. Had she activated it while it was still in flight, she may have succeeded, but in the time it took for the charge to travel the length of the net, Kas realised with awful surety that she had been too slow.

With a snarl, Rainbow’s talon’s ripped through the as-yet unpowered micro-fibre, twisting to hurl the remnants at Gilda, the net now fully powered striking the Griffon square in the face. Gilda let out a screeching squark as the disruption field passed over her, her limbs spasming as she fought to free herself, before being sent flying by a powerful kick from Rainbow. Even malnourished, Rainbow was still strong, the wall cracking at the impact.

Kas sprinted forward, unsure of what she was hoping to do but unwilling to do nothing. Letting out a roar of her own, Kas delivered a brutal haymaker to Rainbow’s side, feeling bones break, both hers as Rainbow’s, but it was all she managed, the Pegasus twisting with the punch, hurling Kas after Gilda.

Kas slammed into Gilda, the crack in the wall widening, before smashing open, Rainbow diving at the pair of them and forcing all three through the hole, tumbling to the main courtyard of the shrine below.

Gilda had still been struggling to free herself from Kas’s net, now finding herself wrapped ever tighter by it, Rainbow grasping the fabric and pulling it taught. Gilda’s eyes bulged as her airways were suddenly cut off, turning blue as she struggled to breath. Kas tried to rise, but her legs would not answer, the human helpless as she watched Rainbow almost effortlessly snuffing the life from Gilda.

A huge whooshing roar filled the courtyard a fraction of a second before the ground trembled, Rainbow torn away from Gilda by a large, all too familiar shape. Before Rainbow could react, the shape was atop her, one giant mechanical foot pushing Rainbow into the floor, a burning sword bursting free from the other forelimb, Applejack bringing her battlesuit’s fusion blade close enough to singe the hairs on Rainbow’s neck.

“That’s enough,” Applejack’s voice was calm, even filtered through the suits emitters that much was clear. Once, rainbow might have been able to put up a fight in such a situation, but as strong as she still was, such times had passed.

“Applejack,” Kas breathed a sigh of relief, hurrying to Gilda as she spoke, freeing the Griffon from the now deactivated net, Gilda spluttering and coughing as she sucked in much needed air.

“Just what in the hay is goin’ on here?” Applejack demanded, looking between the three. “Ah didn’t think it was gonna be great here, but ya mind explainin’ why yer trying to kill Gilda?”

“They attacked me,” Rainbow snarled, glaring at Kas, a fight clearly taking place behind Rainbow’s eyes, forcing the War Mask back into submission.

“That true?” Applejack asked.

“Yeah,” Kas nodded, before holding her hands up in defence. “But...we have our reasons. Look at her Applejack, she’s wasting away, that’s not our doing, that’s hers. She won’t take stimms, she barely eats, the War Mask is on as much as it’s off these days. She’s trying to weaken herself so that if the worst happens, someone can stop her before...”

“Before I slaughter a town's worth of innocents,” Rainbow finished for her, the savage tone gone from her voice, the War Mask gone, for now. “And I think I’ve proven my point. You two had every advantage, and you failed. I need to go further.”

“No, ya don’t,” Applejack looked back at Rainbow, deactivating the Fusion Blade but keeping the battlesuits hoof firmly pressing into Rainbow’s chest. “No offense to either of ya, but y’all may not be suited for containment in this case, but...” Applejack took a deep breath, as if steadying herself for what she was about to say,” but ah am. Think ah’ve proved that now, and back on Pa’Laa. Between the three of us, and without y’all takin’ yer drugs, ah think we can keep ya contained, don’t y’all?”

“You want to stay here?” Rainbow asked, taken aback by Applejack’s words. “Why?”

Applejack sighed, removing the hoof from Rainbow and allowing the Pegasus to stand, her battlesuit hissing as it opened, Applejack dropping neatly to the floor.

In a similar vein to Rainbow, Applejack looked terrible, bags clearly visible under her eyes, her orange fur duller than Kas remembered it, her bionics still shining, freshly polished from the look of things, standing at odds with the rest of her. She looked tired, more tired than anyone Kas had ever seen.

“You look like shit,” Gilda wheezed, moving to stand beside the others.

“Thanks,” Applejack deadpanned. “Ah feel like shit. Ah haven’t slept, ah haven’t laughed...none of us have Rainbow, not properly, not since y’all left for the Shrine.”

“Spitfire made it very clear that we weren’t welcome, and I agreed,” Rainbow pointed out.

“Aye, yer not welcome,” Applejack conceded. “The stuff y’all pulled, ah ain’t surprised she did what she did, but we all grieve in our own way, Rainbow. Ah ain’t gonna tell you that ah even begin to sympathize with ya, ah don’t. Whatever pain yer feeling right now, ya earnt that in spades, and y’all know it.”

Rainbow nodded but remained silent.

“Ah came ta see ya, ta try and make sense of...well, of anythin’, ta try and find purpose. Ah didn’t come lookin’ ta stay, but now? Now it looks like ah don’t have a choice. Yer a monster, Rainbow, ah know you know that. But yer a monster tryin’ to not be one, ah can at least respect that. And if yer trying and need someone on hoof to stop ya if ya ever get out of hand again? Well, ah think that might be somethin’ ah can do. Give me some...purpose, there ain’t much use for a busted old Shas’O in Equestria.”

As Applejack finished talking, she looked at Rainbow, seeing her one time friends eyes swimming with tears. They were tears of joy, that much was clear, but there was also sorrow behind them, pain that Applejack couldn’t even begin to fathom, remembrance of what she had done and what she had sunk to as much as what she was currently feeling.

Wordlessly, Applejack raised a hoof, Rainbow taking the limb and embracing Applejack, Kas and Gilda joining the pair. None of the four said anything, nothing was needed. The world was a dark place for all of them, they had each seen and done things that no one else could imagine, even Spitfire, Scootaloo and Lightning would have struggled. Alone they were vulnerable, alone that darkness would swallow them up without a second thought, but together...together they could face that storm, they could bolster each other where one would have failed.

And maybe, just maybe, though it would take many years, they could all begin to ascend from madness.

At the End of the Rainbow (Sequel is Live)

At the End of the Rainbow

Two years have passed since Rainbow Dash returned from a galaxy that knows only war alongside Applejack and the splintered remains of the once proud Swooping Pegasi. Now, as in the wake of her first return, the world of Equis has rocketed forward, combining knowledge and technology of both the ancient Eldar and the young and vibrant T'au. No matter how much any may wish it however, no one touches war and leaves it forever.

When ponies start showing up dead, torn apart in brutal ways that would put even the most savage of Everfree beasts to shame, the blame falls solely on a singular pony. Once more, Rainbow Dash must fight for her life and everything she holds dear. She is not the same pony she was in her youth, her actions heinous in the extreme and her mind shattered by the horrors of what she has seen and what she has done.

As old enemies rise and untied strands become knotted, lines will be drawn for every creature on Equis, answer will be given, and finally, the world will see what lies at the End of the Rainbow.

Poor Aim

Equestria.
Birthplace of the pony race. The inhabitants of this quiet world once believed that their planet was alone in the universe. That the boundaries of sapient life stopped at the edge of their own planet. That vision was shattered four years ago.

Rainbow Dash, a mare many knew and loved as a flier and as an Element of Harmony, discovered that existence was larger than even Celestia and Luna could have imagined, filled with life that was as diverse as the stars themselves. She also made the unfortunate discovery first hoofedly that it was teeming with more violence than anypony could have ever dreamed of.

The galaxy is large and unforgiving, and events put in motion in years past are slowly gaining momentum, the consequences that they will bring reaching far across the breadth of known space. No longer can Equis and ponykind stand idle in history. They must play their part. They must fight to stop events that they themselves have put in motion.

It is the 41st Millennia, and there is only war.

Twilight sighed happily as she looked out across Ponyville, the quiet town never failing to give her a sense of comfort and happiness when she looked at it. She had been living here for over eight years now, studying friendship, and for two of the years, coping with the loss of one of her closest friends.

That was all in the past now, and Twilight was eagerly looking towards the future, as were so many other ponies in professions similar to hers.

When Rainbow had returned, she hadn’t just brought back the knowledge that they weren’t alone in the universe, but had also brought back technology that far outstripped their own. While most of it had been made purely for war, and had been restricted by Rainbow herself, Equestria scientists had slowly began to analyse the technology, learning how it worked for the betterment of everyone, not just for ponies. Even if it was made for war, there were always more ways to use something, and non-violent applications of the tech had been springing to life like there was no tomorrow.

Medical science had been accelerated phenomenally by the small life support systems found in the Aspect Armour that Rainbow wore. The tiny anti-gravity generators that were present in her armours wings were quickly recreated, and enabled hundreds of disabled Pegasi to once again know the glory of flight. Even the Jetbike had been looked over, the engines on it studied and incorporated into the engines on the larger blimps that Equestria used. Gone was the age of propellers, steam and sail, this was Equestria’s new Golden Age, and age of advancement, of steel, of science, and of Arco-Tech.

Yes, this truly was a great age to live in, and Twilight was at the forefront of it all.

Sighing happily to herself, Twilight skipped back across the library, ignoring all the new machines that were scattered around the place as she headed down to her basement. This was where she always conducted her experiments, finding it safer to try out potentially dangerous machines away from prying ponies.

Some ponies, mostly Rainbow Dash on the odd occasion that they saw each other, had called her a mad scientist for conducting her experiments underground, but if that meant ponies would be safer, she could bare the nickname.

“Spike!” she called out, trotting down the stairs and quickly reaching the bottom.

“Over here Twilight,” the drake called, his deep voice rumbling around the room, before she caught sight of him.

He had definitely grown in the past four years, and looked less and less like a baby every day. Even his wings were starting to come through, the small growths on his back wiggling slightly as he walked.

“Sleep well?” she asked, smiling up at her adoptive brother.

“Meh,” Spike shrugged. “Had the same dream again.”

“What, the one about getting your wings in a fit of rage?” Twilight clarified.

“Yeah, the one where I was fighting with some really odd swords,” Spike shrugged. “Never have found out what that all means.”

“Well, there is research into dreams being an extremely lucid time where we can briefly see glimpses of an alternate time line?” twilight pondered. “Maybe in that one you disappeared instead of Rainbow?”

“Maybe, but this seemed like a different place,” Spike said softly. “Still, it’s only a dream. Are you still trying to get the Magic Amp O-Matic to work today?”

“How many times have I got to tell you Spike,” Twilight began in an exasperated tone. “It’s not called the ‘Magic Amp O-Matic’, nor is it called the ‘MAOM’, the ‘Instant Party Device’ or ‘The Compensator’.”

She shook her head as Spike stifled a laugh at the last nickname for the machine, before walking towards one of the many work benches around the room, looking across at the large metallic section of the room and pointing to it with her hoof.

“This is a Mark one Magical Induction Booster prototype.”

“That sounds so boring though,” Spike groaned. “You’ve never even explained it properly.”

“Well, it’s very simple,” Twilight began, walking towards the machine and pulling a series of wires towards her. “These wires interface with a specialised helmet, helping to boost the magic of the pony wearing the helmet. Remember, magic resonates at a wide variety of frequencies. Everything in the universe has its own set of wavelengths. In nature, most of these waves harmlessly clash with each other… like static, if you will, but intelligent beings and certain magical organisms can focus this magic to specific effects. This machine should simply detect these frequencies, scan them and then begin to replicate them.”

“Twilight, use your words,” Spike sighed.

“The helmet will boost pony’s magic,” Twilight deadpanned. “I thought you appreciated learning.”

“I do, just not when this is all you’ve gone on about for the last month and a half,” Spike chuckled. “Still, if this works, it will be one of the biggest advances in magical science. I guess I can go through so techno-babble to be a part of that.”

“And that is why you will always be by number one assistant,” Twilight smiled, before plugging a few wires into a large metal helmet, being greeted by a loud hum. Beaming, she looked back at Spike. “It’s working!”

“Does it have to be so loud?!” Spike roared over the sound of the machine.

“I’m sorry!” Twilight shouted. “Like I said, it’s just a Mark one, the Mark two will be better.”

“Great!” Spike rolled his eyes exasperatedly.

“Isn’t it?” Twilight asked happily, missing out Spike’s sarcasm. “Now, onto the testing. Could you bring me the block of Celestium please?”

Spike grumbled, walking over to the side of the room and stooping down, wrapping his claws around a small, half meter cubed piece of dark metal and heaving. Panting, Spike managed to lift the block, his muscles straining as he moved the block towards Twilight, finally letting it drop to the floor with a loud ‘thud’, before flopping down to the floor.

“Why…do we have…to use such…a heavy metal?” Spike panted, staring at Twilight expectantly.

“Come on Spike, you know this,” Twilight smiled, slowly levitating the rough helmet onto her head and adjusting it to fit her properly. “Celestium is the densest material known to Ponykind, but more importantly though, it resonates at only one magical frequency, one single pure tone. It fully ignores almost all other magical effects. Basically it’s really heavy both for lifting up normally, and with levitation. It took four unicorns plus Big Mac to get it from the train station to here, and they were still tired.”

“And yet you got me to carry it on my own,” Spike grumbled. Truth be told, he didn’t cared that much, but what was the fun in living life without complaints?

“And I am very grateful for you for all your hard work,” Twilight chuckled. “I’m sure I’ll be able to find a gem or two to thank you. But for now, please stand back, it’s time to test this.”

“Are you sure about this?” Spike asked, taking a hasty step back. “You don’t exactly have the best track record with this kind of thing.”

“Name one time I’ve messed up,” Twilight pouted indignantly.

“The parasprite invasion when we first came here?” Spike deadpanned.

“Name two more,” Twilight shot back.

“The second parasprite invasion and the ‘Want it, Need it’ spell,” Spike replied, grinning and crossing his arms.

“Fine, a recent one then,” Twilight insisted.

“Yesterday?” Spike snickered. “You turned Lyra into a Minotaur.”

“She wanted to know what it was like to have hands,” Twilight defended.

“A male Minotaur,” Spike continued. “Face it, you may be good with magic, but you do make quite a few mistakes.”

“Alright, maybe I do,” Twilight relented, before looking at the machine around her. “But this, I’ve been working on this for two months. I’ve triple checked my triple checks and I’ve gone over every possible outcome. This will work.”

“If you say so,” Spike relented, before taking a step back and grabbing a helmet and upturning a table, crouching down behind it and watching Twilight closely.

Shaking her head, Twilight activated small Dictaphone, holding it close to her mouth.

“Test one of the Mark one Magical Induction Booster prototype. Initiating non-biological levitation test on a block of Celestium. Testing begins.”

Placing the Dictaphone down again, Twilight focused on the block of Celestium in front of her and the helmet on her head. The helmet was a fairly basic thing, little more than a wraparound metal band, stretching up and covering her horn. It wasn’t pretty, but it should do the job.

Forcing magic into her horn, Twilight felt around for the metal block, quickly finding it and wrapping it in her magical aura. As she expected, she struggled to grasp it, her magic seeming to slide around it rather than sticking onto it. Letting out a soft growl, Twilight pushed harder, feeling the machinery attached to her head begin to take effect.

It started out as a soft nagging in the back of her head, a warm feeling spreading throughout her ead, stretching up into her horn. Suddenly, the power in it surged, and Twilight felt the block of Celestium in front of her lift into the air.

“Spike!” She cried happily, looking over to her adoptive brother. “Look, I’m doing it!”

“Well done,” Spike cheered, standing up and looking at the floating metal.

Slowly, Twilight lowered it to the floor, before taking the helmet off her head and running over towards her clipboard, beginning to take notes.

“So, how much power was that?” Twilight asked, looking expectantly at Spike.

“Ten New-tonnes,” Spike replied, looking at one of the scanner read-outs.

“Do you have to use the new measurement system? What’s wrong with the Equestrian Imperial standard?” Twilight scowled.

“Hey, Isaac New-tonne was an inspirational stallion,” Spike replied. “Besides, the maretric system just makes more sense. I’ll change my mind when you give me a good reason why we have twelve inches in a foot instead of thirteen and why there are sixteen ounces in a pound instead of fifteen.”

“Fine,” Twilight relented. “Hold on, did you say ten?”

“Well, technically nine point nine nine six two, but who’s splitting hairs?” Spike nodded.

“But, that’s hardly enough to lift a similar sized block of plaster of mareis,” Twilight said, her eyes going wide.

“Looks like it works then,” Spike chuckled. “Well done Twilight, you have officially revolutionised Arco-science. Again.”

“Arcane-Science Spike, no need to shorten it,” Twilight retorted. “But I haven’t finished yet, we still need to test it out on organic matter. Run upstairs and grab me a couple of apples would you?”

“Sure,” Spike sighed, turning and trudging up the stairs, muttering as he went. “Overworked and underpaid, that’s my life.”

Quickly reaching the kitchen, Spike pulled open the fridge, looking inside for any apples, or any food for that matter. Unfortunately, it seemed that once again, Twilight had neglected to stop her work to get things as mundane food. Either that or Spike had eaten it all, but honestly, what were the chances of that?

“Hey twilight, we’re out of food!” Spike yelled.

“Again?!” Twilight called back. “I just…did you eat everything again?!”

Spike didn’t reply straight away, before deciding to dismiss the question all together. “I’ll go see AJ, get some more!”

“Hurry back!” Twilight called up, before she began to busy herself with the data read-out.

Spike sighed, before quickly making his way out of the Treebary, dropping to all fours and heading through Ponyville to reach Sweet Apple Acres. The town had changed quite a bit since Rainbow had returned, but not nearly as much as a place like Manehatten or Hoofington. The original wooden buildings were now augmented with steel and glass, each one taking advantage of new construction techniques to strengthen them. Considering the regularity with which the town seemed to get destroyed, stronger buildings could only be a positive factor.

It didn’t take him long to run to Applejack’s farm, and he quickly stood up as he reached the barn, looking around for anypony, quickly catching sight of Big Mac. Big Mac hadn’t been idle in the past four years either, and had been taking advantage of the sudden burst in technological innovation to make himself, and by extension the farm, even more efficient. This was mostly down to the micro-fields that were imbedded into the boots he now wore on his rear legs, the tech refined from Rainbows sword, and making his bucks have the same punch, for half the energy.

“Hey Big Mac,” Spike waved, walking towards the red Stallion.

“Spike,” Mac nodded once, looking towards the dragon. “You come to help on the farm?”

“Not this time, sorry,” Spike apologised. “Is Applejack around?”

“Eeyup,” he nodded, before glancing towards one of the far fields. “Her and Applebloom are workin’ the north fields.”

“Thanks. I’ll let you get back to work,” Spike smiled, before walking towards the far fields, quickly catching sight of Applejack and Applebloom. Unlike their brother, neither of the girls had taken to the micro-field boots, preferring to keep to ‘the old way’ instead.

“Howdy Spike, you come to help out of the farm?” Applejack asked as he approached.

“Big Mac asked the same question,” Spike chuckled. “Unfortunately no, I’ll have to find some other time to pay you back.”

“Yeah well, make sure that ya do ya here me? Y’all lost fair and square,” Applejack smirked.

“The running of the leaves is for ponies,” Spike grumbled, thinking back to this year’s race, and how he had been soundly beaten by AJ. Luckily for the both of them, Rainbow herself hadn’t been running this time, else both of them would have a forfeit now. “Still, as soon as I’ve finished helping Twilight, I’ll come and help out on the farm. Deal?”

“So she’s still workin’ on the Compensator?” Applebloom snickered, drawing a glare from Applejack and a loud laugh from Spike.

“Don’t let her hear you calling it that, she almost bit my head off when I didn’t call it the Mark one Magical Induction Booster prototype,” Spike warned Applebloom. “So you got off work for a while?”

“Yeah, construction around Ponyville’s in a bit of a slump, so they said we could all have a holiday,” Applebloom beamed. “It’s been nice to see Sweetie Belle again. “I just wish ah could see Scoots as well.”

“You know she’s got a pretty full time job Sugarcube, plus ah think she’s away in the Dominion at the moment,” Applejack smiled. “Still, I’m sure she’ll get a back soon, then you three can go and do…whatever it is you three do these days. But anyway, what does bring you here Spike? Ah doubt that ya came all this way ta make small talk.”

“Nope,” Spike shook his head. “Twilight got the Compensator,” Applebloom tried, and failed, to suppress a giggle, “working and she needs organic matter for testing.”

“And let me guess, a certain purple and green ate everything she had in the house?” Applejack smirked. “Come on Spike, let’s go get mah cart. I’ll come with ya, just ta make sure that they get there uneaten. Hey Applebloom, can you handle the fields on yer own for a bit?”

“Sure can, just don’t leave me out here on my own too much, it gets boring,” Applebloom nodded, before giving a nearby tree a solid buck, causing the apples within to fall into the basket.

“They grow up so fast,” Applejack sighed, before turning to Spike. “Come on Spike, let’s get you some apples.”

“Yeah, sure,” Spike nodded, following Applejack, before glancing up at the sky. “Great, looks like we’re in for that storm after all.”

“The storm’s good fer the trees Spike, ya shouldn’t complain as much,” Applejack pointed out, before grinning widely. “Don’t tell me the big bad dragon is afraid of a little thunder.”

It didn’t take long for Applejack to get hooked up to a line of carts laden with apples, and the two began to make their way back towards Ponyville, chatting nonchalantly as they went, even as the first drops of rain began to fall. Soon, the pair were in front of the Golden Oaks Treebary once more, and Spike began to help AJ unhook herself from the carts, before calling inside.

“Hey Twilight, AJ and I are back! Come give us a hand would ya?”

“One second!” Twilight called back, before appearing at the door and looking up at Spike, raising her forehoof. “Hoof, not hand.”

“Hoof, hand, claw, paw, same difference,” Spike snorted. “Still, can you help us get these downstairs? It’s your machine we’re testing after all.”

“Of course,” Twilight nodded, levitating some of the apples in front of her. “Hey Applejack. How’s the farm doing?”

“Not too bad, Applebloom’s got a holiday, so we have an extra pair of hooves helpin’ out. Of course if a certain dragon would pay his dues…” Applejack smirked, looking at Spike, before transferring some of the apples into her saddle bags.

“I told you, after the testing’s done, I promise,” Spike rolled his eyes, before grabbing an armful of apples, eyeing one hungrily, only to receive a death glare from Twilight. “Fine, I won’t eat them yet.”

“Good,” Twilight nodded, before heading inside, leading the three downstairs and placing the apples down in the centre of the room.

“So this is what you been workin’ on Twi?” Applejack whistled softly. “The Mark One…thingy-mah-whatsit?”

“The Mark one Magical Induction Booster prototype,” Twilight corrected her, walking towards the machine and taking hold of the helmet, slipping it over her head.

“I’d stand back if I were you,” Spike whispered, before taking a few paces back and crouching down behind the table from before, quickly followed by Applejack. Everypony in town knew to hide when Twilight was experimenting.

“Test two of the Mark one Magical Induction Booster prototype. Initiating biological levitation test on a test group of one hundred and twenty apples. This many could usually be picked up by my magic, test is to determine whether or not there are any adverse effects on biological material that were not present in the Celestium. Testing begins.”

Twilight concentrated for a split second, the machine humming loudly into life once more, before the apple in front of her lifted off the ground. Smiling, Twilight placed the apples back down, before removing the helmet and moving to inspect the apples for any signs of degradation or deformity.

“Nothing, looks like it’s going to work Spike,” Twilight beamed, looking at the dragon. “Just a few more tests, then I can contact Celestia and let her know that it’s almost ready.”

“Just be careful Twi, we only just finished rebuilding the town after yer last mistake,” Applejack laughed.

“Spike told me the same thing,” Twilight replied exasperatedly, strapping the helmet back into place. “Don’t worry, I’m being careful.”

“If you say so Twi, but I don’t think the Mayor will be happy if she has to pay for damages. Again,” Applejack snorted, before crouching down beside Spike again.

“Test three of the Mark one Magical Induction Booster prototype. Initiating biological teleportation test on a test group of one apple. Target teleportation distance is across the room while using next to no magic. Testing begins.”

Twilight cleared her mind, focusing on the apple in question, while also making sure she did not use too much of her magic. This was just a preliminary test after all, the extreme testing would come later. Reaching out for the apple, Twilight concentrated on the familiar sensation of folding an object through space-time.

There was suddenly a huge crash, a clap of thunder rolling around the streets of Ponyville as the storm finally hit, startling Twilight out of her focus, her horn still lit. Normally she would instantly know that a spell was still charging in her horn, but she usually wasn’t attached to a Magical Induction Booster.

“What in tarnation was that?” Applejack began, coming out from behind the table and looking up the stairs. “Reckon something fell…”

She never got to finish what she was about to say, the spell that Twilight had been charging finally reaching a peak. Twilight suddenly realised what was happening, trying desperately to shut off the power surging through her horn, but it was useless, the machine was acting as the second half of a super conducting loop now, and Twilight couldn’t stop what was going to come next. All she could do was watch as time slowed to a crawl, extending a hoof and screaming a warning that would never reach receptive ears in time.

“APPLEJACK!”

The spell slammed into the unaware Earth Pony. There was a blinding flash of light, a massive pressure wave from the spell feedback, and then silence. All that remained in the spot Applejack had once stood in, was a scorched patch of ground.

Author's Note

Edited by Sparthage. Big thanks to this guy.

Mistake are Measured in Shades of Blue

Applejack

Applejack let out a soft grunt as she dragged the plough through the soft dirt around her, digging up the ground and providing a furlough for the drone that was hovering behind her to plant the seeds in, before covering them back up with the soil on either side of the small trench. Beside her was the rest of the farming team she’d been assigned to, each one completing their own jobs, and laughing amongst themselves. They would occasionally call over to Applejack, including her in their little jokes, but most of the time she was too far away from them to be included. Not that she minded working in silence, it was how she usually worked anyway, and she considered it therapeutic, and a good way to get over her trip.

They’d been on Styro for two weeks now, and Applejack still couldn’t quite express how much she loved having solid dirt beneath her hooves again, and to be doing some proper work again. Luckily she’d been in stasis for the majority of the journey, but that didn’t make it much better. She still disliked thinking about being in those tubes as the ship took off.

***

Applejack tentatively approached the boxy yellow machine, sizing it up and trying to calm her nerves down. It looked like a large yellow box with four huge thrusters mounted on it, two on either side. Like the other Tau vehicles she had seen, it was sleek and beautiful, the vibrant yellow gleaming in the sunlight. But it was still a vehicle for flying, and no matter how pretty it may have been, Applejack still didn’t want to get in it.

“Er, are y’all sure that thing is safe,” she asked, looking back at the rest of the auxiliary team.

“It damn well better be lass,” Koghad nodded. “I know the guy who was responsible for fixin’ up this Orca, if it doesn’t fly, I’ll be having words with him.”

“Or you’ll be splattered across the ground,” Lofeg muttered.

“Thank you Lofeg, I wasn’t going to say that part,” Koghad grunted, before turning to Applejack. “Now listen here lass, I know flying ain’t the best thing in the world, but this here machine is as safe as houses. She’ll get us up to our rendezvous ship, then we’ll be in the tubes as quick as you can say ‘damned good hooch.”

Laughing, Mata stepped forward, quickly making his way up the ramp into the large compartment and sitting down, strapping himself in and waiting for the rest of the team to follow his lead. They did, and Applejack nervously sat down beside Koghad, the seat moulding to her body form like it had in the Piranha skimmer, holding her firmly in place.

The rest of the ship was empty, apparently no other units were travelling up as late as they were to dock with the fleet, but thanks to Applejack, they’d been a special case. As soon as the last of them had taken their seats, the rear door slid closed, plunging them into darkness, before a dim red light illuminated the cabin.

With a roar and a lurch, the Orca took to the skies, its engines threatening to deafen the occupants of the transport as it climbed ever higher. Applejack clenched her eyes shut as the ship shook particularly violently, before it punched its way out of the atmosphere of T’au. For a sickening second, Applejack felt the contents of her stomach begin to float, before the ships artificial gravity kicked in and returned the feeling to normal.

“Why do we have to do this?” Applejack muttered, cracking her eyes open slowly and looking across as Koghad.

Like her, the Demiurg seemed to be taking the take-off badly, his face going pale as he kept his eyes firmly on the floor. Mata was doing the same thing, while Lofeg looked almost bored by the proceedings, staring out one of the portholes with a disinterested passive stare.

“Ah told yer Applejack,” Koghad finally replied. “We’re needed on Styro, and fer that, we have to go on a ship. And into stasis.”

“I don’t want to go back in the freezer,” Mata moaned, before his cheeks bulged and he put his hand in front of his mouth. For an agonising second, Applejack thought Mata was about to throw up in the confined space, but he managed to hold it in, shaking his head in disgust as he forced the bile back down his throat. “This just isn’t natural,” he moaned again, weaker this time.

Applejack nodded her agreement, but didn’t say anything, not wanting to open her mouth for fear of copying Mata’s example of nearly throwing up. Now they were out of the atmosphere, the ship was a lot quieter, and Applejack soon heard a voice from near the front of the ship.

“We’re approaching the Dal'yth Kir’qath Kessan, prepare to disembark.”

Not a moment after he had finished speaking, Applejack felt the ship touch down, followed by the seat releasing her and the ramp at the rear of the Orca lowering to allow them out onto the deck of the ship. Tau were running back and forth, with a smattering of auxiliary troops flitting about in between them. Striding off with a purpose, Koghad led the team through the hanger, heading towards a corridor marked with more of the Tau symbols. Applejack could make out a couple of ‘S’s and a ‘T’, but she hadn’t yet grasped the Tau language, and so the word was a mystery to her. She didn’t have to wait long until she figured out where they were headed to however.

“All non-essential personnel, report to your assigned stasis-bay. I repeat; all non-essential personnel, report to your assigned stasis-bay,” a voice echoed across the ship, and realisation suddenly dawned on Applejack as they emerged into a long room, packed with what must have been hundreds of open tubes.

“Well, looks like we best get ready,” Koghad announced, walking further down the room, before stopping in front of four tubes. “Here we are, our homes for the next month. Best get ready quickly, this place is about to be filled with a lot of guys all tryin’ ta get into their tubes at the same time.”

As he spoke, he and the others began to strip off their overalls, placing them in lockers beside the tubes and locking them in place.

“Why are y’all taking yer clothes off?” Applejack asked in confusion.

“Well, it’s a matter of comfort and practicality,” Lofeg replied, folding his clothes up and standing before Applejack in just a tight pair of shorts. “The cryo-modules don’t react well with clothed skin, unless it’s specially designed stuff. Even then, it can give ya a bit of an awkward rash when ya wake up. Plus, it’s more comfortable to be naked or in just shorts.”

Applejack nodded at his reasoning, before slipping off the tool belt she had been given and placing it in the locker. Slowly sliding her hat off her head, she placed that atop the belt, before patting it once and closing the door, the lock clicking shut as she did so.

“The locker will lock when ya get in yer tube,” Mata informed her. “You’ll be able ta get yer stuff out when yer tube unlocks as well.”

“So is that all we need to do?” Applejack asked.

“Almost,” Koghad replied, before grabbing one of her forehooves and quickly injecting something into her.

“Hey! What gives!?” Applejack roared, snatching her hoof back and glaring at Koghad.

“Sorry lass, but I know ya wouldn’t have let me do that normally,” Koghad apologised, picking up another needle and sticking it in his own arm, allowing the liquid inside to flow into him. “It’s an anticoagulant, stops yer blood from clottin’ up and killin’ ya while yer in the freezer.”

“You still could have asked,” Applejack snapped.

“But that would have been easy,” Mata chuckled. “And Koghad doesn’t like the easy route.”

“I’ll have ya know I love the easy route,” Koghad shot back.

“Well then yer stupid,” Mata laughed harder.

“Aye, that’s more likely,” Koghad laughed back. “Come on, let’s get in the freezers before we start makin’ too much of a scene.”

Without another word, Koghad, Lofeg and Mata turned to their tubes, stepping inside of them and turning back around as the glass casing slid down over the front, sealing them in. Applejack watched as they got comfortable, before stepping into her own tube rising unsteadily to stand on her rear hooves and placing her back against the soft pads, the glass sliding down to trap her in the metal coffin.

She immediately regretted getting in the tube, and she began to hyperventilate, her eyes darting around the tube in search of a way out, before a soft voice floated into her ears.

“Please lie still and relax, stasis program beginning now. Have a nice trip.”

As the voice spoke, Applejack could feel herself becoming more and more tired as the interior of the tube began to cool down. Her eyes became heavier and heavier, before finally she could not keep them open any longer, and she allowed herself to slip into cryo-stasis.

***

Applejack let out another grunt as she pulled the plough through a particularly solid patch of earth, pushing the thoughts of the freezer from her head as Koghad moved up beside her.

“I still don’t know why ya insist on pullin’ the plough yerself AJ,” he smirked, clapping a hand onto her back. “We have some beasts of burden native to the world ta do that. You pullin’ that cart makes ya seem like a common animal, not a member of me team.”

“Ah don’t like forcin’ an animal to work when ah can’t ask it to,” Applejack shrugged. “If ah can help them out ah will. Plus y’all have hands, ah have hooves. Makes it easier fer you to hold that hoe thingy.”

“I guess you have a point,” Koghad laughed, walking behind her, before bringing an open palm down on her ass. “Giddy up pony.”

Koghad flew backwards as Applejack delivered a double hoofed buck to his chest, snorting heavily as she glared back at him as he crashed to the floor, before she turned back around and began to pull the plough forward once more. Mata and Lofeg watched in shock as she walked off, before walking towards Koghad as he unsteadily got back to his feet.

“Looks like you found a soft spot,” Lofeg laughed.

“Wasn’t a smart move,” Mata agreed with a chuckle. “She is a lass Koghad, remember that, and all that comes with it. Their type don’t like to have their asses slapped.”

Koghad glared after Applejack for a second, before his face broke into a grin and he let out a soft chortle. “Yeah, I guess I deserved that. She doesn’t act like a lass, easy to forget that she actually is one.”

“Well she is, so don’t forget it again,” Lofeg pressed, wrapping his arm around Koghad’s shoulders. “Now, go say sorry to her, and make sure that ya tell her it’s just how we Demiurg act.”

Koghad nodded with a sigh, before casting a glance over at their Tau overseer. He had clearly seen what had transpired, and was shaking his head, fixing Koghad with a meaningful stare before gesturing towards Applejack. Getting the reinforced message, Koghad hurried towards Applejack.

“Fio’Saal Applejack, Fio’Saal Koghad is approaching once more,” the drone behind Applejack bobbed forward, looking at Applejack though its single red optical lens.

“Thanks W1,” Applejack nodded, before turning to glare at Koghad. “Don’t do that again, yer hear?”

“Yes lass, I hear ya,” Koghad nodded. “I came to apologise anyway, it’s just the Demiurg way. No hard feelin’s?”

Applejack stared at Koghad for a long time, her gaze piercing through him, before she nodded, raising a hoof and spitting on the end of it, before holding it out to Koghad. “No hard feelin’s.”

“Thanks lass,” Koghad smiled, spitting on his palm and grasping Applejack’s hoof, before letting it fall back to the dirt again.

“I am glad your stupid actions didn’t affect the dynamics of this team,” the Tau overseer said, crossing his arms as he looked between the pair. “The matter is resolved I take it?”

“It is Fio’La,” Applejack nodded. “Koghad just needs to learn that some things are off limits is all.”

“A lesson he and Mata would do well to learn,” the Fio’La nodded with a frown. “Don’t let it happen again Koghad, or I may have to look further into your kinds moonlight activities.”

With that, the Fio’La turned and walked away, heading towards another group of Earth Caste farmers, barking orders as he went, leaving Koghad and Applejack alone. Koghad growled slightly, before making an obscene gesture at the back of the Tau’s head.

“I hate that one,” he muttered.

“He let yer off easily though,” Applejack pointed out in confusion.

“He also threatened me and me kin,” he grunted. “Plus ah don’t think he likes us auxiliary that much.”

“Ah thought that Tau respected the auxiliary.”

“Oh as a race they do,” Koghad nodded. “But that one, they don’t all like us, and he seems like the kind to put his kin first, even if the Greater Good says otherwise.”

“Oh come on, he’s not that bad,” Applejack defended.

“Easy for you to say,” Koghad smirked.

“And what’s that meant to mean?” Applejack asked, her voice hardening slightly.

“Oh nothing,” Koghad replied with another smirk, patting Applejack on the back, being careful to not touch her hat. “I just think he has an eye for cute creatures.”

"Who are you calling cute?” Applejack snapped, aiming another, lighter buck at Koghad.

“Well let’s put it this way,” Koghad laughed, dodging the kick and moving back away from her. “I was talking about the one of us who is orange and not a Demiurg.”

“I’m not cute,” Applejack snapped, straining against the plough she was still attached to as she tried to pursue Koghad, but to no avail.

“As ya say lass,” Koghad laughed, turning away from her. “Come see me later, after ye get out of that plough, and we’ll see if those kicks of yours can help ya in a true wrestlin’ match.”

Applejack let out a snort as she fumbled with the clasps securing her to the plough, before letting out a cry of annoyance and turning back to her ploughing path. “W1, am I still on track?”

“Yes Fio’Saal Applejack. Plough path is being followed with ninety six percent accuracy. Shall we continue?” the drone asked.

“Yeah, ah think we should,” Applejack nodded, before taking another step forward, pulling the plough through the dirt once more. She couldn’t help but wish that Big Mac was standing beside her, carving out another furlough in the ground, speeding the planting of the new orchard. Instead, all she saw when she turned her head to the side was one of the large animals that were pulling the rest of the ploughs, a drone leading it, while another drone planted the seeds behind it like W1 was doing for her.

The creature, one she knew was called a Mukaali, was bigger than her, looking like a cross between a Saddle Arabian horse and Big Mac, having the height and portions of one and the sheer muscle mass of the other. Applejack felt sorry for the creature, its lack of intelligence more than that of an animal was disheartening, but she knew that this wasn’t Equestria, and while there it could almost be considered slavery, here it was the way of life. She couldn’t expect a civilisation to change because of her, she’d just have to adapt to it.

Shaking the thought from her head, she allowed her gaze to travel skywards as she plodded forward. Although it was daytime, and the sun was high in the sky, she could make out blotches of light that she could only imagine were stars. It was beautiful, the lights seeming to dance before her eyes, before she turned her gaze back to the earth and concentrated on the task at hoof.

***

The day dragged on without any more events, each member of the auxiliary team working hard to make sure they met the quota that had been set for them. Applejack was once again back in her stride, relishing the simple act of farming, and following her calling in life. She didn’t know what they were planting, and she highly doubted that they were apples, but it was still close to her talent, and for that she was thankful.

Eventually, the sun threatened to dip below the far mountains to the east, signalling that the working shift was almost over. She could already see the other farming teams beginning to head towards the habitation blocks that they had been staying in since they had landed on Styro, their blocky walls unlike the buildings she had seen on T’au, but she simply assumed that these were the norm for this world and thought nothing more of it. Unlike the rest of the auxiliary, she didn’t want to go in just yet, the last furlough that she had to dig being almost completed, and so she pushed on.

“Oh come on AJ,” Lofeg groaned, walking towards her with the rest of the team. “We’re going to miss the good grub. Again.”

“Ah’m sorry, but ah have to finish this,” Applejack apologised. “It’s almost done, and ah’m not leaving a job half-done.”

“You always do this though,” Mata walked up beside Lofeg. “Ever since we got here ya keep working past when we can leave.”

“Ah’m sorry Sugarcube, but it’s not…” Applejack began, before a huge boom drowned out her words, the world being suddenly lit up by a blinding flash of light as for a moment, a second sun was born amidst the habitation blocks.

The pressure wave hit a split second later, throwing Applejack from her hooves as if she was a toy, the plough coming with her as she crashed to the floor, landing in a twisted heap a few meters away. The rest of the team had also been thrown aside, and from her position, Applejack couldn’t see where they had got to, especially as her eyes were glued to the habitation blocks.

The buildings that remained standing were on fire, huge burn marks also dotting their broken surface as the few people that were still moving beside them screamed in pain and terror. The majority lay still however, or were gone from view all together, swallowed up by the new crater that had been smashed into the centre of buildings.

Applejack was dimly aware of the screams as the stars in the sky became brighter, rushing towards the earth as if they were moving to great and old friend, but the ringing in her ears drowned out almost all other sounds. Her hearing slowly returned to her as the smell of the dead and burning began to slide over her, causing her to gag and wretch, struggling to be free from the straps of the plough that were now tangled around her limbs.

“Uggghh…Help!” she roared, her voice mingling with the other pleas for aid as she struggled in vain, only succeeding in constricting her tighter. “Help!”

The lights grew brighter still, before they slammed into the ground, revealing themselves to be strange blue egg shaped things of metal, their surfaces scorched black by the flames all around them. As Applejack watched, the doors on the sides crashed open like a flower blossoming, revealing several short stumpy cannons within. A second later, the screams of the wounded were overpowered by the roar of the cannons, the bullets spraying into the Tau and scything down the few who were still walking.

“Help me!” Applejack screamed, a bullet slamming into the dirt just beside her. “He…”

“Be quiet and lie still,” a voice hissed from behind her, a shadow falling over her.

Twisting, she looked up to see the visage of the Fio’La, his face scarred by what looked like metal splinters, and his overalls stained with blood. As she watched, he drew a blade, placing his free hand upon Applejack's head. Applejack’s eyes went wide as the knife floated nearer to her eye, and she suddenly remembered Koghad’s words about the man.

“P-please…d-d-don’t,” she stammered, before the knife moved forward and she clenched her eyes tightly shut.

Expecting pain, she was confused when she wasn’t greeted by any, instead finding her forelegs come apart as the straps that had tangled around them fell away, followed swiftly by the ones holding the plough to her.

“Get up, now!” the Fio’La grunted, pushing the plough off her and standing up, helping her to her hooves. “We need to go!”

“What’s…”

“No time, we need to run!” the Fio’La roared. “Get out of here! I need to go back and search for survivors.

“But…”

“Run!” he bellowed. “Don’t sto…”

His head exploded, his corpse dropping to the ground as Applejack was covered in his blood.

For a moment, she was stunned by the sudden death, before her eyes focused again and she saw large figures moving between the fires in the buildings, occasionally stopping and firing the huge weapons cradled in their hands. Each one stood taller than even Celestia, and were clad in bulky blue armour, a white horseshoe emblazoned on their shoulders.

Applejacks heart seized as she remembered Rainbow’s tales, of warriors capable of tasks beyond mere mortals, and realised that she was looking straight at a squad of Space Marines, more emerging as yet more of the egg-shaped pods crashed down to the earth, disgorging yet more Space Marines.

“Applejack!” Koghad yelled, and Applejack turned to see the Demiurg and the rest of the team sheltering behind what looked like the corpses of Mukaali.

“Run!” Mata screamed, before getting up and sprinting as fast as his stumpy legs would allow him to away from the hab-blocks.

This time, Applejack didn’t need to be told twice, nor did she argue. Turning, she instantly broke into a gallop, putting the speed she usually exhibited in the running of the leaves to shame as she sought to put as much ground as was possible between her and the Space Marines, praying that she didn’t get a bolter round in the back as she went.

Third Sphere Expansion

Applejack

Applejack grunted as she pushed her body up again, her forelegs shaking violently as she glared with determination at Rey’myrs, the Tau looking like he was struggling just as much as he lowered himself towards the ground again.

“Two…hundred…fifty…two,” he grunted, before collapsing to the floor.

“One more and you win, Applejack,” Ala looked at Applejack as she spoke, the squad commander sitting down on one of the bunks and watching the contest with a wary eye.

“Just one?” Applejack asked, lowering herself down, before pushing back up again. “Ah think ah could keep goin’ for a bit longer.”

“You won the challenge, you satisfied your honour,” Ala stood up. “Now, no more is needed, any more may see you injured.”

“A self-injured soldier would an affront to the Greater Good, you would have no use to Empire,” Freynat intoned from across the room, her eyes remaining closed as she sat cross legged on the floor.

“Do you ever speak in anything but riddles?” Applejack asked, getting to all four hooves again and helping Rey’myrs back to his feet. “No hard feelings?”

“None, you won fair and square,” he shook his head, massaging his arms and wincing. “Still, would be interesting to see how your farming muscles help you in a survival situation. When you can build a fire in under a minute, we may have a contest there too.”

Applejack laughed, before walking back to her bunk, her rail rifle laid on top of it, completely stripped down and disassembled. She had been in the process of cleaning it before morning inspection, before Hurnak had made a comment about his sharp eyes and how he could probably carry the rail rifle for the squad. Applejack had immediately rebuked that, and the challenge had begun.

Rey’myrs jumped in to defend his brothers’ honour, lasting far longer than he did, while Freynat and Valnoth stayed well clear of it, the former sticking to her meditation, while the latter opted to watch with Ala, staying quiet as the squads commander presided over the contest. Now that it was over, she went back to talking with him, drilling him as she always did for his experiences out in the field.

It had been almost two months since they had finished training, and so far they had not seen any sort of combat, instead being stationed on a frontier planet. Applejack often liked the planet to Styro, the terrain being very similar. She was still drawn back to the farming fields where Earth Caste members were toiling, but this time she watched over them, her rifle always at the ready, knowing full well how fast a strike could come.

Returning to the task at hoof, Applejack quickly began to reassemble her weapon, glancing over at Hurnak as he wiped his pulse rifle down. He did have a point, he was a far better shot than Applejack was, but the sheer weight of the rail rifle down would simply force him to move slower, and by extension, the squad. It was the reason rail rifles weren’t common in Fire Warrior squads, being favoured more by pathfinder sniper teams.

“Hey, chin up,” she began, before the Ala stood up, pressing his hand to the communicator in his ear and nodding, before addressing the squad.

“The Sept is mobilising, the human world of Ratnak was offered a place in the Greater Good in return for a peaceful cohabitation between our empire and their planet. They have refused, so it is up to us to take this world for the glory of the Greater Good.”

“What designation of world is it?” Valnoth asked, tightening the straps on her armour, before attaching the larger left shoulder pad and grabbing her helmet and rifle.

“It is one of the human forge worlds. That could mean facing anything from tech guard and servitors to their titan and Skitarii legions.”

Applejack shuddered as she heard about titans, a flashback of the monstrous war machine on Styro causing her to break out in a sweat, before she forced the memory back down again and grabbed her own gear, attaching her weapon to her side and placing her hat on her head. When she was wearing her helmet, her hat had to stay behind, but whenever she could, she wore the one piece of home she still had.

Ala looked around at the squad, nodding that they were all ready as the two drones that followed them purred into life, one carrying a pair of pulse carbines, giving the squad some extra firepower, while the other mounted a powerful shield generator capable of deflecting some small arms fire, while allowing the squad to fire outwards, something about the charge direction of the shield polarity or something, Applejack had gotten confused when Freynat tried to explain it to her.

As soon as they grabbed their personal gear, Ala turned and led them out of the room towards the muster yard. Drones would ensure that their personal effects were taken to the ship, meaning all they had to worry about was their combat gear.

***

Applejack sat shoulder to shoulder with Ala and Rey’myrs, a dull red light filling the troop compartment of the Devilfish the squad had been assigned to for the assault. It was the first time Applejack had seen one of these vehicles up close, and she had to say, she was impressed. The back was easily large enough to ferry the whole squad into battle, but more importantly, it provided gyroscopic protection from the outside, meaning Applejack couldn’t feel the movements of the Manta that was currently soaring towards their objective.

“Two minutes to deployment,” the pilot’s voice was crystal clear over the comm-link in her helmet.

Following her training, Applejack began to power up her helmets display, the systems in the armour connecting to those in her weapon and providing her with a readout of her ammo and power levels, while scanners connected to her body provided a biometric readout, allowing her to check her vital signs for rudimentary medical analysis. Small lights blinked from red to green as the other members of the squad activated their systems, and would stay that way until they were manually turned off, or if the squad member’s life signs disappeared. Applejack hoped that that wouldn’t happen.

Truth been told, Applejack had been thinking hard about the prospect of dying and killing for a long time, ever since she had completed training as a Fire Warrior. She knew that death was a fact of life in the Fire Caste, and she had seen people die before back on Styro. She had never taken a life though, and she was terrified that when the moment came, she would hesitate to pull the trigger, and that would either cost her her own life, or even worse, someone else’s.

“Hey, it will be ok,” Ala called, turning his single red lense on her.

“What do you mean?” she asked, cocking her head in confusion.

“Your posture changed, you're shaking slightly, it’s perfectly normal,” he explained. “Everyone gets slightly nervous before their first fight, I’d be worried if you weren’t.”

“I ain’t scarred,” Applejack shook her head.

“No use lying, little pony, I’ve seen enough first timers to know the signs,” Ala chuckled. “And if you’re worried about being able to take the shot, just remember that they won’t hesitate in return. Reflex actions will get you through most things, you’ve just got to find the will to pull that trigger. Remember, we offered them peace, they chose war. They brought this on themselves.”

“But what if I don’t find the will?”

“Then this will be a very short fight for you,” Ala shrugged, before turning his gaze towards the door.

Even through the hull of the Devilfish, Applejack could feel the thump of the Manta touching down, the lower deck elevator dropping to the floor, allowing the Devilfish to move forward. There were no screens for Applejack to see out onto the battlefield, but she could hear the soft pings through it.

“This is it, opening the back hatch,” the pilot called. “Disengaging pintle drones and assigning them to your squad. Good hunting out there.”

The back ramp quickly dropped down, light streaming in as the squad disembarked the vehicle, forming a semi-circle around the back of the transport, allowing Applejack to see where they were.

The three massive Manta’s were sitting on the edge of a concrete compound, their turreted weapons firing at unseen targets. Hundreds of other fire warriors were taking up positions or advancing forward, and they were no different, Ala breaking the semi-circle and leading them forward, stopping as they reached a crater and diving inside it.

“Anyone have eyes on the enemy?” Ala asked.

“Four hundred and twelve meters in front of us,” Valnoth poked her head just over the craters lip. “Look like human guardsmen, textbook deployment. They’re already engaging our forces.”

“Pick your targets and light then up,” Ala nodded, rolling into a better firing position and moving his helmet closer to his gun, ensuring the targeting reticule within was as accurate as possible. “Applejack, target their heavy weapons.”

Applejack nodded, her gut clenching as her helmet zoomed in and focused on the far away enemies. The sophisticated systems allowed Applejack to see every face of the humans before her, some snarling in anger as they fired, others looking impassive or worried, or even scared. Forcing herself to ignore their fear, she quickly sighted on one of the boxy human weapons, a heavy bolter if she remembered her briefing on the way to the planet.

Her Rail Rifle purred into life as she focused on the weapon itself, bracing herself, before firing. The bright blue light shot across the battlefield and slammed into the weapon, melting through it like it was nothing. The humans around it fell back in alarm, pointing out to other heavy weapons teams where the shot had come from.

In an instant the ground around the crater they were in began to be peppered by bolter shells, tearing up the concrete and forcing Applejack to duck back down below the lip.

“Good shot,” Ala nodded, pulling a grenade off his belt and pressing a few buttons. “Prepare to relocate when this goes off.”

With a practiced movement, Ala hurled the little grenade towards the enemy lines, where it exploded a few seconds later. In an instant the squad was running, darting from foxhole to foxhole, before finally skidding towards a concrete pillbox, the top blown off by some heavy weapon or another.

“In here, Applejack take prime firing position. Keep taking out their heavy weapons from here, let the Kroot handle the up close fighting.

Applejack quickly took the lead, heading into the broken pillbox, before almost vomiting inside her helmet. Bits of bodies were scattered across the blood soaked floor, one of the hands still reflexively moving.

“Don’t think about it, just get firing,” Ala urged, pushing her into the bunker.

Fighting the urge to run from the pillbox, Applejack quickly found a firing slit that gave her a good view of the battlefield. Unclipping the rail rifle from her saddle, she hefted it up to the slit, unsteadily standing on her rear hooves and bracing the gun against her barrel, using a leg to steady herself.

Again she focused on the enemy, her helmet picking up the targets and zooming in on them. As before she quickly found a series of heavy bolters spraying death at the advancing Kroot and began to fire, shots lancing out as quickly as the rifles cool-down allowed her. Shots began to hit the bunker, sending small shards of concrete into the bunker with them, but they did little more than scratch Applejack’s helmet as she continued to fire.

In short order, the heavy bolters were little more than molten slag, their crews fleeing from the oncoming Kroot, who had managed to close the gap with remarkable speed as soon as the heavy guns fell silent. Applejack turned her gaze away from the slaughter, convincing herself that all she did was destroy machinery, not the operators.

“Three Sentinel walkers,” Hurnak called, looking out of the bunker at the approaching machines. “Armoured-class, two autocannons and a las-cannon. All three targets are approaching fast.”

“Applejack, switch targets and slow the walkers down until the Broadsides can redeploy to destroy them,” Ala ordered, moving up beside Applejack and taking her position, firing his rifle into the Imperial lines.

With a grunt, Applejack swung her rail rifle around, standing beside Hurnak and starring at the approaching walkers, each one moving incredibly quickly, eating up the ground between them as they easily bounded over the rubble strewn ground.

“Are you going to fire?” Hurnak asked, his own pulse rifle doing little more than bouncing off their armoured cockpits.

“If ya want me to hit anything, shut it,” Applejack muttered, sighting on the las-cannon wielding sentinels left knee joint and firing.

The machine shuddered and ground to a halt as the hot super-heated the metal and fused it together. It stayed upright however, its gun firing a huge laser at the bunker. A hole was blasted through the thick concrete as it struck, sending Hurnak sprawling to the floor, small holes being smashed in his armour, blood beginning to seep through.

“Rey’myrs, medical attention for your brother, now,” Ala ordered, glancing round for a moment. “Keep firing, Applejack, well done on hitting the weak spot.”

“Don’t think ah can stop them all firin’ and movin’,” Applejack called back, cursing as one of her shots went wide of its mark. “Power cells are burnin’ up quickly, ah’m gonna be running on fumes soon.”

“They’ll break soon enough,” Ala assured her. “The Kroot are overrunning their main line, then it will just be picking up stragglers. If you run it dry just keep your head down and try not to die.”

“Got it,” Applejack turned her attention back to the sentinels, the two mobile machines darting around in front of the bunker as they fired into it, making it difficult to get a clean shot at it.

“Stand still ya overgrown chicken,” she growled as yet another shot went wide.

The power counter on her HUD continued to count down as she fired, quickly getting towards zero, stopping on one as she broke out in a sweat, both remaining sentinels still pounding away at the bunker, large chucks of masonry now crumbling inwards.

“We could really use those sentinels taken care of Applejack,” Ala called, wincing in pain as a piece of rock sliced through the fabric beneath his arm.

“It’s difficult to hit an erratic target on my hind legs,” Applejack growled back, trying her hardest to focus on the darting vehicle, before grinning. “But not that hard.”

Depressing the firing stud, the thin blue light shot out towards an empty space. Just as the shot passed by the sentinel, it darted to the left, moving its leg into the path of the shot. The machine was spun round as the leg was blown off, landing a few meters away from it. For a few seconds it teetered precariously on its one remaining leg, before falling to the ground. The second sentinel tried to leap over the wreckage that was suddenly in its way, but clipped its toe. In a screeching of tortured metal, the foot ripped through the front of the fallen sentinel, exposing the pilot within, before crashing into the ground as well.

“I’m out,” Applejack panted. “There’s still the last sentinel firing, I can’t take it out Ala.”

Even as she spoke, a trio of battlesuits landed behind the sentinel, their jump jets flaring to slow their descent. Before the sentinel could even try and turn, the three battlesuits raised their weapon arms, a bright blast emanating from each of them. In an instant, the sentinel was reduced to slag, leaving just the legs remaining.

“Looks like you don’t have to,” Ala smiled, before looking out of the bunker and smiling. “Weapons down, they’ve had enough.”

True to Ala’s word, the humans were dropping their weapons, putting their arms in the air and stepping out from behind their cover. A few were still trying to fight, even resorting to turning their weapons on their own kind before being overpowered and wrestled to the floor. There were only a small number of humans left, all of their vehicles had been reduced to wrecks, and Kroot and Fire Warriors were now taking command of all remaining defensive positions, ensuring that even if this was a ruse, the humans would have nowhere to fight from.

“It’s over,” Applejack breathed a sigh of relief as she glanced at the sentinels, a human pilot slowly emerging from one of them, his hands in their air.

“Yeah, the killing stops for now,” Ala nodded, before gesturing for the squad to follow him from the bunker and towards the majority of the Tau force.

Applejack silently followed after the squad, picking pieces of rock out of her dented and pitted armour, while congratulating herself that, to her knowledge at least, she had fought a battle, and not killed a single target. The thought filled her with hope that maybe she would be able to continue this way, until she could finally get home.

Planetfall

Applejack

“So, this is yer new suit, lass,” Koghad began as he stepped back. “A bit better than yer old one I might add, some of mah own work after the Ethereal was through givin’ his orders fer it.”

“It feels different,” Applejack moved her back legs experimentally, finding that she was being met with resistance. “The joints are sticky.”

“Oh, my mistake, I must have forgotten to turn it on,” Koghad muttered, walking back over to Applejack and fiddling with the oversized backpack on the armour. “Alright, try it now.”

Applejack nodded, moving her back leg again, expecting it to be as hard as last time. Instead her back legs shot out faster than the eye could see, sending her toppling to the floor.

“What was that?” Applejack grunted, slowly getting to her hooves again, careful to move slowly, feeling something working with her back legs rather than against them.

“That, Applejack, is experimental tech,” Koghad sounded proud as he spoke, folding his arms. “T’au high command bid the Earth Caste to make Fire Warriors stronger, a fusion of regular armour and battlesuit technology. It isn’t any stronger than normal armour, but it does have muscle-fibres built into the legs, makes it much easier to carry heavier loads.”

“Or kick harder,” Applejack guessed.

“That is a side-effect, yes,” Koghad nodded. “For most Fire Warriors kicking isn’t big on their list, but for you, lass? Well, word is Aun’Vesa himself secured permission for you to be one of the several warriors who got to wear prototypes.”

“So ah just get to use this new tech? No strings attached?” Applejack asked sceptically, experimentally extending her legs and feeling the suit assisting her. “Ah find that hard to believe.”

“Well the idea is you come back with it this time,” Koghad smirked, before catching sight of the foul look Applejack was giving him. “I’m sorry, lass, that was, out of order.”

“Yer damn right,” Applejack glared at Koghad, before picking up her helmet and slipping it onto her head, mostly so Koghad couldn’t see the anger growing in her eye. “Weapons?”

“Rail rifles, two,” Koghad indicated the two weapons on a rack beside him. “With yer new suit ya should be able to lift ‘em easier than ya lifted one in yer old suit. They can be fired one at a time or both together, although that takes more time for you to readjust, otherwise both shots won’t hit the target.”

“I think I can work it out,” Applejack shrugged as she picked up the weapons, linking them to her helmets heads up display. “Anything else?”

“Yer new eye,” Koghad pushed a small box towards Applejack. “Easy to be put in and take out.”

“Thanks,” Applejack muttered, picking up the box and glancing inside at the small cybernetic. “Ah think ah can work it out on mah own, Koghad. Ah should get back to mah squad, the Shas’Ui wants to teach me some more before we get to our destination.”

“Ah’m sorry if ah offended ya, lass,” Koghad sighed, watching as Applejack turned and left the room.

***

“This is our target,” Aun'Vesa pointed towards the holo-projection of what looked like a massive ball of ice with a few black spots dotted across its surface. Applejack and the rest of the Fire Warriors had assembled in the main mess hall on-board the ship, the usually noisy room now completely silent as every one of them hung off of the Ethereal's every word.

“Mylock, an unassuming ball of ice, now held by a contingent of Orks. So far our Intel suggests that these Orks have not yet unified under a single Warboss, and infighting is keeping them in a weakened state. If one tribe rises to prominence and brings the others under his control however, this may rapidly change, and the flank of the expansion would be at risk.”

Aun’Vesa took a few moments to collect his thoughts, before continuing on again, making sure to look at individual Fire Warriors as he spoke.

“Our task is simple, to keep this infighting going. We are only a splinter of the Pa’Laa Sept, but if we can prolong the situation on Mylock, we can bring down the full force of your Sept and break the Orks. If we can drive them from this world, we will have a strategically valuable staging ground for future incursions into enemy territory. Are there any questions from all of you?”

No one raised their hands, Aun’Vesa looking around for a good five minutes before finally deciding that if anyone had wanted to speak they would have done so by now.

“You are here because myself and Shas’O Shan'Ta have heard good things about you. Each squad has been hand chosen to be here, we believe you are the most suited to the task at hand. You are not here to go on a full offensive. You will be split into smaller forces, and each of you will be tasked with taking and holding an area of value. Once taken you are to fortify it in any way you see fit and hold out until reinforcements get here. You are holding our enemy in place, mighty Fire Warriors, allowing us to wind up for the killing blow. As there are no questions, you are dismissed. Those Fire Warriors under the command of Shas’Ui Ko’Min, Rulfod, Wenik and Qre’Na, please report to the arming bays immediately, you are being re-equipped before the mission.”

With that, Aun’Vesa left the room, his bodyguard close beside him, and the general din of hundreds of voices filling the room once more.

***

The Or’es El’leath Class Battleship shot out of the space between realspace and the warp like a hot knife through butter, its black hull blending in against the blackness of space. Applejack and Ko’Min stood together, the rest of the squad standing quietly behind them in the ships hanger.

Applejack had finally gotten used to her new armour, and by the looks of it the others had too. Each member of the squad now sported the same style of armour as Applejack did, larger amounts of kit weighing them down, and yet they did not struggle under the loads, easily staying upright as they approached Mylock.

“Why did we get these things again?” Diaoh asked shaking his leg warily. “It feel’s…different from the armour I had before.”

“Think of it as a test,” Valnoth smiled. “If they perform well then it could make these things standard issue throughout the Fire Caste.”

“Which would make our armies more efficient and therefore speed the spread of the Greater Good,” Ko’Min finished. “We have been given a chance to be at the forefront of development for the Third Sphere Expansion. That is well worth feeling a little…different.”

Gra’us nodded slowly as Diaoh rolled his eyes.

“So this is why we were pulled away from the forge world? To be lab rats?”

“Partially,” Valnoth nodded reluctantly. “But we were also chosen by the Ethereal and the Shas’O. You do realise that that has essentially marked us out for greater things?”

“If you say so,” Diaoh huffed. “I would still prefer to do these greater things in my old armour, this doesn’t feel right, like I’m going to make a mistake that leads me into an Ork bullet or something.”

“No one is taking an Ork bullet,” Applejack shook her head. “They’re Orks, and close to feral at that. As long as we stick ta the plan then they should stay divided enough for their numbers not to make a lick of difference.”

“Is that you or Ko’Min talking, I seem to be struggling to tell the difference. Besides the obvious accent differences of course,” Valnoth laughed. “At least you seem to be doing a good job teaching her tactical awareness, Shas’Ui.”

“Well she seems to pick it up quickly,” Ko’Min shrugged. “I…”

A klaxon began to blare just as Ko’Min started talking.

“It can wait,” Ko’Min looked towards one of the five Mantas in the hanger. “Mount up and strap in, we’re approaching mission start.”

Turning, Applejack followed after Ko’Min, her armour hissing slightly as she walked up the ramp, heading towards one of the seats that had been specifically redesigned for her, allowing her to sit far more comfortably than before, and being strapped in much tighter.

As the bars came down, anchoring her to the chair, she reached into one of the pouches on her armour, pulling out the mechanical eye and glaring at it for a few moments, before bringing it closer to the socket port. She had only put it in a few times before, and t took her a few moments, but soon she managed to get it seated properly, her vision on the left side flaring into life, momentarily disorientating her, before her two eyes properly synched and created one single image.

Applejack had to begrudgingly admit that the eye was very good, interfacing directly with her brain and displaying tactical data. Her helmet did much the same thing, but this gave her a much greater degree of accuracy due to it being directly attached to her, rather than just scanning her like her helmet did.

“Is your eye seated properly?” Valnoth asked from across the isle of the Manta.

“Yeah, it’s workin’ fine,” Applejack nodded, before sealing her helmet into place and lapsing into silence.

This was the first time she had seen combat since the forge world, and her nerves were rising quickly. It seemed odd to her that that drop had only been a month and a bit ago, and how much she had been forced to change in that short amount of time. She had avoided thinking about it since the incident, but she now had to face the fact that this was what Rainbow must have felt like after her disfiguration. The idea of fighting and carrying on with the life you had before with part of you missing was just odd to her, almost intolerable.

“Applejack, are you well?” Ko’Min asked in the final squad checks, even as she felt the Manta lurch upwards off of the deck of the ship, her eye displaying their relative speed as they launched into space towards the planet, a time to destination counter beginning.

“Ah’m fine,” she nodded grimly. “Let’s see how that holds up in three minutes thirty one seconds.”

Applejack cut out the noise of Ko’Min asking the others if they were ok, instead focusing on the two sets of numbers in her vision, the speed continuing to rise as the time until they would be released from their chairs thundered towards zero.

The craft began to shake as they passed through what Applejack assumed must have been the atmosphere, feeling like it was going to come apart completely for a few seconds, before smoothing out once more, the relative speed in Applejack’s vision being replaced by a much smaller value labelled as air speed.

“This is it!” Ko’Min roared. “Get ready, we come out shooting.”

“Thirteen seconds out!” Applejack raised her own voice, looking around the troop compartment and getting herself ready, doing one final check on her weapon’s and armour’s systems.

“Five! Four! Three! Two! One!” Applejack bellowed, before the craft slammed down, the rear ramp instantly dropping down as the restraining bars rose away.

An anger Applejack couldn’t quite explain rose up in her chest at the thought of the imminent battle, and she let out a snarl before setting off at a gallop towards the surface of Mylock, Ko’Min, and the other members of the strike force doing the same thing as they sped to meet the Orks in open battle.

Author's Note

I don't know what it was about this chapter, but I really hated it, hence the shorter than usual word count. Also, sorry about the longer wait, uni work and a few other things have caught up with me now.

The Last Straw

Rainbow Dash

“Keep your hands up!” Rainbow roared as she dove forward, using her wings to keep her moving faster than most would have thought possible as she pivoted on her rear hooves and bringing one of her new claws up underneath the Dark Eldar’s block, hitting him hard in the jaw and sending him reeling back out of the sand circle.

“Pathetic,” Rainbow sneered, turning back to face the remain three Dark Eldar, each one a new member of the Shadowbolts who had been a little too vocal in their criticism of following a non-Eldar. It may have been the eve of battle, but Rainbow was not about to let insubordination slip into her ranks. “Do none of you actually know how to fight? Or is the big bad pony too much for the Dark Eldar?”

Two of the Eldar lunged forward at this, the third moving to support them, trying to get behind Rainbow.

“You’re too slow,” Rainbow laughed, weaving around the blows that were being aimed at her, before grabbing onto one of the Reavers outstretched arms. It was only there for a fraction of a second, but Rainbow was faster, and with another flap of her wings, swung the Eldar around into her friend, sending both of them skidding out of the arena, both of them cursing as they got back up, watching as Rainbow squared off against the final Reaver.

Rainbow was about to dive forward, when she felt the injectors on her back whir into life, several syringes drawing out large quantities of her blood, while others pumped in a replacement fluid. Rainbow noticed the change instantly, her pupils widening fully as the colours in the world seemed to pop and become more vibrant. The Reaver began to move towards her, everything about him moving in slow motion. Rainbow could easily make out the ripples across his muscles as he moved, even as her own muscles bulged, the veins within them instantly becoming visible beneath her cyan fur.

Rainbow blurred into motion, the Reaver’s eyes widening as she moved far faster than he was. He began to raise his hands into a block, but it wasn’t enough as Rainbow leapt forward, rising up onto her rear hooves and balling her right claw into a fist, driving it into his face.

Blood erupted around her claw as she felt bones crunching beneath her fist. The Dark Eldar didn’t make a sound as he was thrown backwards, his body flying through the air like a ragdoll, landing at the feet of some of the other Reavers. Rainbow panted for a few moments, before her injector array sprang to life again, drawing out the combat drugs and replacing her blood. Time began to move at normal speeds once more as her muscles shrank back to their regular size.

“What…what was in that one?” Rainbow asked, chuckling to herself slightly as she turned towards Eethron.

“I believe that was Bylestim and Tryrphous, a pair of particular favourites of the human Lucius I do believe,” Eethron mused. “I trust you found them to your…satisfaction?”

“Oh, more than that,” Rainbow grinned darkly.

As the pair spoke, the three Dark Eldar rushed over to their fallen comrade, checking his pulse, before looking at Rainbow.

“He’s dead,” one of them called, his voice not betraying any emotion of any sort.

“Tell him thanks for being target practice, then throw his body to the Khymerae,” she shot back, before turning back to Eethron, licking her lips slightly. “I like them both, keep them coming, just for me though.”

“Oh of course, I wouldn’t presume to give your underlings an advantage over you, my dear,” Eethron simpered. “You are far too interesting to me to risk you being deposed, as are your…compatriots. Will they be joining us to sample my wares?”

“Gilda might, doubt Scoots will,” Rainbow shrugged. “And Spitfire and Lightning aren’t exactly being compliant.”

“Ah, so I did taste some animosity in the air,” Eethron nodded. “Well then Rainbow, I suggest you get your house in order, or I fear Ilithia will do it for you.”

“I’ll keep it in mind,” Rainbow snorted, before turning to her Reavers. “Get the hell out of here, you’ve got five hours before you will be ready in the garage. Late comers will suffer, spread the word.”

“Yes…champion,” one of the Reavers muttered through gritted teeth, before turning and leading the other two out of the sparring room, a slave cowering as they passed, before scurrying into the room and hurriedly sticking a cruel meat hook into the dead Eldar and beginning to slowly pull the corpse away, Rainbow watching impassively. The slave had never once looked up as he came in, but she was impressed by its bravery by simply being in the same room as both her and Eethron. It would have been impressive if the thing hadn’t been a pathetic emancipated mess.

With a flick of her mane, Rainbow trotted from the room, the slave diving out of her way as she walked passed. Rainbow spared a seconds more thought for the pitiful creature, before she pushed it from her mind and set off to find Gilda and the rest of her team, if they could even still be called that.

***

Rainbow glared at Spitfire from across the secondary garage, Gilda standing beside her and mirroring her gaze.

Spitfire returned the glare in kind, Lightning moving closer to the older pony.

Scootaloo stood in the middle of the two pairs, silently looking between them, wondering who would make the first move. As it happened, it was Rainbow.

“It doesn’t look like you’re getting that bike ready for a combat deployment,” her voice was soft as she spoke, and dangerous. “But clearly my eyes must be deceiving me. There’s no way you’re currently preparing for a long journey, is there?”

“What? Has Eethron not upgraded those yet,” Spitfire shot back venomously, ignoring the last part of the question. “Maybe you should go see him again and get those sorted. I’m sure he could take away the small part of your equinity that’s still left.”

“You’re playing a dangerous game, Spitfire,” Rainbow sneered. “Have you even thought about what will happen when you lose?”

“I thought you knew me well, Rainbow,” Spitfire returned the sneer in kind. “Wonderbolts, don’t, lose.”

“Could have fooled me,” Rainbow snapped, before looking at Scootaloo. “Scoot’s, is your bike ready?”

“I don’t…” Scootaloo began, before Spitfire cut in.

“Don’t drag her into this, Rainbow,” she warned, taking a step forward, but before she could take another, Rainbow surged forward, drawing herself up onto her back legs and flaring her wings intimidatingly.

“Don’t you dare, Spitfire, the ice you're on is getting so thin,” Rainbow growled. “Scootaloo, get to your bike, prepare for combat. As for you two,” she turned back to Spitfire and Lightning, “you have a choice to make, two options, you know what they are. Make the right one, the pair of you.”

With that, Rainbow fell back to all fours and turned back to Gilda, the pair of them heading into the primary garage, making a beeline towards their bikes, Scootaloo following after them silently.

“You’re letting those two get away with too much,” Gilda hissed, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Scootaloo was hard at work on her own bike and not listening in, before she continued. “And they’re starting to shake the squirts confidence in you. Stamp it out, or you’ll have three insubordinates on your hoo...claws.”

“I know,” Rainbow growled. “I know what they’re doing and how far they’re pushing me. Just…leave it to me, don’t you dare make any move without me making one first, ok?”

“Rainbow…” Gilda began, before Rainbow cut her off.

“I make the first move. You make the first one, and you’ll have made your last one. Understand?”

“Sorry, Rainbow, I’ll follow your lead,” Gilda nodded. “Now, any idea what we’ll be facing on this raid?”

“Light guard presence, which means maybe a regiment,” Rainbow shrugged. “Plus PDF forces, but they’re not worth a squirt of piss. Hopefully we won’t have to deal with any tanks or armour of any kind, but if we have to fly over the Hive we’ll encounter AA guns on the walls, so make sure your armour is solid, and take the heat ray, we could need it.”

“I’ve got a Dark Lance on there already, mine’s the only bike strong enough to take it,” Gilda replied. “Still want the heat ray?”

“No, keep the Lance, but make sure you have your personal weapons, those things are useless against groups of enemies.”

“That’s what the rest of the you lot are for,” Gilda pointed out with a smirk, before shaking her head and sighing softly, dropping to the floor onto one of the grav-platforms and sliding under her bike, checking the underside, and leaving Rainbow to return to her own bike.

“Be ready in four, Gilda,” Rainbow called, before grabbing one of the tools beside her bike and opening a panel on one of the engines.

***

Rainbow sat astride her bike as it purred softly, the almost non-existent vibrations travelling all throughout her body. Since she had gotten the new claws implanted, she had made a few upgrades to the its controls, taking full advantage of every single feature. Her old hooves could manipulate all of the controls just fine, but her claws could make them sing, able to make the tiniest of adjustments to any number of systems, while her hooves had struggled to make anything less than easily visible movements. Not for the first time since getting them, she reflected on all of the times that having digits would have helped, and realised she could finally see why almost every creature in the galaxy that was sophisticated had evolved fingers.

Moving away from her thoughts, Rainbow looked around her bike, back at the rest of her Reaver clan. They were all loaded aboard one of the Triumvent’s Torture Cruiser’s, the bay specifically designed for what they were about to do. The Shadowbolts had grown quickly with Rainbow’s latest string of victories, and with Vect’s patronage, and they now numbered over a hundred, all stone cold killers ready to carry out her orders. Five years ago, the idea of working with them would have made her sick. And now…

“Shadowbolts!” She roared, activating the link-feed between all of them. “We drop to the slaughter!”

“And all shall be our lambs!” came the roaring reply, Gilda’s scratchy voice nearly deafening her as the Griffon shouted right next to her.

Rainbow let out a screech that was taken up by every other Eldar on the deck, the few slaves that hadn’t been torn apart in the pre-battle blood-lettings scurrying for cover, before the floor of the drop bay pulsed, and the Shadowbolts fell from the ship into high orbit above the burning planet of Sarutan.

***

Rainbow let out a savage roar as she dived forward onto a fleeing soldier, the woman’s weapon long since discarded as she tried to flee from the carnage that was all around her. She never stood a chance as Rainbow slammed into her back, bowling her over and sending he pair tumbling until they stopped, Rainbow getting a good look at her.

She looked to be barely sixteen, tears streaming down her face and her hair plastered across her head from sweat and blood. Her eyes were full of fear as she looked up at Rainbow.

“P-p-p-p-please, I j-j-just w-w-w-want to go h-home. Please…l-l-let me go.”

“I intend to,” Rainbow laughed, before lunging forward, clamping her jaws around the girl’s throat and pulling back.

Equine teeth were not made for eating meat, they were flat, large, made for grinding plants down into a pulp for easy digestion, rather than the sharp canines that many other species boasted, but that didn’t stop Rainbow from tearing half of her preys neck away, covering herself with her victims life blood as she thrashed, grasping at her neck in a vain attempt to stop the mortal wound.

Rainbow savoured the feeling of snuffing out the girl’s life as she chewed on the flesh, before swallowing it and looking around. The scene she had just enacted was being repeated as far as she could see by Reavers, Wyches, Scourges, even a few Warriors who had left the Hive in search of more pickings. The screams were like a beautiful symphony to Rainbow’s ears as she let them wash over her, feeling the pain and suffering of tens of thousands of souls. Compared to her first raid against the humans, this was like a tidal wave beside a ripple, easily the biggest haul of fresh meat the Triumvent had scored in over a century, and the humans had barely put up a fight before it was all over. Less than an hour after she had left the ship, she was ready to go back on.

“Shadowbolts!” she raised her voice above the screams, the link-feed carrying her voice easily. “Round up survivors, the transports are coming for them now! Those who you’ve already claimed can be played with for half a minute more, or back on Commoragh, I don’t care!”

True to Rainbow’s words, a small fleet of modified Raiders descended through the dense cloud cover of the planet towards the field as the newly captured slaves were rounded up, a few screams still echoing as they were finished off, but for the most part they were cowed into a terrified silence, the Dark Eldar realising that to kill them now would satiate them, but they would have more time to have their fun back in the relative safety of the Dark City.

As soon as the transports touched down, the Eldar who had been hanging on the sides leapt off, carrying huge reels of razor chain, micro-filaments designed to be interwoven and locked around newly captured slaves to keep them in line. Once on, it only came off when it was burnt away, or if the wearer struggled too much, although in that situation the razor sharp edges would effortlessly decapitate the person. After watching a few of their friends suffer that painful fate, most new slaves learnt to not struggle. It was pathetic really, most of them honestly believed that the quick and painful death would be better than what was in store for them. For once, the majority of the human’s ignorance about alien species was working one hundred percent against them, and one hundred percent in the Triumvent’s favour.

Rainbow counted over a hundred slave transports get loaded up, between forty and fifty slaves forced on board like sardines, each one barely given any room to move as the transports took off once more, leaving the Reavers and the Wyches with almost as many slaves still on the ground as they had just taken off. A few of them looked hopeful that they were not being taken, and in a way, Rainbow supposed they were right, even as the Dark Eldar closed in around them. At least their deaths would be quick.

With quick sharp tugs on the razor-chains, almost all of the slaves dropped like flies, heads rolling as exquisite, gorgeous, delicious waves of pain and suffering washed over the surrounding raiders. Wounds on those still standing knitted themselves back together, as Rainbow felt herself reinvigorated, not experiencing the rush to the same extent, but thanks to Eethron she was more than capable of feeling something. The few survivors screamed for a few seconds, before the Dark Eldar were upon them, weapons disbanded as they simply used their hands to rip the pathetic creatures apart like cattle before the charnel house.

Rainbow turned away from the dead, their lifeless corpse’s holding little interest for her now as she straddled her bike, Gilda doing the same as they moved towards Scootaloo. The young pony had gone several shades whiter than its normal orange, very few flicks of blood covering her armoured bodysuit, while Rainbow and Gilda were covered in the stuff. But then Scootaloo had never gotten off her bike, hadn’t taken part in the after-battle celebrations. Rainbow was annoyed at her weakness, but she would come around, she wouldn’t have a choice eventually, no one could watch that and remain unchanged.

Rainbow was suddenly interrupted as vast webway portals were ripped into existence by Eethron’s quasi-magic science. They wouldn’t be ridding the ships back, they would be going straight back into the Arena of the barbed Heart, and when the portals disappeared, the system fleet would finally see the true surface of the planet, and they would know the depths of their failures.

“Shadowbolts, move out,” Rainbow growled, before soaring upwards.

***

Rainbow and Gilda leapt off their bikes as they dropped them in the primary garage, half of the other Reavers doing the same before rushing back to the entranceway to watch the arena floor. There was usually a display of blood when they got back, the crowd that had gathered certainly expected it. Only Scootaloo didn’t rush to watch, Rainbow catching her hurrying towards the waiting figures of Spitfire and Lightning, before she too followed Gilda to watch.

Thousands of slaves were dumped onto the sands, Rainbow not even wanting to guess at the rough number. For a moment, all of the crowd held their breath, the only sound coming from the feared mumblings of the slaves, before a few small doors around the arena’s floor were opened, and several dark shapes shot out.

Rainbow admired the Khymera, the efficiency and brutality of the kill, the speed of which they moved, and all through pure natural instincts. They were born of nightmares in the warp, giant multi-limbed skinned cat-like creatures, and many had sought to tame them, only to find themselves the prey, but the Dark Eldar had perfected hunting eons ago. Now, they moved like vengeful lightning through the crowd, sensing those too weak to work and tearing them to shreds. One moment they were there, the next, they were simply a fine red mist coating those nearby.

More than one slave recoiled at the site, their life also cut short thanks to the razor-chain, forcing them to stand rigidly still as creatures that could kill them in an instant passed right beside them. The fear that rolled off them was palpable, but eventually all good things had to end, and the Khymerae disappeared, Wyches armed with cruel whips forcing the slaves off the arena floor.

“Damn, it usually lasts longer,” Gilda sighed as the Reavers slowly made their way out of the garage viewing bay, laughing and joking with each other as they experienced the come down from the battle.

Soon, it was just Rainbow and Gilda left, and it was hard to miss the thundering sounds of hooves fast approaching.

“Here we go,” Rainbow muttered, not turning around, before suddenly ducking, drugs flooding her system with a flick of her mind.

It wasn’t the full blown cocktail she had been using during the raid, but it was enough to slow her perception of time. Spinning around, she saw Spitfire slowly recovering from the punch she had thrown out. Lightning was currently in the air, her face contorted into a snarl as she leapt at Gilda, the pair colliding in slow motion, the much larger Griffon easily throwing her attacked across the garage.

“Time for a party,” Rainbow chuckled, before blurring into life, easily dancing around Spitfire and planting both her claws on the base of Spitfires wings. Pegasi wings were deceptively fragile, and with a flick of her claws, Rainbow felt Spitfire’s wings pop out of their sockets, before being thrown across the room to join Lightning.

The injectors whirred as they drew back the remnants of the drugs from her system, the vials now getting decidedly empty, but that didn’t stop both her and Gilda leaping on their fallen adversaries, Spitfire still roaring in pain at her useless wings as they landed on top of them both, Rainbow gripping her claws tight around Spitfire’s face.

“That was stupid, Spitfire,” she chuckled darkly, tracing a claw around Spitfire’s eye, getting just close enough to worry her. “I told you you were on thin ice.”

“Finish it, bitch,” Spitfire growled through gritted teeth, Lightning mumbling through Gilda’s claw that had been clamped around her muzzle. “Prove me right, animal.”

“Animal?” Rainbow laughed. “I suppose I could be a Khymera, but most animals aren’t like me. No no, I do this for fun, for the pleasure of the kill, not the necessity. I have two goals, save Applejack, and to fit in. You’re jeopardising part two.”

“Let me finish them off, Rainbow,” Gilda pleaded, blood trickling from round her claws as she cut deeply into Lightning. “They can’t get away with this.”

For a few moments, Rainbow considered the option. She could easily kill Spitfire, Gilda could easily end Lightning, and there wasn’t anything either of them could do, and it wasn’t as if anyone else would care. Eethron would probably thank her for two new bodies anyway. Her grip tightened, her claw hovering over Spitfire’s eye. She would take those first, wipe the sense of self-satisfaction from her face in pain and blood. Then her wings, then…

“R-R-Rainbow?”

Scootaloo’s voice barely carried across the room, the young mare having approached the group as they fought. She looked more terrified than she had during all of the slaughter at the raid, but she also had a look of determination, buried deep beneath the layers of fear.

“Rainbow?” She repeated, her voice stronger this time.

Rainbow glared at her for a few seconds, making a few calculations. In the time it took her to kill Spitfire, Scootaloo would have turned around. In the time it took her to let go of the corpse and dive at the young pony, she would be half way towards the door, and she would only manage two steps after that before Rainbow delivered the killing blow. It would be quick, clean, easy.

Rainbow gasped deeply as the images flooded her mind, staggering back slightly and relinquishing her hold on Spitfire as she shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts from her head.

“Rainbow?” Gilda half asked, half snapped, quickly grabbing Spitfire as well.

“Take them both to my personal cell,” Rainbow ordered, doing her best to sound commanding, her voice growing stronger as she spoke. “Death would be far too quick and easy for them, I’m going to make them suffer, make them know the reality of betraying me.

Gilda let out a low growl, before nodding, tightening her grip slightly and digging further into their muzzles as she hovered in the air, dragging them along the floor. They would bear the scars from her claws for the rest of their lives, however long they might be now, but they would be alive. They would be in pain, glorious pain, but alive.

Rainbow turned back to face Scootaloo, but she had already disappeared into the rest of the arena.

With a sigh, Rainbow left the garage as well, heading for her chambers. She needed time alone.

She didn’t encounter anyone while she was walking to her room, heading inside and collapsing onto the bed, her mind racing.

She had wanted to kill Spitfire, it was only right after she had attacked her, that was the way of the Dark City, but Scootaloo…Scootaloo had complicated things. She was still so innocent, so pure, while Rainbow and Gilda had come to wallow in the filth they were in, to revel in it. Killing Spitfire would have only damned her soul a little bit more than it already was, but killing her in front of Scootaloo? That would have broken the mare. Rainbow may not have had much of a conscience left, nor much decency to speak of anymore, but she was still loyal, in her own way. Those that fought with her, for her goals, they deserved everything from her, even if they didn’t see eye to eye. Lightning and Spitfire…they still wanted Applejack, but they didn’t want her.

That was ok, they weren’t needed now, not with the number of Reavers Rainbow now commanded, many of whom were better than those two had ever been, but that also didn’t mean they had to die. No, far better that they were kept alive, and in agony. Rainbow and Gilda could blow off steam, Scootaloo didn’t have to witness the events. And if, by any miracle, she came around, she could watch them breathe their last. For now though, Rainbow wasn’t going to try and force Scootaloo’s path anymore, she would let it flow naturally.

“Now all I have to do is explain this to G,” she muttered to herself, sighing at the thought of the conversation to come, before turning her head slightly as the door opened.

As if she had heard her name called, Gilda stood there, a neutral look written across her face as Rainbow got up from the bed, turning to face her friend. This wasn’t going to be an easy, or pleasant conversation.

“G…” she began, before Gilda cut her off.

“That mercy streak will bite you one day,” she pointed out, not betraying her feelings. “Maybe even get you killed.”

“You really think I’m going to let that happen?” Rainbow snorted, before flicking her mane in her best impersonation of Rarity, hoping the humour would lighten Gilda’s mood a bit. “I can’t die, I am far too pretty to die. I am just too pretty for Celestia to let me die.”

“I think most ponies finding you beautiful is a ship that’s long since sailed,” Gilda pointed out, a smirk flashing across her face.

“And you?” Rainbow shot back with a grin of her own, glad she had finally broken the tension, before letting out a surprised squawk as Gilda dived at her, knocking her over onto the bed and locking her beak around her muzzle, the Griffon’s tongue snaking into Rainbow’s mouth.

Well, Rainbow guessed it could have been worse a much worse conversation.

Author's Note

Ok, this was a lot of fun, glad I decided not to try and write the battle up, it just came across as trying too hard. Hopefully this comes across as a better alternative.

Diplomatic Talks

Rainbow stared at what was in her hooves, who was in her hooves. It was a trick, it had to be, but the more she looked at the pony she was holding, the more she began to piece together everything that had happened.

The pony known as Applejack is in the galactic east, beyond the realm of mankind known as the Ultramar Sector. The young race known as the T’au found her. Their Ethereal’s have plans to use her for their own ends, plans she is unaware of. They have her, ensnared in their lies. She is with the Tau, Rainbow Dash. Only you can separate her from them

Izrameq had led her here, told Rainbow that Applejack was with the Tau. He had never said prisoner, that was all from Rainbow’s brain, and now she saw how wring she was. If Rainbow had risen through the ranks of Eldar society, why had she not seen the possibility of Applejack doing the same.

“A…Applejack?” she croaked hoarsely, her throat drying up faster than a raindrop in Somnambula.

At the single word, Applejack’s eyes flew open, rage filling them so utterly that Rainbow dropped her back into her damaged battlesuit.

“Ya gonna speak ta me now?” Applejack snarled, this toppling the final domino of doubt within Rainbow’s mind of who she was looking at. No one could recreate that southern drawl, no one.

“All forces of Half-Formed Hope, break off engagements and pull back through the Webway. Remain on station in orbit but hold fire!” Rainbow roared, activating her communicator before turning from Rainbow, walking towards those who protested with determination in her eyes.

Scrambling out of her battlesuit, Applejack stumbled towards one of her downed wingmen, ignoring the Dark Eldar, some of whom look like they wanted to rip her apart, even as Rainbow shot a particularly embellished looking Dark Eldar with a pair of swords in his hands through the temple.

“Pa’Laa forces,” she wheezed into the suits helmet pickup, linking in to her own suit with practiced ease. “This is Shas’O Applejack. Dark Eldar forces holding, power struggle or something. The Caverns have fallen, reinforce next line of defence. Applejack, over and…”

She never finished her sentence, the exhaustion from the fight finally hitting her as she collapsed into darkness.

***

“She’s coming around,” a voice swam into Applejack’s mind.

“Git out of ta way,” another voice this time, gruffer and deeper than any Tau. This one Applejack did recognise.

“Kog…had,” Applejack murmured, trying to force her eyes open, her cybernetic eye flickering on and focusing on the Demiurg. “Where…am…I?”

“Yer in the medical ward, behind tha lines,” Koghad spoke quickly, looking like he was going to hug her before a stern Tau got in the middle of the pair.

“Attempt to hug the Shas’O and I shall you escorted out,” she spoke softly, but it was clear it was not a suggestion.

“Ah know, I ain’t gonna crush her, don’t worry,” Koghad rolled his eyes, before kneeling beside Applejack’s bed. “What happened out there, las?”

“Rainbow, she won,” Applejack shrugged, slowly sitting up with a groan of pain, waving away the doctor with a hoof. “Easily at that. Ah think she called fer a ceasefire, that still in effect?”

“The Dark Eldar are holding outside of the cities, most of their forces have disappeared back into the webway, but many of their Haemonculus forces are still holding outside of many of the cities,” Aun'Vesa said as he walked in, his honour guard flanking him. “I am sorry to cut your bed rest short, Shas’O, but we require your presence. They will only negotiate with you.”

“How are our forces doing?” Applejack asked as she slipped out of bed, grabbing her hat and wincing slightly as the bandages pulled around her stomach.

“You have three broken ribs, be careful,” the doctor snapped, before sighing and leaving.

“I’m not going to lie, Applejack, we are not in a good position. Many of our forces were killed in the initial assaults and even more were wounded. If the Dark Eldar decide to attack again? Well…”

He didn’t need to finish, it was quite obvious what he meant, Applejack nodding solemnly.

“All right, lets get this over with then.”

***

Applejack stood alone, her hair blowing in the soft breeze that blew through the still burning remains of the outer city limits. This had been where the hardest fighting had been and it showed, it would be many years before it was even close to its former glory.

She was clad in her old Fire Warrior armour, polished to perfection, but still bearing the marks of conflict it had accrued over the years. It felt odd to her, being back in her regular combat gear, even though she had only piloted the battlesuit once, but she had been training none stop for months in it, so she supposed it was to be expected.

Quite a way behind her, her entourage stood, dozens of Fire Warrior honour guard surrounding the core group. Aun’Vesa was here of course, as was Koghad at Applejack’s personal request. Along with the pair stood the non-empire species, Juhani and Tar’nek garbed in pathfinder armour to replace the suits they had lost in the Dark City, and finally Scootaloo, Lightning Dust and Spitfire. All in all it was a good group, and every one of them was on their guard, ready to fight their way back to their transports if the need arose.

Looking back at them, she didn’t see the figure approaching, but she heard the landing, turning to face the new arrival.

Rainbow now stood before her, just as terrible as she had been during their fight. Her armoured bodysuit glistened in the flickering fires, stirred up by her wing beats as she touched down on a rocky outcrop, looking down at Applejack.

“Ah suppose ah know why yer here,” Applejack called, making sure her voice was loud enough so both Rainbow and her own group could hear.

“Applejack…” Rainbow began, before looking at the disgust written across her face. “I am allowed to use the name of my friend you know.”

“Yer not mah friend,” Applejack practically spat the last word. “Ah know what y’all did, what monster y’all became! Ah know everythin’!”

“You know nothing,” Rainbow snapped, jumping from the rock and landing a hairs breadth away from Applejack, who instinctively powered up her own weapon. Even unarmed, she knew Rainbow was a threat, and she would not be caught unaware if this…thing that had once been her friend tried anything, even if it would have been a symbolic gesture at most.

“You know nothing of what I did,” Rainbow continued, beginning to circle Applejack as she stayed completely still, her eyes locked on the horizon. “Everything I did in Commoragh was to find and save you. You are needed, Applejack. Just as much as I am, but you couldn’t get home without me, because you ended up in this shithole instead of with the Eldar. Bad luck for you I suppose. Every day the pair of us are away from Equestria, the world is in danger. How quickly do the elements find new bearers? It took a thousand years for the last lot to cycle through, and we haven’t been gone that long now have we. We have got to go back, and any price we have to pay to do that is perfectly fine.”

“There are lines!” Applejack shouted, finally turning to face Rainbow, her nostrils flaring as she snorted in rage. “There are places where no pony should ever cross!”

“Grow up!” Rainbow roared now, her fangs glistening. “Grow, the fuck, up, Applejack! There are no lines! There never can be, you’ve seen the universe, I can see that bionic eye of yours, the scars you bear. Was there a line for whatever caused those? The universe is split into two things, Applejack, that’s it. What you’re willing to do, and what you’re not willing to do. I’m willing to save Equestria, fuck it I willing to save the entire fucking world! What are you willing to do?! While you sit here in your little pisshole of the T’au empire, hmm? What line have you drawn in the sand?! Everything I did, I did for you, and I would do any of it again!”

“Ah never asked yer ta do any of it!”

“You didn’t have to, I know what needs to be done, I’ve been here before! Any price is worth paying to see us returned!”

There was a moment of silence between the pair, both now face to face, glaring into each other’s eyes. Rainbow stared at her one-time friend, seeing the pony she had once known so well still there, beneath the burdens of command that had been placed upon her for decades. Applejack saw nothing when she looked back, an empty void, any traces of the Rainbow she had once known long since cast off and forgotten.

“Then what, in yer eyes, needs ta be done?” Applejack growled after a seeming eternity of waiting.

“You come back with me,” Rainbow replied instantly. “We go back to Equestria, where we all belong. You take up the mantle of honesty again, like you were meant to do, and I’ll take up loyalty again. Equestria must be safeguarded, now and always.”

“How many hits have yer taken ta the head since you’ve been lookin’ for me?” Applejack snorted in amusement now. “The Elements of Harmony work on friendship yer idiot, and ah don’t see any of tha others being yer friend after all this.”

“They’ll understand,” Rainbow snapped. “They’ll have to, because they need loyalty and honesty, and that’s us.”

“I’m not coming with you,” Applejack spat. “Ah’d rather die than come back with y’all.”

“Then I’ll order the Triumvirate to resume their attack,” Rainbow retorted instantly. “I’ll take you and ensure the rest of this world is wiped clean, everyone on it to fuel the slave pits of their betters for their pathetically brief life span. They will all die in agony and fear, and it will be on you. I am giving this one chance to save this world you’ve made your home, make the right choice, Applejack.”

Rainbow had her, Applejack knew that immediately. Her forces were simply better than the T’au were, and they had numerical advantage. If they attacked again, they would win, it was as simple as that.

Rainbow saw the fire leave Applejack’s eyes, her head falling just a fraction, but it was the most obvious motion in the world next to Eldar body language.

“I am glad you saw sense, Applejack,” Rainbow smiled, before spreading her wings. “You have a week to gather your things, I will meet you back here then and we shall leave. Tell Scootaloo, Spitfire and Lightning that I will be generous and forgive them, but they’re coming too.”

With that, Rainbow beat her wings, disappearing into the rising smoke, Applejack watching her go, before sinking to her knees and letting out a soft sob.

***

“Withdraw?” Eethron asked with a wry smile. “No no, my dear, that in not…”

“You’re going to tell me that’s not how this works,” Rainbow cut in. “I’m then going to tell you it is, you’ll try and threaten me, I’ll remind you that I have already killed two leaders of this Triumvirate. Should I go for the third?”

“You would find me a harder fly to swat than Ale’ri or Ilithia,” Eethron scowled.

“Yes well, look at it this way. The pair of us fight it will be interesting, winner isn’t assured, but loser isn’t getting back up, I know enough of your secrets to ensure that. Accept this, and the space is wide open for the Triumvirate to have a single leader. The Coven of Mutilation would benefit greatly from having a subservient Kabal and Wych Cult, don’t you think.”

“You make a compelling argument, it is why I always enjoyed our little repartees,” Eethron was suddenly smiling again as he spoke. “And what is it that you’ll be getting out of this…arrangement?”

“Not much, but I don’t want much,” Rainbow shrugged. “Do what you want with any of them, but I suspect I may have to travel back to this place again in my life. If I do, I would have allies waiting for me, I expect you to remember that.”

“Of course,” Eethron sneered. “Now if you are quite done, I have quite a bit of work that must be done. Please, show yourself out when you are ready, my fleet is always open to you, Rainbow Dash.”

***

Applejack, Scootaloo, Spitfire and Lightning all stood together, looking over the same ruins as before, the fires having long since died, but the smell remained. Her battlesuit had been repaired, Aun’Vesa decreeing that it was hers, since no one else would be able to pilot it anyway. He had also hinted that he wanted her to have some protection if the worst happened, although Applejack didn’t know what good the suit would do her, it had already failed once.

Tar’nek and Juhani had been stoically silent as Applejack had explained what she had to do, nodding in agreement, but saying nothing. This entire course of events had shocked the pair, it was clear to see.

Goge had been difficult to console, but that was to be expected. He wasn’t as strong as the two Eldar warriors, regardless of what he said, and he’d been close to Rainbow before. Seeing her fall to the thing she was now was as hard for him as it was for any of them. He still wore the mantle of the Pa’Laa sept, he knew full well he couldn’t return to his beloved Elysia. Rainbow had cost him far more than just a friendship, he was a traitor to the empire he loved, all thanks to her.

As for Koghad, he and Applejack had shared words in private. No one knew what had passed between them, and when asked the answer was nowhere to be found. That conversation was for their ears only, but Applejack had been sobbing when she exited the room. Koghad hadn’t been seen for many hours afterwards, but his normally stony face was just as red and puffy as Applejack’s had been.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Applejack?” Spitfire asked, Applejack struggling not to look at the nub of her wing. She had been offered a replacement, a jetpack thruster admittedly, but she had turned it down, not giving any reason beyond the simple but firm ‘no’.

“I don’t have a choice,” Applejack sighed, looking down at her from within her battlesuit. “Y’all do though, are yer sure ya want to be so close to her again. After what she did…”

“Someone needs to tell the story when we get back,” Lightning growled. “The whole story, everyone needs to hear it.”

“No, they don’t,” Gilda called out, touching down alongside Rainbow, the pair regarding the four ponies with the gaze of Apex predators.

“So nice that the three of you could join us,” Rainbow smiled, a terrifying sight with her face and sharpened fangs. “It is good to see you again, Scoots.”

“Leave her alone,” Applejack placed the foreleg of her battlesuit in front of Scootaloo as she spoke. “Touch her and the deal’s off.”

“As much as I could say this isn’t a deal its an ultimatum, I’ll humour you, Applejack. Now, if you are all ready, I have a ship waiting in orbit. Gilda, signal Kas, open the portal.”

Nodding, the Griffon put a claw to her ear, mumbling something the others struggled to hear. A moment later a dark rip appeared before Applejack and the others, directly below where Rainbow and Gilda were perched.

“Please, after you,” Rainbow gestured to the portal. “We are going home, it’s been a long time. Next stop, the Black Library.”

With a sigh, Applejack started forward, disappearing into the portal.

Author's Note

So you may have noticed, I have new cover art! :D

All credit goes to El Mutanto, I'd massively recommend them to anyone looking for artwork.

Absence - NOT A CHAPTER

Not sure who sees these anymore, forgotten a lot of how this website works, but regardless, Hello! I’m not dead!!!

So, I know I’ve been extremely quiet (read, not doing anything). Sorry about that. Partially this is due to a new job, but more than that, it’s due to working on an extremely large collaborative project set in the Warhammer 30,000 universe, known as the Legions Reborn.
(Shameless plug, I wrote the Star Guardians and Palatine Wings)
https://thelegionsreborn.fandom.com/wiki/The_Legions_Reborn_Wiki
@TheLegionsReborn on Facebook

That said, I do feel incredibly guilty about both Dragon and the Force and the Descent into Madness. Therefore, I am saying now I will be starting writing on these two again! It may not be quick, and Descent is almost finished anyway, but I hope to be able to get back into things a bit once more.

Again, I am extremely sorry to have been quiet for so long. I hope some people are still interested enough to still read what I put out
(On the plus side, my writing abilities have improved XD)
- Fenrisianbrony

Afterword

So! There we have it! Six years and one month down the line, it’s finished. I honestly never thought this day would come, and I certainly never thought that people would have still been interested in what I was putting out after so long away from this site. From the very bottom of my heart I thank each and every one of you who have stuck with this and come back to it after everything.

There are too many people who have helped out in a more direct manner for this story, editor, people who came up with the basis for some of the characters, and I am struggling to remember names, so in the interest of fairness, I will put out a blanket thank you to everyone who helped shift this unwieldy behemoth over the finish line.

Technically, I did once have a plan for this to be a trilogy, but at the moment I don’t know if I can properly get a third story written and do it justice. I will be having a serious think over the next few weeks about it, but if you would be interested in the final instalment, then let me know, we’ll see where the world takes us all.

So again, to everyone, thank you.

Fenrisianbrony