The Fall of The Caribou

Chapters

Party On The Dancefloor
The Things We Put Up With
New Arrivals, All of Them Strange
Heating Up
The Real Monsters
The Showdown
Be Careful What You Wish For

Party On The Dancefloor

Author's Note

Just a warning, this chapter will earn those 'gore' and 'sex' tags.

Party On The Dancefloor

The caribou armoured in iron gurgled weakly as Straken withdrew her sword from his throat, the bull trying to hold his hands to his neck in an attempt to stop the blood flow. It was in vain, with a final gurgle the caribou fell down face first to the floor before Straken’s boots as Maple stared in horror. The noise of the armoured body dropping was masked by the grunts and lively conversation from behind the heavy wooden door, Maple having informed Straken that it sealed off the hallway they were in from the castle dining room. What had interested Straken was that the mare had stated that right now breakfast would be in full swung, most of the caribou leaders occupying the castle would be satisfying more than one hunger right now.

As the lone guard’s blood on the blade sizzled in the blue field Straken tested the door, finding the barrier unlock and ready to be entered. The human glanced back, the pony mare standing behind her nervously as she gripped the baton in trembling hands.

Tabitha rolled her eyes, she had told the pony to stay up in the library but the creature had insisted so now the unicorn would have to deal with the consequences of following her. Straken took a second to strengthen her mind, Maple having described some of the depraved things that were waiting in the busy room. Tabitha renewed the cold shield of professionalism that she had been keeping up during the situation, her mind focusing on her own set objectives and not the suffering that she was about to witness. Using the hand holding her pistol, Straken opened the door and stared impassively at sight while Maple looked over the human’s shoulder and winced.

A single long rectangular table with one of the long ends facing her was occupied by at least fifty caribou all wearing white robes with golden trimming looking much like the Roman senators of old Terra. All were male, and all munched on numerous bowls of fruit, grain, plates of toast, bowls filled with boiled eggs as well as a wide assortment of pastries and pancakes. It was quite the decadent feast, the caribou all laughing with some even seeming to grind their hips underneath the table.

Straken didn’t think that the food could be that good, a closer look underneath the table however revealed the sickening truth to the hardened officer.

Underneath the table, wearing collars chained to the bottom of the dining table were two lines of ponies, one mare for each caribou. Straken’s sneer didn’t drop, however inside she was disgusted as she saw that the chained beings were forced to service a dining male, from what little she could see both with the front and back ends depending on the preference of the associated caribou. Maple was still behind her, the mare letting out a small sob as she gazed at her captured fellows.

A caribou with a particularly large set of antlers, a more ornate robe and a satisfied grin on his face looked over at the sound. His eyes widened in confusion as he stared at the strange creature holding a sword and pointing some strange object at him. The blue pegasus mare under the table fellating him didn’t notice any change in her owner’s attitude. Her wings were small, the feathers clipped to ensure that she couldn’t fly and her ears had been pierced with large gold rings to showcase her master’s wealth.

The caribou who owned the pegasus, a General in the caribou military, tried to figure out just what he was looking at. The creature matching his stare was clothed and he thought that it was female, its furless face possessing feminine features but no muzzle like almost all creatures in the world. Its clothing hid any gender indicators but as he examined the clothes the General came to a startling conclusion.

The clothing was some sort of military uniform, and the creature was armed…

Before he had time to bellow a warning about the threat a searing bolt of plasma took off his head, the remains of his skull and brains splattering his fellow diners with bone-shards that acted like shrapnel. Panic immediately broke out in the room, caught by surprise as bright blue energy bolts scythed down caribou after caribou the assorted creatures tried to run for the main doors.

Some stumbled over each other as they tried to escape, antlers impacting faces and shoving causing heads to crack against the walls. Even more slipped in the blood that was quickly covering the majority of the floor, their already-dead comrades proving to be a great obstacle. A few of the stupider ones tried to remove their slaves from the table, fumbling with keys as Straken continued to fire indiscriminately into the steadily thinning crowd with an emotionless look.

A large number of her opponents already dead, the Colonel started to advance towards the remaining twenty three slavers who were spread out over the room. Her black jackboots soon became coated in a thick layer of gore as she strolled past fallen bodies while her finger remained depressed on the trigger of her gun. A few Caribou had managed to reach the doors, the two white barriers quickly strained red as Straken turned her attention to them. Their bodies slumped against the still-closed doors, blocking access and turning the area into a death trap.

A huge Caribou with a torn robe turned towards Straken, cuts across his chest bleeding as he eyed her with burning anger. The bottom of his robe was torn off, revealing his groin and rapidly fading erection.

Straken’s smirk increased a little at this, despite his large body size his pecker was rather small compared to some she had seen herself. Maybe all of these caribou had similar problems, explaining their need for slavery. The bull must have correctly interpreted her smirk as a mocking gesture, his brows furrowing as he charged towards her with a roar.

Straken had time to fire off a final shot at the charging creature, her aim was off however and instead of his head the plasma ate into his left shoulder, the bull bellowing in rage and agony as he closed within striking distance.

Straken still had her trusty sword however, her compulsory melee combat classes paying off as she thrust with the blade towards the caribou. The bull raised his arms out to grab her as the sword sank into the bull’s chest, the beast’s roars cutting off abruptly as he tackled Straken to the marble floor. The Colonel cracked the bull in the side of his head with her pistol’s butt, only then realising that the creature had already stopped breathing.

Grunting with effort Straken pushed the dead slaver off of her as she rolled over, ending up on top of his corpse. Standing up and withdrawing her buzzing sword as the flesh around the wound sizzled, the Colonel looked down at her blood-drenched uniform. She had much sympathy for however was going to have to clean it if she returned to UIP space.

Quickly scanning the room with her pistol, Straken found that the bull she had killed was the last one that had been left alive. No-one had made it out of the room, bodies strewn around the area in all manner of wear. The sound of a dragging body proved her initial assumption wrong, there was still something alive.

Walking around the other side of the bloody table, Straken laid eyes upon an elderly caribou with a large smouldering hole in his stomach where a plasma bolt had ravaged his insides. He was attempting to keep his dying organs inside the hole with a gory hand while he used the other to try to crawl to the main doors thirty metres away. He was halted when Tabitha placed a boot upon his chest, the human pressing down to pin him to the floor facing up at her. Straken lowered the tip of her sword to the bull’s neck, the creature staring up at her defiantly.

“Cunt!” he spat, a glob of spit landing on the boot holding him down.

“How elegant of you,” Straken dryly remarked as she pressed down with her boot, the bull groaning weakly as a few ribs fractured. “Since you seem to know so much, why don’t you share some other nuggets of wisdom with me? You can start with the location of any prisoners you are holding.” The bull coughed up a glob of blood, wheezing laughter echoing in the room at the human’s request.

“You think you, a female, can order around a high priest such as myself?” the bull ignored the sword point entering a centimetre into his neck. “I’m not long for this world; nothing you will do can make me talk. When my brothers catch you I’ll watch from the afterlife and laugh as you beg for them to continue mounting you like the slut you are.”

“Your petty insults won’t work on me, slaver,” Straken replied coldly, the bull maintaining his gaze as life slowly left his body. He was fully ingrained that his actions had been pure and just, certain that a prestigious spot in heaven awaited him filled with an endless menu of females. Tabitha recognised the glint of a fanatic in his large brown eyes, having encountered equally dogmatic priests back home. She would not be getting any information out of this one, something that didn’t really bother her.

“Suit yourself,” Straken replied as she removed her sword from the bull’s throat.

The priest was confused at first, the alien still keeping her strangely shaped hind hoof on his chest. Then he realised just what she was doing, the caribou figuring out just what kind of creature was holding him down.

She wasn’t going to kill him, she was going to watch him die a slow death.

The High Priest attempted to struggle, hoping that the movement would provoke the female to end his life quickly. He found the strength sapped from his limbs however, noticing that most of his blood had already left his body. He flailed helplessly as pain racked his body, all while the cold creature stared at him.

Tabitha continued to watch as the caribou’s organs started to shut down, the slaver’s eyes fluttering closed before his muscles relaxed and his head fell limp. Straken sliced his throat to make sure that he wasn’t faking death, removing her foot from his chest when no movement was made. A chorus of whimpers and sobs from under the large table caused Straken to turn her head and crouch down in blood to peer under the table.

Fifty pairs of wide, terrified eyes stared back at her as the chained mares waited for whatever they expected her to do. Straken examined the table more closely, finding that the chains were attached to rings screwed into the side of the furniture. There was fifty on each long side, every second one holding chains that clinked as the mares attached to them moved. Straken debated what to do, if she released them she would have to deal with fifty sex slaves of an alien race. On the other hand if she left them then more caribou would likely come back and continue the abuse.

Raising her sword, Straken saw only one course of action open to her.

With a crack the blade sliced through the metal links of a few chains, releasing some of the creatures held under the table. Tabitha’s boots squelched on the bloody floor as she walked around the entire table destroying all of the chains. Soon all were destroyed, Straken stepping away from the table as she observed the mares underneath handle the broken chains attached to their collars with surprise.

It took a while, but soon the ponies began to scramble out from under the table, blood staining coats of all different colours as the captives tried to avoid the dead bodies of their former masters while assembling at the opposite wall to Straken. They all trembled and shook in fear as they stared at the creature that had decimated the room full of caribou, Straken not talking as she examined the beings.

The ponies known as unicorns either had no horn or a black band around the base of the bony protrusion, other ponies having small wings or black plastic cases that Straken assumed contained and respected flight. The rest possessed no extra features, looking just like a normal pony alien. All of them were coated in a mix of blood and semen, the sight of the mares sparking a question.

Where was Maple Fields?

Straken had her question answered with a glance to the door from which she had entered from, the yellow unicorn on her knees with a blank stare. The baton was limp in her right hand, the mare gazing out at the devastation that Straken had reeked in the blood-splattered room. Sighing, the Colonel walked over to Maple as the other mares watched on with apprehension at what the killer would do to the unicorn.

Upon reaching Maple Straken hesitantly powered down her sword, the energy field having vaporised any blood leaving the blade spotless. The human sheathed the weapon, taking a moment to change the nearly depleted power cell for her plasma pistol before reaching out a gloved hand and grasping Maple on the shoulder.

The mare snapped out of her trance, gazing up at Straken for a few moments in confusion before shifting her gaze to the baton held in her hand.

“I guess you didn’t need me after all,” Maple mumbled, Straken staring down at the civilian as the mare tried to come to terms with the situation.

“It is my job after all,” Straken answered prompting Maple to look back up, “I’m going to request that you get up, we must plan our defence.”

As if cued, a loud bang sounded from the main doors followed by all of the mares huddled against the wall to scream. Straken quickly took hold of Maple’s left hand, surprising the mare with the contact. Straken pulled, Maple rising to her hooves with the human’s aid as she still clutched the baton tight. Another bang and the doors bulged, the sounds of shouting male voices coming from the other side.
Evidently her little rumble with the local Caribou leaders had not gone un-noticed.

“You ponies!” Straken yelled as the bangs increased in tempo and intensity. “Get that table in front of those doors now!” the mares hesitated, unsure whether to follow the creature’s order. “Do you want to be locked back up you morons!?” Straken shouted, the pony’s reluctance to do anything except whimper really was getting on her nerves. A body moved past her, Maple throwing a look back as she moved to grab an end of the table.

Watching the unicorn strain to move the table moved the other mares to action, the ponies deciding that the angry looking creature covered in blood shouting at them was more of an immediate danger than the caribou on the other side of the door. All of them grasped the table and heaved, the heavy furniture’s legs lubricated by the blood covering the floor as bodies were pushed aside to make way.

The mares closed their eyes as they moved through the corpses, the table finally making it to the doors to block the heavy barriers.
The banging from the other side no longer shook the doors, the large table making an effective barrier. The ponies glanced toward s Straken, all of them bowing their heads as her gaze lingered over them. Passing it off as a remaining effect of their servitude, Straken coughed into a hand to gain their attention.

“Which one of you can inform me where the castle dungeons are?” The mares all looked at each other; one cream-white pegasus with her wings bound in plastic sheaths raised a hand hesitantly.

“I- I used to be a ma-maid,” she stammered in a young voice, “the stairway on the left through that door is one that leads down to the dungeons.” The young mare pointed at the doorway that Straken had come through, the human turning to look. Straken re-faced the group of mares, the thumps against the main doors making no headway.

“Maple Fields,” Straken announced, the butter-yellow unicorn nodding her head warily. “You are now in charge of these mares, all of you grab as many weapons as you can,” Straken gestured to the numerous whips and batons lying around the room abandoned in the confusion of the human’s entrance, “and defend this room from the enemy.” Maple glanced at the doors.

“We don’t know how to fight though,” an older, pink-coated ‘normal’ pony informed, the rest of the equines nodding in agreement. Straken picked up a baton and handed it to the mare, the pony staring at it apprehensively.

“It’s quite simple,” Straken replied as she started to walk back towards the dungeon stairwell. “You take your weapon and hit them with it until they stop breathing. Aim for the head.”

With those final words of wisdom Straken left the room for her next destination, Pistol charged and held out in front of her. The mares in the room shared another look before slowly taking up weapons, wincing as they pried some from the dead hands of their former tormenters.

Scrolls and books flew into the air and scattered around the air as a blue flash lit up the library, a short form appearing just before the body of the dead Rudolf.

As the long-range teleport finished Orthodox, Special Agent of the ISA, examined his surroundings as he lazily swept his plasma rifle from side to side. Finding no threats, the black-armoured lizard turned his attention to the dead body a metre away. The creature, appearing to be a cross between a reindeer and a human was sprawled out in the ground, most of its face missing. Orthodox walked over and touched the wound with his armoured hand, not needing to bend down due to his small height.

“Looks like Straken has already gotten the party started,” Orthodox muttered to himself, having heard the message from the Colonel he was supposed to save. He snorted as he looked at an open door behind the body, stepping over the corpse in his metal boots as he shook his head. “I didn’t sign up to play Fucking Knights and Damsels,” he murmured as he walked into a deserted hallway with his rifle held at the ready. In truth he had been in the custody of the ISA for as long as he could remember, no one even knew what species he was supposed to be. If he was honest with himself he doubted he could hold down another job, only the ISA seemed to tolerate his quirks and vices in return for his skills and ‘workplace enthusiasm’.

“Well, I’m here now,” Orthodox often found himself holding conversations with his own company, “I might as well try to enjoy this.”

Water dripped from the roof as Straken left the final step at the bottom of the grey-stone spiral staircase to enter the castle dungeons.

Her gun held in both hand pointing out the soldier checked the area, finding herself in a small office with a roaring fireplace. Swords, spears and crossbows were lined in racks against the wall, the weapons gleaming with no sign of use. A small barred window was at the top of a grey metal door, Straken peering out through it with ease thanks to her height.

What she saw was again a disturbing sight. Ten mares, all bearing red welts across their rumps were chained up in a single large cell, their hands and hooves bound tight with rope while they hung from the roof and spun. Each one was fitted with a ball-gag and nine were wearing golden helmets with blue plumes, each pony’s coat a pure white. There were six de-horned unicorns and three winged ones, the tenth member however was the most interesting to Straken.

This pony’s coat was a dark grey, the mare sporting no helmet but a short, dark-blue mane and tail. The feature that stood out most were her wings, the unbound limbs like those of a bat except metal rings were dotted around the wings, Straken doubtful that the wings would even work. This pony had golden eyes that were slitted like a cat’s, eyes that proved to have very good vision as Straken noticed that they widened as the pony swung around to face her. The pony must be able to see her staring at it from the office window.

Noticing the tears in the creature’s eyes, Straken could hear a faint chorus of buzzing, what it was she couldn’t work out until one of the mares swung around so that her rear was facing Straken. The Colonel could see that the guard’s tail had been tied up out of the way with black strips, revealing everything to the human observer.

Two black devices buzzed in the mare’s rear orifices, Straken recognizing the devices as some kind of vibrator. The mare’s rump wiggled as a line of fluid leaked out from her marehood, Straken wincing as she figured out the punishment the prisoners were going through. Constant pleasure until they submitted to whatever the Caribou asked of them, at first not seeming to be that bad but even Straken shuddered at the thought of days of non-stop stimulation.

In a cell next to the one housing the mares there were five stallions, three guards judging from the helmets and two normal unicorns. One normal unicorn was a white-coated, blue-maned stallion whereas the other possessed the same white coat but golden-blond hair instead. All five were chained up to large upright metal X’s as they faced the swinging mares. All five were gagged with the same ball gags as the females and all had their eyes held open with clamps, forcing them to stare constantly at the spectacle in front of them.

The last things Straken noticed were the three caribou guarding the prisoners, one garbled in a black robe where the other two wore iron breastplates and black skirts. The two armoured bulls were armed with whips, Straken making them her first targets while the robed beast appeared to be unarmed. Straken was going to shoot him anyway.

The Colonel was waiting for the right time to strike, preferring to go in and cleanly kill all three guards without much fuss. The pony that Straken labelled as a ‘bat-pony’ rotated round again and locked eyes with her, the captured guard figuring out what was about to happen.

The three caribou rushed over to the cage as the bat-pony violently thrashed in her bonds, the sound of rattling chains giving Straken the cover she needed as whips cracked against the pony’s flesh.

Straken threw the door open and rushed into the room, swiftly putting two shots each into the armoured guards as the robed bull turned to glare at her with sickly yellow eyes. The pistol was aimed straight at the caribou’s head but Straken found herself unable to pull the trigger. The bull chuckled as the gun fell from Straken’s gloved hand, his eyes glowing red and green while purple smoke bellowed out from the sides as he advanced on the Colonel who dropped to her knees.

“Oh, a new creature, a female as well,” the bull cooed as he raised a hand, a black collar forming from the smoke that issued from his eyes. “A feisty one a well, my luck surely has turned.” Straken tried to break whatever hold the caribou had on her to no avail, the Colonel not even able to grab a cyanide pill from her belt. The bull stepped close, undoing the rope binding his robe to let the cloth fall to either side of his body.

Straken was presented with a close-view of the creature’s phallus, the human squirming as she found herself transfixed by the object. Her theory about the Caribou being a little on the small side received more evidence but still she discovered that she felt an overwhelming longing for the bull in front of her to use her as he wished. She shuddered, realising what was happening she mentally recited the oath to the UIP that all citizens swore by. As she was reminded of her people’s ideals and laws she found her will strengthening. The bull raising an approving eye as he stepped forward, his groin almost touching Tabitha’s face as the creature before him resisted the mental control.

“My, you’re just full of surprises,” he laughed once more. “I’ve yet to meet a female that can resist my power; you are going to be beyond fun. However,” the bull caressed Straken’s hair, the human shuddering as the ponies that were able to watched on in fear, “unlike most of my fellows, I prefer to not have to break in my toys. My time is precious after all.” The caribou knelt down, Straken’s view of his crotch replaced with a pair of sickly green eyes with red irises. “So Bitch, I’m just going to have to invade your mind a little but don’t fret pet, you’ll have all the time in the world to please your new master willingly once I’m done.”

Stagstar, the Caribou mage in charge of overseeing the prisoners’ punishment, smirked as he sent a spike of his magical essence into the kneeling female’s head. He infiltrated her mind, the caribou preparing to re-write her morals and to turn her into the perfect slave. He would have used this on the prisoners before him, but the high priests had already proclaimed that all ponies that resisted would have to be broken in with non-magical means to appease the gods. That order did not cover unknown creatures however.

As he probed the creature’s mind looking for an entrance he frowned, encountering some sort of wall that surrounded the female’s thoughts. It looked like the female had some kind on mental defences up to prevent access, Stagstar shrugging mentally as he just decided to batter it down. He thrust his mental might forward towards the wall, confident that his years of experience would crumble the female’s defences and make her his forever.

Straken grinned as the bull collapsed to the floor screaming in agony, the metal control lifting as he rolled around clutching his head in his hands. He had attempted to break into her mind, the stupid creature not knowing that all UIP officers had psionic defences implanted to prevent interrogation via psychic means. Rather than most defences however, mental blocks on UIP personnel instead attacked back when threatened. The bull right now was probably trying to fight off the jabs of pain that would be targeting his own mind.

Straken was immensely pissed off, for the first time in ages her face actually reflected her rage at her weakness to the beast. She picked her pistol up and once more aimed it at the bull’s head while she struggled to her feet. Glaring down at the caribou that moaned weakly at the aftermath of his attempted intrusion Straken’s finger gave the trigger a light squeeze, an energy bolt ending the mage’s pain as well as his life.

The human took a few deep breaths before walking towards the cage containing the mares, pausing to kick the dead caribou mage in the balls to relieve some of her anger. Instead of wasting time finding the keys, Straken blasted the lock of the cage with her gun. Molten metal cooled on the ground as the Colonel entered the cage, heading towards the rings on the wall that held the chains suspending the ponies.

She shot all ten of the chains, the mares falling to the ground as the chains zipped back up to the pullies on the stone roof. All ten freed, Tabitha ignored the buzzing of the devices stuck in them as she pulled her sword out once more, using the un-powered blade to cut through the simple ropes binding their hands. Leaving the creatures to remove their own gags and toys, Straken moved onto the next cage containing the males and destroyed the lock.

As the cage swung open Straken made sure that she was ready for any hostile actions, the males seemed to be prisoners but after observing the behaviour of the caribou she couldn’t be sure if it wasn’t just some kind of sick game for the stallions. Still, three of them seemed to be military and she would need all the co-operative locals she could muster. Tabitha cut through the leather straps binding them to the crosses, the males all landing on the floor. The soldier stepped back and kept her pistol trained on them as they stood up.

The first objects that the stallions went for were the plastic clips holding their eyes open, as soon as they were removed all closed their eyes in relief. Next came the gags, the red balls dropping to the ground before all five stretched their limbs. After a few moments they remembered just what had freed them, all five placing their hands up and showing their palms to Straken as they recalled how the object their saviour held operated.

“Please don’t shoot!” one of the guards begged, “We’re not like the other stallions! They haven’t gotten to us yet!” Straken’s aim didn’t wavier, the Colonel staring at the five as they slowly moved their hands downwards to cover themselves.

“Names and rank, now,” Straken barked, the three armoured guards standing a little straighter as they replied one after the other.

“Straight Arrow, Private!”

“Bronze Shield, Sergeant!”

“Heavy Hammer, Corporal!”

Straken nodded and turned to the other two, civilians she guessed.

“My name is Fancypants, I’m just a business owner,” the civilian with the blue mane answered. The blond-haired stallion was watching the mares in the next cage finish removing the devices that had been in them with a sickly look on his face. He faced Straken and trembled a bit, it seemed that his time spent in the prison had been the hardest.

“I am Blueblood, Prince Blueblood,” he shakily answered, his eyes rapidly darting everywhere as his hands shook and his teeth chattered. Straken lowered her gun, still keeping it at the ready however.

“You are a Prince?” she asked to make sure, the pony nodding in confirmation. Straken looked to the other four, all of them nodding to support their fellow. Straken moved on to her next question. “Why are you down here, I thought that all of your male population had turned on their own?” The ponies must have noticed the venom in the question, shuffling back a little as the mares, all having finished their grim tasks, watched the confrontation nervously from their own cell.

“it’s not their fault!” Fancypants defended. “The Caribou have some sort of way to influence minds, some of those stallions I’ve known for my whole life and they would never fall to such base desires so readily! You saw for yourself what their mages can do, we are locked up here as we managed to resist their efforts to influence us.” The Stallion bowed his head. “We are few however, the rest… ”

“Didn’t possess the mental strength,” Straken finished, the guard named Bronze Shield nodding.

“The Caribou also have collars that change the wearer’s mind,” he informed, “red ones make mares into sex-obsessed monsters although most caribou prefer to break mares themselves.”

“It’s true,” Straken turned around and pointed her gun at the mare who had spoken that was about to walk in the door. The pony raised her hands and halted, Straken tilting her head to the side as she stepped back. The mare obeyed the command and moved beside the stallions, Straken shooting a warning glare at the other females who decided to stay in their cell. Seeing that everyone got the point, Straken gestured for the female guard to continue.

“Burning Blaze, Lieutenant,” the mare stated before continuing. “It is true, I myself witnessed male guards I’ve served with for years rape close friends as soon as those Caribou mages started their magics. Afterwards the stallions are not themselves, their eyes are dull like no-pony is home and all they think about is fucking every mare they can reach. All the while Caribou priests say that they have ‘angered the gods by allowing females to rule them’ and that only by teaching mares their place can they receive redemption.” The mare ran her eyes over Straken, taking in the uniform and weapons.

“I saw you kill those Caribou,” the unicorn kept on going after the pause. “You’re obviously military of some kind and your weapon that fires the blue magic is something I’ve never seen before, can I ask your name and species? I’m a unic-“

“I already know about your race, pony,” Straken interrupted, now was not the time for friendly introductions. “I am Colonel Tabitha Straken of the United Imperium of Planets Army, Command and Control Corps. I am a human, an alien from space to you and from the sounds of things the highest ranking officer here. As such you are now under my command with the purpose of eliminating every single slaver from the face of this planet as per my orders.”

The guards, all the mares and stallions wisely decided to obey the experienced soldier with all of the guards saluting after a pause. The civilian named Fancypants looked towards the saluting ponies before following with a sloppy salute of his own. The last stallion, Blueblood, raised his hand in the air after recovering from his experience.

“I’m a Prince,” he provided meekly, Straken glaring at him which extracted a gulp from the Prince as he lowered his hand.

“I’ve already killed over fifty Caribou since I was abducted and teleported to your planet barely two hours ago. I have years of military experience and have fought in combat zones that make this seem like a child’s birthday party. I am in command here, do you understand?”

Prince Blueblood rapidly nodded his head, the human’s point across clear.

“Good,” Straken replied, turning to Lieutenant Blaze. “Lieutenant, you are now my second in command. There are fifty-one freed ponies upstairs in the dining hall fending off a Caribou attempt to breach the doors. I noticed primitive weapons in the office I entered from, I take it you and your troops are familiar with their use?”

“Primitive?” The guardstallion who had asked sounded slightly offended. Straken held up her plasma pistol, the tip of the bulky weapon scorched black from the recent use. The stallion quickly conceded that his new commander probably wasn’t used to fighting with spears and crossbows so he withheld any further complaints. Lieutenant Blaze nodded as she shot a warning look towards the stallion who had spoken.

“We are trained in their use, yes. I assume you wish for us to arm ourselves?” Straken nodded, two of the guardmares whispering to each other and glancing at a sealed, windowless iron door at the end of the dungeons as they moved out of the cage.

“You there!” Straken called, the two pony soldiers glancing at each other before hesitantly stepping towards the human who had moved out of the male cage to the corridor. Their apprehension intensified as they realised that the alien was almost two-heads taller than them. “What is behind that door?” The Lieutenant stepped in for her subordinates, Straken noticing that the mares still walked a little awkwardly and shied away from the stallions.

“That cell is isolation,” Blaze answered as Straken turned towards it. “Inside are seven changelings, creatures that can shape-shift into ponies and they tried to invade a month before the Caribou arrived. They feed off love but can live on solid food for a while; we captured this group posing as a family in the city a few days before the Caribou attack.

Princess Celestia didn’t want to kill them and they weren’t banished back to the Badlands like all the other changelings as they were observed trying to consume normal food as much as possible, when they did feed off ponies they kept it to a minimum. The Princess was holding them in prison to test their limits in the hopes that they could be proved to live side-by-side with ponies instead of against them; she hoped that one day changelings could be seen as friends and not enemies but the Caribou attack ended that idea.

Most of the Caribou don’t seem to find them attractive, mind control does not seem to work and these changelings refused to turn into ponies willingly even when threatened with starvation. As a result the Caribou just locked them up until they either gave in or starved, that was a few days ago before I was captured and put in here.”

Straken was impressed, the solider had explained a lot in a short amount of time while skipping over trivial details. Maybe these equines could be of use to the UIP after all. The description of these ‘changelings’ indicated that they were deceitful and untrustworthy, however Straken did need all the soldiers she could get and they couldn’t be as bad as some of the infamous ISA agents that she had heard of. The human walked to the door, the ponies staying where they were as Straken unlatched the bolt locking the door.

As she opened the door seven pairs of solid blue eyes gazed out at her from the floor, seven creatures huddled on the stone floor as they trembled. Straken examined them, their naked forms covered in what looked like black chitin with holes pockmarked on their arms and legs. All had two small fangs at the front of their mouths, short black muzzles, insect-like blue wings and small jagged horns with sharp points. There were four females and three males, their anatomy generally the same as the ponies prompting Straken to wonder if they were closer to mammals or insects.

The important thing was that they had hands and therefore could wield a weapon, which was all that mattered to Straken.

“You have three choices,” Straken informed them as they continued to tremble. “I can shoot you now and give you a quick death, you can stay here and starve or you can take the smart option and work for me. You pick up a weapon and I’ll free you while treating you the same as the ponies already under my command.” The creatures all paused, small looks between each other shared before one of them stood up. The creature was female and the same size as a pony mare, the changeling nervously looking out at the guards and the dead caribou before glancing back to her fellow prisoners.

“We aren’t warriors, but if we fight for you will you help us not get imprisoned again?” Straken gave the creature cold look, her reply coming out harsh and brutally honest.

“It is unlikely that we’ll live through this if my comrades do not arrive on this planet, we will likely die if we fight back. We will however certainly face fates worse than death if we do nothing and let the Caribou have their way, I for one would rather die in battle then live with a collar around my neck. Follow me and I assure you that I will do all in my power to protect you from the slavers threatening us all.”

The Colonel’s speech caused the creatures to assess their options; eventually one after another they stood up and faced their new leader. Straken reached out and poked one of the males in the chest, the changeling flinching as the gloved finger prodded his chitin. The human gave a satisfactory nod, the chitin appeared to be fairly durable and hopefully would serve as half-decent natural armour against Caribou weapons. The changelings’ ability to masquerade as ponies would also be a bonus, Straken already planning how to use the ability to set ambushes and spring traps.

She stepped aside, allowing the creatures to exit the small cell. They passed her and stopped, exchanging stares with the ponies with some of the guards shooting them suspicious looks. That would not do, Straken wanted her native troops to hate the enemy and not each other.

The Colonel pushed through the changelings to stand in-between the two races, everyone focusing on her as she tapped her pistol against her side.

“I want none of that,” she ordered. “Untrusting soldiers are useless soldiers. Whether you’re pony, changeling or human we are all hunted by these Caribou and don’t forget it. If you want to have your differences save it until we no longer have to fight, I won’t tolerate any infighting. Are we clear?” A chorus of agreements from all of the beings in the dungeon satisfied Straken that the problem wouldn’t rear its head again. “Good, now everyone head into the office and arm yourselves. Bring some extra weapons for those already upstairs and we’ll assemble in the dining room to plan our defence,”

Changelings and ponies rubbed shoulders as they carried out their orders, the office door opening and weapons passed around to the awaiting soldiers and civilians. As Straken moved through her makeshift force of naked locals dark-grey hands reached out and grasped her free left hand, Tabitha almost raising her gun before seeing that the bat-pony that held her hand was only shaking it and not attacking her.

“Thank you,” the mare said with genuine appreciation as she gazed up at Straken, “thank you so much. I don’t know what would have happened if… that had continued. After what they did to my wings-“

“Grab a weapon and protect your fellows,” Tabitha interrupted as she pulled her arm from the mare’s hands. “You can thank me when every single Caribou are lying dead in pools of their own blood.” With that Straken continued on towards the staircase, the Colonel already planning possible tactics and strategies as the bat-pony grabbed an offered spear from a changeling with a determined expression.

Maple Fields glanced worriedly towards the door that the human had gone through half-an-hour ago, the Caribou having increased their attempts to batter down the main doors. They seemed to have procured a battering ram of some sort, the doors once again bulging with each bang. There was only one other way into the room besides the main doors and the door to the library, a small servant’s corridor that lead to the kitchen. It had been blocked off with a barrier of chairs but it seemed as the Caribou didn’t know of it, no attempts had been made to enter the room through it.

The unicorn held her baton in one hand and her broken horn in the other, every time her fingers ran over the ridges of her lost horn her will to resist was improved. She hoped that somepony was able to re-attach the horn if she survived this, her previous job as a Luthier benefited greatly from the ability to finely tune string instruments with magic as well as hands. She also hated to admit it but losing her horn made her feel like less of a pony, even though the week of Tartarus she had gone through had more of a demoralising effect on her.

Five mares rushed to the doors and tried to hold the table against the door as it jumped, the two doors giving a little as a crack as the bellows and yells from the Caribou on the other side increased. A brown-furred arm was shoved through holding a baton which it waved erratically trying to hit a mare, the ponies all scrambling away from it. Maple glanced down at her own baton and then her horn, her fist clenching around the grip of the shock stick as she fixed the arm with a glare. Advancing on it she raised the baton and brought it down upon the arm, energy sparking as it zapped the arm with an electrical charge.

The owner bellowed in pain and the arm withdrew, no more limbs poking through the gap as the attempts to batter down the door increased in ferocity. Maple turned at the sound of hooves on stone, a group of ponies armed with spears, swords and crossbows walking into the room to stare at the bodies and blood still covering the room. Maple noticed that there were a few black creatures that she recognised as changelings with the ponies. Normally she would be terrified of them trying to drain her of love but with the combination of the Caribou attack and her experience with Tabitha the creatures were currently ranked very low on the threat level.

The human soon appeared, pushing through the ponies to approached the main doors. Maple noticed that Prince Blueblood and a bat-pony mare were following closely behind the human, Maple watching the royal stallion warily as she also noticed four other stallions with the new ponies. Seeing Tabitha beside him however lowered her fears of the Prince turning into a sex-crazed rapist, if the human trusted him then maple guessed she could as well. Besides, the Prince seemed to be following the human like a frightened child, nervously glancing at the main doors and drawing closer to the Colonel whenever the Caribou banged on the door.

“Maple Fields, I see the defence is breaking down,” Straken calmly observed as a particularly violent ram jolted the table again but the barrier held. Maple nodded as the new ponies and changelings, most of them guards, moved to help the defence and pass out weapons to un-armed ponies.

“It won’t be long,” Maple replied solemnly as a guardmare approached Straken and saluted.

“Colonel, I was thinking that we should arrange everypon- everyone around the door in a semicircle with spears at the front and the rest in the back. The caribou will probably overwhelm us with numbers, that is their usual tactic but if a mage is with them we won’t last long. One thought and we’ll all be on our backs getting fucked. Except for you Colonel,” the Lieutenant grimaced. “With whatever you used to resist that mage’s control you’ll make the ideal toy for some of the more brutal Caribou, the ones that enjoy taming a mare with whips and starvation.”

“That won’t happen,” Straken responded with a steady voice, “I’ll die before I submit to a filthy slaver.” Another bang on the doors as a few mares were thrown off the table highlighted the urgent danger. “I urge you all to do the same. Better to die and deny the Caribou their pleasure then live like a debauched slut.”

“What a very rousing speech there, Colonel Tabitha Straken of the Command and Control Corps.” Everyone in the room turned towards the slightly electronic male voice dripping with confidence, the origin the doorway connecting the hallway that led to the library.

Standing in the doorway was a creature in smooth black-armour, a helmet with a blue optical visor looking over the occupants of the room as the wearer tapped a large, dark-grey rifle seemingly much too large for him with his armoured hand. A thick tail also covered in armour flicked behind the figure, the prehensile limb’s armour lined with sharp metal blades on the top. Straken’s eyes focused on the new-comer’s chest icon indicating his department. Maple, Blaze, the bat-pony and Blueblood all stared at the Colonel seeking answers as the human muttered a single word with equal parts fear and venom.

“ISA.”

“Indeed Colonel,” the creature tittered as he started to walk towards Straken, assorted weapons covering his armoured form. “The ISA is here to save the day with valour and skill, just like always.” The male looked around at the dead Caribou before continuing. “Although I do have to admit that you seem to have been handling things fine, I’m just here to finish up.”

“Funny,” Straken replied without humour, “Usually the ISA only show up to make things worse so that they can parade around and take the glory.” The creature chuckled at this; he walked right up to Blaze and looked up and down her body. The ISA agent’s head came up to the mare’s chest, Blaze not moving but a light blush covered her face as the creature let out an approving hum.

“Huh, they’re like those anthro-animal things from those old Terra cartoons,” he muttered, noticing Straken’s questioning glare. “Oh,” he waved a hand, “a friend of mine in the Agency is a huge old pop-culture junkie, some of those things you humans used to think of are just funny as hell. Moving on,” the agent shifted his weapon to one hand as he extended the free hand towards Straken. “I’m Orthodox, Special Agent. In other words the poor sap who got stuck with this assignment.”

Straken ignored the offered hand. “You’re the only one they sent?” She asked, Orthodox shrugging as the banging against the doors continued.

“Well, I ignored most of the briefing but apparently the UIP is hesitant to send a battle fleet into an uncharted universe at the risk of possibly pissing an unmet empire off and starting another war alongside the ones we already have.” The helmet’s mouth piece lowered, revealing an orange mouth filled with sharp teeth locked in a grin. Orthodox removed a cigarette from his suit, stuck it in his mouth and lit it much to the confusion of the ponies and changelings watching. He blew out some smoke and sighed happily as Straken shook her head.

“Just great, what do they expect me to do with a single ISA agent for backup?”

“Hold out,” Orthodox replied. “Apparently a small force is being gathered specifically for this, estimated a day to prep and then a week to travel. Some crap about pinpointing co-ordinates or some other sciencey shit.” He glanced at the doors as they nearly buckled inwards, a mass of guards preparing for the caribou to rush in once the battered doors were down. “We should be fine; you’ve got me after all.”
With his plasma rifle in one hand Orthodox arrogantly swaggered past scared ponies and changelings with his destination being the main doors.

“Excuse me naked people,” he requested as the crowd parted for him, Orthodox sticking the barrel of his gun through the crack in the door while glancing back to make sure that everyone watching him. “I came here to kick ass and chew bubble-gum,” he spoke in a heavy voice.

“And I never had any bubble-gum to begin with.”

Orthodox got the felling that he had gotten the quote wrong. but he guessed it really didn't matter considering the guy he had heard it from seemed to be the only person in the universe who cared about the twentith Terran Centuary.

Pulling the trigger of his gun, blue flashes accompanied by screams and yells came from the other side of the doors, Caribou bellowing orders to retreat as the agent nonchalantly held the trigger down as he only slightly strafed the gun to cover the entire outside corridor with deadly plasma fire. After ten full seconds of sustained fire he stopped and pulled the gun back in, the tip smoking slightly as the scent of burnt flesh wafted into the room causing the ponies and changelings to gag. Weak cries of the dying were all that was left, Orthodox peeking out of the doorway to observe his work.

“Well,” he stated as he faced Straken again. “They shut the other set of doors on us, not too keen to get into here anymore from the looks of it.” Straken huffed in annoyance at the boasting as the ponies stared at the agent in awe. ISA agents were generally known for their god-like arrogance, desire to be the centre of attention and a love of terror tactics. He was the only UIP trained soldier she had at the moment however, as much as she hated it she’s have to try to get along with the unlikeable agent.

“They plan to siege us,” Blaze provided, “stuck in here we’ll run out of food or water and die.”

Straken considered the mare’s words, she was fast proving to be the most useful of the equines so far.

“Indeed,” the Colonel seconded, “do you know of any way we can possible escape this place to somewhere more suitable?”

“Excuse me, um, guards?” A light-orange earth pony approached while raising a hand and casting a fearful glance at Orthodox. “I visited a cousin in Ponyville last month, it’s a small town away from the major cities and I don’t think many caribou would look for us there.”

“She’s right,” Blaze thought out load as she rubbed her chin. “Ponyville is not well known, is largely a farming town so food and water should not be an issue and it’s close to the Everfree forest, if we get desperate we can always hold up in the old royal castle. It’s in disrepair but some fortifications are better than none. If I recall correctly the town also has an emergency armoury so that means more weapons not to mention we could also free the townsponies.”

“We are not to priorities saving people,” Straken lectured, “however it does sound like a good idea and I’m not getting any others. The problem is how are we going to get out of here?”

“The kitchens are still un-occupied?” Lieutenant Blaze asked, Maple Fields nodding as she gestured to the silent servant’s passageway. “Okay, there is a passage that leads to the sewers from there in case of an attack, not that we had time to use it. If we create a distraction of some kind we can exit out of a sewer pipe that juts out of the side of the mountain. There is a small, little-known bridge that leads to the other side. If we wait until nightfall then we should be able to make it to Ponyville by midnight.”

“We attack the Caribou holding the town,” Straken continued it on as she formed a plan. “With the advantage of surprise we slaughter them, free any captives and fortify. If all goes well and if the town is as isolated as you say the Caribou will be none the wiser, giving us time to prepare for re-enforcements. How do we create a distraction though?” Orthodox coughed, everyone looking towards him while he pointed a finger at himself.

“Ladies and Gents, if it is a distraction that you need then I will deliver.”

“How will you get past the Caribou?” Blaze inquired. “If you head out the sewer now you might alert them to the plan.”
Orthodox took a step back, all the ponies and changelings drawing back in surprise as the agent’s form shimmered then faded to nothing.

“Oh, trust me pony,” Orthodox’s voice replied from where he had once stood. “Distractions are my specialty. As soon as night falls commence with the plan, I’ll meet up with you outside.” Mares near the door leading to the kitchens scrambled back as the barricade was dismantled and the door opened by an invisible force. It shut soon after, the agent’s footfalls silent as he made his way to his objective. Straken holstered her pistol and rubbed her face with her hands as everyone shifted around the room awkwardly.

“Just my luck,” Tabitha mumbled. “The only thing worse than an egotistical, glory-hogging, stuck-up, arrogant ISA psychopath is an egotistical, glory-hogging, stuck-up, arrogant ISA psychopath who can turn invisible. Which god did I spite to deserve this?”

Orthodox hummed a merry tune inside his helmet as he strolled through the city with his armour’s cloak up. He had refrained from killing anyone yet, he had something much bigger in mind. Granted, most of the things he had witnessed almost made him lash out then and there at the slavers but he had to tell himself that while revealing himself immediately might not spell his doom, there were others depending on him for safety. He had never considered himself a caring person but he liked the cold Colonel, he found her utter hate of him amusing. It was almost nightfall and his distraction was due in a few minutes.

Walking down the cobbled road in the middle of the main city he encountered little of the population, only a few masters, some of them stallion, with their slaves passed him with none noticing the cloaked soldier amongst them. Orthodox had been imagining what roasted Caribou would taste like when cooked in a red-wine sauce before the sound of pumping electronic music caught his attention.

He turned the corner and halted to gaze at the large building that was the source of the music. It seemed to be a nightclub but was operating during the day, whatever sign had originally been above the door replaced with ‘The Batcave’ written in neon writing on a black background shaped like a bat. The building itself was black, Orthodox deciding that it could serve the purpose of a distraction while also providing him with an idea.

There were no bouncers as he uncloaked and walked through the door like he owned the joint, rifle slung over his shoulder casually.
Inside the music was pumping, a single large area dominated by a bar and dance floor taking up most of the space. Up on the stage a white unicorn with an electric-blue mane, black shades and a red collar was disk-jockeying while being pounded doggy-style by a caribou, the mare seeming to enjoy the attention as she bounced back and moaned in time to the bass.

All around the bar and dance floor more bat-ponies mares with black collars and neon rings in their wings served drinks to caribou males who randomly groped and spanked as they pleased.

The bat-ponies were all covered in neon writing, demeaning words such as ‘Slut’, ‘Bitch’, ‘Whore’, and ‘Cumslave’. Also present in neon colours where the words ‘Grope Me!’ with arrows pointing towards their groins and boobs, nipples circled with more neon colours. All of them seemed to not want to be there, unlike the unicorn on the stage.

Most bowed their heads as they served and received gropings, any resistance long since eroded. Orthodox noticed that a few still were attached by chains to the walls and bar, judging from the way they glared at the Caribou and tried to fight the molestations he guessed they hadn’t given up fighting yet. Good, maybe they would prove useful to him.

Everyone was too engrossed in their own activities to notice him, a single bat-pony who he assumed served as a greeter crawled over to him with white strands of semen in her purple hair.

“Hello sir,” she greeted in a monotone voice while bowing before him, “Welcome to the Batcave, I am Cumbitch and as a welcome you are permitted five free minutes with me for all that you desire.” Orthodox noticed that the young mare kept her eyes to the floor, the agent feeling a twinge of pity for the creature as he holstered his rifle on his back and withdrew a gauss machine-pistol instead, making sure that the silencer was activated and the energy clip full.

“I desire you to fetch me the owner of this fine establishment if you could Miss,” Orthodox requested, the mare’s blank expression twitching for a second at the unusual request before she bowed again.

“As you wish Master,” was the reply, the mare crawling back off. Orthodox observed that her purple tail was cut short, leaving him a clear view of her vagina and ass as she departed. He soon looked away over the rest of the club, he wasn’t here for personal enjoyment and even if he was he wouldn’t ever partake in such slave-related dreck. He prided himself on his ability to bed a female with charm and charisma, not through mind-control and subjugation. He did have to admit though that most of his regular haunts when he was off-duty came pretty close to the seediness to this place and the music was pretty decent.

He was eyeing the large shelves of booze behind the bar tended by three mares when his greeter returned, a fresh hand mark on her face and a burly Caribou wearing nothing but a leather belt with a whip walking beside her. The bull did a double take when he spotted the creature that one of his slaves had told him requested his presence, the menacing black armour and helmet quite out of place on such a short creature. The bull halted two metres away and crossed his arms, taking a guess as to what the patron wanted.

“No, you cannot have more than five free minutes with Cumbitch,” he recited for what felt like the one-hundredth time. “She is for the enjoyment of every paying customer, so there is your answer.”

“Actually I was after something different,” Orthodox replied to the owner as he prepared his gun, the bull staring at it with curiosity. “I wanted to let you know that I detest your way of life and that enslaving females is just cheating, your small penis is no excuse there you chump.” The bull snorted in anger and glanced down at his exposed cock before glaring down at Orthodox as the caribou towered over the agent.

“What are you going to do about it, Shorty?” the caribou responded with a rage-filled tone, some more caribou and mares glancing over at the confrontation. Inside his helmet Orthodox’s face turned a bright, angry red and his hands gripped the machine pistol tighter.

“The Fuck did you call me?” He questioned as he stood still and felt his blood boil. The bull grinned and leaned down to emphasise his superior height.

“I called you Shorty, Short-“

The bull’s taunts turned into a gurgling cry as Orthodox placed two super-sonic gauss rounds into his knees, the light cough of the weapon not loud enough to alert the outside forces but it still drew attention from the club occupants.

Well, the fact that the owner of the club was lying on the ground in a growing pool of blood screaming with his legs severed at the knees probably was a factor in the attention as well.

"Shorty!? Who's short huh!? Who's fucking short now!?" Orthodox raged as he booted the club-owner in side.
Caribou yelled in surprise and un-broken mares squealed in fright, Orthodox pointing his gun to the roof and pulling the trigger.

Most UIP weapons worked by using an energy clip that was interchangeable with almost every infantry-portable weapon to synthesise ammunition in the weapon itself using a very efficient method ‘acquired’ from an advanced, peaceful race that had not discovered spaceflight but had advanced greatly in almost every other field of science. Said race had not expected an attack from a space empire that used the technology to create weapons with inbuilt ammo factories, the surviving members surrendering and being assimilated into the Empire which only furthered the UIP’s understanding of the technology.

Orthodox cared nothing for such details in regards to the origin of the tech powering his weapon however, all he cared about was that it fired lots of slugs at eight-times the speed of sound towards his enemies or in this case the roof at an astounding rate-of-fire.
Plaster rained down around him and the door-greeter as the yelling continued and the music stopped with a comical record scratch, the unicorn forgotten by the caribou in the chaos.

“Everybody down on the Fucking ground!” Orthodox ordered when he ceased destroying the roof. “Move and you die!”

All the mares obeyed immediately, the ones unable to due to their chains crouched down next walls instead. Most of the Caribou dropped to the floor as well, however five tried to make a run for the backdoor near the stage.

A one-second burst from Orthodox’s gun sent twenty armour-piercing slugs into them, the bullets shredding flesh and organs as they easily passed through bodies and the door itself. The five Caribou died immediately, collapsing to the floor in a heap as the desperate yelling and sobs increased.

“Shut the Fuck up, everyone shut the Fuck up or you’ll end up like them!” this worked, a relative silence filling the club as everyone huddled on the ground. Orthodox looked to the unicorn at the DJ station.

“You, DJ, you got any classical?” The mare nodded with a grin on her face. “Put it on,” Orthodox ordered, the unicorn preparing to put new records on at the commands. Orthodox walked over to a naked caribou with his hands over his head as he stared at the floor shaking. “What the Hell is wrong with her?” Orthodox asked with a boot to the Caribou’s ribs, the creature wincing and grunting in pain before answering.

“She’s a red collar, red collar slaves do anything you ask. The collars are magical; I don’t know how they’re made!” Orthodox snorted as the Caribou rushed out a reply, of course the explanation is ‘magic’. The only magic he knew of was used by Necroteks and those guys were a completely other level of disturbing. Dressing up in cloaks like fucking vampires…

He was broken from the memories of possibly the only other department with a worse reputation than the ISA by the soothing sound of a cello solo, classical music truly the superior Nightclub-robbing background music. Deciding on his next course of action, Orthodox pointed to the left of the dance floor against the left wall.

“All males line up on the left of the dance floor facing the wall with your hands on your heads, move!”

Caribou scrambled to obey the order, he counted thirty-three lining up against the wall facing away. Orthodox laughed darkly at their pathetic haste and worry, seems like they weren’t so tough when they were facing a male who wasn’t a lady they could mind-fuck.

“Mares, I want you all to stand up and unchain the ones attached to the wall and bar. Then I want you to grab any bags lying around.” The bat-ponies and unicorn obeyed, even the defiant mares when freed still carried out the order as the creature was still holding a weapon. An assortment of bags and cloth-sacks were soon collected, each mares holding one. There were fifteen bat-ponies and the one unicorn, the white-coated DJ still grinning as she held a leather bag.

“Good work girls,” Orthodox praised. “Now half of you grab all of the top-shelf booze and put them into the bags, the other half open the tills and grab every valuable you can find.” As the mares grabbed bottles and emptied golden coins and jewels into the bags they held the owner, missing his legs but still alive coughed weakly.

“Did you do all of this just to rob me?” he questioned absolutely confused at what was happening. Orthodox walked over to him, aimed his gun at the club owner’s head and pulled the trigger.

The bull’s head was annihilated under the torrent of close-range fire, blood flying up to coat Orthodox’s armour and the ceiling while the mares hesitated in their task. Orthodox let go of the trigger, the owner’s head unrecognisable.

“Did I Fucking say you could talk Dickhead!?” Orthodox yelled as he stomped a boot down rapidly on the caribou’s groin, the power armour pulverising the bull’s crotch into mush. A glance from Orthodox towards the mares restarted the looting efforts, Orthodox walking back over to guard the remaining Caribou while he waited.

A few minutes and the mares were done, no-one outside having noticed that anything was amiss apart from the fact that the club was playing an orchestral piece. The females lined up before him, Orthodox gesturing to the back door as he tried to figure out how he would get them out as well. The mare who greeted him at the door still avoided his eyes as if he would hit her for looking at him, Orthodox making a personal oath to find a way for all of them to escape with him. Maybe he could blow up part of the city wall.

Back to the task at hand, he turned as led the mares to the backdoor, poking his head out and finding that it led to a deserted alleyway.
“Wait out there, run and more Caribou will get you.” This was followed without question, leaving him in the nightclub with the remaining Caribou.

“Now Gents, about this whole ‘Sexual Slavery’ thing…”

Orthodox emptied his weapon’s energy clip as he strafed the lined-up hostages without mercy, hundreds of bullets tearing them apart as gore sprayed the wall and roof. He made two passes before his gun ran dry, not a single Caribou left alive in the club.

“I would normally have left one of you alive to tell the rest of your disgusting kin about my sheer awesomeness but I’m sure this will get my message across clearly.” As he talked to the corpses of his victims Orthodox withdrew a compact explosive charge with a secondary incendiary payload from a compartment in his suit, walked over to the bar and set ip upon the top of the counter. After entering in a code he pressed a button and the charge beeped, signalling that it was primed. An icon popped up on his helmet’s heads up display, the charge a simple mental command away from detonation.

Strolling past still-warm bodies Orthodox replaced the energy clip of his gun with a fresh one, placing the spent one in his suit for recharging from the suit’s power supply. He stepped out into the night air, all sixteen mares still waiting for him in various levels of awareness. Appraising the herd of freed equines, Orthodox pulled his second machine pistol out with his other hand, gesturing to the entrance of the alleyway one-hundred metres in front of them.

“Ladies,” he addressed, the females all looking towards him, the ones who had been resisting the Caribou not speaking in fear of setting the violent creature off. They were still trying to figure out if he was helping them or just using them for his own gain. Orthodox walked to the head if the line, glancing back and waving a gun in the air.

“Who’s ready for a fun night out on the town?”

The Things We Put Up With

Straken, the ponies and the changelings were all waiting in the dining room for the distraction to happen. When questioned about how she was going to know Straken had informed the natives that ‘It’s ISA, when it happens we’ll know’ and that was the end of it.

The changelings had all stayed in a group in one corner, despite Straken’s recommendations the ponies and changelings still gave each other a wide berth. Well, at least they weren’t fighting so that was probably the best that she was going to get. The only ponies willing to stay close the her were Maple, Blaze, Blueblood and the bat-pony who had introduced herself as ‘Night Shard’. The Colonel had passed the time by studying the creatures, in particular the marks on the flanks of each one.

Night Shard possessed a full moon with a chunk missing, Blaze had a simple image of orange and yellow flames, Blueblood had a compass and Maple had a half-assembled violin. Straken found the marks useful memory-wise as she linked them to the owner’s names to help remember the multitude of names that ponies threw at her.

As for the ponies they were mixed in their reactions to her. Some thanked her constantly, some bowed their heads in fear while the more damaged ones moved like zombies. The changelings avoided her and the stallions apart from Blueblood followed her orders and not much else. The ponies had tried to fashion crude clothing from any clean robes that they could find which was a difficult task in the blood-covered room.

Most gave up and went about naked, the changelings never making an attempt to clothe themselves in the first place. Blaze had quietly mentioned that the creatures rarely dressed apart from when they impersonated ponies. Straken didn’t care either way, as long as they listened to her she wouldn’t care if they all chose to wear clown makeup.

The mental condition of the ponies had started to improve a little as they waited, conversations helping many to adjust quickly. A few mares sobbed as whatever clouded their minds lifted, all of the ponies having removed their collars which seemed to help their memories return quickly. All of the equines offered support to their upset fellows as all of them had gone through similar experiences. The most pressing concern on Straken’s mind however was the behaviour of the Prince.

Blueblood had refused to move away from her, Tabitha having to stop him from attempting to hold her hand a few times. The stallion was terrified, Straken guessing that he would have lived a fairly privileged life before the Caribou and that the thought of becoming a prisoner again must horrify the Prince. Straken decided that she would try to ease his tension as having him a nervous wreck would be a burden to all of them. In addition to this he was likely the highest member of the government still resisting which would no doubt prove useful in the coming days.

“Blueblood,” Straken addressed not bothering to use his title, “calm down, act like a leader of your people.” The stallion fidgeted with his hands and his legs crossed as he sat down on the table. He looked at Straken while she was speaking, bowing his head as he stared down at the ground when she had finished.

“I- I can’t,” he muttered. “I’m not a guard or an officer like you; I’m just a Prince who mooched off his aunt. That has hardly helped me now though; a Prince shouldn’t have to spend days in prison watching… that.” Blueblood shuddered, Shard moving to pat him on the back. The bat pony had tried to remove the rings in her wing membrane, however it seemed that they would rip and tear the wings if she did. Straken had told her to wait until they found a proper medical doctor.

“You had the will to resist whatever magic they used to claim so many of your fellows didn’t you?” Straken enquired, Blueblood sighing as Shard sat down beside him.

“I think it was less about my will and more about me being too arrogant to sink to those beasts’ levels to be honest,” Blueblood answered, his experiences having humbled him. “I always was rude to everypony in my pride and the thought of lowering myself to such a debauched level disgusts me even now. I just can’t look at anypony the same way I used to. I don’t know what to think of myself anymore.”

“Take pride in the fact that you didn’t fall,” Straken replied. “That alone has surely redeemed you in the eyes of many here already.” Blueblood glanced around at this, finding that Blaze, Maple and Shard were all nodding in agreement.

“You were a total prick Blueblood,” Shard stated bluntly, “but you had more conviction in your morals then almost everypony else, even if it was for selfish reasons. The guards, both Solar and Lunar would always talk about you behind your back but look at what most of them are now. Nothing but thralls to these Caribou monsters while you’re trying to help us and the Colonel fight back. That’s all that I ask of you.”

Blueblood blushed at the praise while Straken gave Shard an appreciative nod. The Prince had stopped shaking and was far more confident in himself now after reassurances from multiple people. Blaze had been watching Straken with interest while she had spoken, the guard examining the human’s clothing and weapons.

“So you’re a Colonel in your home military,” Blaze started. “I didn’t expect an officer to be able to fight like do.” Straken huffed mentally; she had been dreading the ponies trying to ask about her.

“Every UIP citizen is required to begin learning about the military at age twelve, start training at sixteen and serve four years in either the standard Army Infantry or Naval Marines. After that you can chose to leave the military to pursue a civilian job or continue on with the option of branching out into the multiple departments of the military. Almost every family, human or not, has a history with military service so many children grow up already ingrained in military culture. My own father is a Captain for the navy while my Mother serves as an electronics engineer.”

“Every citizen spends four years in the military?” Blaze asked with awe, imagining an empire where every citizen over the age of twenty-two was a trained soldier and had experienced war. She had gathered that the UIP was a warlike empire, with the way Straken spoke and the conscription it sounded like military pride was a large focus of the culture.

“Not exactly everyone,” Straken replied. “People identified as extremely intelligent are drafted into Research and Development while skipping Military service. There really isn’t any point to getting all of your Brainboxes killed on some dirt-ball planet. There are other circumstances that often mean people get a pass but they tend to be pretty rare. Most civilians end up as part of local Planetary Defence Militia anyway so almost everyone is trained in some way.”

“What about you?” Shard inquired as she leaned back against the main doors and stretched her arms, Blueblood turning his head away as Straken looked at Shard. “I mean you personally, I don’t know about humans but you seem young for a Colonel.”

“I’m older than I look,” Straken answered. “Besides, I’ve been in the army my whole life from training. After I finished my four years I continued on in the infantry. I got a few promotions and was then selected for the ODSF, the Orbital-Deployment Special Forces. I spent another five years with them before I was promoted again and Command decided to put me through officer school.

Three years of that and I was a Lieutenant working for Command and Control, with a few more years of that I was eventually promoted to Colonel. Now I’m on a foreign planet leading ponies and changelings against S&M reindeer, Father would be so proud.” Straken muttered the last part with a roll of her eyes. The ponies listening didn’t know how to reply, Blaze a little surprised at just who much experience the human had.

“What about the ISA, that agent Orthodox?” Blaze continued as she was keen to find out as much as she could about the aliens helping them. She still knew little about why they were helping them so finding out why Straken seemed to not like the ‘ISA’ might shed some light on the matter. Blaze noticed that the human scowled slightly at the reminder.

“The ISA is the Internal Security Agency,” Straken started to reply. “They deal with black ops operations such as spying, assassinations of foreign leaders and destabilizing governments. All of the ones I’ve met were some of the most infuriating people I’ve had to deal with. They have access to rare genetic and technological augmentations, some of the best equipment and all of them are trained in multiple techniques of combat.” Straken rubbed her temples with her hands as a lone changeling female nervously approached the group unnoticed.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Tabitha continued, “they’re all deadly warriors, especially their elite Spector agents but they all are infuriating. They are the sort of soldiers that sit in the background until the last second when they pull some heroically suicidal stunt to grab all of the glory. They love to use psychological warfare, most of them are so psychopathic that they make me look like a pacifist and they are incredibly flamboyant.

Rather than just kill an enemy commander with a silenced shot they would do something like kill his close friends and subordinates one-by-one, only to steal the bodies out of the military morgues, plant explosives inside of them before hiding them in the Commander’s tent. As soon as he walks in and sees all of his dead friends they detonate the charges while filming the entire thing to show their buddies later on.” Blaze furrowed her brows while Shard paled, wondering what the ISA agent they had was like. Straken noticed the looks and let out a humourless chuckle.

“I know it sounds crazy but that whole ‘steal dead bodies to put charges in them’ actually happened. They even made a video montage of the enemy commander’s face before the explosion set to a pop song which they sent to the enemy army the next day. They are not right in the head.”

“That’s horrible,” Maple commented before noticing the small changeling standing near them. The three mares, Blueblood and Straken turned towards the creature as the changeling bowed her head towards Straken.

“Sorry for interrupting,” the changeling apologised as she fidgeted with her hands, “but we haven’t had any food for days and we were wondering if we could go into the kitchen to find some if the Caribou aren’t in there.” Straken shook her head, the creature deflating as she nodded in defeat and began to retreat back to her fellows.

“Wait,” Straken commanded, the changeling stopping and turning around. Her voice sounded young, Straken no expert on changeling ages but she assumed that the creature was equivalent to a human teenager. “What is your name?” The changeling glanced back towards the other changelings who were watching from the other side of the room. She hesitantly walked back to Straken, trembling a little as she stood in front of the human.

“I’m called Mirage,” she answered as Straken leaned forwards from her spot in the table.

“Well then Mirage, I do not wish for us to risk our plan so that is why we cannot attempt to enter the kitchens yet. The Caribou may be in there but unaware of the servant’s entrance, if we go before the distraction we can risk everything. As soon as we are set to leave however then we will spend a few moments to gather all the supplies we can, if we find any food you and your companions are welcome to share in it.” Mirage smiled slightly and left without argument as Blaze looked back to the main doors with the outside corridor still quiet.

“How long are we waiting for this distraction anyway?” she asked. “It must be night already.” Straken waved a hand in dismissal, taking a moment to check her holstered plasma pistol.

“The agent is ISA, no doubt he’s planning to start a fire or blow something up-“

The floor shook as a massive boom was heard from outside the castle in the city while the yells of Caribou able to be heard through the corridor. Straken left the table and drew her gun while moving towards the door leading to the kitchen.

“That’s the distraction, let’s go,” she ordered. “When we get to the kitchen grab all the food and water you can carry before Lieutenant Blaze will show us where to go. We have to move quickly if you want to get out of here.”

Ponies and changelings stopped resting on the floor to scramble up and follow the Colonel through the servant corridor into the kitchen as a secondary explosion joined the first.

Orthodox and the sixteen mares were pressed against an alcove in the city wall, the ponies huddling down as a massive fireball rose into the sky from the nightclub. A mass of Caribou troops ran around the corner heading towards the explosion as flames lit up the night sky. Everyone stayed quiet as they rushed past which brought a grin to Orthodox’s face. Now the morons had left the main gates guarded and all they had to do was just walk out and meet up with Straken. All the Caribou disappeared into the city, Orthodox stepping out towards the gates.

He quickly ducked back, having seen around twenty troops still guarding the gates on the ground. All of the slavers had batons and armour with no lethal weapons from the looks of things. Orthodox assumed that since they had subjugated the ponies already they were more focused on capturing as many as possible rather than killing them. Still, while his armour would no doubt protect him he couldn’t say the same for the creatures that were following him.

“Fuck me,” Orthodox muttered under his breath. He would have to do something soon before more guards came back. He checked his weapons, a machine pistol in each hand as he resorted to plan B.

Kill everything.

As he was about to move back out to mow the guards down a weight placed itself against his side. Orthodox turned his head towards his left and his vision was filled with two white, furry breasts pressing against his visor. His height was once again proving to be a problem. He pulled his head back, spotting the white unicorn grinding against his armoured leg with a wide grin on her face.

“Miss,” Orthodox hissed in an attempt to keep his voice low, “what the Hell do you think you’re doing!?” The unicorn let out a happy moan as the other ponies made no move to stop her while they continued to stare at the scene with confusion or sadness. Orthodox’s eyes were afforded a reprieve when the unicorn arched her back. He saw the red collar around her neck and his memory recalled that it apparently made the wearer obey. That coupled with his words before and the unicorn must have interpreted that he requested her to literally fuck him. The pony grinding him hit a ridge and let out a loud moan that made Orthodox wince at the volume.

“Hey, what was that?” a male voice from the gates asked, Orthodox sighing as he knew what would happen next.

“Is someone screwing around there while they’re on duty?” another male voice called out. The only reply they got was another moan from the unicorn. “Apparently so, go and make sure it’s not someone who’s supposed to be putting out the fire Keith.”

Keith? Orthodox questioned. ‘There’s a Caribou called Keith?’

Regardless of how unthreatening the name was Keith the slave-driving Caribou was still a threat so unfortunately he would die a little sooner. There was still one problem to take care of however as the sound of armoured hoofsteps drew closer.

“Unicorn, stop what you are doing right now!” Orthodox hissed again, thankfully the mare stopped but still pressed herself against him. Reaching up with a hand he moved her head to his shoulder, clearing his vision just in time as Keith walked around the corner.

The Caribou was wearing an iron breastplate with black straps covering it everywhere, silver metal rings hanging from each one. In his hands he held a baton and a whip was attached to his waist on a belt. He wore nothing on his lower body, Orthodox wondering why you’d bother wearing a breastplate if someone could just stab you in the naked groin. He’d much rather be stabbed in the chest than in the junk.

The Caribou’s eyes widened in surprise as he saw all the mares huddled against the wall while a creature was being hugged by a unicorn whose mouth was open and tongue hanging out in ecstasy. He opened his mouth to order someone to explain just what was going on as he raised his baton in preparation to strike a pony to keep order. He never got the chance as an armoured tail lashed out, wrapped around his throat and cut off his air.

Orthodox pulled Keith to the ground, the caribou struggling for air as he thumped down in the dirt. Orthodox pushed the unicorn away roughly and while he didn’t want to hurt the mare he needed to deal with the slaver immediately. She landed on the ground while still maintaining that same grin even as her rump crashed down heavily. Orthodox left her for the time being to focus on Keith with the caribou unable to scream as his face began to turn blue from lack of oxygen. The slaver clawed helplessly against the segmented armour covering the tail that was wrapped around his neck.

Orthodox was just about to squeeze tighter and crush Keith’s throat when he stopped and looked down at the unicorn gazing up at him with adoration. More specifically he stared at the red, mind-altering collar around her neck. Maybe they would work on males as well as females…

“You there,” Orthodox whispered to one of the more resistant bat-ponies who looked at him warily in response. “Take the unicorn’s collar off, we’re going with Plan C.”

He was unsure what would happen if the collar was removed but for his plan to work he needed it. As the assigned mare fumbled with the clasp Orthodox loosened his tail’s grip on Keith so that the caribou was given enough air to breathe but not to yell. The collar came off, the unicorn immediately collapsed on the ground causing the bat-pony holding the collar to stare at the fallen mare horrified.

“We’ll help her soon,” Orthodox reassured. “Hurry and put that collar on Keith here!”

The mare glanced at him while opening her mouth to ask just how she was going to if a tail was covering the caribou’s throat but Orthodox demonstrated exceptional control over his tail as the tip was forced into Keith’s mouth. The armour covering the tail was made up of many different pieces, allowing the prehensile limb to twist and turn with great agility. Keith’s eyes widened as more of the tail was forced down his throat, blocking it off as Orthodox practically deep-throated the caribou guard and unwrapped it from around his neck.

The spikes on the top of the tail were flattened down allowing Orthodox to stuff Keith’s throat while the bat pony tried to attach the collar. Keith’s arms and legs kicked to try to stop her. Orthodox looked at the rest of the mares who flinched back at the attention.

“Hold him down,” he ordered over Keith’s muffled grunts and the slick sound of his tail in the caribou’s mouth. Four of the mares being the only other ones wearing black collars that had fought back in the club pounced in the slaver’s limbs. With them stopping the resistance the mare with the collar was able to do up the clasp. As soon as the clasp snapped shut all fighting from Keith ceased, the thrashing stopping as his eyes unfocused.

The mares holding him down backed away after Orthodox gestured for them to with a wave of a gun, the caribou still not fighting back. Slowly the tail was withdrawn, the black armour coated with Keith’s saliva. It came out with a sloppy plop, Orthodox smiling underneath his helmet as the caribou didn’t utter a word.

“Did you enjoy it as much as I did?” he joked, chucking as the caribou nodded with a blank gaze on his face. “Oh, that is just priceless. I think you’re ready for the next stage.” The five aware mares glanced to each other with puzzlement as Orthodox bent down and fumbled with something on his armour near his waist.

He did not do what they expected however as he attached a dark grey block to a ring on Keith’s vest and stood back up. Upon closer inspection the block had white writing on it but the mares were unable to read what was written.

“Well then Keith, can you stand up for me?”

The male obeyed immediately, standing up with a happy smile on his face as he blankly awaited an order. Orthodox chuckled; this was going to be priceless. Taking out a black marker he kept for situations like these from his armour he scribbled a brief message for the other caribou guards on the iron breastplate above the grey block. Standing back he pointed with a gun towards the corner and nodded to Keith.

“Say Keith, those nice caribou around the corner guarding the gate must be pretty lonely. Why don’t you go and give them all a hug?”
The mind-controlled slaver grinned happily and quickly walked off to his comrades, Orthodox peeking around the corner to watch. All of the guards looked over as Keith approached them as the one that Orthodox assumed was the officer in charge tilted his head. Keith closed the distance and hugged the surprised leader tightly as the other guards formed a circle around the two.

“Keith! What do you think you’re doing you moron!” the officer bellowed, the other Caribou moving to pull Keith off him. Orthodox lost sight of Keith in the huddle but he could still hear what the guards were saying. He had to time this perfectly.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“I think… yes, that’s a red collar on him!”

“I thought that only worked on females, who put it on him?"

Orthodox waited as many male voices discussed their fellow, sooner or later one of the caribou would notice his message. These creatures spoke English so hopefully they could read it.

“What’s that written on him?” the officer inquired, Orthodox shifting from foot-to-foot like a child about to receive a birthday present.

“It says: ‘Boom goes the Dynamite’.”

As soon as Orthodox heard that he activated the anti-personnel mine he had strapped to Keith, all of the guards disappearing as the small explosion claimed all of them in a ball of fire. A wave of shrapnel followed to shred anything not caught in the initial blast, Orthodox turning to the mares as soon as the flash of the explosion died. The unicorn was lying on the ground sobbing with her glasses still covering her eyes.

“Two of you help the unicorn, we have to move quickly!”

He yelled the command, all stealth having gone out the window. He only waited for two of the defiant mares to pick the crying unicorn off the ground before he dashed out from the wall and headed towards the gate.

No one stopped him as he did so as all the guards had been killed in the explosion. He glanced back, the mares were all following behind and the gate was only a few metres away. He rushed to it and found that it was already cracked open. Orthodox poked his head out and confirmed that no Caribou were waiting outside the city. Pulling his head away he ushered the ponies through and followed them out as hoofsteps sounded from the direction of the city.

Orthodox drove them forward as they all ran away from the gates with him guiding them towards a ditch beside the road.

“In the ditch!” he called back, all of the mares lying down as Orthodox leapt in last. He poked his head up as the ponies next to him breathed heavily with the exhaustion of the dash, the gate a mere one-hundred metres away.

A caribou stuck his head out of the gap in the two metal doors and looked out towards the road where any escaped slaves would likely flee. Seeing no fleeing figures the head was withdrawn into the city before the gates closed with a thud. Orthodox erupted with the laughter that he had been holding in since the Keith-bomb had gone off. What an entertaining end to the evil reign of Caribou Keith, Destroyer of Worlds. Orthodox still couldn’t get over the incredibly unsuited name.

The faint sobbing of the unicorn reminded him of what he still had to do. The mares still held their bags except for the unicorn however Orthodox guess that he could forgive her considering the circumstances. As he stared at her while the mares around her offered comforting words he did see that instead of removing her horn the caribou had just placed a black ring around it instead. It must serve as a kind if inhibitor but it would most likely be easy to remove so at least she still had her horn unlike most of the other unicorns he had seen.

Glancing up at the moon shrouded by clouds Orthodox decided to allow the ponies a few moments rest before they set off to find this bridge that the pony Lieutenant had mentioned. He had a general description of the area so it should be easy to find.

He grinned to himself as he listened to the sound of the ponies breathing heavily and talking quietly amongst themselves. More of them had started to wake up from whatever daze they had been in and were losing those blank looks.

He leaned back in the dirt with a content sigh. He may be lying in a roadside ditch but Straken and her group would certainly be despising their method of escape a whole lot more.

Straken’s face was once again locked in a scowl as her boots trudged through the muck in the sewers. Granted, she had it better than the ponies that had to go in with bare hooves but still it was disgusting.

A big surprise to the ponies had been Blueblood insisting that he take the lead with the stallion not even flinching as he walked in the filth that coated the tunnel. Grasping a spear in his hands and his still-intact horn lighting up with a blue glow to provide light the Prince had drastically changed from a whimpering wreck to a revenge-driven leader.

Straken let him take the lead while she stayed in the back in case they were followed. The ponies all listened to him anyway so all Blaze and her had to do was to give the Prince orders and he would lead the ponies on without question. The only exceptions to this were the guards, Shard, Maple and the changelings. The pony soldiers all preferred to listen to Straken directly as they acknowledged her experience while Shard and Maple were just thankful for how she saved them. The changelings stayed near her to avoid the guards up the front while they carried bags loaded with food and water plundered from the castle.

As they walked in a line silently towards the exit they could hear the sounds of running hooves, bellowed commands and the crackling of fires far above them through the vents. Whatever Orthodox had done it certainly was proving to be quite the adequate distraction.

It took what seemed to be hours for them before the message was passed down the line that the exit had been sighted, Straken and her small group of ponies passing through the crowd to reach the front. Blueblood and the guards were standing in front of the pipe opening on a stony ridge. The eleven guards had all moved onto the outcropping and were keeping watch as ponies climbed down from the pipe. Straken and her group breathed in the fresh night air thankfully even if they did all smell like excrement still.

Straken was just about to ask the guards if any sign of the ISA agent had been seen before a blue light flashed three times in an alternating pattern out in the distance. Recognising it a UIP code she raised a hand and waved back not needing to shine a light as the agent was wearing full armour and therefore would have an entire suite of sensors and vision modes.

She was proved correct, a mass of figures moving over towards them. Agent Orthodox, fifteen bat-pony mares and a unicorn walked over towards them with most of the newcomers loaded with bags. Straken walked forwards to meet them with Blueblood, Blaze, Shard and Maple following her. The two UIP personnel exchanged nods while ponies from Straken’s group moved to help the new bat-ponies remove their collars as the ponies from the castle had already discarded theirs.

“I see you all made it out,” Orthodox observed as he holstered his guns. “I guess my distraction was good enough after all.”

“About that,” Straken pointed a finger to the city behind them as the light of fires raging glowed and smoke rose into the air. “What exactly did you do?” Tabitha couldn’t see but she was certain that the ISA agent had a huge grin under the helmet when she asked him this. Orthodox acted nonchalant by pretending to check his armoured fingers for dirt.

“Nothing too big really, I walked around the city and checked out the sights until night. Then I went to a nightclub, knee-capped the owner, stole their booze and money, rescued these mares like a boss, executed the rest of the slavers and then blew up the joint which seems to set the city on fire.” Orthodox gave a dismissive shrug as all the ponies not present at the nightclub all listened to him with amazement. “Whoops.”

Straken shook her head as she could have known that it would have turned out like that. Blaze however furrowed her brows as she examined the agent.

“You or at least your armour can turn invisible though,” the Lieutenant stated. “Why didn’t you just stay invisible, defeat the Caribou, free the mares and then blow the place up instead of making it so difficult?” She received another shrug in reply.

“Because that wouldn’t have been as much fun,” Orthodox responded. “You have much to learn in the art of showmanship. What’s the point of killing slavers and saving mares in distress if you don’t do it with class?” Straken shot a ‘I told you so’ look towards Blaze as the pony realised that the human’s description of the ISA’s agents’ arrogance wasn’t just a personal opinion. Straken faced Orthodox and rolled her eyes at his explanation.

“What do you mean ‘with class’?” she inquired. “You robbed a nightclub.”

“Hey,” Orthodox defended as he beckoned over two bat-ponies and reached into the bags they were carrying. With one claw he removed a bottle of champagne and the other emerged clutching a mass of gold coins. “Nothing says class like champagne and gold.”

He dropped the coins back in but kept the bottle of champagne as his helmet’s faceplate lowered. Straken sighed as Orthodox popped the cork and quickly took a swig from the bottle before any champagne escaped. Emptying half the bottle he belched and his tail seemed to wag happily.

“Ah, that’s the good stuff. Anyway, do you want to hear about how I got myself and sixteen mares out of the guarded gates?”

“Not really,” Straken answered coldly already knowing that it would just be another ego-stroke. “You’ll just tell me anyway so it’s not like my opinion matters.” Orthodox took another swig before grinning at her. He turned and looked at all the ponies watching him, extending a hand out to emphasise his points.

“It was in the dead of night and I’d just blown up a nightclub,” he recounted as he swept his hand in front of him like a grandfather recounting war-stories. “It was just me and sixteen prisoners rescued from a den of vice. We all had to get out of the city but it was surrounded by hordes of Caribou. Having managed to slip by the patrols we had made it to the gates before I detonated the bomb which distracted most of the guards. Some of the buggers still remained however so we were in a right pickle.

After an… incident a lone guard was approaching where we were hiding. His name was Keith, can you believe that? Anyway, so I grabbed Keith with my tail and was about to strangle him when I noticed that a mare was wearing a red collar. As some of the mares and I held down Keith we put the collar on him and it worked. Seeing this I...” Orthodox trailed off as he burst out into laughter. As the ponies warily watched him and Straken kept on shaking her head in disbelief the agent started to calm down.

“Right, sorry about that but the next bit is priceless. What I did was strap an anti-personnel mine to Keith, that’s an explosive meant for killing people,” Orthodox explained for the ponies, “and ordered him to go and give his friends still guarding the gate hugs. The stupid Prick is dead to the world and he ambles off towards them. He hugs his officer and the Caribou all gather around to see what is happening.

I wait until they read a special message just for them and then I command the mine to blow up. Caribou parts everywhere! Then it was a small matter of leaving through the front door and hiding in a ditch. They obviously thought that their guards suffered an attack and then the culprit fled back into the city. We found the pipe, waited until you showed up and the rest is known by all.”

No-one spoke, human, changeling and pony alike not finding any words. Orthodox bowed and finished the bottle he held, Straken wondering if she had drawn the short straw and received the most irresponsible ISA agent as an ally. She doubted many others would take pride in setting fire to a city with colourful equines and other aliens that looked like animals from Terra.

“Well at least we all escape without detection it seems,” Blaze finally spoke as she worriedly watched Straken rub her temples again. “We should probably get a move on if we want to make it to Ponyville by midnight.” Orthodox threw the empty bottle out into the distance with a wide swing which his armour enhanced. The bottle flew out of sight before the faint sound of shattering glass could be heard. The agent reached to his back and un-holstered his pitch-black ballistic shotgun which he cocked enthusiastically.

“You’re right,” he agreed as he walked off towards the small wooden bridge to the right of them. “These filthy caribou won’t kill themselves after all and Old Bessie is itching to blast some fools.” As the agent caressed his low-tech shotgun, evidently ‘Old Bessie’, Straken shrugged her shoulders and gestured for all the ponies and changelings to follow.

“He’s crazy,” she called back which Orthodox ignored as he was too busy cooing sweet mutterings to his weapon, “but he does have a point. Onwards we got to this ‘Ponyville’; I hope you’re all ready to avenge yourselves and your people.” Straken received a chorus of agreements as ponies and changelings hefted batons and other weapons with their fear of fighting waning as the memories of what they had endured burned in their minds.

Orthodox was leading the group from the very front in accordance to the directions he had received from Blaze. The pony Lieutenant and Straken had figured out where to go so after they had told him they had focused on preparing the eighty-three ponies in the group for the attack on the town. Well, Blaze was as Straken wasn’t the friendliest of people which caused most of the equines to shy away from her. Orthodox doubted that most of the ponies would be of much help leaving him to rely on Straken and the guards.

He was further ahead than the main group with his twelve-gauge shotgun in his hands. It was an ancient weapon but he still enjoyed it as the feeling of cocking the gun to produce that ominous sound appealed to him. With an extended magazine to fit twelve rounds and some special shells that he had been given as a gift from a friend in Research and Development it was still a viable weapon for the current engagement.

His task was to rove ahead of the main force to watch for patrols and eliminate them before they could alert any others. It seemed however that the Caribou were content to stay in the cities and towns as no-one else had been seen walking in the countryside. The group was avoiding the roads but it was little issue as most of the landscape was pure green fields of grass. Orthodox was relaxed as he was confident that with his suit’s sensors and the wide open space he would be able to spot any Caribou before they spotted him.

Someone approached him from behind and Orthodox turned to find the white unicorn from the nightclub walking up to him from the main group. He slowed slightly to allow the mare to catch up. She walked next to him on his right side and once again Orthodox was reminded that these ponies were still taller than him as his head only made it up to her chest. The mare looked at him with her eyes still hidden behind her glasses and tear trails on her face as she appeared to try to think of something to say.

“Hi,” was all she got out at first. Orthodox waited a few moments before replying in case she had anything else to add.

“Sup,” he responded. The unicorn had been a DJ so he assumed that some of the ‘cool’ lingo would put her at ease. That is if this planet even had the same sort of lingo. It seemed that the word was the same in meaning as the mare seemed to relax slightly as she found it easier to say what she had been dreading.

“Name’s Vinyl Scratch,” she introduced with a little more energy.

“Orthodox and that’s it, no last name.”

“I just wanted to talk to you for a second,” Vinyl asked as she rubbed the back of her head. Orthodox nodded for her to go ahead. “I wanted to thank you for getting that collar off me and also I want to apologize for almost getting us caught back in the city. I was… not myself.”

“It’s cool,” Orthodox answered as he shrugged. “You were mind-controlled so I can’t hold it against you. Do you remember everything then?” Vinyl shuddered and winced as he said this.

“Yeah, it’s not too nice to think about though.” Orthodox nodded at this, the two walking in silence for a few minutes before Vinyl spoke up again. “So after we get to Ponyville and bet the Caribou then what are we going to do?”

“Make a defence and wait to the cavalry arrive,” Orthodox answered as he glanced at Vinyl. “No offense.” The unicorn scrunched her face up in confusion.

“Why would that be offensive?”

“Because,” Orthodox tried to find a way to explain about why humans riding horses into battle may be seen as offensive to the equine-like ponies but he gave up. “Never mind, ‘calvary’ in this context just an expression for re-enforcements. In a week your planet will be teeming with soldiers and it’s goodnight Caribou. Even if we fail and somehow all die then they’re still doomed as once the UIP has your scent you screwed.” Vinyl absorbed all of this and took her time before asking her next question.

“What happens after that? Last thing I heard was that the Caribou King, King Dainn, had taken the Princess and removed their horns. How the sun and moon still work I don’t know but without them how are we going to reform the country?”

“You’ve got Blueblood,” Orthodox reminded her deciding to not question the sun and moon thing. “He seems to be adapting pretty well, dude seems ready to crack some Caribou skulls and he is a Prince.” Vinyl sighed.

“I know that but Blueblood by himself? Plus you guys don’t seem like you’ll just free us and leave.” Orthodox chuckled as he recalled the night’s events.

“I’ve already got booze and gold so I’m happy,” his response bringing a slight smile to Vinyl’s face. “Seriously though, the UIP will most likely kill the Caribou, put most of your Stallions on trial to determine if anyone needs execution, help you form a new government, build a few bases and then pretty much just let you rule yourselves for the most part. We might just assimilate you depending if the higher-ups think that your race will be useful but even then you’ll still remain pretty independent.”

“I guess anything will be better than the Caribou,” Vinyl accepted with another shudder.

“Yeah, those guys are scum,” Orthodox added. “I mean we’re pretty bad ourselves but we treat our citizens and allies right. You’ll do fine and you’ll probably even be able to find some decent work in the entertainment industry with that DJ stuff. You mix your own stuff?” Vinyl perked up at this, her smile now beaming at him.

“Yeah I do! Everything I play I’ve done myself!” Orthodox grinned under his helmet as he realised that he had just found a way to distract Scratch from her memories of the club.

“Sweet, those were some good tunes. Never been much of a fan of electronic stuff but your stuff was good.”

“I know right?” Vinyl boasted cheerfully. “Listen, you seem like a cool guy. After all this is over we should hang out and mix some tracks.” Orthodox considered the offer. Why the hell not? He needed other things to do then smoke, drink and cruise bars in his time off. On the plus side he knew one friend who utterly despised anything to do with electronic music so it would give him another way to piss him off. Chalmers was funny when he was mad.

“Okay then, no complaints from me on that.” He answered to the glee of Vinyl. The pony bobbed her head and muttered as they continued to walk onwards. No doubt she was already thinking of what tracks she would mix. Orthodox was satisfied with that as long as it kept her distracted from what happened to her then he was happy to help. It wouldn’t go away just like that but it was a start and any UIP shrinks sent to help the population after will likely have a lot of work on their plates.

Vinyl continued to walk next to him as he scanned his surrounds for any foes. They had been waking for hours and Ponyville should be getting close. Then it was a simple matter of butchering every Caribou in the town and then waiting. Boring but that just meant that he would have to have a lot of fun while he could and he was sure that the Caribou could prove to be adequate entertainment.

“So that’s Ponyville then.”

Straken was lying on a grassy hill overlooking the town below them with Blaze, Orthodox and Blueblood at her side. The four watched on as small groups of Caribou patrolled the town while the building identified as the Town Hall was lit up with lights. The Hall was a hive a of activity as Caribou moved around and inside it. Also around the building were assorted mares crawling around on all fours. Caribou armed with whips ensured obedience as more where filled into the building for nefarious purposes.

“It is,” Blaze answered as she glared down at the scene. “A lot less cheerful then when I last visited however.” The doors to a bar to the left of the hall opened and a group of drunken Caribou stumbled out onto the street. Straken observed the guards and realised that the Caribou were lacking in numbers. There could be more in the houses and shops in the town of course but right now there was around fifty-seven of them ambling about by her count. Half of them were drunk and Straken spotted even a few of the patrol members shamble around uncaringly.

There were only five roads out of the town and if they were surrounded then no Caribou could escape without fighting through the allied forces. Doing a count of her available soldiers she had thirteen guards, an ISA agent and fifty-nine civilians. The ponies and changelings were all armed with weapons including a large amount of spears and swords compared to the Caribous’ whips, nets and shock batons. Straken worked out a plan that was simple but should work due to the advantage of surprise and the lax attitude of the enemy. The Caribou were not expecting an attack to happen anytime soon and that would be their downfall.

“Lieutenant Blaze,” Straken addressed. “Chose five of your guards and assign them to five civilians each. Each group is to circle around and cut off any escape. I must stress that if a single Caribou leaves alive then we can expect an attack from their main forces which is not something I look forward to. I don’t care if you kill or capture them as long as none escape.Blueblood will take a force of fifteen including the rest of the guards and attack the apple farm,” Straken pointed to the farmhouse and barns surrounded by apple orchards.

The lights were out with the owners likely out in the town or in their beds. “Don’t bother sneaking in as the rest of the force will head straight for the Hall. Agent Orthodox and I will lead that attack alongside Blaze and the rest of the civilians. We’ll take the changelings as well. Orthodox will head in a bit before to thin out the patrols while attempting,” Straken stressed the word as she gave the ISA agent a glare, “to not burn down the town or alert the entire guard this time.”

“No promises,” Orthodox replied as he hefted his shotgun to his shoulder. Straken sighed as he cloaked and disappeared into the night towards the town.

“We better hurry before he detonates a nuke or something equally attention-grabbing,” Tabitha continued with a huff. “Once again no Caribou is to leave alive and any stallions apart from our own five are to be trusted. Inform everyone to capture and contain any just to make sure but that is second to neutralising Caribou. Now is everyone ready?”

“I am,” Blueblood replied while rising up off the ground with spear in hand and stony look on his face. “I’ll happily attack when you command it.”

‘Well, he’s certainly grown a pair,’ Straken thought as she nodded at the Prince while the rest of them stood up.

“Good, any other questions or observations before the assault?” Tabitha asked. She received nods and affirmatives from the two. “Okay, wish everyone good luck for me and remember what you are fighting for.” The two ponies left together to gather their teams in preparation for their attacks while Straken was left by herself on the hill to glare hatefully at the village below.

Her hands touched the butt of her gun and the handle of her sword which changed the glare to an icy smile. She was going to slaughter every last slaver in the village tonight and she was going to enjoy doing it immensely.

Herbert stumbled down the street with his whip in hand while he patrolled for any rowdy slaves. He had stopped earlier at the bar for a few drinks and was now feeling rather pleased with himself. After tonight he would have enough cash to buy himself a female of his own instead of having to rely on the ones assigned to punishment duties. He didn’t even have to work that hard as these ponies barely resisted once the King had convinced the Stallions to join the cause. He doubted his fellows in the former Griffon Empire were having it as easy with the predatory birds more fiery and prone to rebellion.

The King himself was away sieging the Crystal Empire claiming that with the Crystal heart under their control nothing could stop them. Herbert snorted as he remembered the alicaibou’s speech prior to his departure. He doubted that anyone could stop them as it was especially since the King had managed to make Discord the Chaos Spirit his thrall.

“Oh, is someone there?” Herbert halted and gazed towards the alleyway as a female voice called out from it. “It’s such a cold night and my master is all away leaving me by myself. Is there any male who would grant me the small mercy of ploughing me until I can no longer think straight? I promise to scream and beg for you to stop.”

Herbert couldn’t believe his luck as he grinned. From the sounds of it the slave was one of the red collars which were reserved for rich and important males. The caribou guard in his drunken state didn’t question why such a slave would be in a dark alleyway as he was too focused on obtaining a night with a female that would obey his every desire.

His whip dangled limply as he walked into the alley trying to spot the female.

“Slave,” he called out. “Where are you?” A giggle was given in reply causing Herbert to move deeper into the alley towards the voice.

“Over here you stud,” the voice responded from behind a corner surrounded by overflowing trashcans. “I’ve been a naughty mare and I need to be punished.” Herbert could hardly contain himself as he rushed around the corner in preparation to rut the slave senseless.
Instead of a mare however he was met with a pile of caribou corpses and a lone, short figure armoured in black.

“Oh yes,” the figure voiced in a now very-masculine tone as it shot out a hand to grab Herbert around the neck. “I’ve been a very naughty mare indeed.”

With a slight crack Orthodox snapped the neck of the guard with his power-armour assisted hand. He tossed the body atop the seven other drunk guards that had fallen for exactly the same trick.

“Does everything on this planet think with its dick?” Orthodox questioned to himself as he unslung Bessie. It had been an hour already and he’d managed to kill fifteen of the Caribou with none of the others noticing. All of them had been off their faces and easy to fool. He had started masquerading as a lonely slave-mare after the first five as walking up behind them and slitting their throats had gotten stale. He was an artist and he intended to work his craft with aplomb. Any ingrate can stab someone and only the real masters can go about it with the thought and cunning that he had demonstrated.

The sound of angry bellows, yells, war cries and plasma fire interrupted his self-congratulation from a few streets over. It seemed like Straken had decided to move in and it was time to make an entrance.

“It looks like someone’s in for a spanking,” he said out loud in a high-pitched voice. He paused for a second before heading to the alleyway mouth to join in the fight.

“God dammit, I’m enjoying this far too much for it to be healthy.”

“Kill them all!” Straken cried out as she and her force of ponies and changelings charged out of the darkness of the streets towards the surprised Caribou and slaves outside the Town hall. A bolt from her pistol sheared the head off a Caribou in a white robe while a bolt flew from the crossbow held by Blaze to embed into the naked chest of another Caribou. Ponies and changelings armed with their weapons closed the distance quickly as some Caribou stayed to fight while others tried to run inside the Hall.

Straken refrained from firing her gun towards the Hall as she didn’t want to risk killing any slaves inside. As much as she hated to admit it the equines were growing on her and she found them to be quite enjoyable to be around, while they weren’t enslaved to filthy Caribou of course. The unicorns also presented an interesting avenue for military research as the UIP scientists were always looking for things to weaponise.

All her thoughts of possible application of unicorn magic in combat situations were pushed to the side as she found herself behind as the ponies and changelings had rushed past her to clash with the Caribou. Weapons smashed together and screams rang out as batons fell and swords thrust. The Caribous’ weapons were built to subdue however and while a few were able to down ponies with strokes of their stun batons it wasn’t lethal whereas the spear and sword wounds inflicted on the slavers were.

The ponies still seemed to shy away from killing even when faced with the peril of slavery. Most stopped and stared in shock at Caribou they had just run through as the creatures died while the more fragile minds dropped their weapons and froze. Straken let them be as such reactions were to be expected from civilians of a peaceful society. She could hardly fault them for stopping as she herself had done the same with her first kill all those years ago.

It mattered little as the majority of ponies still fought on with the changelings mainly staying back and using crossbows to pick off Caribou running away with admittedly terrible aim. One however was in the thick of the fighting and had just stabbed a Caribou in the gut with her spear. The slaver cried out in pain and dropped his baton while the young changeling stared at him in horror. The wounded Caribou ripped her spear out of her hands as he rolled in agony on the ground and tried in vain to remove the weapon with bloodied hands.

Seeing that the changeling that Straken recognised as Mirage was having difficulty the Colonel moved past a changeling reloading a crossbow to move towards the scene. Only pausing to shoot a fleeing Caribou in the back Straken quickly made it over as Mirage was trying to pull the spear from the Caribou with desperation plain on her face.

Straken pushed her away, placed her boot on the slaver’s chest to steady him and then lined her pistol up with his head. One plasma shot later and the body went limp apart from the occasional twitch. With her free hand Straken yanked the spear from the corpse causing the metal head to come out with a wet slick. Turning to Mirage she handed to spear back to her as the melee started to cease.
The changeling continued to stare at the blood-stained spear as she took it in her hole-ridden hands but Straken had no time to waste helping the changeling overcome the fact that she had just helped take a life.

The doors of the Hall were thrown open from the inside this time and a lone, tall Caribou in a black robe marched out. With a grin his eyes glowed a sickly green and purple smoke bellowed out as ponies dropped their weapons and fell to their hands and knees. Straken raised her pistol towards the Caribou but the mage blocked her sight with a wall of mares. The changelings were unaffected but they too were hampered by allies turned mind-controlled slaves. Straken watched helplessly as mares crawled towards the mage with longing in their eyes while more Caribou sounded the area.

“It looks like your attack has failed!” the mage gloated as he made the mares not obstructing her and the changelings line up before him. he laughed and the rest of the Caribou emerged from the Hall and joined in. Slaves peeked out of the windows as Straken continued to attempt to line up a shot. Mares kept on attempting to grab her arms and her aim was continually ruined all with the Caribou continuing to mock them. The changelings were soon dragged down and held on the ground by their former comrades as the Caribou moved forward.

“Pathetic females,” the mage taunted as Straken sighed. Pointing her pistol towards the smiling face of a brown-coated mare blocking her aim of the Caribou she prepared to clear a path to the mage as it was the only option she saw.

She had however forgotten that there was still one more allied combatant in the area.

“Knock Knock Motherfuckers!”

A small black figure jumped from the top of a nearby building to land on the back of the Caribou mage at the same time as the greeting.

Straken watched in shocked confusion as Orthodox wrapped his legs and tail around the Mage’s neck and held onto the slaver’s pair of antlers. The Mage shouted in surprise before the armoured legs tightened and cut off his voice. Orthodox moved his tail to stab the Mage in left side with a spike causing the mage to veer to the right in an effort to avoid the pain. A repeat jab to the right side caused the caribou to head left which caused the ISA agent endless amusement as he rode the slaver.

“Mush!” with the command and a jab from the tail in the rear the mage stumbled forward as Orthodox removed a hand from an antler to grab his shotgun from his back. Straken noticed that the ponies seemed to be recovering with the mage having lost his concentration. A cackle from Orthodox as he steered his unwilling transport towards a group of three Caribou was accompanied by the shotgun rested against an antler cocking.

“The ride never ends!” Orthodox yelled happily through his helmet as his gun boomed. One unlucky caribou was flung backwards as pellets implanted with explosives pierced his body and detonated. The two surviving members suffered a similar fate while the frenzied mage stumbled with the recoil. The ponies all had recovered from the control and while many stayed on the ground terrified a few grabbed weapons and fought on.

Faced with more resistance and an alien midget riding one of their own mages the remaining slavers tried to escape. A few of slaves left alone inside the Hall had barricaded the doors on them though which meant that they only had one way to go.

And that way was through the armed, trained and incredibly angry human holding a sword and a gun.

It didn’t work out for them as they hesitated charging the intimidating female who was caked in blood. This proved their undoing as the ponies finished with their engaged foes and quickly overwhelmed the Caribou left with a revenge-driven frenzy. Orthodox dismounted his Caribou mage’s shoulders and turned his tail around so that the retractable blades on the top dug into the slaver’s neck. A weak gurgle uttered from the throat of the mage as the caribou collapsed with his throat slit.

As the ponies and changelings killed or bound the surviving Caribou with chains stolen from the corpses Orthodox calmly sauntered over towards Straken while patting the grip of his shotgun.

“Well that was incredibly fun,” he mentioned as stepped over bodies to reach her. “I want to go find another Caribou to try it again. Maybe I can get it to repeatedly slam into a wall or something.” Straken tolerated his annoying speech only because he had saved her from having to kill some of the ponies. She wasn’t going to let him know that she was thankful however.

“We still have a town to clear,” she reminded as groups of ponies helped others up and re-armed them before heading off into the streets in packs to hunt the Caribou in the town. Orthodox glanced to the barricaded Hall.

“No complaints here. I’ll go and make sure none of them are hiding in the Hall still. What about you?” Straken furrowed her brows before she spotted Blaze consoling a mare sobbing on the ground.

“Lieutenant Blaze!”

The pony lifted her head and looked Straken at the call. Offering some final words to the crying mare the guard stood up and approached the two UIP soldiers.

“What is it?” she questioned as Straken pointed towards the Hall.

“Agent Orthodox is going to clear the Hall. Would you know where the house of the former leader of this settlement is? I’m willing to bet that a high-ranking Caribou will have made his lair there.”

Blaze didn’t require any time to think as the pony immediately pointed towards a tall treehouse sitting in the middle of the town which wasn’t far from where they were.

“The library was where Princess Twilight Sparkle lived,” Blaze explained as Straken examined the structure. “She actually may still be there as I didn’t see her in Canterlot being paraded around like Celestia and Luna.” Straken nodded and immediately walked off towards the building before glancing back over her shoulder.

“Lieutenant with me and you as well changelings!” she ordered. The seven changelings including Mirage followed while Blaze looked back to see Orthodox enter the hall. They encountered no live Caribou in the minute of walking it took them to reach the library. An angry roaring was coming from the inside and without hesitation Straken raised her sword and shoulder charged the door open.

She was met with a mass of purple scales as a dragon slightly bigger than her yanked on the lead of a purple alicorn. Straken fired a plasma shot into the beast’s chest but it did nothing as the scales blocked the heat of the shot. It didn’t stop the dragon getting pissed off however and a long purple tail crashed into her side and threw her to the floor. Straken rolled into a crouch and was about to try shooting the soft underbelly of the dragon before Blaze and the changelings charged into the door to pounce on it from the side.

The weight of the ponies and changelings drove the beast to the floor as it roared and thrashed. The unicorn was huddled in the corner amongst a pile of books spilt from a bookshelf as the dragon tried to throw the changelings and Blaze off. The lieutenant was punching it in the head with bleeding knuckles in an effort to subdue it but still the dragon resisted. It started to rise from the wooden floor and looked set to throw them off before a loud boom sounded from the direction of the Town Hall. A wave of black energy washed over them heading back to the source of the explosion.

The dragon ceased struggling as the energy passed him and Straken noticed a strand of the black essence leaving the drake. The dragon froze and then collapsed into a heap. Pony, changeling and human watched as it shrunk down into a much smaller form that would barely come up to Straken’s waist. Straken pulled herself off the ground and examined the unconscious dragon. It looked no older than a child and far from the raging beast that it had been before. Still it had been a threat and Straken had no desire of it turning back to its larger form.

“Guard him until we figure out what to do,” she commanded to the changelings and Blaze. She walked next to the unresponsive unicorn wearing a red collar and stared out of a window at the Town Hall. She was just in time to witness black energy gathered in a cloud above the hall churn and roar before with a massive bang it dissipated. She winced as it echoed around like a bomb blast as it could have possibly alerted other Caribou to the fate of the town.

Just what had Orthodox done?

Orthodox stared at the smoking remains of the black crystal that had exploded as the semen-drenched slaves chained to the walls and floor of the Hall’s main area wailed in fear.

After smashing through the barricade with his armoured form he had encountered a small number of black-collared mares who ran away from him and hid in the corner. Gathering that they had been the ones to block the door he had ignored them and instead headed to the next room. Upon entering he had found the chained mares and a large, squat crystal sitting on a pedestal in the centre. As he watched it pulse and glow he had come to the conclusion that it was incredibly important so he had did what he thought was a wise tactical and strategic decision.

He had shot it with his plasma rifle.

As it turned out black glowing crystals do not like being shot with energy weaponry and it exploded into mist. This mist passed through the roof and before he knew it an entire mass of the same black mist had been sucked from around the town towards the top of the hall.
He didn’t get a chance to look outside before a massive crack had sounded. The noise shattered a few windows and Orthodox doubted that Straken would be too happy with him about it. Never the less he still had a job to do and so he shouldered his rifle and moved to begin freeing the chained mares from their bonds.

Maybe no one would notice the explosive death of their crystal?

Dainn, King of all the Caribou as well as the two nations he had conquered lifted the mouth of Celestia off his phallus as he sensed a disturbance in the force. The force being his network of magical control crystals meant to keep the stallions and male griffons in order.
The former Princess wearing a red collar giggled dreamily as she was shoved down next to her sister. Luna was sulking in the corner with her black collar like usual and was ignored as Darius stood up from his temporary throne. His golden crown, decorated with two long horns belonging to the former princesses, shone on his head as he exited his command tent. His brown-furred hooves stepped onto snow as he moved through his encamped army.

In the near distance was the Crystal Empire covered with a shimmering pink dome which was the same dome that was stopping his forces from plundering the Crystal Ponies hiding within the shielded city.

Oh, the things he would do to Princess Cadence as punishment for slowing his army down. Maybe he could force her own husband to rape her subject’s children as she watched. Now that would be entertaining.

The massive Caribou king clad in full iron armour grinned as he passed saluting soldiers and tents filled with loyal Caribou warriors. He had permitted no females except for his own two personal slaves in the camp as when the Crystal City did fall they would be all the more enthusiastic in showing the females their place.

He approached a large white-cloth tent guarded by twenty soldiers clad in full armour and wielding axes instead of whips and batons. They all saluted as he walked past into the tent to gaze upon the small cage within.

A small pony colt with a grey coat, a coal-black mane, little fangs and a sharp red horn retreated as far back as it could from him as Dainn leaned over the cage. Green eyes with red pupils stared up at him in fear as the colt which looked to be about the age of four trembled. Dainn knew that this was no simple pony colt however.

The child in front of him surrounded by food scraps and piles of its own shit was none other than Sombra, former tyrant of the Crystal Empire.

Dainn didn’t know why the King had de-aged and made powerless but what he did know was that when some of his subjects brought the captured colt to him it signalled a great rise of the Caribou. Sombra had been found battered and almost dead in the snowy wastes that made up a large part of his kingdom in the Caribou homeland north of the Griffon Empire. Having already been a potent mage skilled in alchemy and natural magics Dainn had been pleasantly surprised to find that although Sombra could no longer use his powerful mind-control and shadow magic Dainn could.

After silencing all of his rivals Dainn had lured the recently released Discord to him and used his new powers to enslave the draconequus. Discord had been so confident in himself and his powers had been so weakened by his recent ‘reformation’ that it had been too easy to dominate the spirit’s mind. After using Discord to turn him into an ‘alicaribou’ which enhanced his physical and magical strength even more the draconequus had been discarded and imprisoned within stone once again. Dainn couldn’t resist that one and he had even released Discord from the mind-control just before the stone completely covered him. The terrified look on his face was priceless.

“Now you little prick,” Dainn muttered darkly as Sombra buried his head in his filthy forehooves. “Did you have anything to do with one of my crystals disappearing do you?” The colt shook his head and sniffled while Dainn closed his eyes and mentally felt for any magic emanating from the pony. He found none which wasn’t that much of a surprise.

“I could have guessed,” he continued as he turned to leave the tent. “Of course a pathetic creature like you couldn’t do a thing to stop me. If I didn’t have to keep you alive to leach off your powers I would have either have let you starve or gifted you to one of my stranger subjects. Keep that in mind you filthy bastard.”

Dainn left the colt alone as he walked out once more into the chilly air. Spotting one of his generals called Siegfried he beckoned the soldier over.

“General,” Dainn addressed before giving the officer a chance to inquire about his summoning. “There appears to be a problem in-” the King briefly shut his eyes before opening them again, “-Ponyville. Take three hundred troops and investigate to make sure those idiots I left behind didn’t allow an uprising. Take any steps required to ensure that everything is in order.” General Siegfried nodded and moved off quickly knowing that the King liked un-questioning obedience.

Satisfied that the General could address whatever was happening in Equestria Dainn headed back towards his tent.

He had two Equestrian Princesses to keep him warm after all.

Author's Note

So we find out just how the Caribou gained their mind-control powers unlike in the original verse. These crystals seem fairly important to them so what could their effects possibly be?

The long suffering Straken now knows just how unlucky she is with her ISA ally, will she be able to keep him under control as they finish securing the town?

Their attempts to remain undetected have failed though so they are going to find themselves in a dangerous situation soon.

New Arrivals, All of Them Strange

“Listen up!”

Rows of chained and tied stallions and Caribou glanced up as Straken stood in the town square. The majority of the town’s male population had been chained up to the outside walls of the town hall. Only a few, numbering twelve, had managed to resist the Caribou mind-control. There were also ten Caribou survivors, although all of the ponies that had fought with the humans knew that the number would no doubt dwindle.

“You are all now prisoners under my control,” Straken informed as she glared at them all. “On a personal note, I consider you all to be worth less than the dirt under my boots. You will sit down, shut up and I may just decide to let you live.” Straken rubbed the butt of her holstered pistol as she said this, her sword cleaned and in its sheath.

The Colonel looked over the prisoners, all of the ponies averting their gazes in various states of distress. She had no pity for them, alleged mind control or not, they all had committed heinous crimes in her mind. Straken began to pace up and down the line, examining the people that were now her captives.

“Bitch.”

Straken stopped and turned around, the Colonel gazing down at one greying caribou as the stallions surrounding him moved away as far as they could.

“Do you have something to say?” Straken inquired, the caribou staring up at her with hate-filled eyes.

“I called you a Bitch,” the caribou spat a glob of spit onto Straken’s uniform. “Bitch.”

Straken took a second to process just how stupid this caribou was, at least the other nine caribou were bright enough to keep their mouths shut. The Equestrians watching, both prisoners and the ones that were free, shivered at the cold smile that grew on Straken’s face.

“Delightful.”

With that said, Straken lashed out with her boot and nailed the caribou right in the chest. Her re-enforced boot cracked ribs, the caribou collapsing to the ground with his chains going taut as he bellowed in agony.

Straken didn’t stop or say a word as she started to kick and stomp upon his head, blood coating her boot before the caribou’s yells fell silent and he stopped breathing. Straken straightened her uniform as she took a step back, drawing her pistol and destroying what was left of the caribou’s head with a plasma bolt.

“Does anyone else want to make a witty statement?” Straken asked while she holstered her gun, all the other prisoners remaining silent. “No? Good, you’re already learning.” Straken walked to the end of the line, stopping to pause at the small purple dragon that was nearly catatonic. The drake was curled up in a ball in a small cage, no chains small enough to hold him. All trace of pity from the Colonel vanished, Straken remembering what the dragon was doing before he had been captured.

“Was that needed?” Blaze asked, the guardmare gripping a spear and watching while Straken walked past her. The lieutenant adjusted her borrowed white shirt and followed the human, Straken heading towards an approaching group of ponies led by Blueblood.

“It was,” Straken confirmed. “He insulted me and sullied my uniform, killing him was a warning to all the other prisoners.” Blaze looked back at the prisoners, a few of the stallions weeping after realising what they had done.

“But what about the ponies? They were mind-controlled. How much of it was them and how much of it was the Caribou magic?”

“That is not for us to judge,” Straken informed as the approaching group of ponies drew closer. “Once the planet is secured, then the investigations can begin.”

Blaze frowned at Straken, the Colonel having lost the previous friendly tone that she had been using with Blaze.
Well, friendly for Straken anyway.

‘Did I do something wrong?’ Blaze wondered, the attack on the town going well with no deaths and only a few injuries on their side. She didn’t have time to ask Straken what the issue was, the Colonel addressing Blueblood.

“How did your attack go?”

“Surprisingly easy,” Blueblood answered as he gestured behind him. Two stallions were brought to the front, both tied up and hanging their heads in shame. “These were the only two males on the farm, the red one was free while the yellow one was locked in one of the upstairs rooms.” Straken furrowed her eyes at the two ponies, the red stallion continuing to stare at the ground while the other was looking at her with fear.

“You tied up the yellow one as well?” Straken inquired, Blueblood nodding as he gave a hateful scowl to the captured stallions.

“I thought that it was better to make sure, rather than have another one of… them running around.” Blueblood received a nod of approval from Straken.

“Good thinking, there is a space near the town hall for those who we believe did not play a part in the depravity. Take the yellow one to the clothes store and tie the red one up to the town hall with the other degenerates. Their trial will have to wait.”

“Please, don’t hurt mah brother!”

Straken raised an eyebrow as a yellow pony child pushed her way past two guards to hug the leg of the red stallion.

“Stay away from me Applebloom,” the stallion muttered, two guardmares pulling the foal away. They were about to take the child away but were halted by Straken, the Colonel crouching down and fixing the pony with an unwavering gaze.

“Your brother is a criminal, one of the most hated and despicable-”

“Big Mac didn’t know what he was doing!” The child protested. “He wasn’t himself! Ya can’t punish him, it was the Caribou that did everything bad!”

“That is not for you or I to decide, child,” Straken informed. “Your brother may indeed be innocent, but at the moment he is a risk to everyone else. That is why he will be locked up with the other fallen inhabitants of your town.” Applebloom clenched her fists but lowered her head, finding it hard to break the reasoning.

“Ya aren’t going to hurt him?” she asked, concern in her voice as she glanced back up at Straken. The Colonel decided that informing the child that so far she had only executed one prisoner would not help, Straken instead shaking her head.

“As long as he behaves, I will not hurt him. If he is found guilty, then that’s another matter.” Straken stood up, having had enough of conversing with the child. “Guards, take the child to the schoolhouse with the other children.” The ponies nodded, the prisoners and Applebloom walked past her by guards and militia. Straken made to turn around, aiming to discuss the net stages of the occupation with Lieutenant Blaze, but a hand gripped her shoulder.

Straken whirled around and lashed out with her hand, Prince Blueblood grunting as the hand backhanded him in the muzzle.
“Ow, what was that for? It’s me!” Straken brushed her shoulder off, waiting for Blueblood to take a step back.

“Don’t touch me,” Straken explained coldly. Blueblood put his hands up to show that he wasn’t going to make the mistake again. Blaze stepped in between the two, the guard maintaining her grip on her spear but holding it away from Straken.

“It was just a mistake,” Blaze said as she attempted to calm the situation down. Straken seemed to have returned to her previous bad mood, the fight possibly having a bad effect on her. “Blueblood, don’t touch the Colonel again.”

“I won’t,” Blueblood agreed as he nervously looked at Straken.

“Good,” Straken confirmed, her nose wrinkling at the stench of blood and grime on her uniform. “I don’t like to be touched, even when I’m not on a rapist-infested planet.”

“It didn’t always used to be like this,” Blaze muttered. “Equestria used to be so nice.”

“Well it’s not now, and that’s all that I care about,” Straken explained as she glanced back towards the town. “If you want a chance to return to that state, I suggest that we continue on with our plans.” Blaze and Blueblood hesitantly stepped closer as Straken sighed and rubbed her temples.

“Blueblood, you’re in charge of the ponies. Organise parties to gather food, supplies, and clothes.” At the reminder that he was still naked, the Prince covered himself with his hands and blushed. Straken didn’t pay attention, instead she turned to Blaze. “Lieutenant, we need to search every building for any Caribou still hiding, I trust that you’ll also be able to organise guards and sentries at the town entrances?”

“I’ll get on it right away, Ma’am.”

“Me as well,” Blueblood added to Blaze’s answer. The two ponies started to move back towards the town.

“Wait one second,” Straken called out, Blueblood and Blaze glancing back at her curiously. “You’re both doing well. You are serving your people well, despite the situation.”

“Thank you Colonel,” Blaze replied, a slight smile growing on her face. “It’s not easy to say but you’re doing a good job as well.” Blueblood merely nodded, the Prince continuing on his way. Straken thought for a moment before walking next to Blaze.

“I might as well join you, I don’t have anything else to do.” Blaze smiled, she found the Colonel interesting despite the obvious carefree attitude towards violence and harsh demenor. The Lieutenant glanced down at the human’s boots, her stomach churning as she recalled how Straken had beat the prisoner to death. Was it right for them to be aligning themselves with such violent creatures?
Blaze shook her head as the two walked back into the town. Given the choice of the alternative, she figured that her current choice of allies was the best one.

“Something wrong?” Straken asked, the Colonel having noticed the pony shaking her head.

“No Colonel,” Blaze answered. “I was just thinking about things, that’s all.”

“You can call me Straken.” Blaze was surprised, was that a small smile that she could see on the human’s face? “You’ve proved yourself to be a competent Lieutenant; I have no problem if you drop the title.”

‘Well, it’s an improvement and a complement. That’s a start.’ Blaze thought.

“Lieutenant,” Straken continued as she stopped walking, breaking Blaze out of her thoughts. “Where is the ISA agent?”

“I think I heard him mention that he was going to check out the town. Last I saw he was walking towards the schoolhouse.” Blaze furrowed her brows, Straken seeming to freeze. “Is there something wrong?”

“No, I guess not,” Straken answered as she resumed walking. “It’s not like he can traumatise the children any more than the Caribou have.”

Cheerilee watched on with concern while the foals and the armoured alien continued to stare at each other. The strange creature was sitting down on top of a school desk, his intimidating helmet placed in his lap. Cheerilee was wary due to the large blood splatters on his armour, but considering the recent attack and the fact that the royal guard who was standing guard outside let him in she assumed that he was friendly.

The fact that he was also half her height lowered her fear of him.

“So,” the alien spoke up, breaking a long silence. “How’s everything going?” Cheerilee wondered if the creature was okay in the head, how did he think things were going?

“Not well,” she answered. The alien turned to look at her, Cheerilee feeling a shiver run down her spine. “We were under control of the Caribou after all.”

“Just trying to make conversation,” the visitor defended while raising his hands in front of him, the foals following every movement he was making. Cheerilee decided to introduce herself, she was one of the luckily few that the Caribou hadn’t touched yet so her confidence was more intact.

“That’s understandable I suppose. Do you have a name? I’m Cheerilee, I am… was the schoolteacher.”

“Orthodox,” the alien replied while glancing around the room. A colt, Snips, furrowed his eyes as he stared up at Orthodox.

“What kind of name is Orthodox?”

“A name made of letters,” the alien answered before using his tail to scratch himself behind an ear. “Considering you ponies have names like ‘Blaze’ and ‘Blueblood’ I doubt you can claim to have a better naming system.” Cheerilee leaned forward at this information, she knew that a group of ponies from Canterlot were here but the news that Orthodox had met the Prince was interesting.

“Prince Blueblood is alive?” she asked. “I heard that all of the royal family were taken away by the Caribou king.” Orthodox snorted.

“Nah, Blueblood is still around. I think Straken’s placed him in charge of you ponies.”

“Straken?” Twist inquired, the young filly moving closer to the visitor. Orthodox waved a hand in dismissal.

“The Colonel. You know, the cranky woman from the army?” All the foals shook their heads, Cheerilee was equally confused.

“I don’t know who that is,” she told him, Orthodox running an armoured hand down his face.

“She’s the person who broke out your guards and Prince after cracking some skulls. The only reason I’m even out of bed is because she had to go and get herself teleported here. I mean, would it kill people to not get teleported to other planets all of the-“

“Agent Orthodox, your presence is needed in the town square.”

Orthodox was cut off as a harsh, female voice oozing with distaste echoed from his helmet, the alien rolling his eyes as he got off the desk.

“Speak of the Devil,” he muttered before putting his helmet on. Everyone drew back as it sealed, the alien hefting a large, long device in his hands. “Looks like I’ve got to depart, it was… boring.” With those words he left, leaving a confused Cheerilee and a classroom full of Ponyville’s children. A royal guard poked her head in after he had left, the pegasus looking around.

“Don’t mind him,” she advised upon noticing the look upon Cheerilee’s face. “The Colonel told us that ISA agents are all strange. He didn’t do anything wrong did he?” Cheerilee took a second before shaking her head, after all while he was indeed strange he hadn’t hurt anyone.

“No, I’m just… confused.” The guard chuckled at this, far less humour in her voice.

“You should have seen him back in the castle,” the guard informed before her smile faded. “Anyway, as long as everything’s okay now, I better get back to guarding. We don’t really want any Caribou to get in again do we?” Cheerilee wondered what had happened to this guard, the mare seemed almost as emotionally damaged as some of the normal citizens.

“No we don’t,” Cheerilee answered, before she winced at the guard’s haunted look. “Do you want to come inside and wait in here instead?” The guard mare looked apprehensive, but Cheerilee caught the start of a relieved smile.

“I think I will,” the guard replied as she walked in, the foals all visibly relaxing as the authority figure entered. “It’s not pleasant being alone now, is it?” Cheerilee winced, remembering her time spent hiding in the school house during the initial Caribou invasion.

“No, no it’s not.”

“Ma’am, calm down.”

“No! I won’t calm down!”

Straken ground her teeth, one hand patting her holstered pistol, as the cyan pegasus in front of her continued to demand that she be allowed to beat the captive Caribou. The pony, introduced as Rainbow Dash, was surprisingly loud and energetic considering her prior captivity.

“What’s going on?” Straken, Rainbow Dash, Night Shard and Mirage turned at the voice, Orthodox ambling up to the group.

“Oh, another alien,” Rainbow Dash huffed before pointing a finger at the imprisoned Caribou. “Your friend won’t let me get some revenge against those bastards!” Orthodox glanced over at the chained Caribou, all of them glaring back at him.

“Why not, Straken?” he asked, to the surprise of all but the addressed Colonel. “Didn’t you kill one earlier?” Rainbow Dash mustn’t have known this, the pegasus looking towards the human and taking a step back.

“They are my prisoners,” Straken began to reply. “If I wish to beat or kill them then I will. I will, however, not have any of those under my command do it. That will lead to disorder and I would prefer to keep some Caribou alive… for now anyway.” Straken glared at Rainbow Dash, the pegasus clenching her fists and returning it. “I would like to point out, Miss Dash, that many of your fellows standing next to me have suffered the same under the Caribou. If you would refrain from revenge, it would be most appreciated.” Straken turned to walk away, Blaze and Night Shard following her.

“Then why do you get to do it!?” Rainbow Dash called out, Straken halting at the yell. The Colonel turned around, the solider fixing the disgruntled pegasus with a stern look.

“Because I’m in charge, that’s why.” With that, Straken left with the rest of the ponies following her. Orthodox and Rainbow Dash were the only ones left, the ISA agent shrugging his shoulders as Rainbow watched Straken leave with a scowl.

“Don’t mind her,” Orthodox stated as he glanced towards the prisoners guarded by a number of guards. “Straken’s just a little grumpy.” Rainbow huffed, turning to Orthodox and crossing her arms over her bare chest.

“Why are you guys even here anyway?” Orthodox got the feeling that the pony wasn’t too happy with their presence, despite their intervention.

“Mainly to mess up the days of others,” Orthodox informed as Rainbow Dash watched his tail twist in the air. “Standard stuff really, we hate slavers and rapists so having an opportunity to kill some is like a dream come true.” He ignored the disturbed look that she wore while peering around her, spotting her small wings. “So can you fly like that?”

“No I can’t,” the pony grumbled as she glanced back. “I got the wing sheaths off but they pruned me. It’s going to take weeks for the feathers to grow back.” She shuddered, her clenched fists relaxing. “I’m still myself though, not like Twilight.”

“Twilight?” Orthodox asked, Rainbow Dash nodding her head.

“One of my friends. She along with Rarity and Applejack are in the hospital. I heard that Fluttershy was taken away to some sort of farm to the west and no-one knows what happened to Pinkie.” Orthodox didn’t recognise any of the names, but he got an idea of how to help the pegasus as well as alleviate some of his own boredom.

“You said three are in the hospital, you want to visit them?”

“I can’t,” Rainbow grumbled. “The guards won’t let me in. Your Colonel told them that only patients and nurses are allowed in.” Orthodox laughed, Rainbow looking at him oddly.

“You think… you think Straken’s my boss? I’m actually higher ranked than her, my superiors just told me that I had to assist her. Come on, I’ll get you past the guards.” Rainbow didn’t believe him, however she rushed to follow him when she realised that he had started to walk up a dirt path towards Ponyville hospital.

“Wait, why are you going to do that?” Orthodox shrugged, tapping his rifle against his side.

“I don’t have much else to do at the moment, Straken’s pretty keen on keeping our occupation a secret.” Rainbow considered his reasoning. She guessed that it made sense, after all, she herself couldn’t stand waiting around and doing nothing.

“Uh, thanks, I guess.”

“Don’t mention it.”

No more was said as he two continued to approach the hospital, neither knowing what else there was to say.

The sun was just starting to rise in the sky, casting a warm orange glow around the town.

Straken tapped the side of the park bench impatiently, the Colonel having nothing to do. Blueblood and Blaze had organised their teams surprisingly quickly, Straken only having to give Blaze a small amount of input. The Lieutenant had swiftly organised sentries and even a scout group, Straken very impressed with the mare’s competency.

Blueblood had also been a pleasant surprise, the Prince having organized groups to gather food, clothes and water. All of the ponies around her were not all properly dressed, the Caribou having burnt all clothing meant for mares, but the ponies had made do.
Maple Fields had improved in mood, the unicorn sitting next to her was enthusiastically informing Straken of her previous life.

All of it.

Straken would have normally told her to not bother as she wasn’t interested, but the unicorn seemed to get livelier the more she talked. Straken supposed she could tolerate it for Maple Field’s sake, despite her cold attitude she didn’t mind the mare.

Also on the bench was Mirage, the changeling wearing a dirty white shirt and nothing else. The Colonel recalled Blaze saying that the race didn’t wear clothing normally, Straken assuming that the changeling was in an attempt to fit in better. There had been no direct confrontations, but the ponies were still uneasy around the strange creatures. Thankfully, no one had objected when Straken had secured them a temporary house and assigned them a ration of food.

The three females continued to sit. Straken continued to think, Maple Fields continued to talk and Mirage continued to listen to Maple, nodding her head and fidgeting with her hands. Straken found herself inspecting her pistol, Mirage and Maple giving the bulky weapon concerned glances as the human pulled out the energy pack and went over the gun with a cloth she had pulled from a breast pocket.

All three looked up as the sound of clinking chains rang out through the air. All of the town’s stallions had been moved inside the town hall, after cleaning of course, because of obedience and good behaviour. The Caribou had not been afforded the same luxury, the nine of them still attached to the outside of the building so all the ponies passing could remind them of their crimes. One of those Caribou was attempting to break his chains, Straken watching while two guardmares approached him.

“Settle down,” one warned him, hefting a stun rod while the other gripped a spear. The caribou muttered something to the mare, Straken unable to hear what was said but it evidently was insulting as the guard turned a beet red. She raised her baton to strike the unruly caribou and was only halted when the other guard grabbed her arm.

“You’re lucky I stopped her,” the second guard lectured, a trace of venom in her voice. The caribou at first seemed like he was about to retort, but a glare from the intervening guard convinced him to sit back down against the wall. Straken sent the pair an approving nod as they returned to their positions, the guards smiling at her in return.

“What are you going to do with them?” Maple asked, Mirage leaning in to also find out what fate Straken had in store for the captured Caribou.

“Keep them locked up until reinforcements arrive,” Straken started as she holstered her gun. “After that they’ll be tried and most likely shot.”

“Um, why don’t you…” Mirage started, before taking a breath. “Why don’t you just… kill them now?” The changeling visibly winced as she asked this, Straken furrowing her brows at the young being.

“Believe me, I would have no issue with executing them right here and now.” This earned a shudder from both Fields and Mirage. “The thing is, High Command will likely want to interrogate them, and Research and Development will certainly want to preform tests and experiments.” Straken gave Mirage a glance, the human tilting her head towards the changeling. “The scientists will likely want to find out about your race as well.”

“Find out about us?” Mirage replied fearfully, imagining being tied down to a table while a mass of humans crowded around her with scalpels and other tools.

“I wouldn’t worry,” Straken re-assured. “As long as there’s cooperation, they won’t need to do anything drastic like cutting you up to see what makes you go. In fact, with this apparent shape-shifting, you’d likely benefit from helping them out.” While Mirage breathed a sigh of relief, Straken allowed herself a small grin. “The Caribou won’t get the same offer.”

This killed any relief, the grin on the Colonel’s face was quite disturbing. All three stopped talking, the Caribou also quieting down. It was surprisingly peaceful, the streets empty except for prisoners, guards and the makeshift militia that Straken had formed.

The peace was broken however, a frantic Night Shard running up to the bench with a stun baton clasped in a hand.

“Colonel!” the bat-pony called, a further three militia following her, all hefting assorted weapons. “You need to see this!” Straken turned to her left to face Night Shard.

“What is it?” Straken inquired, getting off her seat and drawing her sidearm. The Colonel could tell that something had spooked the bat-pony, considering the circumstances it was likely Caribou related.

“There’s a big black thing out the front of the town!” Night Shard huffed as she tried to catch her breath.

“Night Shard,” Straken asked slowly, struggling to remain civil. “I need more information other than ‘a big black thing’ to make a decision.”

“It’s a circle, it just appeared out of thin air!” The added description sparked something in Straken’s brain, the Colonel recalling encountering a black circle before back in her standard infantry days. Night Shard, Mirage and Maple all watched on worriedly as Straken’s hand clenched around her gun, the Colonel’s face going even paler.

An ISA agent is present on the planet.

High Command was sending reenforcements into a hostile area.

A black circle that appears out of thin air, sounding like a portal.

Only one UIP department uses subspace tunnels on uncharted worlds, subspace tunnels that look like black circles.

“Oh no,” Straken muttered as she broke into a brisk walk. “Not more of them.”

Orthodox woke up with a jolt, nearly falling off the hospital chair that he was sitting on.

“What’s wrong?” Rainbow Dash asked, the pegasus holding the hand of a sleeping purple unicorn. Orthodox didn’t reply at first, too busy checking his helmet display and trying to figure out just who had arrived. As far as he knew, he was the only ISA asset assigned to the planet.

“Nothing,” Orthodox answered as he gathered his things. “I’ve got to go, someone’s trying to play in my sandbox.” To say Rainbow was confused would be an understatement. Still, she didn’t push for elaboration, Orthodox hadn’t said that she wasn’t able to stay with her friends with him gone so it worked out for her.

“Bye,” she farewelled as the ISA agent left the room.

“See you around,” Orthodox returned, before continuing on down a white corridor. A door opened in front of him, Orthodox waiting as a nurse and a doctor emerged. The white mare and the brown stallion halted as they spotted him, the two freezing in the corridor. Orthodox walked past them and peered in, spotting three of the mares who were injured in the assault lying on beds. He waved an armoured hand, the three waving back.

“Morning… sir,” the nurse hesitantly greeted, the mare and stallion wincing as he faced them.

“Morning,” Orthodox returned before fixing his gaze on the doctor. The stallion was one of the townspeople who hadn’t been affected by the Caribou magic. “Everything going well?” Both ponies nodded nervously.

“The patients are recovering well,” the nurse told him as she looked down at her clipboard. “Except for Twilight Sparkle, she still hasn’t spoken.” Orthodox recalled that Twilight was the purple pony in the room he had just left.

“Great, well I have to go.” The nurse and doctor breathed sighs of relieve as the alien continued on, his armoured tail flicking in the air behind him.

Orthodox rolled his shoulders as he walked out of the hospital, sighing to himself. Sure, he may have been a bit blunt just then, but he could tell he unnerved the medical ponies Besides, he had other things to worry about.

He made a beeline to the north end of town, his suit picking up a subspace tunnel. The ISA were the only UIP department game enough to create tunnels to uncharted worlds, usually the technology was only used to ferry goods and personnel to secured locations. Still, while it meant that he’d have to share his operation with other agents, he guessed backup was backup.

Hell, the more the merrier.

Walking through the town at an increased pace, he noticed a few ponies moving in the streets. The majority were mares, all moving in groups of no less than three, but there were a few stallions that were either alone or with said mares. All of them gazed at him fearfully as he moved past them, something that Orthodox was used to. The ISA was not known for its friendly nature after all.

Rounding a bend he ran into Straken, the Colonel followed by her three lackeys. Okay, lackeys may have been a bit strong, but the bat-pony, changeling and Maple Fields spent a lot of time around the Colonel. Orthodox didn’t get why, Straken wasn’t the most fun-loving person he had met.

“Oh, Agent Orthodox,” the human greeted icily as she and her group halted. “I take it you’re on your way to meet your ISA friends?”

Orthodox wondered how the Colonel knew about the portal, but it was then that he remembered that there were armed ponies everywhere. It was safe to assume that Straken had posted lookouts, and a ominous black portal was pretty high up on the report list.

“I didn’t know about them,” Orthodox replied, his tail twitching as he struggled to not call the Colonel out about her constant ragging on the ISA. “My sensors only picked it up a few minutes ago and I haven’t contacted anyone. Don’t go blaming me because more soldiers are turning up.”

“I’d hardly call the ISA soldiers,” Straken informed with a sneer, Orthodox deciding to take the proper course of action.

“Whatever you say, Buttercup,” he replied as he walked past Straken, patting the Colonel on the lower back as he couldn’t reach high enough for a real back-pat. “I better go first so that the fake soldiers don’t go and slaughter all of your precious militia.” This caused the ponies near to Colonel to start nervously whispering to each other, Orthodox paying them little mind.

He wasn’t known for his generous temper, and he was getting sick of Straken so any chance to try and distract himself was a good idea. Orthodox continued on to the source of the portal, approaching a crowd of ponies all nervously gripping weapons as they stared out of the town.

“Coming through,” Orthodox announced, the equines hastily making way for him as he pushed to the front. He looked out and set eyes upon the source of the commotion, the portal formed over a grassy hill near a riverside cottage. A small wooden bridge spanned the river, Orthodox starting to move forward with his weapons holstered.

“Were are you going?” A mare hissed, Orthodox glancing back to spot the bat-pony guard looking nervously at him. Straken had also caught up, Orthodox deciding to get in before she did.

“It’s fine, it’s just some friends of mine.” This seemed to do the trick, a few of the braver ponies following him. Orthodox just had time to notice that they included the bat-pony, Lieutenant Blaze and the unicorn he had saved from the nightclub before the portal widened. Orthodox broke into a run, reaching the small bridge before a pair of black armoured boots stepped out.

“Fuck my life,” Orthodox cursed under his breath as a gun barrel emerged, followed by a full ISA trooper. His helmet was registering the new arrival as ISA Special Agent Gary Stuart, an agent that Orthodox had… history with.

Following the Special Agent, who was currently sweeping his surroundings though his gun sights, was a unusual sight.

A hulking giant stepped out of the portal, the soldier almost as tall as the cottage next to him. It was a ISA Heavy Assault and Suppression Trooper, the soldier’s bulky black armour giving him an extra metre of height on the already tall Special Agent. He appeared to be unarmed, but Orthodox had learned that first appearances weren’t always right.

The last figure to emerge, operating a hovering lifter loaded with crates, was both the most odd and relieving sight for Orthodox.

It was a tall and slender human boasting the palest skin and nerdiest haircut that Orthodox had ever seen. He was wearing the standard grey lab coat of the UIP Research and Development Division and had a simple black holster at his waist. It was the glint of metal on his left arm that clued Orthodox in to his identity, the figure not showing up on his identification system.

“Elijah!” Orthodox called out, waving a hand at the scientist. The target of the call was so surprised that he crashed the lifter into the cottage, Orthodox wincing as metal crates tumbled to the grass.

“Of course,” a snooty voice spoke up over Elijah’s cursing. “They just had to place me with the worst agent they could find.” Orthodox saw red, turning his helmet to face Gary.

“Shut the Fuck up Stuart,” Orthodox replied, walking up to stare right into the soldier’s blue optics. “I think you’re still pissy because you’re still leading a squad instead of being allowed to roam free.” Unseen by the arguers, the ponies had started to approach the new comers.

“The only reason they let you go out solo is because you cannot work in a team.” Gary brushed his armour off with a hand in dismissal. “Your squad was one of the most infamous in ISA history after all, the records don’t lie.” Orthodox glanced at the HAS trooper, the armoured behemoth watching the approaching ponies silently, before going for a reply.

“My squad was one of the best, you over-entitled-“

“Orthodox, Special Agent Stuart,” both looked towards Elijah, the scientist walking over from the crashed lifter as he brushed his black hair out of his eyes. Behind him, the portal closed without a sound. “We are all on the same side here, why don’t we stop waving our genitalia around like it's a contest and focus on the mission at hand?”

“I refuse to work with this,” Stuart complained as he gestured towards Orthodox. “If you knew his history-“

“I do know his history, Special Agent,” Elijah cut in. “In fact, I was a part of the same squad that you insulted earlier, before I transferred to R and D. Why do you think I have two ISA agents, who are under my command for this mission, as bodyguards?” At the reminder of Elijah’s authority, Gary grumbled under his breath.

“And you Orthodox,” the scientist continued. “Special Agent Stuart is one of the most decorated agents within the ISA from what I have heard. I suggest you place nice for once in your life.”

“Fat chance,” Orthodox answered while giving Stuart the middle finger.

“Eloquent as always,” Elijah observed with the faintest of smiles. The Special Agent was visibly struggling to avoid a retort while the HAS trooper just stood there and watched. “Anyway Orthodox, this is Agent Dante. He’s been helping me with my work.”

“What’s up?” Orthodox greeted, having no prior problem with the new agent.

“Nothing.” Dante didn’t move a muscle as he remained standing.

Orthodox tilted his head, before facing Elijah again.

“What’s his problem?”

“Oh, Dante doesn’t talk much,” Elijah answered casually. “You know how it is with HAS troopers.” The scientist started to move back to the lift, however he stopped and a wide grin covered his face. Orthodox and Gary turned to find the scientist gazing in wonder at the very nervous Night Shard.

“Careful Elijah,” Orthodox warned, already guessing how his friend would act. “I don’t know if you heard what’s been going on, but the natives are-“

“Oh, aren’t you just a magnificent creature!” Orthodox was cut off as Elijah payed no attention to his warnings, instead rushing over towards the frightened bat-pony. Night Shard stood in terror as the tall and lanky human approached her, reaching out a hand to touch her blue mane. Orthodox and Gary shook his head and the rest of the ponies watched in surprise as Elijah started to mutter to himself while circling Night Shard.

“An anthropomorphic being with features from both the Equidae and Chiroptera families, how interesting.” Elijah’s eyes scanned over Night Shard’s form. “Blue hair or ‘mane’, dark-grey body, female.” Night Shard blushed and pulled her borrowed blue shirt down further, blushing now that her nakedness was pointed out. “And these beautiful wings, even with these multi-coloured piercings.” Night Shard eeped as the human ran his bare fingers over the blue membrane of her wings.

“Uh… Mister human, sir?” Lieutenant Blaze spoke up. “A pony’s wings are a fairly intimate place…”

“I’m only doing it for science,” Elijah reassured, before noticing his subject’s raised and straightened wings. “What’s this? The wings are a source of stimulation and possibly indicate arousal. Intriguing.” Much to Orthodox’s amusement, and Night Shards’ embarrassment, Elijah had withdrawn a data-pad from his coat and had started to take notes.

“Mister,” Blaze tried again, Elijah cutting her off with a wave of his hand.

“Elijah, Lead Researcher Elijah Von Barker, United Imperium of Planets Research and Development, Occult Experimentation and Military Application Division.”

“Mister Elijah, can you please leave Night Shard alone?” Elijah stopped taking notes and glanced at Blaze, his eyes widening as he looked over her form instead.

“Once again, an interesting subject,” he observed as he leaned around to examine Blaze’s pruned wings instead. “Much like the ancient Greek mythological son of Poseidon, subject has equine features and possesses feathered wings. Wings appear stunted, flight would be unlikely-“

“The Caribou cut them and then placed healing inhibitors on them,” Blaze informed, wincing as Elijah also rubbed her feathers between his fingertips.

“Oh, I know all about the Caribou,” Elijah replied with his tone remaining cheerful. “Absolutely disgusting creatures, as interesting as they may be. I can’t wait to get my hands on one to see just how this mind control of theirs works.” Blaze was just starting to get flustered before Elijah’s hand was pulled away from her wing, Orthodox gripping the limb and stepping up.

“Elijah, stop touching the ponies,” he asked to the relief of all the Equestrians. “How do you already know about the Caribou anyway?”

“Have you forgotten Orthodox?” Elijah inquired as he finished typing on the data-pad with a white-gloved hand. “Your helmet’s been recording everything, I managed to catch a brief explanation before I… acquired an experimental personal subspace teleporter from the base’s stores. Needless to say, the brass were not too happy with my initiative to commence research and sent these two gents after me.”

“Luckily for the good Researcher,” Gary cut in, not sounding too happy. “Due to his rank, importance and past service, he was not immediately shot for theft of ISA property. The teleporter was confiscated and Agent Dante, who had been at the base as the Researcher mentioned previously, returned it before being assigned to help the good doctor.” Orthodox, his previous hatred for Gary temporary forgotten due to Elijah’s behaviour with the ponies, tiled his head.

“What about you then?” Gary huffed, tapping his long weapon against his side.

“I was supposed to be overseeing the destabilisation of a class two planetary government, but then a certain scientist couldn’t wait to cut up some Caribou.” Gary gave the ponies glances, taking note of their human-like hands. “At least it seems like the natives will appreciate some of the leftover supplies we had.”

“Supplies?” Orthodox asked, spotting Straken glaring at them from the town. He ignored her and followed the Special Agent, Stuart heading over to one of the crates that had fallen off the lifter. “Nice driving Elijah,” Orthodox teased, the scientist pulling his gaze away from the ponies to answer him.

“You distracted me,” he defended. “Besides, I have doctorates in Biology, Chemistry, Ballistics, Nuclear Physics, Quantum Physics, and many other sciences. I do not need to have you lecture me over my unpractised driving of a transport lifter.”

“Whatever, Geek.” Elijah tensed at the insult, his left arm twitching. Any retort was interrupted by Stuart, the agent opening a bulky, dark grey crate which was secured by an electronic lock.

“Check these out,” the agent said with glee, a hand coming up from the crate clutching a rifle as long as his arm.

“Are those?” Orthodox started, Gary nodding his head.

“Yep, export-class ballistic rifles, sixty shots a mag of gas-expanding rounds which are designed for even the most primitive of users.”

“Hey!” Blaze spoke up as she walked up to the humans and Orthodox. “Did you just call us primitive?”

“No offence Darling,” Stuart commented as he picked up a blocky magazine in his other hand. “But you do appear rather primitive. Now take your rifle and stop complaining.” Blaze had no time to protest before the gun was shoved into her hands. Blaze panicked, she had seen what the aliens’ weapons were capable of and she didn’t want to accidently shot someone.

“Relax,” Stuart continued as the rest of the humans and ponies watched on. “There are no bullets in it and the safeties on so it won’t fire.” Blaze calmed down, breathing heavily and moving the gun over while trying to figure it out. Stuart walked over, adjusting the rifle in her hands until she was holding it correctly. “See? It’s not too bad once you’ve got the hang of it.”

“Are we really doing this?” Orthodox asked as Blaze held the gun at her hip, Gary shaking his head at the pony’s cluelessness. “Are we really going to arm these untrained ponies with ballistic firearms against stun baton wielding Caribou?” Gary stopped trying to teach Blaze, the guardmare holding the gun with awe as she examined it.

“Yes,” he answered, all trace of hostility gone. “We are indeed going to give these natives guns and ammo.”

Orthodox grinned, ignoring the yelling Colonel who had started marching angrily towards them as soon as she saw Blaze with a gun.

“You know what Stuart? You’re not as bad as I first thought.”

“Use your shoulder to brace, line up the sights and give the trigger a slight pull when you’re ready.”

Orthodox, Dante, Straken and Night Shard were watching Gary instruct Blaze on how to use the rifle, almost all the free ponies in the town having turned up to the riverside cottage to see the new weapon. Straken was sitting down on a rock fuming, the Colonel not happy about the circumstances. It wasn’t the fact that they now had a supply of ballistic rifles and ammunition, it was the fact that she was now outnumbered by ISA agents.

“So I just pull this?” Blaze asked, keeping the gun pointed towards the forest like Gary had told her.

“Give it a light squeeze, it’s only on single shot.” Blaze exhaled and pulled, a bang ringing out as the rifle discharged. Ponies jolted and flattened their ears, but Blaze had been expecting the sound.

“How’d I do?” she inquired, shaking a little as she stared at the weapon in her hands. Stuart pushed the gun barrel towards the ground as he walked past her, even if the simple bullets were unable to pierce his armour, it would be a good habit for Blaze to get into. He stopped at a tree, crouching down next to a target painted onto an oak.

“Well, you missed the target by about half a metre,” he informed, Blaze wincing.

“That’s not that good.”

“It’s not bad for your first time,” Gary reassured. “Some more practice and you’ll be riddling Caribou full of holes in no time.” The Special Agent walked back to her side, grabbing Blaze’s rifle to show her how to switch firing modes. “Now to fire in three-shot bursts, you switch this little knob here-“

“Please don’t touch there.” The three UIP soldiers and Night Shard turned their heads from the shooting to glance to their left, spotting Elijah and Mirage sitting on another rock. Elijah had one of Mirage’s arms in his hand, and was prodding the holes in her arm with a finger.

“Ah, some kind of extra sensitive area?” he asked as he left her arm go. Mirage was visibly regretting consenting to the scientist’s studies.

“In a way,” she answered. “They are thought to reduce weight so we can fly, act as identification marks and also as… pleasure points.” Elijah raised his eyebrows in interest as he wrote down the information.

“Fascinating, though one must wonder why they would act as erogenous zones given their placement on the lower-legs as well as the forearms. Then again, your species also has mammary glands when you possess an insectoid appearance. You are just a treasure trove of scientific information.”

“He does this and gets to claim that it’s for science. I do it and I get slapped with sexual assault. How is this fair?” Orthodox muttered as crossed his arms as another three bangs rang out in quick succession.

“He is far more tolerable than you,” Straken informed. “Despite his… curiosity, he so far has failed to really offend anyone.”

“Lighten up,” Orthodox huffed. “I’ve already got super-trooper Gary over there, I don’t need you to get all high and mighty on me as well.” Orthodox turned to Dante, the solider and Night Shard having a stare off. Dante was winning, his reflective black faceplate freaking the bat-pony out. “And then there’s this guy.” Straken didn’t respond, the Colonel equally disturbed by the silent HAS trooper. Something about him just seemed off. During their individual conversations, none noticed Blueblood approching from the town.

“Why are you doing this?” Blueblood asked, the Prince furrowing his eyes as he walked up to them. “Why give us weapons that work just like yours?”

“They’re only ballistic rifles,” Straken informed as she watched Gary call up another five royal guard. “They won’t pierce standard UIP armour, let alone that of the ISA, and the technology is ancient. That’s why they’re mainly used when bartering or bribing primitive peoples, it’s a powerful weapon to them and almost harmless to us.” Blueblood seemed a little put out that Straken referred to them as primitive, but he surprisingly didn’t pursue it.

“You’re not wearing armour,” he pointed out as he sat down on a spare rock, Night Shard using his arrival as an excuse to move away from Dante. Orthodox laughed out loud while the Bat-pony moved to sit next to Blueblood.

“I dare one of you ponies to try and shoot her,” he chuckled. “Straken will still find a way to beat the shit out of you.” The Colonel couldn’t tell if Orthodox was insulting her or not, so she just ignored his annoying mirth.

“I am wearing an armoured vest,” Straken informed, before gesturing over towards the group of shooters. All six of them were taking shots at the trees, most missing horribly but that was to be expected. “Given the current performance of your guards, I doubt they’ll be able to hit my head even if I was standing next to them.”

“Lay off them Straken,” Orthodox commented as he started to stroke his own rifle. “You can’t expect them to be trained killers already. Besides, we’ve got plenty of guns and ammo, let’s just let them go at it for a while and before you know it it’s bye-bye Caribou.”

Straken grunted while Gary continued to teach the initial guards. The group continued to watch for another half-an-hour, Lieutenant Blaze soon able to use and reload her weapon to an acceptable standard. Upon instructions from Gary, she left her spot and happily walked over towards the observers with her rifle still in hand but no magazine in it.

“I did it!” she announced merrily while a further three ponies were chosen to start shooting. “It’s easy once you practice.” She proudly showed off her gun to Blueblood, the Prince wary of the destructive tool.

“You’re doing good,” Straken complemented, a slight grin on her face. “Maybe we should send you out to take out the King.” Blaze’s confidence faulted at this, Orthodox speaking up.

“Don’t worry Blaze,” he reassured. “If anyone’s going to off the King, it’s going to be me.”

“Don’t bet on it,” Straken growled. “I was here first so he’s mine if he shows up.” Night Shard, Blaze and Blueblood watched on as Straken and Orthodox continued to argue over who was going to kill the King. Dante just sat there silently like always.

“Actually I want him first,” Elijah butted in, the Scientist and Mirage walking over to join them. Everyone noticed that the changeling kept a reasonable distance from him, Elijah already having gained a reputation for being a little weird. “This mind control is intriguing, he would no doubt be a great source of information.”

“Why don’t you all fight over it if he does turn up?” Blaze suggested with a shudder. “I for one don’t care, as long as it’s done far away from me. I’ve heard stories about him.”

“Speaking of people turning up,” Straken muttered as ponies continued to be instructed in the firearms. “Should we really be doing firearms training when we’re trying to remain undetected?” Orthodox and Elijah both shrugged.

“Eh, if anyone turns up then at least we’ll have a bunch of ponies with guns,” Orthodox observed.

“Indeed,” Elijah added. “Besides, it’s not like there’ll be Caribou just wandering around.”

“You hear that?”

Stamper cocked an ear at Sigmund’s question, the two Caribou scouts closing in on the town of Ponyville. General Siegfried had ordered them to check out the town while the main army of three-hundred Caribou soldiers set up camp down the road. It seemed like a pointless action considering that Equestria was still under Caribou control, but as the general had said, it couldn’t hurt to be too careful.

“I do,” Stamper confirmed, the faint pops now audible once they were pointed out. “What do you think it is?”

“I have no clue,” Sigmund replied before he gripped his mace tighter. Unlike the guards left in the towns and cities, the two scouts belonged to the main army and thusly were equipped for war. “We still better check it out, it’s coming from the town.”

“Let’s go then,” Stamper ordered as he stood up and brushed the dirt off his leather vest. The two scouts moved through the brush of the Everfree forest, using their training to avoid any of the monsters that dwelled within. It was easy once you knew what to look for, and keeping to the paths took you around most of the danger.

“The noises have stopped,” voiced Sigmund as they continued to walk through the undergrowth. “I wonder what they were?”

“Will find out when we get there,” Stamper told him. The two continued on for an hour, the thick plant growth slowing their progress. Stamper neglected to use his short sword to cut back the plants, content to trade speed for a quitter journey. Soon they reached the tree line, Sigmund moving past Stamper.

“I’m going to check it out,” he informed his comrade as he pushed past him.

“Are you stupid?” Stamper insulted. “Wait to nightfall, that way we won’t-“

“You worry too much Stamper,” Sigmund brushed off as he increased his pace. “We own the town remember? I’ve gone a month without a screw, might as well get to the mares before the rest of the army does.” Stamper couldn’t deny that reasoning, it had been a while. Rolling his eyes, the scout sprinted to join his fellow. Both shielded their eyes from the midday sun as they left the dark forest, both thinking of all the mares that they could requestion.

They both received their mares, but also a surprise along with them.

There were indeed mares, around fifty of them, all sitting on rocks and the grass just outside the forest. However, there were also five strange creatures with them and everyone was staring at the two Caribou. Stamper noticed that a lot of the ponies were holding strange club-like objects in their hands or slung over their shoulders. He got the feeling that they were weapons, and upon noticing that not a single mare was wearing a collar he felt that he had just made a huge mistake.

Sigmund was not as observant, the scout only seeing mares and not noticing the alien creatures sitting over to the far right.

“Well then,” Sigmund announced while brandishing his mace. “Who wants to service their masters first?”

“Marvellous creatures!” Sigmund and Stamper focused on the unknown creatures, one in a grey coat standing up from a rock.

“Sit down Elijah!” the shortest one, appearing like a dragon, yelled as he grabbed the sleeve of the standing creature while pulling out an object similar to the ones that the mares held. Stamper broke out of his shock and bolted back for the forest, leaving Sigmund to face the music.

“Shoot them!” a harsh female voice ordered, Stamper making the tree line in time before a chorus of bangs and cracks rang out. A branch scratched his face as he heard Sigmund bellow in pain before it was cut short. Leaving his fellow, Stamper continued running as the trees around him were torn apart by an invisible force.

“Ah!” Stamper cried out as a burning pain erupted on his right leg, just below the knee. He found himself falling, his face crashing down against the leafy forest floor. Whimpering, he turned his head to look at his injured leg, his eyes widening at the sight.

It was severed at the knee, whatever hit him had torn it off leaving a ragged stump behind. He ignored the increasing pain and looked forward, aiming to drag himself to safety.

His plan was foiled, Stamper only getting a few metres away before the pounding off hooves and boots sounded behind him. he looked back and nearly voided his bowels, a group of Equestrian Royal guard aiming the strange black objects at him.

“What are you waiting for?” A mare asked a stallion. “Shoot him.”

“Why don’t you shoot him?” the stallion retorted, evidently having difficulty with taking the life of another being.

“Hold your fire,” the same female voice from before called out. Stamper felt a sharp pain in his side, rolling over onto his back and looking up. One of the creatures from before, appearing to be a female with olive-green clothing that looked military in nature, ceased kicking him in the side. “This one could be useful.”

“Indeed he will be.” The guards turned as the grey-coated creature walked through them, the alien bending down next to Stamper. “Oh, you will certainly be very, very useful.”

Chills ran through Stamper’s body, something in the cheerful tone sending alarm bells off in his head.

Straken, Blaze and Gary stood up from their seats as Elijah emerged from the single story house. The screams had stopped a few minutes ago, the bloodstained grey coat hinting at the scientist’s method of information gathering.

“That went well,” Elijah commented while rubbing his blood stained hands together. “These Caribou have a very interesting internal structure-“

“Not now,” Straken cut in, Blaze going a little green. The Lieutenant was already feeling a little sick, having fired the kill shot that had killed the other scout. “Where did they come from?”

“Oh, they have an army camped a few kilometres down the road past the forest.” Elijah tapped his holster, a simple laser pistol contained within. “Apparently their King detected a ‘control crystal’ failing. Want to go and pay them a visit?”

“How many are there?” Straken inquired, drawing her gun to check it.

“Three hundred of their actual soldiers,” Elijah mentioned, before stopping two of the guards from entering the house. “No, I still have work to do, leave the body as it is!” The ponies backed off at the order, Straken shaking her head.

“Leave them to me,” Orthodox spoke up. “I’ll have them fixed in no time.” He went to walk off, but his arm was grabbed by Gary.

“No, as Special Agent, I should have the honour of going first. Besides, you’ve already had some chances to kill them.” Blaze started to edge back as the fight continued, Elijah joining her as they let the three argue it out.

“I should go.” Everyone turned at the deep, electronic voice. Dante was standing in the middle of the road like a statue. “I am trained and equipped for such duties.” Gary shrugged, and glanced at Orthodox and Straken.

“He’s got a point,” he added.

“He can talk in sentences,” Orthodox observed with fake wonder, earning him a slap on the back of the helmet from Straken.

“That may be so,” the army Colonel conceded as she walked up to the huge trooper. “But three-hundred soldiers is nothing to sniff at. From the sounds of it, these ones will be more experienced and equipped than the ones we have already encountered. It would be wise to instead gather the thirty-two ponies we have trained with rifles to lay an ambush along the road.” The others nodded their heads at this, seeing the Colonel’s idea as a good one.

“No,” the HAS trooper disagreed. “I have the needed weapons based on the description of the enemy, and my sole intervention will eliminate the possibility of allied native casualties.” Dante turned towards Straken. “If preserving allied natives are a mission parameter?”

“It is,” Straken confirmed with an attempt at a reassuring glance to Blaze. “Ponies dying is bad.”

“You don’t need to talk to him like a child,” Elijah butted in. “He’s just had… modifications.”

“Like what?” Orthodox asked, walking around the HAS trooper in a circle.

“It’s classified,” Elijah answered, Orthodox sighing.

“Whatever,” he stated before tapping a fist on Dante’s armoured leg. “So, you think you can take them?” The HAS trooper straightened, having attracted a crowd of curious ponies.

“I do,” he replied with conviction. “I will eliminate all threats with maximum efficiency.” As he said this, he held out his armoured arms. With a light hiss, two compartments popped out from the bottom of the gauntlets. Each held a menacing black barrel and they were wide enough to fit a fist in.

“Well Straken,” Orthodox commented as her glanced at the Colonel. “What do you say now?”

Straken mulled it over in her head. It was low-risk, and if the HAS trooper was correct then the town still had a chance of escaping detection.

“Fine then,” she decided. “Just try and keep it low-key.”

“Colonel,” Elijah spoke up as he walked over and patted her on the shoulder, getting more blood on her uniform. “They're ISA, since when does the ISA do anything subtly?”

General Siegfried woke up from his nap and reached for his sword, something feeling off. He silently got off his sleeping mat and glanced around his command tent, finding nothing unusual. Walking over to the exit, he parted the brown tent flaps and glanced out, finding that his soldiers were all still alive and well.

He exited, his hooves stomping upon the cool grass and he glanced around the makeshift camp.

The troops were in good spirits, all of them unable to wait until they reached the pony town and the mares within. The advantage of being an actual soldier was that you didn’t need to pay anyone to use a female, a fact that had been a deciding factor of his enlistment.
Siegfried sniffed the air, only detecting the hint of unwashed Caribou and weapon grease.

He continued to walk, soldiers in iron armour plates glancing up from their weapons and cooking fires towards him. Everything seemed in order, apart from the absence of the two scouts he had sent out. Siegfried had been unwilling to move any further without a report, however a glance up to the sky told him that it was almost dusk.

He cursed under his breath, no doubt they had become distracted by the females in the town and were having a great time.

“Oh, now that is unexpected.”

Elijah pulled the corpse’s chest cavity open wider, the gloom of the house’s basement lit up with a single candle set into a lamp. A squelch sounded out as Elijah shoved his left augmented hand into the opening while muttering to himself.

“Let’s just have a little look in here and see what you do then, organ...”

Siegfried shook his head, amazed at his fellows and how they were unable to go for a few days without sex. He could see Dainn’s reasoning behind the order of no females but it only left him with sex-crazed troops. Siegfried wasn’t against sex, females were made by the Gods for the enjoyment of males after all, but he still wished his troops would have better control.

The running of hooves drew his attention, Siegfried turning to spot an armoured Caribou come running from the end of the camp facing the direction of the town. Siegfried immediately headed to the soldier, the sentry changing his course to meet him as soon as he noticed the General.

“General Siegfried!” The caribou addressed with a salute. “There’s a strange creature at the entrance of the camp demanding to see you!” This sent warnings off in Siegfried’s head, the General gripping his longsword tighter.

“What manner of creature?” Siegfried demanded, the sentry searching for words to describe the visitor.

“It’s twice as tall as a Caribou, armoured in full black armour, has no face except for a black mirror and has a small marking on its chest in white.”

“Is it male?”

“It sounded like one sir,” the guard replied, more soldiers walking over to their general with weapons in hand. “His voice was… distorted. It sounds terrifying to be honest, General.” Siegfried nodded, he knew that something was wrong. Still, he had an entire army of soldiers; one being would not be the end of him.

“Let’s go then,” he demanded, fifteen soldiers following him as he made his way towards the meeting point. More and more guards joined the group as it continued, spear-wielding Caribou mixing with soldiers hefting axes and crossbows. The armed procession, now numbering fifty-strong, approached the end of the camp.

Even from this distance Siegfried could see the creature, a faceless helmet turning to stare at him as guards attempted to keep the creature civil with spears. Siegfried gripped his weapon tighter, the giant was even more unsettling than the sentry had described.

“Greetings,” Siegfried acknowledged as his group of soldiers circled the newcomer. “Why are you attempting to gain entry to our camp-“

“Are you in charge of these Caribou?” The creature interrupted, Siegfried fighting not to wince at the voice.

“I am General Siegfried, yes,” he answered warily. “Why is that important, and why did you need to speak to me?”

“Primary objective is elimination of Caribou threat,” the giant droned on as if reading from a script. “Secondary is the capture of possible sources of information.” Soldiers tensed at the mention of elimination. “Congratulations, General Siegfried. You get to live a little longer.”

Siegfried raised his sword, however it was useless against the colourless gas that bellowed out from the creature’s left arm.

With a thump he hit the ground, his eyes closing as his troops began to yell war cries.

Dante carefully picked up the General with one hand while the other caved in the skull of a Caribou warrior. The Caribou troops were hesitant in attacking him thanks to the General he now held, giving the HAS trooper time to inject Siegfried with a potent solution of drugs that would protect the Caribou from the effects of the next weapon.

Shifting the weight of the prisoner to his right shoulder, Dante raised his left arm again and unleashed gas into the Caribou camp like before.

Except this time, it wasn’t knockout gas.

War cries were cut off as the vicious, clear gas invaded eyes, mouths, ears and nostrils. It reacted with the skin as well, causing great boils to bubble up. Caribou started to choke as the lining of their throats began to dissolve, causing more of the gas to enter them. Soon the once proud, fifty- strong force of guards were reduced to corpses, the remains of their internal organs leaking out of any available orifice.

With the general on his shoulders safe from the gas thanks to the prior injection, Dante strode into the camp with haste. He ignored the snapping of bone under his large boots, he had only an hour until the protective serum he had injected the General with wore off.
If he delivered an organ-less corpse, then Lead Researcher Elijah would be most displeased. Dante spared no thought to why the Doctor seemed so obsessed with innards, the soldier’s mind focusing solely on his objective.

And that was elimination of all the Caribou in the camp.

He carried out his task emotionlessly, bathing the entire area in the deadly gas that was stored in the armoured tanks on his back. Caribou stumbled out of their tents to die, weapons clattering uselessly to the ground as their owners perished. A few managed to strike him before expiring, however their blows and blades bounced off his armour.

The wind was non-existent, so the gas lingered in a cloud. Dante walked through it robotically, his artificial vision unhindered by the chemical weapon. He saw alive Caribou as coloured blobs and statistics, the number of his kills increasing at a rapid pace.

A few tried to run, however a single breath of the near-invisible spelled their doom before they could escape the camp. A few took longer to die, grasping at the HAS trooper as he walked past them. Dante ignored the soon-to-depart, focusing instead on his readouts. He didn’t possess the advanced scanners that other ISA agents did, but soon his suit’s computer informed him that no life signs were in the vicinity.

The flow of gas stopped, Dante rotating on the spot and not spotting a single living thing. Satisfied that his job was done, and noticing that he was ten minutes away from inflicting the General with a lungful of chemical weapon, the soldier made his way back to the entrance.

His boots hit the cobbled path outside of the camp, the former bustling encampment now covered with a faint cloud of death. Placing the General on the grass beside him, Dante walked towards the camp with his right arm lowering. It’s housing revealed itself, a short barrel poking out. With a glance up to the darkening sky, Dante pointed his arm towards the camp and activated his weapon, a tongue of flame expelling out to ignite the remains of the gas.

Boneo cowered behind the rock as he watched the camp turn into a raging fireball. The young Caribou had excused himself from his fellow soldiers to relieve himself in the hills overlooking the camp.

He was nervous regarding his bathroom habits.

It turned out that his precautions saved his life, the messenger’s eyes locked on the black giant that had killed the entire detachment.
Boneo watched on in terror as the creature stopped pouring fire into the camp, the being turning around and marching back to the General. He couldn’t tell if General Siegfried was dead or not, the officer soon picked up by the black giant. Boneo continued to observe and hide until the attacker had disappeared out of sight, heading towards the pony town that had been the target of the army.

Seeing that the threat was gone, Boneo collapsed against the rock and breathed a sigh of relief. He gave thanks to the gods for sparing his life, the messenger knowing that he escaped death by a whisker.

Remembering his dead comrades, Boneo found an inner strength inside of him. Checking one last time that the coast was clear of murderous giants, the young Caribou stood up and started to run in the direction that the army had come.

‘King Dainn must hear of this! Only he can stop the giant!’

Author's Note

Well, another chapter out.

The ponies now have guns, the planet is quickly filling with ISA agents and the science is reaching wonderful levels.

Wonderful, glorious science.

However, their cover is blown, and Dainn is sure to react with ample force against the new threat.

Heating Up

Blaze watched as the big, hulking human dropped a single caribou on the ground, the other humans and Orthodox crowding around him while ponies watched from a greater distance. Militia armed with the new guns had taken up watch positions around the town, Blaze cradling her own rifle in her arms. The town’s stallions had been set free; having shown no sign of the madness that had been gripping them before. She still eyed them warily however, although they mostly shied away from her with remorseful looks.

“So this is the General then?” Agent Gary asked Dante, Blaze eyeing the two with a frown. She had started to question the motives of the aliens, the new arrivals somehow appearing more callous than Orthodox and Straken. The scientist was friendly, perhaps a little too friendly, but something about him sent alarm bells off in her head. It may have been his left arm, for some reason cold to touch, or it may have been the way that he had commandeered a house and any prisoners that entered it had yet to come out.

“This is the primary target,” the large soldier replied, his voice as flat as always. “Target identified himself as General Siegfried, and so was taken into custody. He should be awake in approximately an hour’s time.”

“Good, good,” the scientist, Elijah, mumbled. Blaze watched while he placed a hand on the General’s neck, checking for a pulse. “I’m sure I’ll be able to extract some very juicy bits of information from him, and having him alive certainly makes that easier.”

‘What does he mean by that?’ Blaze wondered, noticing that Orthodox and Straken shared a question glance of their own. ‘How are you supposed to interrogate someone who’s dead?’

“Good job, Agent Dante,” Elijah praised, patting the non-responsive soldier on the shoulder. “You took care of the rest?”

“All were exposed to chemical agent three-five-seven-six with an additional application of incendiary clean-up measures. No caribou life signs were remaining in the area once my mission was concluded.” The human rattled off the information robotically, Blaze pulling her brown shirt slash dress down lower and walking over towards the group.

“You got all of them?” she questioned, slightly shocked that he had managed to destroy the entire group. She got no answer, the trooper staring straight ahead. “Hello? I asked whether you got all of them?”

“Please excuse the good trooper,” Elijah spoke up, still crouched down next to the General. “He doesn’t really talk to those who aren’t… well, on his side, so to speak.” Blaze furrowed her eyes at this, Straken stepping in.

“What the Lead Researcher means is that you’re not UIP,” the Colonel explained. “None of you ponies are. Some UIP soldiers are hesitant to talk to those who are seen as the enemy, in a way.” Blaze glanced down at her borrowed weapon, turning it over in her hands. Did they really see her as an enemy?”

“I don’t understand,” Blaze mumbled, still trying to make heads and tails of the situation. Straken, in an unusual display for the cold colonel, placed a gloved hand on her shoulder.

“You’re not an enemy, officially,” Straken tried to explain. “You’re just not one of us. It doesn’t mean that we’re going to just line you up and execute you; we’re just not going to give out military information freely to you ponies.” The Colonel shot Dante a glance. “However, I myself think that you yourself have proved to be trustworthy, and I fail to see why Trooper Dante is incapable of answering that simple question.”

“Local equine known as ‘Lieutenant Blaze’ isn’t part of UIP command structure,” Dante informed. “Under the protocols that I have been programmed with, I am not to release military information to her.”

“Programmed?” Orthodox questioned, Elijah bolting up from the unconscious General.

“Dante just means that he’s been ordered to not tell non-UIP people about things,” Elijah tried to divert while nudging Dante in the side. “He’s not a robot or anything like that, just… different.”

“Oh really?” Orthodox grinned mockingly while he threw up his hands. “I never noticed that.”

“Imbecile,” Elijah muttered, before he pointed down towards the General. “Dante, please ensure that the good General is properly restrained in my work area.” The order was followed, the trooper glancing down at the scientist once the caribou was in his arms.

“What do you wish for me to do with the body already occupying your work area?”

Elijah froze, a forced smile growing on his face while he turned to look at the shocked ponies and rather un-shocked humans.

“Oh, I had completely forgotten about him,” he strained out. “Yes, you can get rid of the remains.”

“Even the organ jars?”

“No!” Elijah yelled, losing his cool. “Do you have any idea how much Caribou organs will sell for- I mean contribute to science?”

‘What?’ was all that Blaze thought, not sure if she was hearing correctly.

“I apologise,” Dante replied while Elijah fidgeted with his hands. “How could I forget the… research.” The Trooper’s pause didn’t help Elijah’s case, however no-one spoke up. The scientist and trooper backed into the house, the door closing behind them.

“He’s still as crazy as he’s always been,” Orthodox muttered. Blaze glanced around, all the other ponies whispering to themselves and returning to whatever it was they were doing before the return of the Trooper. She spotted Night Shard and the changeling, Mirage, sitting down on a bench watching the proceedings. Night Shard was still wearing a plain shirt, while the changeling was wearing nothing. Blaze recalled that the changelings never wore clothes anyway, or at least that’s what she had been told.

Blaze looked back to the aliens, Straken, Orthodox and Sergeant Gary discussing the most efficient way to kill the Caribou. She glanced back to the bat-pony and changeling, compared to the humans and Orthodox, she guessed that changelings weren’t that strange.

“I’ve got to go do… things,” Blaze farewelled, Straken giving her a brief thumbs up before the Colonel returned to her discussion. Hurrying over to the bench, Blaze waved at the pair sitting down, Night Shard moving over to allow her some room.

“So, they captured another Caribou,” Night Shard began while Blaze sat down.

“A General,” Blaze answered, before tilting her head. “Night Shard, aren’t you a Lunar Guard? I expected you to be a bit more involved in the military side of things.” Shard lowered her head, tapping her fingers together.

“I was fairly new, so I’m not really a hard-core veteran or anything like that,” she explained. “Also, Colonel Straken is okay, but the other humans are a bit too scary for me.” Blaze wondered why Night Shard thought that way. Sure, the aliens were strange, but so far they hadn’t given any indication that they wished ill-will on ponies.

She wasn’t naive, Blaze had realised that the humans didn’t really care too much about ponies long ago, but she also thought that it didn’t matter as long as Straken and her colleagues were working towards the same goal. If they wanted to kill the Caribou because of their own reasons, then that was fine with her. It seemed that Night Shard didn’t see that.

“Well, sure they’re scary,” Blaze agreed, glancing towards the group of aliens to make sure they couldn’t overhear. “But they want the Caribou gone just as much as they do.”

“We know that,” Mirage joined in softly, Blaze still unsure on how to feel about Straken including the changelings in all of this. “They’re just so different.”

“I’m sure you can judge,” Blaze replied, sounding a little more harsh than she intended. Mirage looked away, Night Shard holding out a hand while using the other to pat Mirage on the back.

“Lieutenant, she does have a point.” Blaze hesitated, before nodding for Night Shard to go ahead. “Look at them,” the bat-pony pointed towards the arguing aliens. “It’s not just how they look, but how they act as well. They don’t think like us Shard, not like a pony or a changeling. I don’t even think the Caribou think like them. At least the Caribou’s motives are fairly easy to understand.”

Blaze shuddered, remembering her time in the castle dungeon. “I don’t agree on that, they’re as alien as the humans to me.”

“It’s just sex and control,” Mirage tried to add again, receiving disturbed looks from the pair of ponies. “Well, I mean it is, isn’t it?”

“There’s also their ‘religion’,” Blaze added, not wanting to acknowledge that the changeling made a good point. “They seem to enjoy quoting their gods a lot.”

“Their religion seems more like an excuse than a cause,” Mirage countered. “No real religion would encourage what they do.” Blaze decided that it would be best to refrain from pointing out that as far as she knew, the changelings didn’t even have a religion. Instead, she decided to return to the previous point.

“But aren’t the humans also after control?” she questioned, pointing down at her gun. “Even giving us weapons is a means of control.”

“How?” Mirage inquired, edging away a little at the sight of the rifle.

“It sort of makes us dependent on them,” Night Shard jumped in to explain. “I mean, when this is over, they can just turn around and say that they did all the work and that we owe them. You’ve seen what they can do, who’s going to question them if they suddenly decide to take control?” Blaze and Mirage didn’t reply, they didn’t need to as both knew the answer to the question. With the way things were currently, the aliens seizing power didn’t really seem like such a bad thing. Many ponies would also see them as liberators, not conquerors.

“I wouldn’t want them in charge myself,” Night Shard shared, drawing a snort from Blaze.

“It’s not like we’d have much of a choice without the Princesses,” she reminded, Shard sighing.

“I know that, I’m just really worried about Straken and her friends.” The sympathetic tone of the bat-pony took Blaze and Mirage by surprise.

“You’re worried, for them?” Blaze almost laughed, gesturing towards the group of three who were still arguing. “They’re not exactly weak.” Night Shard must have picked up on the implication, the bat-pony shooting her a glare.

“I’m not stupid, Blaze,” Shard defended. “I’m not talking about their strength or fighting skills.” Her voice lowered, glancing towards the trio being discussed. “Look at them, look at how they treat this entire thing. What happened to them to make them so…”

“Cruel?” Mirage finished for her, Night Shard nodding her head sadly. Blaze considered the question, going back over all of the scenes she had witnessed. She had to admit, if they weren’t helping them, then the aliens would certainly be seen as equal if not greater to the Caribou in regards to evil actions. The fact that Mirage and Night Shard also questioned the goals of the humans only increased her own doubts.

“Well,” Blaze started to reply, a depressing thought coming to mind. “You ask what made them this way. Have you thought about what we’re going to become after this is over?” She turned her gun over in her hands, the others glancing at the lethal device. “We’ve already killed, and we’ll kill more. Are we any different to the humans in that regard?” All three sat and thought about it, before Mirage raised her hand.

“We’re not like them at all,” she answered, the other two looking at her. “We don’t enjoy this.” Blaze nodded; at least there was some comfort in that.

“I guess you’re right,” she agreed. “There’s still some hope for us.” The three continued to sit and watch the argument, Orthodox and Gary nearly coming to blows. Luckily, Straken stepped in, insulted them, and then told them to go amuse themselves.

“Fine, better than staying here with Super Trooper Stu,” Orthodox grunted as he walked past the bench, not even sparing a wave or nod as he passed them. Blaze rolled her eyes and stood up, pulling the edge of her shirt down and walking towards Straken and the Special Agent.

“Ah, Blaze,” Straken greeted with a small smile, surprising the addressed pony. “You’ve set up the guards at their positions?”

“I have, we’ve got eyes watching all the approaches, with a few extra guards on the northern side. Hopefully with the Caribou scout force destroyed we won’t have any more show up, but we can’t be too careful.”

“Agreed,” Straken replied. “Good work Lieutenant, our defences should hold for the required amount of time. We should also organise more rifle training for new recruits-“

“I’ve already ordered for the construction of an area where we can practice in town. The bowling alley already has the lanes; we just are working on the targets.” Straken nodded for her to continue. “The town’s supplies are better than expected; we have more than enough food to hold us for weeks although we are short on clothing.” She subconsciously pulled her shirt down lower. “The Caribou aren’t really concerned with decency, so they tend to destroy clothes.”

“Savages,” Gary commented, glancing back at the commandeered house. “They deserve all that they get.”

“Yeah,” Blaze agreed, before continuing on. “The stallions are behaving, although we are still watching for signs of relapse. Prince Blueblood is organising the apple farm, and it seems like it should be a good source of food. Apparently it’s one of the largest in the country as well. The hospital is almost at capacity, but we have plenty of bandages and medicine. Most of the injuries are minor, so we should have a lot of our wounded fighters back in action over the next few days.”

“What of the ones with mental trauma?” Straken inquired. “Most important to me is this ‘Twilight Sparkle’ unicorn, apparently she was an aide to one of your rulers?”

“Her student from what I know,” Blaze answered, recalling the conversation she’d had with a nurse. “But I’m afraid she’s still in a bad shape. Apparently, Agent Orthodox escorted a friend of hers to visit her the other day, and since then her condition has been improving.”

“Decent news,” Gary muttered, before he glanced at the line of Caribou prisoners still tied to the wall. “Anyway, you said to amuse myself, so I’m going to do just that.”

Blaze and Straken watched him go, a grumble from Blaze’s stomach reminding her that she hadn’t eaten for a while. Sheepishly, the Lieutenant rubbed the back of her head.

“Do you want to get something to eat?” she asked Straken, the Colonel looking up at the darkening sky.

“It is getting late, and I am assigned to the night watch,” she commented before nodding. “Why not? You can show me some of the local cuisine.” Blaze glanced over towards Agent Stewart, the human appearing to be throwing pebbles at the captive Caribou chained up outside to pass the time.

She decided against inviting him.

“Where’s Agent Orthodox?” she asked, Straken shrugging at the query.

“Hopefully far away and behaving, now lead the way to the food. Today has left me starved.”

“What!?”

The young Caribou named Boneo grovelled on the ground before his King. Dainn clenched his hands and grinded his teeth while he stood and stared at the lone soldier.

It wasn’t the fact that the whelp had barged into his command tent unannounced; it wasn’t the fact that he had eyed the two Equestrian princesses with barely restrained lust. No, it was the news that one creature, just one, had wiped out three-hundred Caribou and captured his finest General. And he had received this news all because one coward didn’t want his fellows to see him take a piss.

Pathetic.

“So you just hid and watched!?” Not even the giggling Celestia caressing his legs could calm him down. “You even did nothing to stop an enemy from abducting your General!? You call yourself a soldier!?”

“I thought that bringing you the information was more important,” the messenger replied as he trembled. “The monster took out the entire camp, I can’t fight that by myself and now you know.” Two brown eyes looked up at Dainn pleadingly, the King meeting it with a cold gaze. “You can fight the monster, that’s why I came to tell you.”

In truth, Dainn could see that the messenger did do the right thing. Now that he was informed of the situation, he could react accordingly. How he was going to fight a poison-cloud producing, flame-throwing, General-stealing Monster taller than him he didn’t know. Despite this line of thinking, he was still boiling with anger, and the young soldier was the perfect outlet.

“I can’t stand cowards,” Dainn stated coldly, his right arm raising. As his pointer finger glowed a sickly green, the messenger’s eyes widened in fear.

“No, please sir! I only-“

His excuses were cut short when a beam of bright-green energy shot from Dainn’s finger with a zap, piercing him through the heart. The body collapsed on the tent floor, smoke wafting up from the charred hole in the fallen caribou’s back. Even though he had just killed him, Dainn’s rage still hadn’t disappeared.

“No excuses,” Dainn began with another shot. “You’re pathetic,” another shot. “You’re weak,” a hole was torn in the messenger’s shoulder. “You’re a failure,” the next burst of green energy pierced the skull. “You’re worthless, and I hope that when you get to the afterlife the gods turn you into a female for the rest of eternity.”

He lowered his finger, the smoking body riddled with holes. Dainn felt power surge through him, his body tingling with potent magic. He knew exactly how to fight the Monster, how to ensure that it was no longer a threat.

He would go with most of his army, and beat the crap out of it. Yes, that sounded like a good plan.

Dainn smirked and sat down on his chair, stretching his legs out and letting out a relaxed sigh.

“Mess!” he called out, a shuffling from the outside of his tent sounding out. Two armoured guards entered, dragging the body outside while Dainn watched on. As he stared at the blood-splattered floor, he felt anger bubble up again. “There’s always problems, nothing is every easy,” he growled, slamming his left fist down on his armrest.

“What’s wrong, are you not the big King you thought yourself to be?”

Dainn slowly turned his head to stare at Luna, the insolent Princess glaring at him like always. His eyes narrowed, and with a flick of his hand she was pulled towards him. A choke escaped her throat as his hand squeezed around it, Dainn staring down into her eyes while Celestia continued to lounge around his feet giggling.

“You’re constant jabs are starting to get on my nerves,” he informed Luna while tightening his grip. “As it stands, the only thing I prefer you over your sister for is your defiance. But even so, it is growing to be more of a burden. If you do not use your tongue with more wisdom in the future, then you’ll be gifted a red collar and the freedom from thought that goes with it. You’d love that wouldn’t you, Luna? Servicing me side-by-side with your sister, and enjoying it.”

Luna shuddered in his grip; Dainn smiling when he reasoned that is was not likely to be because of oxygen deprivation. He let go of her neck, Luna spluttering from the lack of air and collapsing on the floor. Seeing her suffer caused his member to swell, which presented a problem.

“Well Luna,” he informed after he had grabbed her mane and pulled her head up, so that he could see her eyes. “I did advise you to ‘use your tongue with more wisdom’ before, and I can’t think of a better time than now.” Without allowing her any more time to breath, he shoved her mouth down upon his erection.

Closing his eyes in bliss, Dainn sat back as the former proud princess was once again reduced to the whore she was.

‘Father always said to not go to work with a hard-on after all.’

Orthodox kicked a pebble out of his path, sighing inside of his helmet.

It had been two days since he’d left the pony town, having decided to try and find some Caribou to entertain himself with. He had found none, and he hadn’t received any communication from the others back at the town apart from Straken demanding to know what he was doing.

Orthodox had felt slightly insulted when the Colonel had informed him to ‘feel free to take his time’ when he told her that he was going for a walk. The joy in her voice led him to believe that she didn’t want him around, for what reason he couldn’t figure out.

“Stupid boring planet,” he muttered to himself, twirling his machine pistols in his hands. He had headed to the camp that Dante had annihilated, only finding ash and the burnt remains of twisted metal. Finding nothing interesting, he’d decided to follow the path in the hopes of finding the army’s origin and therefor more Caribou.

That had been two days ago, and there was still nothing.

“I better not have missed it,” he grimaced, checking his sensors again. Apart from a few small mammals in the fields and hedges beside the dirt road, there was nothing at all in range. “Stupid fucking Dante, killing everything, selfish twat.”

His stomach rumbled, reminding him that while nutrient supplements were all good for keeping him alive, they still weren’t actual food.
“Does this place have cows?” he wondered out-loud, the image of a nice juicy steak invading his mind. He hoped that they weren’t intelligent or bipedal like the ponies, although if he got hungry enough then he wouldn’t hold himself responsible for any unfortunate… accidents.

“Bored, bored, bored,” he repeated to himself, before he glanced down at his guns and froze. “I’m such and idiot. I’ve got guns, I’m hungry, and I’m bored. Hunting for food solves all of those problems.” Smiling to himself, Orthodox turned off his suit’s sensors, as knowing where everything was would ruin the fun.

Whistling a merry tune, he left the road and waltzed into the underbrush that dotted the side of the road, his mood greatly improved.

“The town has fallen to our foes,” Dainn informed the military commanders gathered in his tent. “I can feel it.”

The group of ten officers of varying ranks glanced at each other, none daring to question their King. His decision to remove half of the army and officers from the Crystal Empire siege was risky but he knew that it would pay off. The crystal ponies would remain in hiding behind their barrier no matter how little Caribou were outside, and the re-establishment of order in Equestria was the primary concern.

He had received disturbing news however, a messenger from the captured city of Canterlot having informed him of the slaughter of the entire command structure in the city. Apparently, a bipedal female and a short dragon had started an uprising, a decent number of slaves having broken free. Dainn bet that the same biped was in league with the one that had destroyed his other army. He had little doubt as to who was the cause of the issues in Equestria.

Dainn smiled and leaned back in his chair, having three enemies in the same place would only make it easier to wipe them out.

“But what of the guards we left in the towns?” a Major inquired, the stout bull tapping his mace against his leg.

“Incompetent buffoons,” Dainn muttered. “If it wasn’t for that accursed shield around the Crystal Empire, this entire mess wouldn’t have happened.”

“Was it wise to take half of the army away sir?” Colonel Storm asked, the other officers glancing at him warily while Dainn narrowed his eyes. “What if the one-thousand and five-hundred we left behind is not enou-“

“Are you questioning my authority!?” Dainn’s outburst shocked the officers, the King’s eyes glowing a vicious green as he left his seat. “My intelligence!? My divine connection to the Gods?” The Colonel stepped back when his King approached, Dainn’s antlers crackling with sickly green energy. “The crystal ponies are weak, and are led by weak Equestrians! Five hundred would be all we need!”

“I’m sorry, my Lord,” Storm quickly apologised while bowing his head. “I am an idiot for questioning you.” He winced as the fingers of Dainn remained outstretched and crackling, regretting his decision to speak out. Seeing his pion’s distress brought a cruel smile to Dainn’s face, the energy in his hands fading.

A short, sharp slap rang out, Dainn striking his Colonel across the face. “You’re lucky I don’t put you in a dress and let the troops work off some of their frustration.”

The officers all grimaced, the Colonel in question going a deathly pale.

“My Lord,” General Trumpter spoke up, drawing the attention away from the Colonel. “If the town is indeed held by our enemies, then why have we made camp? We’re two days away from…”

“Ponyville,” the Major provided.

“Yes,” Trumpter continued. “If we don’t attack as soon as possible, we will lose the advantage of surprise-“

“I have no need for surprise!” Dainn yelled, sick of the disagreements to his plan. “We will camp here tonight, and march on Ponyville at dawn!” He paced back and forth, waving his hands in the air. “The gods are on my side, and we will be victors!”

“With respect, sir,” General Trumpter pressed on, receiving glances from his fellow officers. “From what we have heard of our opponents, they are not a force to be trifled with. A monster that can spit flame and poison? A female that defeated a score of soldiers? Not to mention any ponies that stand before us. It would be wise to ensure that we don’t fall into the folly of underestimating our foes. A small snake can carry enough venom to kill ten, as the saying goes.”

Instead of lashing out against him, Dainn gave the General a respectful nod and returned to his seat. Trumpter had earned the right to speak his mind due to his efforts in conquering Equestria in the initial invasion, and unlike other officers he knew how to properly word his concerns.

“A snake may carry venom,” Dainn replied, reaching to a side table grab a jug of wine. “But if it cannot strike you then its venom is useless. Our foes will likely think that they managed to scare us off, they do not know the true strength of our army.”

“They have General Siegfried,” Trumpter reminded. Dainn took a swig of wine before continuing.

“If he’s even alive, he won’t talk,” Dainn answered coldly. “Nothing they can do to him will compare to what he knows I’m capable of. Now, I tire of this and desire my rest. We will remain camped and will move out in the morning. By the end of the week order shall be restored, and then we can focus solely on the Crystal Empire.”

“Of course sir,” the officers all replied, armour and weapons clinking and clanking while they left the tent. After all had left, Dainn took another drink of his wine and leaned back. Briefly, he considered disturbing his concubines’ rest, before deciding against it. The pair would need their strength for the evening, so an afternoon nap was something he could afford them.

“I need new slaves,” Dainn muttered to himself, continuing to drink. “Maybe get a rotational shift thing going...”

“The jig is up!”

Orthodox pointed both guns at the pair of rabbits he had cornered, the grey creatures staring back at him with wide, fear-filled, brown eyes. They huffed with exhaustion, Orthodox having spent the last two hours chasing them for the fun of it. Now it was time to satisfy the growling of his stomach, the sun having set an hour ago.

“Sorry fellas,” he grinned, setting his guns to single shot as he wanted something left behind to eat. “Survival of the fittest and all of that..”

An uproar of laughter drew his attention, Orthodox looking out into the dark forest. In the distance he could see a warm glow lighting up the night sky. He searched his mind, trying to recall if he had passed any town or settlement. With a nod, he dismissed that notion. After all, if he had found a town, then he would have robbed them instead of going out hunting.

That left two feasible options. Either a group of ponies had set up a camp, or there were Caribou around. Both options promised food, but the latter also carried the hope of entertainment.

Orthodox turned back to the rabbits, his guns lowering.

“It looks like it’s your lucky day,” he informed, turning to move towards the glow. “I’m fairly certain that better prey has made itself known. It was fun while it lasted.”

He walked deeper into the forest with a grin on his face, leaving two very relieved rabbits behind.

‘Boring, boring, boring, this is oh so boring.’

Corporal Roy let out a yawn, using his spear to lean on. Unlike his fellow soldiers enjoying drinks around their campfires behind him, he had been stuck with guarding the east side of the Caribou camp. King Dainn had been confident that nothing would attack them, something about his magic keeping the beasts of the forest away. The ponies were also not a threat, although the loss of the first three-hundred Caribou sent out before them worried Roy.

He wasn’t an officer, but he still thought that having only twenty guards on duty overnight wasn’t a good idea. Informing the King of his opinion wouldn’t end well however, so he’d just have to suck it up and deal with it. Of course, he’d been picked to guard the east side, the worst out of the lot. The other four Corporals assigned to help him on the east side had gone over to talk to their buddies on the north end, leaving him alone.

“Join the army they said,” Roy grumbled to himself. “Get free females they said.” In truth, while soldiers were permitted access to females free of charge, there was the small matter of there usually being other soldiers to compete with. The higher ranked, the better priority you were given, so that usually meant that Privates and Corporals had to either settle for a pre-used or go without.

A snapped twig out in front broke Roy out of his thoughts, the caribou looking out towards the forest sounding the clearing the camp was set up in. He shifted in his chain mail shirt, but didn’t bother to raise his spear.

‘It was probably just a rabbit or something,’ he dismissed, a thought that was confirmed when two of the small creatures hopped out of the tree line. Roy smiled, he always had possessed a soft spot for animals, so cute and innocent.

So caught up in observing the small rabbits, Roy didn’t hear the approaching footsteps until he was too late. By the time he had whipped his head to the left, the short attacker was upon him.

His mind exploded with pain and his breath caught, an armoured fist connecting straight with his unprotected genitals. He dropped like a sack of bricks, his vision going white with the agony.

He could have sworn that he had felt his balls pop under the force of the blow.

“Stupid Prick,” he heard a male voice insult from above him, Roy unable to look up as he was too focused on cradling his shattered malehood. “You Caribou need to learn to stop flashing your pin-dicks, and start wearing some groin armour."

Stars exploded in his eyes, his assailant unleashing a vicious kick with an armoured boot to his skull. A second blow hit him in the jaw, a number of his teeth shattering. Roy tasted his own blood, unable to move while spikes of pain rocketed up from everywhere.

“I would love to stay and kill you, street-style,” his unknown tormenter informed with glee. “But I have another few things I need to do.” Roy closed his eyes curled into a ball, two legs stepping over him. A limb, not a leg or arm, slapped him on the bare rear as the figure who had beaten him walked into the camp. “Took it like a bitch, didn’t you?”

Roy thankfully passed out then, before any more damage could be done to his pride.

He was going to feel like shit in the morning.

Orthodox grinned while he walked into the camp, not concerning himself with stealth. He felt so good about himself right now, a clear plan in mind.

Strolling past tents and wooden racks filled with weapons, he emerged into the main area of the encampment. A horde of soldiers were lounging around outside their tents, no real order to the layout. They drank, ate and chatted around their campfires, sporadic laughter ringing out as they joked and had a great time.

And Orthodox was out to ruin it for his own enjoyment.

He glanced around, searching for a certain tent he had in mind. Spotting one that was larger and more ornate than the rest, with golden trimming along its red surface, he enacted phase two of his master plan. A plan that was so ingenious it would put every military leader that had ever existed to shame.

Orthodox swaggered out into the centre of the camp, caribou soldiers all falling silent when they noticed him. He waited until the majority could see him, a few of them going for weapons and standing up to challenge him. Humming to himself inside of his helmet, Orthodox set his helmet’s speakers to maximum and raised both of his machine pistols to point them up into the air.

‘Showtime.’

“Your resistance only makes me enjoy this more.”

Luna winced when Dainn twisted her arm behind her back, the King trying to pull her down onto his lap. Luna fought however, despite her hands being bound in chains. If she had her horn she would have had no problem with turning around and goring the vile king, but after its removal she had been feeling weaker than normal. She continued to struggle, Dainn however was stronger than her and with dread she felt herself lower.

She glanced back, keeping her eyes from his oncoming pole and instead glaring at his face. His teeth were locked in an aroused grin, and his wicked yellow eyes crackled with energy. He was enjoying this, and Luna felt her rear sink lower. There was nothing she could do, so she closed her eyes and braced for the pain. Dainn stopped however, when a male voice called out over the general din outside.

“The Caribou are a bunch of limp-wristed, smelly, stupid, small-dicked and ridiculous pansies! The King is also a genital wart infested reject of nature! Fight me!”

A cascade of rapid bangs rang out, sounding like the tearing of paper due to their speed.

“Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrgghhh!”

The bangs stopped, Dainn throwing her aside to the ground while battle cries sounded out. Luna hit the tent floor with a thud, landing hard next to the semen-stained Celestia who was lying down and giggling. Her sister had been Dainn’s first pick that night, something that caused Luna to feel both relief and sadness.

“Intruder!” a voice called out over the cries. Dainn crouched down to secure Luna and Celestia’s chains to a heavy iron block, ensuring that they wouldn’t escape. He gave Luna a look that wordlessly promised that they would continue when he returned, before he flicked his wrists. Green magic crackled along both of his hands, sparking off his fingers while he marched out of his tent into the chaos of the camp.

“Find them!” he called out. “Kill them!” Luna sat up and listened, wondering if freedom had come at last.

“He’s gone sir,” a voice replied, Luna recognising it as one of the Caribou generals.

“I don’t care Trumpter, fan out into the forest and kill it! We have an army, use it!”

“Yes my Lord!” A stampede of hooves accompanied by the clinking of armour and weapons drowned out Dainn’s next orders, but soon Luna was able to hear the rest of the General’s orders. “Everyone not assigned to duties search the forest, don’t let the enemy escape!”
Luna closed her eyes and wished for the safety of whoever had invoked the Caribous’ wrath, any enemy of them was a friend to her.

“Heh, bunch of suckers.”

Luna’s eyes widened when a short creature in full black armour snuck into the tent. He was male, judging from the voice, and a long tail armoured in the same metal as the main armour swished behind him. Numerous devices and objects were attached to him, in his hands he grasped a short device with a barrel sticking out.

What he did next shocked her speechless, the being moving over towards Dainn’s personal area and the pair of chests that rested there.

“Bingo,” the creature whispered to himself, Luna watching on while he knelt down and pulled a knife from his armour. His fingers flicked a switch, and the weapon became covered with a blue sheen. Luna shook her head, trying to think of something to say.

“H-hello?”

The intruder whirled around at the greeting, raising the compact grey object that Luna assumed was a weapon towards her. She found herself staring down the barrel, the creature’s blue eyes staring right at her.

“Oh, you must be the princesses,” the being said while his weapon lowered. “I guess you are alive. The ponies will be pleased to hear that.” He went back to the chest, paying Celestia and Luna no mind while he tried to remove the lock with his knife.

Luna glanced towards her sister, Celestia silently watching the short creature with a silly grin on her face. Still a little surprised at his casual dismissal, Luna sat up and tried to cover herself so as to appear somewhat decent. With Celestia in her frail mental state, it was up to her to try and figure out what was going on.

“You mentioned ponies, are you with the rebels Dainn has come to destroy?” He didn’t turn at her query, the lock of the chest falling to the ground after being sheared right through.

“Yeah, up in Ponytown or whatever it was called.” Golden coins and precious jewels were shoved into armour compartments, while glittering necklaces were looped over his neck. “We’ve got it defended pretty well, so I just took a short walk.” He searched around the tent, the din of frantic search parties outside growing more faint as the Caribou moved away from the camp. “Lucky I did, otherwise I wouldn’t have scored this great loot.”

Luna glanced down at her chains, wondering on this being’s motives. He was acting like he hadn’t know that she and Celestia were Dainn’s prisoners. Why did he make such a brazen attack on the camp, surely he didn’t do it solely to rob the King?

“Are you going to release me and my sister?” Luna asked. “Dainn might return at any time, and he is a viciously strong opponent.”

“In a second,” the intruder answered, filling up a cloth bag he had found with more gold and jewels. He moved on to the second chest, its lock suffering the same fate as the one before it. “Don’t worry about Diana or whatever; if he comes in I’ll just kill him. Simple.”

“You aren’t going to kill him?” she asked, Celestia crawling forwards towards the robber.

“Nah, Straken’s already got dibs on him, and I think that a fight between her and him is going to be far more entertaining than just shooting him myself.” More coins and jewels found their way into his pockets. “Besides, I’m already robbing him; it’s no fun if I don’t get to taunt him about it later.” To say his motives were dubious was an understatement. Luna would have pinched herself to check to see if she was dreaming, but with her chains that was impossible.

“You, are going to free us, correct?” Luna asked, as after all, a chance for freedom was a chance for freedom.

“Hold your horses, I’m just about done.” A final amount of trinkets were looted, more necklaces around his neck than Luna had ever seen in any jewellery store. He turned around, standing up and walking over to her. “I’m only doing this because I need you to carry my stuff, the last thing I need is more ponies to look after.” He cut her and Celestia free, his strange knife slicing through the metal chain links. While the metal rings were still around her wrist, the freedom to move her arms around freely was one of the most welcome feelings she had felt in a while. Even the creature tossing her the sack full of looted items didn’t kill her mood.

“I suppose I can deal with this request, in return for your help,” she agreed, picking the heavy sack up with both hands. “What of my sister? She’s not of the right mind.” Luna’s heart skipped a beat when the creature approached the spaced-out Celestia with the knife raised. Her fear was misplaced however, instead of slicing Celestia’s throat he only cut off the red collar around her neck.

“She’ll be fine in a second,” he dismissed, moving to peer out of the tent flaps. He ducked back in and sighed, pulling out a cylindrical object from a suit compartment that had somehow remained gold free. “Get her on her feet, there’s still a few of them out there and we’ll have to make a move before the rest come back. That’s not even taking into account the ones already in the forest.” He attached the cylinder to the object he held in his hand, doubling the length of the barrel.

“Are you sure we’ll be able to make it past them?” Luna questioned while she helped Celestia up, her older sister not responding with a blank look on her face. “I also don’t know your name, knowing it would make communication easier. I am Princess Luna, and my sister is Princess Celestia.”

“I know who you are,” he replied, checking outside the tent once again. “Your subjects won’t shut up about you. I’m Agent Orthodox, but feel free to just call me Orthodox.” He turned towards her, holding his weapon up in the air. His helmet hid his face, but Luna could have sworn that he was smiling behind it. “And in answer to your last question, Princess, we’re not going to go past them…”

Luna tilted her head, confused. In response, he tapped the grey object he held.

“We’re going to go through them.”

Orthodox lined up the sights of his pistol on the head of a Caribou sentry, the guard walking towards the three as they huddled behind a tent. With a slight coughing sound and faint clatter of metal, the guard dropped to the ground in front of them. Having switched his pistol to single-shot, Orthodox put another round into the dead guard’s head. The risk of another Caribou hearing the muffled shot was worth it to ensure that the Caribou would not get up again.

Orthodox had learned that lesson long ago.

“Let’s go,” he whispered to Luna, sneaking towards the fallen guard. The Princess followed behind him, her sister grasped in one arm and the sack of loot in the other. She had remained silent during the last seven kills, Orthodox thankful that she possessed that much sense. The white one, Celestia, had been a bit more problematic.

Despite her collar removal, she still remained in the compliant state, but it was her occasional fits of giggles that were an issue. More than one guard had heard the feminine laughter, and had received two gauss rounds for the trouble. While he was confident that he would have been able to easily fight his way out if he was solo, his two VIPs had changed that.

However, the thought of how Dainn would react upon finding that they were missing was more than worth it. His only regret was that he hadn’t had the time to take a picture with Celestia and Luna in his arms, just to mess with the Caribou king.

Upon reaching the guard, Orthodox checked the body. With two bullet holes in his skull and no pulse, it was another target down. Taking a second to pull out a device from a suit compartment, Orthodox knelt down and attached it the corpse.

Activating the explosive, Orthodox left the booby trap while gesturing for Luna to avoid the body. She complied with a sick look on her face, the Princess evidently getting at what he was doing. Luna carefully moved Celestia around the corpse, Orthodox heading towards the forest line once they had cleared the last sentry.

“We’re almost there,” Luna whispered excitedly, all three reaching the trees. “We made it!”

“No!” Orthodox hissed. “You’ll ruin all my hard wor-“

“Is someone there?”

Orthodox swore silently, reaching out a hand to pull the princesses into cover behind a large tree. He misjudged, however, and instead of grabbing an arm he grabbed Luna’s bare breast.

In her defence, she didn’t squeal or yell; instead she clamped her mouth shut and moved beside him. She remained silent, not even giving him a glare, but Celestia was another issue.

She found the entire situation hilarious.

The short peal of laughter caused Orthodox to close his eyes, cursing his luck.

“Tia!” Luna harshly whispered. “Stay quiet!”

It was too late however, hoofsteps approaching their hiding place behind the thick tree. Orthodox waited, counting four sets of hooves. The tell-tale clinking of interlinked rings indicated that all the approaching caribou were likely all armoured in chain-mail.

It was at that moment that Orthodox almost slapped himself. He had forgotten to turn on his sensors after his hunt; they would have made the entire ‘sneaking out of the camp’ thing a whole lot easier. Within a second they were back up and running, his visor showing that four caribou were almost upon them.

“It came from around here,” one stated in a gruff voice, barely two metres from the tree. “Split up and search the area, it might be that short monster that attacked the camp.”

‘That. Fucking. Wanker.’ Orthodox clutched his gun tighter, drawing a knife with his other hand. Even if it wasn’t for the insult, killing all four now would be easier than trying to avoid them later on. He turned to Luna, and held up his knife. Raising four fingers and then pointing to himself, he signalled that he was going out to dispose of them. She nodded, thankfully seeming to understand his motives.

While the four soldiers started to move out, Orthodox took note of their positions and planned his moves, the sensors enabling him to pinpoint the targets with extreme accuracy. He took a deep breath, before he swung out from the side of the tree.

The four caribou were caught completely by surprise, all the soldiers turning to face him at the rustling of leaves and the slight hissing of his armour’s powered joints. All four were indeed wearing chain-mail shirts and were armed with swords, maces and spears. Their coats were all various shades of brown, but Orthodox intended to change that.

The leader was downed before the group could even react, two gauss rounds slamming through his skull to annihilate his brain. Before his body had even hit the floor, Orthodox had shot the soldier next to him, three shots in the chest. Three, fifty-millimetre long rounds pierced the chain links without effort, their tips designed to defeat armour far more advanced. They exited the soldier’s back and embedded in a tree, but not before tearing through his heart and lung.

The next soldier to die made to raise his mace, but Orthodox moved with a practiced swiftness gained after decades of training and experience. The blade of the combat knife was rammed through the soldier’s throat, Orthodox having not bother to activate the power field and instead trusting the monomolecular edge. It was withdrawn, and the caribou’s eyes rolled back before he joined his fellows on the floor.

The last one panicked, attempting to stab Orthodox with his short sword. Without batting an eye, Orthodox dropped his knife and simply grabbed the blade with his armoured hand. The caribou, with his only weapon disabled by the unexpected move, was left defenceless against the armoured tail that shot out and impaled him through the chest.

While the last soldier gurgled on his own blood, Orthodox twisted his tail with a grin on his face. It pulped the caribou’s insides, the small blades popping out of the armour tearing the wound open wider.

With a wet slick the tail was withdrawn, Orthodox flicking it a few times to get rid of any excess gore or innards that it had acquired along its journey. The final soldier expired, thumping down onto the ground at his killer’s boots.

The entire fight was over in less than ten seconds, Orthodox pausing to fumble around in his suit.

“That was…” Luna murmured in shock, having seen the entire thing.

“Amazing?” Orthodox tried to answer, placing his weapons in their holders before he fumbled with his helmet.

“Horrifying,” Luna finished, her face a little green. “I have seen fighting in my years, but that was just cruel. Did you really have to use your tail to kill the last one?”

“It’s all about style,” Orthodox replied, succeeding in removing his helmet. Luna, still guiding Celestia, looked around worriedly while he removed an object from his suit. Lighting up the cigarette, Orthodox tilted his head back and sighed.

“Shouldn’t we keep on runni-“

“Shh, shh shh,” Orthodox hushed her with a wave, taking another puff of the deathstick. His eyes closed in bliss as he enjoyed the smoke, cricking his neck and fiddling with his stolen necklaces. “You can’t rush the post-slaughter smoke, it’s a tradition.”

Luna stared at him, Orthodox ignoring the sounds of the camp behind him. He finished his stick, tossing it on the ground and placing his helmet back on. Both glanced back as an explosion rang out, bellows of alarm rising up behind them before a horrified wail filled the air.

“By the Gods, I have bits of Steve in my mouth!”

“And that is our cue to leave,” Orthodox stated, raising his gun and walking off into the forest. He noticed that Luna hesitated; no doubt debating which fate was more dangerous. A second explosion back in the camp sealed the deal for her, the two princesses following the short Agent deeper into the forest and closer to safety.

“Madness!”

Dainn stormed through the camp, a very nervous Corporal walking in front of him in case of any other traps. Not only had his soldiers not found the intruder that had insulted him, but their camp was now a death-trap with explosions happening everywhere.

He walked into his tent, keeping his broadsword drawn and wiping his face clean of blood. He had been standing right next to one of his Majors when the officer had checked a dead sentry. One explosion later and the Major was plastered over Dainn, the King lucky to escape major harm himself.

“Do you want me to help in the search?” the Corporal asked, gripping his axe tightly. Dainn grimaced, deciding that the intruder would be long gone by now.

“No, pull all of the search parties back and pack up the camp, it’s not safe here and the enemy now know our location.” Dainn’s fists clenched while he sat down, leaning back and closing his eyes. “The sooner we wipe them out, the sooner I can return to destroy that meddling Crystal Empire.” The Corporal gulped, Dainn rubbing his temples and preparing for objections. What he got however was far worse.

“Um… Lord? Why are your chests open and empty?”

Dainn’s eyes shot open, the King sitting upright and staring at the empty chests. He always brought a hefty sum of treasure with him, the glittering loot reminders of the cities and towns he had taken. In his anger, he must have missed the fact that he had been robbed, but now his anger was doubled upon realising it.

“What!?” he yelled, the Corporal shrinking back in fear when green magics crackled in the air around the furious King. Dainn tried to make sense of the situation, but he was interrupted by a far more distressing observation.

His captured princesses were gone.

He didn’t do the expected, and yell to the heavens to curse his loss. No, Dainn merely nodded, a plan set out in his head. He wasn’t going to re-enslave the town, if it had indeed fallen. No, he was going to slaughter every single thing in it, including the princesses if he found them. No one takes from him, the King. No one.

“Corporal,” Dainn muttered softly, his eyes not focusing on any particular thing. “Relay my order to pack up the camp, we have a town to burn.”

“Yes, my Lord,” the soldier acknowledged, smart enough to not question his king. He quickly left the tent, and as the flaps opened and shut, a strange smell entered. Dainn sniffed, his mind still simmering with rage, and he was slightly surprised to smell smoke. He dismissed it as coming from a campfire and went back to thinking of how he would kill his tormenters, to punish them for their insolence.

His daydream and smile was soon interrupted however, by the return of the Corporal from before.

“What is it now?” Dainn muttered with a blank expression, the young soldier searching for the courage to tell the King the news.

“The forest is on fire, Sir,” the Corporal informed, Dainn freezing. “We should be safe in this clearing, but the smoke and flames mean that we can’t move out, according to General Trumpter. I’m sorry Sir, but your captives seem to have escaped with the creature that attacked.”

Silence descended in the tent, only the faint crackling of fires and bellowed orders audible. The Corporal tried to make himself appear small, crouching a little and lowering his head in the hopes that Dainn wouldn’t take out his anger on him.

Dainn however didn’t even acknowledge that he was there, plans running through his mind. The fire was a cunning trick; if it wasn’t for the clearing then the entire army would have been burnt alive. Even taking that into consideration, the smoke was still a large enemy for the Caribou, and hampered them. Dainn was convinced that the town would now be ready for them, and that the rebels would be knowledgeable to their numbers, equipment and capabilities.

He was certain that some ponies had rebelled; this attack only sealed his prior suspicions. They were also receiving help from enemies that were an unknown factor, one of them already having proven to be a mighty adversary. Thinking back, Dainn saw the plan that had been enacted out against him.

The lone attacker had set out to intercept them after the defeat of the first army, probably to gather intelligence about their numbers. Then, he creates a distraction and fools the moronic soldiers, sparking a chase through the forest. But the attacker never left, no, he snuck in and liberated the princesses, while stealing treasure to spite him. After that, he had set the forest on fire to delay pursit and possibly kill many soldiers. It was a harsh blow, but Dainn had to admit that it was a brilliant plan.

He leaned back in his chair, eerily calm given the situation. His crackling magic died down, the thought of crushing such worthy foes soothing him. The Corporal, upon seeing that the King wasn’t going to eliminate him, did the smart thing and left quietly, leaving Dainn alone to assess the state of affairs.

“Some kind of tactical genius,” he murmured to himself, going back over the events of the last hour in his head.

“I wonder how that happened?”

Luna, leaning up against a tree, watched the fire rage below them. Orthodox had led them to an area that was apparently safe from any flames, the wind currently blowing in the opposite direction. A huge area was already burning; hopefully that area also included the Caribou within it.

‘Good,’ she thought, glaring down at the approximate spot of the camp which was obscured by smoke. ‘I hope they all got what they deserved.’ Luna turned to her unlikely saviour, the creature watching over Celestia as she slept on the grassy ground. He was silent, his face hidden behind his helmet and his loud weapon pointing outwards back the way they had come.

“Do you have an idea that caused it?” Luna asked, trying to start a conversation. Orthodox seemed to pause, his tail tapping against the rock he was sitting upon.

“Not a clue,” he answered blankly. “It was probably just a random event, and I certainly didn’t cause it.”

Luna wasn’t sure whether to believe him; after all he had used explosives and had seemed to enjoy the little paper stick that he had set on fire. There was something about the way he was acting that made his answer suspicious, Luna not convinced that he was telling all that he knew. She stared at him, wondering if now was the time to ask some more questions about him and his motives.

“Orthodox,” she addressed, dropping politeness and proper manners due to the situation. “Why are you helping us, and where did you come from? I do not recall seeing a creature like you before.”

“I’ll explain when we’re back in the town,” he answered, glancing up at the night sky. “Speaking of which, we better get moving. The sooner we make it back, the safer you’ll be. We don’t know if the Caribou are following us, but we should use the advantage of the night while we can. Besides, the sooner we get back the sooner we can tell the others about what’s coming and prepare.” He glanced down at the necklaces around his neck. “Also, I’m wearing more bling than a twentieth century rapper, and I need to show it off. Make Straken all jealous and that, because she doesn’t have gold.”

“Straken?” Luna’s question was dismissed with a wave of his hand.

“Colonel Straken, thinks she’s in charge of things because your ponies listen to her. Pfft, as if, everyone knows that I’m the highest ranking person on this planet. Also, I just saved two princesses single-handedly; let’s see how high and mighty she is when I bring you back.”

Luna neglected to ask any further questions, Orthodox’s answers only complicating matters. From the sounds of it, his entire motive for rescuing her and Tia was just so he could show up this ‘Straken’. Looking back, Luna realised that he hadn’t even bothered to look for them back at the camp; he had been more interested in filling his own pockets. She was really starting to question just how desperate the situation was, if beings like this one were helping them.

Orthodox pointed towards Celestia, Luna walking over and gently lifting her up off the ground. Celestia woke up without a word, a blank look on her face as she stood up. An arm was draped around her shoulder, and Luna led her deeper into the forest while following Orthodox. With their destination growing closer after every step, Luna mulled over her concerns amidst the crunching of leaves and twigs.

She hoped that the rest of their helpers weren’t as unhinged as Orthodox.

Straken and the fourteen pony militia, assigned to watch the north approach, gazed at the burning forest from their positions behind makeshift barriers constructed from overturned carts and boxes. The fire lit up the night sky, and seemed to be spreading quickly northwards. The cause was unknown, but Straken didn’t think that it was a coincidence that Orthodox had left for a walk two days ago into the forest.

“Do you think it was started by the Caribou?”

Straken turned around, Lieutenant Blaze approaching from behind. The pony guard joined Straken, the two staring out at the spectacle.

“I doubt it,” Straken replied, mulling over the information in her head. “If any Caribou were out there, I doubt burning down a forest would do them any good. The only reason I can think of why, is because they needed to create a distraction,” she turned to Blaze. “I take it no Caribou have been spotted recently?”

The guard shook her head, Blaze tilting her head in thought.

“No, I would have told you if they had. Could it possibly be Agent Orthodox?”

“Incredibly likely,” Straken snorted. “ISA agents tend to get twitchy when they go a day without causing some sort of misfortune for someone.” Beside her, Blaze winced.

“About that,” she started, her hesitant tone causing Straken to face her again. “Special Agent Stewart was behaving… oddly, this afternoon.” This prompted raised eyebrows from Straken, the Colonel interested in anything that could tarnish the reputation if the Agents she loathed.

“What did he do?”

Blaze looked down, appearing very uncomfortable with what she was about to say. “Well, I caught him… flirting with one of my guards. What made it weirder was that she flirted back, and while the guard does have a no fraternisation rule, he isn’t counted under that.”

“What did you do?” Straken inquired, both amazed at the Agent’s ability to focus on… that at this current time, and disgusted that he would sink so low as to fraternise with a member of a race that had only been freed from sexual slavery a few days ago. Then again, he was ISA so abnormal behaviour was to be expected.

“I waited until he had left, and then warned my Corporal in regards to becoming too friendly with other soldiers. She dismissed it and said that it was just harmless flirting, but I’m still a little worried.”

Straken snorted. “I doubt that it is anything more than what your Corporal stated, and isn’t something we need to worry about. As long as they do their jobs, I don’t care what they do in their time off. That’s even if anything is happening, mind you.”

“I know,” Blaze replied, sitting down on a box as the conversation continued. “But doesn’t it seem weird to you? You know, a pony and a human…”

“Interspecies relationships are common where we are from,” Straken explained. “You’ll find that most won’t bat an eye at it, and the ones that do tend to be from the clergy.”

“I can see that,” Blaze continued, evidently still after answers. “But why-“

“Ah, Colonel!”

Blaze turned around at Elijah’s voice, Straken continuing to stare out towards the burning forest.

“What is it, Researcher-“

“Lead Researcher,” Elijah corrected, moving up to stand next to the two females. “I’ve come with wonderful news. Our guest has told me quite a number of useful things, both about the Caribou and the other nations on this planet.”

“He gave you information?” Blaze asked, doubt heavy in her voice.

“Indeed he did,” Elijah answered a large grin on his face. “It took some persuasion, but you know what they say,” he rubbed his belly, still as cheerful as ever. “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

“What?” Blaze responded after a second’s pause, Straken not even bothering. “What does that even mean? Did you give him food as a bribe?” A light chuckle from Elijah, surprisingly uplifting to listen to, was followed by less than humorous answer.

“No, my dear pony, I cut into his stomach and-“

“Lead Researcher,” Straken cut in, already predicting what he was going to retell. Elijah stopped, Blaze looking away with a tinge of green on her face. “Is the General still alive, or did you get a little too enthusiastic?”

“He is most certainly alive,” Elijah answered, twirling out in front of them. “His delightful screams confirmed it, and I had to gag him to get him to shut up. Trooper Dante is watching him now; I stopped the bleeding so he should be fine for the time being.”

Straken placed her head in her hands. The one, non-ISA human besides her, was just as crazy as an agent. Was it too much to ask for a single ally who actually followed military doctrine, and not seemingly act for their own base desires? She glanced over to the confused Blaze, Straken appreciating the Lieutenant’s help a lot more. Even though she was a pony, at least she was somewhat sane.

“I say,” Elijah spoke up, the scientist gazing out of the town. “Is that forest on fire, or is it just me?”

‘Yep,’ Straken thought, regretting the assistance that fate had sent her. ‘They’re one-hundred percent crazy, all four of them.’

Author's Note

So, we learn many things in this chapter.

One, always make sure your cigarette butt is out. Two, don't leave your treasure out in the open. Three, don't bring your insane King bad news directly, get someone else to do it. Four, never assume that your enemy is some kind of tactical genius. He's really not.

How will the ponies react when their princessess are returned, and in the state they're in? Will the town's defenders be able to fight off the Caribou army? Will Dainn crush and burn the town, like he vowed to?

All in the next chapter.

The Real Monsters

“How have our subjects faired in our absence?”

Luna looked ahead towards Orthodox, the creature leading their group through the forest.

“Well, we only arrived a few days ago, but they seem to be doing alright since they were released.” He hacked away a tree branch with his long knife, before shoving it aside. “I mean, there’s still some that are prisoners in other towns and cities, but they seem to be able to cope with everything they’ve gone through.”

Luna felt a great sadness well up in her at the reminder that some of her ponies were still captive. The amount of tortures that they would be going through was unthinkable, given her own experience with captivity. Glancing to her left, she frowned down at her groggy sister, Dainn having been particularly cruel to her. Celestia could barely walk, going back and forth from periods of hysterical laughter to emptiness in mere moments.

“Why are you here?” she tried to find out, so far the wider motives of her rescuer a mystery.

Orthodox paused to hack aside another branch before replying. “I’m just the backup that the Brass sent. Straken got herself teleported here, somehow, and she placed a call for support after offing a caribou. As soon as the bigwigs got wind that we were dealing with a nation of slavers, they sent me in and started to prepare an assault force. As for Elijah… well, he’s just strange, if you get my drift.”

“Your people hate slavers?” Luna decided to ignore the fact that Orthodox had called this ‘Elijah’ strange. “Or are you just taking advantage of us?” Her voice lowered warningly towards the end of her sentence, but the creature ahead of her just shrugged and continued walking.

“A little bit of both, really,” he continued to explain. “Pretty much it started during the early days of the UIP, that’s the Empire I work for, when we were going around taking planets and kicking arses. One of the easiest ways to take a planet belonging to slavers is to incite the slaves to revolt, and then during the confusion you strike. Then, a few decades down the track when everyone from that planet is a citizen of the UIP, they start being recruited into the military.”

He hacked another branch down.

“Give it a few generations, and you’ve got the sons and daughters of former slaves rising up the command ranks. A few millennia and you’ve got a deep seated hatred of all slavers sprinkled among officers who have the authority to order the deaths of galaxies. Hence the ‘kill all slavers’ mentality. Oh, and it’s also pretty fun to just wail on some genuine dirt bags from time to time.”

Luna tried to take in the tide of information, attempting to process just what she was dealing with. Thankfully, it seemed like the powerful empire was on their side and had a goal to eliminate the Caribou for their own reasons. While she normally disliked the idea of killing, having a King have his way with you, and your sister while you watched, did swing her opinion towards it being justified.

The fact that Orthodox had also said that this ‘UIP’ was aiming to take advantage of a weakened Equestria was still worrying. While likely an unreliable source of information, he was currently her only one.

“When you said that it was a little bit of both, what did you mean?”

“Oh, the whole ‘we’re in it for ourselves’ bit? Don’t worry too much, from the looks of things you and your ponies will fit in pretty well.” He chuckled to himself. “Heh, Straken’s getting so friendly with a few of your guards that she may just ask High Command to just let you guys do your own thing. You’ll probably get a few military bases plopped down, but also a whole bunch of traders and mining companies asking for deals.”

“It can’t be much worse than it is now,” Luna mumbled, Orthodox nodding his helmeted head.

“Yup, we’ll kill you, your family and take your land, but we won’t rape you before doing it.”

“How chivalrous,” Luna deadpanned, evidently Orthodox and his people operated on a different moral system than Equestria. Then again, she could have guessed that from the fact that his first action in her presence had been to rob the King.

He didn’t reply and continued to clear a path. They had made steady progress, not stopping for rest at all. Luna was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn’t notice that Orthodox had stopped, and so she banged into his back. Receiving a helmeted stare from the creature, she was about to apologise before he cut her off.

“We’ll rest here,” he commanded, Luna looking around and noticing that they were in a clearing. Fallen trees, indicating that it wasn’t natural, were spread out from the centre of it. They were long dead, the dirt covered with a light patch of grass, and Luna wondered what had happened here to cause it. She watched while he dragged the logs around, amazed that such a small creature seemed to possess strength to rival a minotaur. It must have had something to do with his armour, Luna wondering what sort of magic powered the device. Then again, she had been amazed by steam engines when she had returned, so maybe it wasn’t magical in nature at all.

“Will we be safe?”

“The fire shouldn’t get us here; the wind’s calm and doesn’t look like it’ll pick up. The Caribou will likely be after us, if they survived, but I’ll have plenty of prior warning.” He tapped his helmet. “I’ve remembered to switch my sensors on this time.”

“That is… good?” Luna tried, not knowing what ‘sensors’ were. She found a patch of grass and sat the limp Celestia up against a log. Running a hand through her sister’s lifeless mane, Luna sighed and sat down next to her. “Are we far from Ponyville? I do not know this forest as much as I used to.”

“Another day, half if we rush it,” he answered, sitting down on a log opposite and flipping his knife over in a hand. “Then we’re back in Ponyville and home free, no sweat.”

‘I doubt it will be that easy,’ Luna thought to herself, leaning her head against Celestia and closing her eyes.

She had to admit that things were looking up, and hopefully once they reached the town she could relax for the first time in ages.

“No, there is no way we’ll be doing that… witchery.”

Straken pointed at Elijah to drive home her point. He had spent most of the morning with his caribou general, and apparently had found out that the King possessed potent magical abilities. She had known of the existence of the arcane arts, but like all decent officers she viewed them with measured distaste.

The fact that he was talking about live sacrifices didn’t exactly help that unease.

“I assure you, everything will work out fine,” the scientist tried to convince her, glancing towards the pale Blaze for support. “What about you, Lieutenant? Surely you agree that a few dead Caribou are worth protection from the full wrath of King Dainn?”

“It’s not right,” Blaze imputed, earning a nod from Blueblood, the stallion having joined the three for the discussion in the moonlit street. “Despite what they did, they’re still prisoners.”

All four glanced towards the chained up beings, the twenty-one caribou either glaring at them or staring at the ground.

“All I need is six,” Elijah continued. “Six for the entire town, and I can guarantee that no ill magic will affect us for three days.”

“What do you know of magic?” Blueblood questioned, dressed in a simple farmer’s outfit with a spear in his hand. “You are not a unicorn, nor a caribou.”

In response, Elijah tapped the icon on his coat’s left breast, the plain white pentagram symbol standing out on the grey cloth. “I am with the Occult Military Application Division, my dear Prince. I have access to much knowledge that many consider ‘witchery’, as the good Colonel stated. A simple protection spell powered by the souls of six rapists is something well within my means.”

“Their souls?” Blaze stammered. “You want to use their souls to power a spell?”

“It’s not like they’re going to get into any decent afterlife,” Elijah shrugged. “Why not use them for something useful?”

“I can’t agree to this,” Blueblood answered with a shake of his head. “Doing that would make us just as bad as them.”

“I have no issue with it,” Elijah informed them. “I’ll do it myself, everything if you ponies don’t want to get your hands dirty.” He fixed Straken with a smile, although something about him sent shivers down her spine. “I expected you to see why this needs to be done, Colonel. I do hope that you’re not going soft on me.”

“I’m not going soft,” Straken growled out. “I want no part of your debase rituals or pacts. I’ve heard stories about your department, and none of them are good.”

“Oh please, Colonel,” he replied, still maintaining his creepy smile. “You should know not to trust stories. Now, if you don’t mind, myself and Dante have a protection spell to create.”

Almost as if he sensed his name being uttered, the quiet giant entered the town square from an alley and headed towards Elijah. With a wave of his hand, the researcher and his bodyguard made their way over to the chained up Caribou.

“Let’s get out of here and get some rest,” Straken suggested, turning her back on the Researcher. The ponies followed her example, leaving Elijah and Dante behind. Heading towards the town’s bar, where they had set up a temporary rest area, they opened the wooden door and stepped inside. Straken waited until all of them had entered, before closing the door behind herself.

A muffled retort of a laser pistol shot could be heard, followed by faint cries and yells.

Ignoring it, Straken walked over towards the bar to join Blaze, the brown stallion bartender becoming very nervous.

“You’re just going to let him do those horrible things?” Blaze questioned, the bartender passing her a glass of water.

“There is not a lot that I can do,” Straken explained, forgoing a drink. “He’s a Lead Researcher for the Occult Department, people you don’t want to have in your bad books.”

“Still,” Blaze mumbled. “It’s not right.”

“We’re at war,” Straken replied. “You do whatever you can to win. History is written by the victor, after all.” She hesitated, before giving Blaze a pat on the back, visibly surprising the guard. “I understand that you don’t like it, and I don’t either, but we can worry about what’s right and what’s wrong after we’ve eliminated the Caribou once and for all.”

“I guess.” Blaze didn’t sound too convinced, and Straken glanced around the bar. Ponies of all types were arrayed around the large wooden room on chairs, the majority drowning their memories in drink. Turning towards the window, she caught a glimpse of a grey-coated figure dragging a corpse past, heading towards the north gate.

“Bartender,” Straken addressed, the unicorn nearly soiling himself. “I require a good, strong, drink.”

“Come on Tia, we’re almost there.”

Luna tried to get Celestia to move faster, but she had remained in her unresponsive state. Celestia would shuffle forwards like a zombie, no energy in her movements or eyes. It was really starting to worry Luna, what if the effects were permanent? She couldn’t rebuild a shattered Equestria by herself, and her only option would be to ask Orthodox for help. That was something she dreaded, and when she returned her gaze to the front of the path she spotted him gesture forwards.

“Princesses, your town is just after the tree line up ahead.”

Luna looked down when her hoof stepped in something, and she peered down at the puddles of blood and strange metal cylinders that littered the ground. Looking back up, she noticed that the trees were riddled with holes. With no time to wonder what it all meant, she followed Orthodox.

“Almost there,” she breathed to herself, seeing sunlight through the trees. Orthodox had stopped just ahead, Luna furrowing her brows. “What is wrong?” she asked, fearing that the Caribou had taken back the town.

“Elijah,” Orthodox hissed. “What the Hell has he done this time?”

‘Elijah?’ Luna thought, remembering that he was one of Orthodox’s friends. She moved beside Orthodox, and shuddered when she felt something… wrong coming from the town. Celestia whimpered like a scared foal, and Luna felt her stomach begin to heave in protest.

“What… what is that?” she asked, gripping her stomach with her free hand. Orthodox didn’t answer, and instead continued on to the break in the trees. Fighting her revulsion, Luna willed herself to press forwards, Celestia whimpering all the while. “It’s okay, Sister,” Luna tried to comfort, however she too felt like bolting in the opposite direction.

Reaching Orthodox again, the short creature seeming just as disturbed, she looked out towards the town. Her free hand went to her mouth, in an effort to stop the vomit from coming out.

Nailed spreadeagled to a wooden board, with symbols written in blood surrounding it, was a single corpse of a caribou. The bull’s head was missing, and Luna could instantly tell that some very powerful, and evil, magic was at work.

“Insane bastard,” Orthodox mumbled, before heading towards the board. He gave it a wide berth, Luna following his lead. Her unease increased the closer she got to the macabre decoration and she found herself unable to look directly at it.

She could swear that she could hear a voice screaming inside her head, its tone one of immense agony. Closing her eyes, she pressed forward while dragging Celestia with her.

All of a sudden, she felt all of the unease and voices disappear, and she opened her eyes.

They had passed the body, the plain back of the upright board the only thing visible. Breathing a sigh of relief, she heard possibly the most glorious sound she could have at the current time.

“Princess! The Princesses are here!”

Luna forgot all of her worries when a mass of ponies ran towards her; a mix of royal guard, civilians, and even a single bat-pony. Orthodox stepped aside and allowed the twelve ponies to crowd around the her and Celestia, Luna wearily giving every single one a smile.

“Okay, give them some room.”

A female voice heavy with command rang out from the town, prompting Luna to look up. A creature with a black mane and pale white skin was advancing towards her, flanked by another solar guard and surprisingly a changeling. Based off of the appearance, Luna assumed that this was the ‘Straken’ that Orthodox had been talking about.

“Greetings,” the female addressed, giving a slight nod. “I’m Colonel Tabitha Straken; I assume that you’re Princesses Luna and Celestia?”

“We are,” Luna replied, the ponies around them quieting down to listen to the conversation. “I am Luna, and this is my sister, Celestia.” Luna glanced towards Celestia, who had stopped whimpering and had reverted back to her emotionless state. “My sister needs medical attention however; she is suffering ill effects of her collar.”

“Indeed,” Straken answered, before gesturing with a hand. “Lieutenant, Mirage, please help Princess Celestia to the hospital and instruct the doctors that she requires the utmost care.

“Yes Colonel,” the guardmare acknowledged, while the changeling meekly nodded. Luna stared at the pair while they removed Celestia from her, in particular the changeling. It was female and barely matured from the looks of it, and she mentally questioned why a changeling was working with ponies. Making a note to pursue that question in the future, Luna focused back on Straken once the ordered pair had started to walk Celestia back to the town.

“I am grateful for you and your companions’ assistance to my people,” she began, the Colonel narrowing her eyes.

“We are not doing it for your gain,” she explained coldly, before she seemed to relax. “However, helping you and your ponies align with our own goals, and I highly doubt that you’ll mind us killing all of the Caribou that we want.” Luna grimaced at the reminder, the Colonel picking up on it. “Is that an issue?”

“No,” Luna replied, taking a deep breath. “I’m just remembering my own experiences with them.”

“Primitive animals,” Straken spat, grinding her boot into the dirt. “Filthy base creatures that have no promise.”

Luna glanced back towards the wooden board, wondering if the Colonel realised how their own behaviour appeared.

“I’m sorry about your welcome,” Straken apologised, evidently having noticed the glance. “The Lead Researcher is rather overzealous when he has an idea in his mind. Apparently the six corpses will serve as protection against enemy spells.”

“Six?” Luna inquired, Straken nodding with a frown.

“Six dead bodies, all arrayed in a specific pattern around the town. Don’t ask me how it works, I don’t know.” Straken’s eye twitched. “In my opinion, it should be something that no one knows.”

Luna found it hard to disagree with that opinion, but her agreement was cut off by Orthodox barging into the talk.

“Oi, Straken,” he asked, the Colonel sneering when she looked down at him and saw his looted gold and sacks. “I managed to rescue the Princesses, pretty great am I right?”

“I’m assuming that you also set fire to the forest,” Straken commented coldly. “And looted yet more items to sate your own greed. I question just what your priorities were.”

“Hey, an outcome is an outcome,” he defended, pointing towards a stallion in solar guard armour. “You there, soldier-pony! Take these sacks to my treasure horde.” Orthodox held out the sacks towards the confused guard, before the stallion hesitantly took the sacks in hand and backed away. Straken shook her head, and despite her opinion of the Colonel, Luna found herself agreeing. She may be cruel, but at least Straken seemed to have a decent head on her shoulders.

“Sometimes I wonder why I joined the military,” Straken muttered under her breath, watching while Orthodox swaggered into the town behind them.

“Hey Gary, guess who’s the better agent now!”

“I have observed that he is rather… strange,” Luna commented after finding a nice way to say ‘completely nuts’. He did save her and Celestia after all.

“He is insane,” Straken agreed. “But I can’t deny that he’s a useful asset. We just need a way to focus him towards the Caribou.”

“He likes gold.”

“I didn’t notice,” Straken deadpanned, before glancing around at the surrounding ponies. “Don’t you have posts to watch?”

“But the Princess-“ a brown-coated earth pony stallion began, before Straken cut him off.

“Is safe and alive, but the same may be the same for the Caribou. Get back and garrison your positions.”

Luna was surprised at the speed that everypony followed Straken’s orders with, all of them hurrying back to the town leaving the two alone. Evidently a lot had changed in her absence, and it may not have been for the best.

“What do we do now?”

“We prepare for a direct assault,” Straken answered, pointing out towards the smouldering forest. “With your rescue our enemy will no doubt be looking for revenge. The forest provides concealment and cover to an approaching army, and with the open fields on either side that is the most likely path of approach.”

“There is not much ground separating the forest from the town,” Luna observed. “Merely a small stream and a bridge. They could easily overwhelm us with numbers even if your… protection spell blocks their magic.”

“First, it’s not my protection spell,” Straken stressed. “Secondly, you’ll find that your guards and citizens have been provided a means to harass and punish our enemy from afar. We plan to make this area our main defence point, holding them here while the ISA agents cut off their attack from the rear.”

“We have no prior warning, they will possess the element of surprise.”

“They will be the ones that will be surprised. I can assure you, I have thought out our plan of attack and I believe it will be adequate.” Straken looked over her body, Luna standing strong while the Colonel’s eyes examined her naked form. “You, however, will likely require rest-“

“I shall not rest until my subjects are safe,” Luna replied, crossing her arms. “All of them.”

“Fine,” Straken dismissed. “Although I suggest you take a bath and spend your time comforting your subjects. I can handle the military side of things.”

Luna mulled over the suggestion. While she was keen to exact some form of vengeance against the ones who had humiliated her and harmed Celestia, even if it was merely planning their demise, her subjects did need her. A strong show of confidence from her would likely rejuvenate them and boost morale.

“I am okay with this arrangement,” she nodded, Straken showing a small smile.

“I’m thankful that you ponies seem to understand how to behave in dangerous situations,” the Colonel praised. “My past experiences with royalty have been far more tedious.”

“This is not the time for infighting,” Luna accepted. “You and your comrades in arms appear to be far more accustomed to warfare than we are, so your assistance is extremely appreciated.”

“Your cooperation is likewise a boon. Now, we have work to do.”

Luna glanced back towards the board, her spine shivering with the memory.

“We do, they are likely only a few hours behind us.” Both turned and headed towards the town, a mass of ponies rushing out to meet them.

“Great,” Straken muttered, Luna smiling to herself while the joy-filled horde closed in.

Things were looking up.

“See anything?”

Blaze tried to ignore the board out in front of them, the grisly totem facing out towards the forest. She adjusted the heavy winter coat she was wearing, trying hard to not let the sweating get to her. It was unsuited for a warm night like this, but with the lack of armour a heavily padded jacket was better than nothing. It may not stop a sword thrust, but at least it could possibly dull the blow of a club or shock baton.

All of her guards, a grand number of ten, were staring out towards the forest while the moon began to rise. Forty-one of the militia, comprised of townsponies and a few of the changelings, were also huddled behind barricades constructed from upturned carts and junk. Nervous eyes watched the area around them while hands gripped weapons, the flickering light from burning torches aiding the moon with lighting the area.

“Nothing yet,” a guard called back, a private named Edge. “What about the scouts?”

Blaze tapped the small ‘communicator’ plug that was lodged in her ear. Straken had given it to her, and told her that one of the ISA agents would tell her if they found the Caribou army. She didn’t really like the human technology, the borrowed rifle in her hand heavy with more than just physical weight. Already she had claimed a life with the deadly tool, the first in her entire military career.

“No word,” she answered, standing up and peering into the forest. It was impossible to see past the trees, and they didn’t have much ground between them and an enemy attack.

“How are things going Lieutenant?”

She nearly jumped out of her fur when a hand placed itself on her shoulder, the Lead Researcher walking beside her to give her a friendly smile. Blaze shuddered; she still couldn’t shake the image of the merry scientist nailing a headless corpse to a board, whistling a tune while he did so. He terrified her more than any of the other aliens, but it was nothing like Straken’s cold efficiency or even Orthodox’s bloodlust. Something about the tall, curious human just seemed… wrong.

“We’re… we’re ready for the attack, we’re just waiting for Orthodox and Stuart to find them,” she explained. The scientist nodded, and remained standing still with a smile on his face. “Excuse me sir, I don’t mean any disrespect, but are you out here for a reason? I thought Colonel Straken ordered you to stay in the town with the Princesses?”

“Straken is a great army officer, but terrible at reading the wider picture,” Elijah explained with a dismissive wave. “It’s in her nature to follow standard military doctrine, forming a static defence against a numerically superior foe. She has no appreciation for the finer points of defeating the enemy.”

Given Elijah’s idea of ‘finer points’, Blaze found herself agreeing with Straken. She’d take a static defence over executing prisoners and using their remains to power evil magic any day.

“By fighting on the front lines, I witness the enemy’s tactics and strategy first hand.” While he continued, Elijah undid his black waist holster and pulled out a small handgun, a dull grey just like his lab coat. He flicked a switch and a line along the side glowed to life, emitting a steady red light. “After sufficient observation, I can then form a precise plan of action to decimate their forces.”

Blaze looked around, guards and civilians still keeping a watch over the forest. Over half of them had rifles, with plenty of bullets to spare. They had barricades and the ISA agents were tracking down the Caribou army as they spoke. She doubted that one scientist, no matter how twisted, could really add any difference to their odds.

“I’d rather you’d follow the advice of the Colonel, and stayed in the town,” Blaze informed him.

Elijah chuckled, the small handgun still held in his hand. “I assure you Lieutenant, I am more than capable of looking after myself.”

“But the Colonel said-“

“Lieutenant,” he cut her off. “If you have doubts as to my safety, then why don’t you ask the Colonel yourself?”

“I will not leave my post,” Blaze told him, gesturing out into the forest. “The attack can come at any time.”

Almost as if prompted by her words, the earpiece she wore crackled to life with Agent Stuart’s voice.

”Lieutenant Blaze, we’ve got movement heading towards you. I count roughly one-thousand, five-hundred troops, armoured with lethal weapons. They’ll reach you in about ten minutes at this rate, in five you should be able to hear them.”. He paused, Blaze gulping at the mention of the fact that they were carrying weapons to kill. “Also, they seem to be rather ticked off.”

‘Great,’ Blaze thought, wincing. ‘I guess that the King is not too happy about the Princesses.’ Swallowing the lump in her throat, Blaze used a finger to press the small button on the ear piece and hold the small microphone closer to her mouth.

“Uh… thankyou Agent, we’ll distribute more guards from the south and west.”

“Allow me,” Elijah offered, the scientist turning around to stroll off towards the mentioned areas before Blaze could stop him.

“Was that Researcher Elijah?” With him gone, Blaze took the opportunity to find out more about him from Agent Stuart.

“It was,” she answered, glancing back over her shoulder. “Agent Stuart, do you know much about him? He wants to fight up here with us and I’d like to know what I’ll have to deal with?”

A sigh came over the radio, followed by a light chuckle. “You ponies have the best timing. Alright, I’ll give you the short version; I’ve got an army to harass after all. Basically, when Elijah Von Barker was in the ISA, he was one of our most effective agents. A skilled marksmen and highly intelligent, he still holds the record of being the best shot in the business. I don’t know the exact amount of confirmed kills, but it’s well over a thousand.”

“A thousand?” Blaze muttered, unable to imagine what that would be like.

“Yep. Unlike most agents, he changed a lot over the years. He became odd, started going for gut shots instead of straight up kills, unlike most snipers. There was talk about getting rid of him, but his squad commander kept him on. Soon, R and D got wind of him and offered him a position. He must have liked what they showed him, because he switched a month later. Don’t get me wrong Lieutenant, the work changes everyone, he just took it a little harder than everyone else.”

Without another word, the connection closed. Blaze stood and mulled over the information she had just received. Instead of feeling more ready for dealing with the scientist, the brief history of Elijah only fuelled the anxiety she felt around him. That smile now carried far more menace in her mind.

“Lieutenant?” a pony up front called out, breaking Blaze out of her thoughts. “We’ve got movement in the trees!”

Blaze quickly shouldered her rifle and pointed it towards the tree line, resting it on the upturned table she was sheltering behind. Her actions were echoed by all of the ponies and changelings around her, all of them bracing for combat.

“Aim…” she ordered, the sound of safeties being switched off soon overtaken by the thrashing of branches and leaves.

“Sir, the town is just up ahead,” General Trumpter whispered.

Dainn didn’t know why he bothered, the soldiers were all about as stealthy as a herd of drunken buffalo. Armoured in full iron plate, he was a mighty presence. His fingers cracked with energy, the broadsword he gripped in his right honed and ready for use.

“Sound the attack,” he commanded with a sweep of his sword, cutting clean through a branch in front of him. “Spare none, but if the troops want to screw them before they kill them then I have no issue with that.”

“Of course,” Trumpter acknowledged, the General moving to the front of the lines. Looking over his army, the thousand-strong force huddled down in the forest with the tree line in front of them, Dainn smiled.

He could sense the impending slaughter, and with a grin he realised that it was just about as appealing as any mare.

“I spy with my eye…”

Agent Stuart, pride of the ISA department, stared at the Caribou King through the sight of his laser pulse rifle from his tree branch perch.

“A slaver king who’s about to die.”

His finger stayed on the trigger, Stuart tracking the King while the caribou directed his army. Another of the beasts, one which he had identified as a general, headed off to the front of the lines. Disregarding the tall caribou with his feathered helmet and light mail armour, Stuart focused solely on the King.

Orthodox and Straken were lurking around the sides, and he intended to bag the King’s head himself. As soon as the Caribou began to bellow and charge out of the trees, he decided it was time to strike. Ever so slowly he applied pressure to the trigger, a three shot burst destined right for the King’s left temple.

The finger left the trigger when an almighty bang rang out through the forest, a massive upturning of dirt and body parts clouding his view. The explosion tore the heart out of the middle of the army, scattering the Caribou and causing a mass panic.

“Fuck,” Stuart muttered to himself, spotting movement in his peripheral vision and having his helmet identify the sub-dermal chip as one Colonel Tabitha Straken. Like a ghost of the jungle, the mud-covered Straken emerged from the dirt with borrowed rifle in hand, a single shot crowing a fleeing soldier and sending him sprawling into the dirt. Stuart remembered that Straken was ex-army commandos, the Colonel promptly shooting another soldier that had frozen in terror at the sight of her.

A flash of green became visible once the dust and dirt from the explosion settled down, leaving the King standing tall with a crackling green dome around him. Stuart quickly realigned his sight with the King and pulled the trigger, three pulses of invisible and silent light impacting harmlessly against the shield with no effect.

“Damn,” he muttered, preparing to make his way down the tree. “And it was all going to be so easy as well.”

Straken headed straight for the green dome in front of her, blasting away any caribou that got between her and her quarry.

Having exchanged her pistol for one of the surplus rifles, she had set out with the ISA agents in order to provide recon and support to the ponies holding the defence line. While Stuart and Orthodox had split up to cover a wider area, she had instead decided to prepare a trap.

Taking three plasma grenades that she had… ‘borrowed’ from Orthodox, Straken had set up a basic but effective mine that she had made back in her infantry days. After burying it under the dirt of the path, she had covered herself with mud and concealed herself within one of the many mud patches that covered the forest floor. She guess that it had rained recently, and thanks to the brown muck she had been undetected by the army’s scouts.

Her plan to simply blow Dainn up had failed, however; the detonation not large enough to cover the King with deadly energy. Granted, it had likely taken out most of his command staff, but she still had a job to do.

Calmly she stalked forward from bush to tree, killing anything that came near her. The crack of her rifle firing was drowned out by bellows, yells and the sound of massed gunfire from the town. A massed assortment of yells rang out and the Caribou started to break, turning from the front to run back through the forest.

Dainn was right in front of her, the King looking right at her with a hateful gaze.

Straken unloaded the rest of her rifle into him, however the bullets merely bounded off of his shield and struck the surrounding tress, dirt and some fleeing soldiers.

“Useless piece of shit,” Straken cursed, dropping the empty rifle and going for the backup pistol hidden in her boot.

She didn’t have a chance to draw it, a green bolt of energy slamming into her chest and knocking her to the ground. Her head hit a tree stump and she blacked out, sinking down into the mud.

Dainn allowed himself a moment to smirk at his fallen foe, before retreating soldiers cut off his view of her. With his shield still up, he lowered his smoking hand and turned to the tree line, his smirk soon replaced with a frown.

“You cowards!” he bellowed, amplifying his voice so that it rang out around the forest. “If you want something to fear, then fear me!” To show his point, he raised his free hand and opened his palm. A surge of magic shot out into the air, his fleeing troops cowering in terror. “Get back and kill those ponies!”

The tide was reversed, the army once again surging forward towards the town. Dainn, forgetting about his recently defeated enemy, urged more compliance by strolling forward. Branches and leaves sizzled when they touched his shield, the ground beneath him blackening and smouldering.

Following a mass of plate-armoured bulls, Dainn exited the forest and glared out at the town.

The first thing he noticed was an immense feeling of dread, a pain firing through his head. He grunted and cupped a hand to his forehead, his bodyguards also staggering.

Right in front of them, nailed to a board, was the long-dead corpse of a caribou. Dainn frowned when his eyes examined the blood-drawn symbols decorating it, no doubt the source for troublesome magics. Absentmindedly, he noted that the soldiers around him were being cut down by some invisible force, a mass of ponies using strange weapons from behind makeshift barricades.

Focusing on the grisly totem, Dainn ignored the cries of his soldiers and walked forward over blood-soaked grass and hole-riddled bodies. His shield shimmered whenever something struck it, looking much like raindrops in a puddle. Feeling sick in his stomach, Dainn pressed forwards. Strengthening his mind, he reached out with his sword, preparing a swing while he looked away from the foul defence.

With a swing, his sword cut through wood, flesh and bone, splintering the board and freeing the area from its foul curse.

Dainn felt new energy surge into him, and with an outstretched hand he pointed towards a barricade made from a long table. A guardmare was standing behind it, shouting out commands to yet more armed ponies running out from the town. Grinning, he waited until her eyes noticed him and widened, and then he unleashed a bolt of energy right towards her.

Blaze stood frozen on the spot, time slowing down while the King’s magical attack raced towards her. Some ponies apparently have their entire lives flash before their eyes when faced with death.

All she got was a brief memory of the battle.

From the very first enemy charge out of the forest, to her downing a bellowing bull in a feathered helmet with her first shots, up to the complete slaughter that they had inflicted, all of it replayed in agonizingly slow motion. She must have killed tens of them, having reloaded at least four magazines. No armour was proof against her or her fellows’ lethal projectiles, the metal munitions passing through chain rings and punching holes into iron breastplates.

Bodies littered the once pristine fields, a lack of accuracy not an issue when you were firing weapons that spat out more bullets in a second then you could count. They hadn’t even managed to get halfway, the entire army routing until the King himself had left the forest.

Letting out a breath of air, Blaze hoped that the rest of the ponies and changelings would be able to hold out without her leading them.
A heavy mass thudded into her back, Blaze falling forwards into the grassy dirt. She was dimly aware of a searing heat passing over her, a body pressing her down before a booming crack caused her ears to ring.

She lay there for a few moments without sight or hearing, her entire body aflame with pain. Slowly, her hearing returned, and a male voice broke through the roar.

“-tenant! Get up Lieutenant!”

Coughing out a mouthful of dirt, Blaze lifted her head to look behind her.

She was met with a wide grin, Lead Researcher Elijah giving her a thumbs up while he pulled himself off of her.

“I brought reinforcements!” he yelled over the din of the battle. “That rotter is shooting at us, shall we have at him!?”

Blaze winced when another bolt flew over them, this one landing further down in the town. She nodded and went to get up, Elijah helping her and pulling her back behind the table. Blaze doubted it would provide them with much cover; Dainn was far more powerful than she had imagined.

Suddenly, Elijah stood up and held his pistol out in front of him with an outstretched hand. Blaze stared up in shock, Elijah with that same smile still plastered on his now dirty face.

‘Does he want to die?’ she wondered, scrambling to her hooves just when he opened fire.

Beams of red light flashed out from his weapon, emitting a sharp thwack while they travelled through the air. He fired off an impossible amount, the barrage smacking into Dainn’s shield. Yet it did nothing, Elijah glancing down at the pistol in his hand.

“Huh,” he muttered, Blaze just able to catch it. “Well, plan C it is.”

‘What was plan A?’

Her mental question was never answered, the human dropping his weapon and flicking back his coat. She watched while he calmly walked past a third energy bolt, the scientist rolling down his right sleeve like he was taking a relaxing stroll through a park. He stopped in the middle of the raging battle, a wonder that none of the bullets accidently hit him. Blaze shivered when he pointed a finger towards Dainn, Elijah’s smile growing wider.

“Quasso.”

The word he uttered caused Blaze’s hair to stand up, a foul taste rising in her mouth. It sounded wrong, but it wasn’t the word itself. There was something behind it, and the only word she could think of to describe it was ‘evil’.

Dainn’s shield popped like a bubble, shattering under the force of a viscous wind that picked up. The King was left gobsmacked, now exposed and evidently surprised that his spell was broken.

“Exussum.”

With another equally chilling word from Elijah, the area around the King was engulfed with a raging inferno, setting fire to some surrounding soldiers and scattering the rest. The engulfed Caribou quickly burnt, Blaze closing her eyes so that she didn’t have to see them die like that. She could still hear their cries, the crackling of flames accompanying the chorus of agony.

When she opened them again, the screams gone, she was met with a heart-wrenching sight. Dainn was standing proud, another shield around him. The King laughed, a deep, bellowing laugh lacking all humour. He dropped his sword and held out both hands, energy flickering across his antlers and finger tips.

“Fool!” He shouted, Elijah’s face never changing. “Challenge me and die!”

Electricity arced out from the King, but not before Elijah raised his arms and yelled out a single word.

“Contego!”

A barrier of darkness was formed before the scientist, the electricity running over it before running into the ground and harmlessly blackening grass. Dainn wasn’t about to give up so easily, the King almost frothing at the mouth.

“You like words!? I’ll show you words! Death!” With the uttering, an even stronger burst of electricity leapt from his fingers, battering the black shield. “Destruction! Hate!” Each burst grew more and more powerful, and Elijah’s shield was visibly about to break. No one, pony, changeling or caribou, dared to get in the way of the two magical combatants.

“Plan D!” Elijah yelled, a manic look in his eye and a grin on his face. “Festinatio!”

His shield burst, Elijah abandoning it and diving to the ground. A single flicker of electricity hit his coat, scorching the outside but not piercing through. The scientist rolled, standing up and dashing towards a nearby caribou in light mail. The unfortunate soldier had no time to react, Elijah dodging his sword swing with a supernatural speed. The scientist lashed out with his right arm, the limb grasping the surprised soldier around the throat.

With ease, Elijah held the struggling bull aloft with one hand, the fires glinting off of the silver. Blitz was surprised to say the least, although at the moment an artificial limb was the least shocking thing.

Dainn seemed confused, the King keeping his fingers at the ready. He raised them to unleash another spell, but an agonised screaming pierced the air and stopped him.

Blaze covered her ears with her hands, all across the battlefield fighters on both sides replicating her action. Looking at the source of the unholy sound, Blaze nearly threw up in her mouth.

The caribou gripped in Elijah’s fake hand was screaming, his body seeming to rapidly age. Hair, teeth and nails feel out, the chainmail shirt falling from his body. He began to shrink, the snapping of bone and the tearing of tendons sounding his death knell. While he was getting weaker, Elijah seemed to grow stronger. The human seemed taller, more bulky than before. A faint glow surrounded him, growing more and more powerful.

“Impossible!” Dainn yelled, Blaze briefly wondering if he somehow knew what was about to happen.

“Yes!” Elijah shouted back to the sky, before the bull in his hand expired.

A whoosh of air extinguished all of the torches in a mile, fires on buildings and trees dying out in a sudden moment. When whatever energy was released washed over her, Blaze felt like it was trying to draw the breath from her very lungs.

The broken body of the caribou, now not much more than bone and withered skin, dropped to the ground and broke apart into a scattering if dust. The glows from Elijah and Dainn, along with the moon, were the only sources of illumination. Everyone had stopped to watch the confrontation, the bloodshed halted to examine the impending show down.

“Ah, it’s feels good to get all juiced up.”

Elijah’s voice now had two parts to it, the second one echoing his words a split second behind. It hurt to listen to, even though it still remained as calm and cheerful as his normal speech.

“Daemon,” Dainn hissed, Elijah chuckling while he raised a hand towards the King.

“Oh no, I’m very much still a mortal. What you see before you is nothing more than one of the benefits of my position.” Elijah’s mouth twitched, his smile growing. “Now, I do believe that we were in the middle of something before my snack, care to take the first shot?”

Dainn didn’t waste any time, a single large bolt flying from his antlers towards Elijah. The scientist swiped out with his hand, battering the bolt out of the air with the black-covered flesh. The magical projectile slammed into the ground, showering the scientist with dirt but not much else. Elijah smirked, Dainn backing away with his shield dome still fully up.

“My turn,” Elijah taunted, raising his hand once again. “Quasso.”

Blaze braced herself, wondering what devastation would be released this time now that the King’s shield was once again shattered and popped.

“Oh, Dante!” the crazed scientist yelled, his voice booming with laughter. “Plan E!”

Dainn was, for the first time in his time as King, genuinely worried.

The protective totem should have been a warning, the infernal magic never would have been used by the ponies, no matter how desperate they got. Dainn didn’t consider himself a good creature, he knew that he committed wrongs and didn’t care. However, as he looked towards the cackling creature that had just magically eaten one of his soldiers, he realised that he was dealing with something formed from pure evil.

“My turn,” his opponent laughed, raising a hand once again. “Quasso.”

Dainn knew that this curse would break his shield, and he was proved correct when a searing pain hammered into his head and disrupted his spell. Quickly recovering, he made to raise another before the evil mage could get another fire spell off.

“Oh, Dante! Plan E!”

‘Dante?’ Dainn wondered, his concentration broken by the unusual word. ‘That’s not a spell…’

An unholy roar sounded from behind him, Dainn whirling around to be met with a solid black wall charging towards him. Metal crunched when it made contact a split second later, the force of the impact sending him flying back and into the muddy dirt. He shook his head, finding himself lying in a mix of blood and filth. He grimaced and pulled his hand from the gut of a fallen soldier, shaking off the blood and viscera while the enemy mage shouted madly.

“Yes, go my wonderful creation! Rend him apart!”

Dainn remembered just what had hit him, and he rolled to the side just in time. A large metal fist smashed down to where his head had just been, sending blood and mud flying into the air. Looking back at his attacker, Dainn saw that it was yet another unknown creature.
This one was a giant, baleful red eyes glaring down at him. It was covered with full metal plate, white skull icons covering its form. He guessed that this was the ‘Dante’ that the mage was babbling about. The giant raised a huge foot, evidently content to crush his skull while he lay in the muck.

‘Not now,’ Dainn promised to himself, raising a finger and pointing towards the giant’s helmeted head. ‘I have a world to rule! I can’t die!’

“To Tartarus with you!”

The giant started to bring his metal boot down, Dainn yelling at him and unleashing a powerful bolt of magic right into its face. He poured all of his strength into the spell, the energy blinding to all that witnessed it. He shut his eyes, white spots still remaining even after the bolt had left his finger.

An almighty clang was followed by a wet thump, Dainn opening his eyes. He broke into a wide grin when he saw that he had taken the giant’s head clean off. Nothing remained above the neck, the helmet lying on the ground in the dirt. He began to laugh, amazed that he had survived. The only sound he could hear while he waited for the body to fall over was his own fevered laughter, his tired body burning with exhilaration.

He stopped laughing shortly after, however. A loud, deep, booming chuckle rang out from the helmet lying at the decapitated giant’s feet, the eyes once again flickering with unnatural light.

“No,” he muttered, starting to scrambled backwards. “No! You don’t have a head! You’re dead, you monster!”

“Dead?” a raspy voice rang out, from both the suit and the helmet. “You’re right there, although I didn’t die by your foul hand.” The armoured suit creaked when it bent down, Dainn gulping when the neck opening lowered towards him.

There was nothing in the suit, save for a faint blue glow in the darkness. Armoured hands picked up the fallen helmet and it stood back up. Dainn continued to scramble back, his mind overloaded with questions about just what madness he had found himself in.

“I guess you could say that he’s the perfect… soul-dier!” The enemy mage cackled, Dainn ignoring the being to his left while he kept his eyes on the animated monster. The giant seemed to be unaffected by the loss of his head, the construct returning the helmet to its head and holding it on with one hand. It took a step towards him, more rumbling coming up from its empty shell.

“You don’t stand,” it began slowly, taking another step closer. “A ghost of a chance.”

That was the last straw, Dainn had taken enough. His army was in ruins, he’d gotten his rump kicked by a mage using devil powers, he was tired, his body was shaking with pain, he had fought an armoured giant that wasn’t alive, and he’d just been hit with two awful puns in quick succession.

‘Nope,’ he thought, forming a final spell. ‘I’m out.’

With a final scowl to all of those watching, he flipped off the mage and finished his teleport spell.

A green flash overtook his vision, before he found himself falling.

“Curses!” he swore, landing hard upon the forest floor. He heard shouted orders, and when he glanced over to the direction they were sounding from he saw that he was barely into the forest. The tree line was just ahead, and he certainly didn’t want to go back out there. He shakily got to his hooves, all around him lay bodies in their own blood. He stumbled over the crater that had been the pre-warning of the slaughter, a hand going towards his head. Above him, branches creaked and cracked in the darkness, the forest even bleaker during the night.

Thus, Dainn began his solitary retreat back towards the remainder of his army in the Crystal Empire, plans of revenge already swirling in his mind.

“Well, well, well, running away are we?”

Orthodox muttered to himself, his helmet ensuring that the King below him didn’t hear him. He had been relaxing in his tree branch perch after dispatching the survivors of the battle, the fleeing caribou falling prey to both his tail and gauss rounds. He could still remember the one guy that had panicked when an armoured tail had shot out of the trees and impaled his buddy right through the head, causing the frightened soldier to run straight into another caribou’s sword.

Priceless.

He hadn’t seen Straken anywhere, although he had spotted Gary lurking around the sidelines of the battle. Like himself, his rival had taken to stalking through the treetops, however the human could only go so far due to his weight and lack of a prehensile tail. Orthodox had lost sight of him, but Gary wasn’t his priority know.

“Come here, you bastard,” he muttered, raising his plasma rifle to his shoulder. There was no longer any need for concealing his position, and he wanted to make sure that he’d kill the king before the slippery bugger could get a shield up. He looked through the scope and settled the target right on the back of the limping King’s head, his finger about to squeeze the trigger to end the Tyrant once and for all.

He hesitated however, another thought appearing in his mind. “Actually…” His armoured finger moved from the main trigger towards a small button right beside it, Orthodox grinning and maintaining his aim. “I’ve got a better idea.”

Orthodox pressed the button, an almost silent hiss sounding when a burst of compressed air fired a tiny tracking dart. It smacked into the back of the King’s head. Dainn paused and raised a hand to his head, the King feeling around the area that the dart had hit. The dart’s small size worked against his however, his muck covered hands unable to locate the device that had created a tiny wound in the skin. Orthodox stayed still when Dainn glanced backwards, the caribou leader not even looking up into the trees.

Evidently he saw nothing and likely dismissed the small sting as a figment of his imagination, the King continuing to limp away from the carnage. Orthodox smirked at the departing King, lowering his gun as soon as he was out of sight.

“This is going to be fun,” he chuckled, before movement to his right caused him to look over towards the ground.

“Colonel, are you alright?”

Straken shook her head and opened her eyes, a thumping headache causing her to wince. She was pissed off, having messed up royally and failing to kill the King. Adding to that, she’d taken a shot like a rookie. Looking down at her chest, a black scorch mark on her armoured vest. The shame, and likely what was a broken rib hurt, but at least she was still alive and kicking.

“I’m fine,” she grumbled, an armoured hand gripping her bare arm and pulling her out of the mud. She mumbled a quiet thanks before glancing towards her assistant, a blood-stained ISA agent facing her with blue helmet optics.

“Taking a nap, Colonel?”

“Very funny Stuart,” she fired back, leaving out his rank in her annoyance. She looked around for her gun, before giving up after only a few seconds. It was a piece of trash anyway, she would have had a better chance with a sharp stick. She noticed the bodies around her, the smell of blood still fresh. “Did we win?”

“I assume so,” Agent Stuart answered, tapping his rifle against his side. “I must have killed at least twenty of them while they were retreating, and I’ve gotten no news from that pony Lieutenant.”

“Blaze,” Straken corrected. “Her name is Blaze.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Stuart dismissed. “We managed to rout them and I can only assume that the town managed to hold out.

“And the King?”

Stuart paused, Straken assuming that he had failed just like she had. “I had the perfect shot lined up, but then what I could only assume was a trap went off. Bastard had some kind of energy shield around him, it went up before I could bag him.”

“It was my trap,” Straken informed, before beginning to examine the surrounding bodies. “Is he confirmed dead, did someone else get him?”

“I don’t know, I certainly didn’t. The ponies or Orthodox may have though; I haven’t seen or talked to any of them yet.”

“The King’s gone.” Both looked up above them, Orthodox sitting down on a tree branch towards their right. The lizard alien was cleaning a long knife of blood on the bark, his armour coated with more of the liquid. “He teleported in and did a runner, judging from the sounds of things Elijah pulled some more of his bad juju shit.”

“You didn’t shoot him?” Stuart sighed, seeming to already know the answer. Orthodox shrugged in response, putting his knife away and jumping back onto the ground.

“I did… well, with a tracking dart anyway. But look on the bright side,” he tapped his helmet. “We can track him now, his signal’s heading north, we can easily catch up to him.” Orthodox strolled up to the both of them, Straken glaring at him while he nudged Stuart in the side. “Come on, who’s up for a little hunt? We’ll track him, watch him, taunt him, and then when we get bored we’ll kill him. It’ll be fun!”
He cheered the last part, his tail swishing behind him. It might have almost looked cute, except for the fact that said tail still had bits of bloody flesh hanging off of its spikes.

“I’m game,” Stuart agreed, both of the ISA agents sharing a nod and walking off towards the direction that Dainn had fled. Within a few moments, they realised that Straken wasn’t following and they stopped to look at her.

“Straken?” Orthodox enquired. “You’re not seriously sitting this out; I thought you wanted to castrate this arsehole?”

In truth, she wanted to cut him up slowing along with the suggested neutering, but there was something plaguing her mind. She grimaced, giving in to her own weakness.

“I do,” she answered, turning to make her way back to the town. “But there’s some people who I’d assume would also want a piece of Dainn.”

“A piece? Oh! Could I possibly have three? His brain and antlers would be most beneficial to my research!”

Blaze almost gagged when Elijah misinterpreted Straken’s offer, after his previous display no-one was willing to talk to him. Dante was the same, the… whatever he was too spooky for ponies to get over. Speaking of Dante, he was currently sitting down on a log with Agent Orthodox gleefully waving his hand through the space of his helmet and neck.

“No,” Straken muttered with a roll of her eyes. “I mean, yes, you can have his entire body for all I care, but what I’m asking is if anyone is up for some revenge.”

“Best. Day. Ever!” Elijah breathed out, doing a small fist pump. “I get to cut up a King!”

“I’m in,” a male guard spoke up, the soldier gesturing towards the body-littered field. “Those Caribou deserve everything that’s coming for them, and the King is the cause of it all.”

“The same for me,” Night Shard pitched in, the bat-pony gripping her rifle to her chest tightly.

“And me.” Prince Blueblood emerged from the crowd of militia, the stallion having been in charge of the south defence force.

“Us as well.”

All turned when Princess Luna voiced her intent, the alicorn approaching them with ten more ponies at her side. She had found something to wear, a simple farmer’s shirt and pants. In her hands she gripped a pitchfork, Blaze wondering where she had found it.

“Your Majesty-“ Straken began to protest, before Luna cut her off.

“No, Colonel. I thank you for your help, even if I have issues with your methods,” she glanced towards Elijah and Dante, her eyes hardening. “But King Dainn tore our country apart and destroyed out lives, and I ensure to be there when his wickedness is put to rest at last.”

“That’s right,” Maple Fields, the most surprising of the lot, added. “I’ll never get my horn back!”

This reminder sparked mutterings around the unicorns, most of them missing horns with only a few lucky ones still possessing them. Luna nodded, a further twenty ponies stepping out from the crowd.

“Have it your way,” Straken gave in. “Just don’t go and die, that’d be a difficult explanation to your subjects.”

“I will not,” Luna promised, before her gaze softened. “We did not escape the battle unscathed; the hospital is filled with ponies and changelings suffering from serious burns thanks to Dainn.” Her gaze moved over to the crowd, a few ponies at the back weeping. “That is not even taking into account the emotional trauma, we have killed so many…”

“And we have more to kill,” Straken clarified. “So I suggest that anyone who has an issue with that should stay behind and help rebuild the town.” None of the volunteers stepped back, Blaze swallowing her own desire to stay and instead steeled herself.

“Wait!”

Yet again another being raced towards them, this time a changeling. Blaze remembered that her name was Mirage, also recalling that she had been a part of their defence line. Still wearing just her simple shirt, Mirage slowed down and stopped next to her.

“I’ll go as well,” Mirage told Straken, a human rifle clutched in her hands. Murmurs once again rose up in the crowd, a few ponies still anxious around their former enemies.

“I will vouch for her,” Luna spoke up, seemingly more to the crowd than to Straken. “The changelings have proven themselves to me, and I trust them.” She smiled towards the nervous Mirage. “I will also guarantee that they will be welcomed, all of them, after this war is over. They have earned that much.”

“Th-thank you,” Mirage stammered.

“Desist from inserting things into my neck!”

The deep voice drew all attention towards Orthodox and Dante, Straken shaking her head while Blaze and the others stared in confusion.

Orthodox had climbed onto the seated Dante’s shoulders and was sticking his arm down the empty neck hole of the armour, Dante’s helmet held in his free hand.

“There’s nothing in here at all!” Orthodox announced with amazement. “Not even a jar, a box-“

“That’s because there is no physical remains of Agent Dante interred into the suit,” Elijah butted in to explain. “With the combination of science and other… methods, we managed to bond his departed soul with the inbuilt computer and-“

“His soul?” Orthodox interrupted. “Is that even legal?”

“He signed the forms,” Elijah huffed with crossed arms. “Don’t you remember the ones you signed when you first joined the ISA?”

Orthodox nearly fell off of Dante.

“Wait, what!?”

Blaze didn’t know what to think anymore.

“We don’t have time for this,” Straken growled, the Colonel stomping a foot to help transmit her point. “If we leave now, we’ll be able to catch up to Dainn before the night is over.”

The crowd of volunteers began to move out, torches lit and weapons reloaded. Blaze quickly picked up a bag of food and water before turning to join them, Straken and Stuart leading the pack into the forest with Elijah and Dante bringing up the rear.

“Stupid Elijah is not going to get my soul,” Orthodox muttered when he passed her, Blaze stopping. She was the last to enter the forest, the others already ahead. Looking back to the town, she wondered if revenge was really worth another battle. Remembering her time in the dungeons, and all of the foul acts that she had witnessed, she came to the conclusion that yes, revenge was indeed worth it.

Walking into the forest, Orthodox just ahead of her, Blaze gripped her weapon tighter and tried to ignore the memories of the past half-hour.

“Stupid, interfering, morons!”

Dainn yelled towards the tree canopy above him, lamenting his loss.

Curse those ponies and demons, now that he knew their tactics and strengths, he’d return to his remaining army and lay an ambush for them.

Rubbing his hands together, Dainn chuckled when he felt magical power surge into him, restoring his stamina and filling him with energy.

Yes, he’d have his revenge; it was only a matter of time.

Little did he know, time was something that he was quickly running out of.

Author's Note

So, things start to get moving in this chapter. Dainn is defeated for now, but will he have a plan to strike back? Or, will bloodthirsty aliens and vengence-driven ponies get to him first?

Will Farmer Luna shank someone with a pitchfork?

Will Elijah get the King's body... to cut up?

Why did I put in that 'You don't stand a Ghost of a chance' reference?

All except one will be answered in the next, and possibly final, chapter.

It'll be a big one.

The Showdown

“We’re going on a King hunt!”

Luna resisted the urge to order Orthodox to be quiet, the enthusiastic alien singing loudly while he led them through the forest.

“We’re gonna kill him real dead!”

Her eye twitched, she didn’t know how much longer she could take it. These creatures seemed completely oblivious that they were hunting down another living creature with the aim of killing him. Sure, she was out for the same goal, but at least she and her ponies weren’t treating it like a game

Purposely slowing her pace, she let a few guards and the humans past before heading towards the one pony she had the most chance of striking up a conversation with.

Night Shard was talking with the changeling named Mirage, both of them wearing plain brown shirts and shorts with numerous pockets bulging with spare ammunition and supplies. While the presence of the changeling wasn’t preferred, Luna recognised that it was either Mirage or Orthodox.

She turned her head when a shiver ran down her spine, the… thing known as Dante moving on the outskirts of the group. A normal pony would have dismissed the human scientist’s claims that it was a soul in a suit as a lie, however she knew from experience that such dark acts where possible.

Making a note to continue to steer clear of the armoured bulk that was uprooting trees while it walked through them, she steered towards the bat-pony and changeling. Both looked at her when she approached, Night Shard’s hand going for a salute.

“None of that is required,” Luna told her in a soft voice. “Consider this a… personal visit.”

“Ma’am?” Night Shard questioned, adjusting her rifle on her shoulder.

“You don’t want to walk with the humans?” Mirage guessed, Luna raising an eye while nodding. She didn’t know much about changelings apart from what she had been told by her sister, but she had noticed that they were observant creatures. She guessed that they needed to be, given their nature.

“And Orthodox,” she reminded, the orange alien her least favourite. Well, second least if she counted in Elijah, she still wasn’t sure where to put him on the ‘do not want’ scale. “The singing is disturbing, to say the least.”

“You do have to admire their creativity.”

All three turned while Lieutenant Blaze joined them, her own rifle held to her dirty white shirt. She was still wearing her guard helmet, the enchantment still in place.

“How so, Lieutenant?”

“Well Princess, this is the fourth song he’s made about killing Dainn,” Blaze explained, before letting out a small sigh. “I guess once you’ve spent a week with them you get a little used to the madness.”

It was then that existence decided to prove her wrong, Luna’s blood freezing when someone interrupted Orthodox with terrible, horrible, words.

“Orthodox,” Lead Researcher Elijah spoke up, silencing his companion. “A fine effort, but I doubt our comrades appreciate your musical talents.”

“I’d like to see you do better, Elijah.”

“Okay then, challenge accepted.”

‘No,’ Luna pleaded, Elijah clearing his throat before walking out ahead of the group and turning around to face them all. ‘Please don’t have him-‘

“Dainn, oh how you have committed evil deeds!”

“Oh no,” Luna heard Blaze mutter, the entire group of over fifty stopping in confusion while Elijah raised a fist to the sky and sang.

“So terrible and cruel, to innocent ponies! We’re coming for you, to put a stop to the painnnnnnn-“

A blue bolt of energy passed over Elijah’s head, blasting a hole into a tree behind him. Everyone looked towards Straken, the Colonel’s smoking pistol held outstretched in her hand.

“No,” she informed with a scowl. “None of that.”

“Spoilsport,” Elijah huffed as he skulked off to join Dante on the outskirts. Straken turned her gaze towards Orthodox, the alien wisely raising his hands and making a zipping motion across his mouth.

“No more singing, no more fooling around,” she ordered, Agent Stuart following behind her while she moved to the front of the group. “We have a job to do, it’s nearly nightfall and we need to catch up to our quarry. Focus on your objective and not childish behaviour.”

Luna would hardly class singing about killing someone as behaviour belonging to a child, but she understood where Straken was coming from and was thankful that the singing had stopped. The ones walking with her seemed to share her relief, and they resumed their journey. Turning her head towards them, Luna lowered her voice.

“Lieutenant, Mirage and Night Shard, I’m going to speak with Colonel Straken.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Night Shard asked, Luna shaking her head.

“It isn’t, but I require some information about our actual plan to bring Dainn low. He is powerful, more powerful than any of us, and cunning as well. I can’t help but feel like he’s got a plan up his sleeve.”

“Just get straight to the point when talking to her,” Blaze advised softly. “She reacts better to facts and information.”

“I have observed that,” Luna nodded. “But thank you for letting me know.” Turning back to look at the human leading from the front, Luna began to move towards her. “Wish me luck.”

Walking past guards and civilians alike, all of them armed with human weapons, Luna nodded towards them in greeting. They all returned the gesture, smiles rare throughout the weary faces. She could understand, nothing would ever be the same. Her thoughts briefly went back to her own sister in Ponyville Hospital, before she had reached the front of the group and therefore Straken.

“Princess,” Straken coldly greeted, the Colonel’s eyes not leaving the path and forest in front of them. Agent Stuart mimed the tipping of a hat, the ISA soldier appearing far more calm than Straken was.

“Colonel.”

“Do you want something?” Straken asked, tapping her gun by her side.

“I do,” Luna replied, remembering Lieutenant Blaze’s advice. “How exactly are we going to fight Dainn, he’s a powerful foe.”

“Simple,” Straken answered, tilting her head towards the left. Luna glanced over, spotting Elijah and Dante chatting while they moved through the forest. “We send those two out as soon as we spot Dainn. He focuses on them, Elijah uses his… magic to stop Dainn’s, we all start shooting and one bullet will eventually get through.”

“That sounds… incredibly basic,” Luna muttered, Straken snorting in response.

“Basic often works. We outnumber, out-gun and out-smart him, he’s running and desperate.”

“I disagree,” Luna commented. “I believe he has a goal in mind, a fall-back plan.”

“Let him have one,” Straken dismissed, her boots crunching a twig underneath. “As soon as we catch him, we’ll slaughter him.” The Colonel removed her sight from the path to gaze at her. “On that you have my word, Dainn will die.”

Not knowing what to say to that, Luna merely nodded. Straken looked back to the front and no more was said.

While she was disappointed that Straken brushed her warnings without so much as a second thought, at least the human seemed dedicated to defeating Dainn.

No one could say that they lacked confidence.

‘I hope that confidence will be enough,’ she thought to herself, before increasing her pace to keep up with the Colonel.

A burst of green energy flew from Dainn’s fingertips, incineration the brambles blocking his way. In truth, he could have moved past them, but he relished the chance to take some of his anger out on the plants.

‘I need to reach the Crystal Empire,’ he thought to himself, stepping over the smouldering remains of the bush. ‘Then I’ll show those ponies just why you don’t mess with Dainn, King of the Caribou.’

The words in his head didn’t feel right, Dainn still fuming over his embarrassing defeat. To think that he had trusted his soldiers to have been able to defeat a bunch of soft ponies! Even with their strange weapons, no doubt the work of the furless monsters, they still shouldn’t have been victorious. He himself had done most of the work, it wasn’t like he was asking his soldiers for much.

“At least the others should be a bit more competent,” he stewed, thinking back to the rest of his army.

Continuing his journey, his mind pulsed with the ideas of what he would do to ponies once he had beaten them. This time, there would be no more mercy for them, he’d let his troops have their way and then he’d put their race to the sword.

After all, the Crystal Ponies would be far more suited to enslavement, why should he need Equestrians?

With the thought of revenge at the forefront of his mind, Dainn grinned and kept on moving.

There would be no rest for him tonight; he had an army to command.

“Can’t we take a break?”

Straken rolled her eyes at yet another request for a rest, and she turned to face the stallion who had asked.

“We can’t afford to rest five times every hour,” she told him, and all the other ponies. Moonlight filtered down through the treetop in mere slivers, lights attached to the ISA agent’s helmets providing the only illumination. The ponies and changeling had been jittery, every snap of a twig spooking the creatures.

She didn’t know what they were afraid of, with their weapons they were the scariest things in the forest.

“Maybe we stop for the rest of the night?” Luna suggested, pointing up towards the treetops. “It’s been dark for hours, and we’ve been walking for most of the night. How are we supposed to fight Dainn if we are all weary?”

Straken withheld a scowl; the Princess did have a solid point. She had to remind herself that she wasn’t leading trained soldiers but civilians; she’d had to go easier on them if she valued their continued cooperation. Looking down to her left, she lowered her voice so that Orthodox was the only one that heard her question.

“How far ahead is the King?”

“Four kilometres, give or take,” Orthodox told her. “He’s stopped though, maybe he’s also worn out?”

“We could catch up and kill him right now.”

“No way, not at the speed we’ve been going for the last hour. The ponies can’t take much more Colonel, you want us to just send them back and deal with this ourselves?”

Straken looked back up at the waiting ponies, mulling over Orthodox’s words. Turning back to him, she shook her head with a sigh. “No,” she whispered. “I owe them some revenge after all. Keep an eye on the signal and let me know if he resumes moving, we’ll camp until then.”

“Will do,” Orthodox nodded, Straken silently surprised with his cooperation. Maybe all he needed was the promise of a kill to keep obedient, however she still made a note to make sure he wouldn’t sneak off by himself to steal it. Focusing back on the ponies, Straken cleared her throat.

“Fine, we’ll make camp here for the night. Lieutenant Blaze, organise a watch.”

“Yes Colonel,” the soldier answered, bringing a small smile to Straken’s face. Watching while the ponies sat down with their weapons ready, she headed towards a small boulder slightly off the path. Sitting down, she started to check and clean her pistol with a small white cloth she had withdrawn from a pocket.

“Do you want something to eat and drink?”

She paused her cleaning to look beside her, Maple Fields sitting down on the rock with a backpack in hand. The hornless unicorn was wearing a simple white shirt and blue pants, her rifle siting over her shoulder by its strap. Straken still couldn’t get over how ridiculous the weapon looked on the meek pony.

Maple had withdrawn a brown paper bag and two corked jugs, and was offering a sandwich towards her.

“No thank you,” Straken dismissed, returning to her weapon. “I’m not hungry.”

“You haven’t eaten for a day.”

“I am quite capable of operating for days without food,” Straken told her. However, Maple wasn’t about to just give up.

“But I made it, it’s cheese and tomato. And I’ve got some fresh water as well.”

Straken rolled her eyes and placed her pistol down in her lap, before turning to Maple. The pony held the sandwich out with a hopeful grin, and reluctantly Straken took it from her. Peering at it, it seemed to be a perfectly normal sandwich. Waiting until Maple took a bite of her own, Straken gave it a final, cautionary sniff before taking a bite.

Reluctantly, she silently admitted to herself that it was indeed more than edible.

“Is it good?” Maple inquired, crumbs around her mouth.

“It’s satisfactory,” Straken replied, taking another bite. Evidently Maple was satisfied with the response, the pony returning to her own meal. Gazing over her ragtag group of soldiers, Straken’s eyes narrowed when they rested upon the bat-pony and changeling talking with the Lead Researcher and his pet abomination. The four were sitting at the back of the makeshift camp, too far away for Straken to hear what they were talking about.

Looking up into the trees, she spotted Agent Orthodox up in the branches. The agent was resting his bulk between two of the tree limbs, and was using his tail blades to peel some sort of fruit. Continuing her ISA agent check, the last name was ticked off when she spied Agent Stuart chatting to a guardmare. Both were leaning up against trees, and their posture and body language clued her in to the fact that it was more than a friendly conversation.

Ignoring them, she looked at Lieutenant Blaze instead. The pegasus was discussing something with three of her guards, the soldiers all holding their weapons firmly.

“Straken?” Maple spoke up from beside her. Ignoring the mare’s failure to address her by her title, she turned her head.

“Yes?”

“Will killing Dainn actually stop the Caribou?”

The question was a good one, and one that Straken had a definite answer for. “No, of course it won’t. They’re a simple species; if we kill one leader an equally terrible one will rise to fill the void. It’s always the way things are.”

“Oh… then how will we actually stop them?”

“Simple,” Straken replied. “We don’t just kill Dainn, we kill them all.”

“A-all?”

“Indeed,” Straken nodded. “While our reinforcements are not likely to arrive in time to help us kill Dainn, they will be able to assist us with wiping the Caribou off the face of the planet.”

“That will not happen.” Straken’s mouth twitched before she looked behind her, Princess Luna fixing her with a stare. “Such atrocities will not occur with my or my sister’s consent.”

“Who said we needed your permission?” Straken challenged, before smirking. “I highly doubt that you hold the moral high ground, considering our current goal.”

Luna stiffened, Maple looking between the two with worry.

“Dainn is a monster and needs to be stopped,” Luna explained with an even voice. “However, no race is irredeemable. I will not allow you to destroy them all, even the innocents.”

Straken considered informing Luna that she was hardly in a position of power, but decided to hold her tongue. If the Princess wanted to play this game, then she’d soon learn that you never play against Colonel Straken and expect to win.

“Very well,” she conceded, with her expression saying everything but. “No genocides.”

“Good,” Luna replied, before walking away to join a circle of ponies. Straken watched her leave with a glare, before returning to cleaning her weapon. Maple stared at her with worry, tapping her hands together nervously.

“So… I better get some rest.”

“That would be a good idea.”

“Okay then, see you in the morning.”

She very much doubted that they would be afforded that long to rest, however she didn’t stop Maple. With the mare leaving to bed down on the grass, Straken continued her cleaning. Holstering her pistol and moving on to her officer’s sword, she stared at the honed blade while she ran the cloth over the electronics on the hilt.

In her opinion, morning couldn’t come soon enough.

Mirage fidgeted with her hands while snuck glances at the… thing named Dante. He currently had his helmet on, but it still didn’t distract from the fact that he was nothing but a living suit of armour. Well, ‘living’ probably wasn’t the right word, but at the moment she couldn’t think of a better substitute.

She had sat with Night Shard even though the bat-pony was eager to ask Dante questions, the Nocturne currently the only pony that treated her with more than just hesitant acceptance. Night Shard had told her that bat-ponies didn’t really know a lot about changelings, so maybe that was the reason for her friendship. Also, Mirage had picked up that Shard was still hurting over what the Caribou had done to her, so maybe the bat-pony also just needed a friend.

“So can you feel anything?”

Mirage looked up when Night Shard asked another question in-between a bite of her sandwich, the dead soldier it was addressed at turning his ‘head’.

“I can feel through my armour’s systems,” Dante informed in his deep voice. Now that she knew about him, it was far more menacing. “Temperature, sound, sight, all are provided by the inbuilt sensors.”

“Oh,” Night Shard continued, chewing before asking another. “Why were you put back in armour, after…”

“His death?” Lead Researcher Elijah spoke up, raising a finger to the sky. “I required a test subject, and Agent Dante’s passing proved the perfect opportunity.” Mirage watched carefully while Dante’s helmet turned to look down at the scientist sitting beside him, Elijah not noticing the attention. “The project had been going on for some time, and by chance he was killed right after we had finished the final stages of preparing for production.”

“Production? Project?”

Mirage silently echoed Night Shard’s questions, the way Elijah was discussing a death seemed very cold and distant.

“What is one of the most valuable resources to an intelligence agency?”

Night Shard glanced to her, Mirage soon finding herself the focus of all three gazes.

“The… agents?” she guessed, wondering why they thought to choose her to answer. Granted, changelings were infiltrators by nature, but they were vastly different from the humans and their ways.

“Correct,” Elijah answered, patting Dante on the side. “The ISA asked for a way to somehow preserve the minds of their agents after death, so they could extract last-minute intelligence. My research team and I went one better, and gave them the gift of a second life.” Both hands were held out towards Dante, much like Elijah was presenting him. “We were already experienced in the fields of artificial intelligence, so the act of bonding a soul to a computer was simple.”

“That doesn’t sound like it has much to do with science,” Night Shard hesitantly commented, Elijah tapping his nose with a finger.

“Well my dear, let’s just say that science contains many fields that may sound absurd.”

Mirage felt a shiver run down her back at his words, she had been present at the battle on the town’s outskirts, she could guess at what ‘science’ he was referring to. Night Shard likewise stopped talking, silence descending over the four. Looking out towards the rest of the group, Mirage could see that everyone else was avoiding sitting near them. She could understand why, even when he wasn’t pummelling a king, Dante was still intimidating.

“So, Night Shard and… Mirage I believe it was?” She nodded, Elijah continuing once he knew that he had gotten her name right. “I was curious; do you two have any hobbies?”

It was a strange question, no answer coming to Mirage. Changelings weren’t exactly known for their creativity, and she herself was no example. For her, it had always been work, food and sleep.

“I used to garden,” Night Shard replied, Mirage looking towards the nocturne. “Well, before I joined the guard. I’ve still got a nice garden back home that my brother is looking after for me.” Her smile faltered for a split second. “I do hope they’re okay, and that the Caribou haven’t found them.”

“Have no fear,” Elijah attempted to reassure, smoothing down his coat sleeve. “As soon as we finish up with Dainn, I’m sure that Straken will be more than happy to help you reunite with your family.”

All of them glanced towards the Colonel, Straken sitting on a rock and running a cloth over her sword while muttering to herself with a scowl.

“Or not.” Elijah corrected, before turning back to Night Shard. “Regardless, I highly doubt that the Caribou will be allowed to just roam free willy-nilly-“

“They won’t be,” Dante told them. “Colonel Straken was arguing with Princess Luna ten minutes ago about culling the Caribou.”

“Culling?” Night Shard squeaked out, Elijah waving his hands in the air.

“Oh, don’t worry about that, I’m sure that Dante merely misheard, didn’t you Dante?”

“My audio sensors are workin- I mean yes, I misheard.”

Mirage didn’t believe the giant, everything the two were saying reeked of lies. She doubted that the humans had any interest about actually helping anyone if it didn’t suit them, she was well experienced with their type. Night Shard seemed pacified at least, the bat-pony holding a hand to her chest while she breathed out in relief.

“Oh, thank Luna,” she smiled. “For a moment there I thought-“

“Never,” Elijah cut in. “That would be terrible, wouldn’t it? Now, back on topic, I myself am quite fond to pursuing activities of the botanical nature.”

While Elijah and Shard continued to converse, Mirage settled down against the fallen log behind them. The previous conversation had killed what little enthusiasm she had possessed for talking to the scientist, and so she decided to just try and get some rest.

Leaning her head down and closing her eyes, she dozed off with her hand firmly grasping her rifle.

Dainn stared hatefully at the small fire he had made, cursing his body’s own weakness. Instead of marching through the forest all night, he’d instead had to give in to the burning in his legs. Now that he had sat down, he realised just how beaten he was.

He sported bruises from falls and impacts, cuts from where small stones had struck him during the magical duel, aches and pains all around. His armour was dented where the alien giant had charged him, and it was covered with filth and gore. His antlers and horns tingled with magical exhaustion, and his fingers were still twitching.

‘What’s the point of near unlimited magical energy if my body can’t control it?’ he questioned to himself, poking the fire with a stick. He shifted on the tree stump he was sitting on, his face set in a scowl. ‘That will have to be something to look at changing.’

His thoughts shifted towards his enemies, and the new creatures that swelled their ranks. He’d done a simple count, and had come up with four.

First off was the one that had attacked his army while they were encamped, the one that had stolen his valuables and princesses. According to the few troops that had spotted it, it was short, covered in black metal armour and male. The way they described it lead him to believe that it was some kind of wingless dragon, although he had never heard of a dragon remaining that small.

Secondly was the magic-user. The tall and thin biped was deceptive, that was for sure. Evil as well, if the totems and dark magic were anything to go off. It was a shame that he had sided with the ponies, such power would have been a boon to ally with… or steal for himself.

Thirdly was the giant brute that appeared to be undead. He had heard tales of animated golems, but never any about binding souls to armour to give it the semblance of life. Yet more work of the dark wizard he had fought, it seemed.

Lastly was the female creature that he had killed in the forest. A shame really, the being was obviously a soldier, what with the way that she had killed four of his troops before his eyes with no visible remorse. He had always found strong and proud females the most entertaining to break, however this one was lying dead in the forest mud.

“Four creatures,” he muttered to himself while poking the fire. “All of a sudden the ponies start to revolt, I get four killers against me, and my troops suddenly become incompetent.” He hadn’t realised that he was tightening his grip, and he looked down when the stick he was holding snapped. “What a terrible streak of luck that I have come across.”

Throwing the remains of the stick onto the fire, he snorted and left the log for the grass. There wasn’t much point with his heavy iron armour, but he wasn’t stupid enough to just take it off in the dangerous forest. He would have to make do trying to sleep with it on, any chance for rest one he would have to take.

Settling down on the grass, his mind churned with thoughts. He felt like there was something more to the entire picture, a feeling in his gut that he couldn’t shake off.

“Maybe I just need to worry less.” Despite his own reassurances, the feeling still didn’t go away. With nothing else to do, he closed his eyes and awaited the morning.

After all, if he gave his strength time to recover, then no amount of bad feelings could stop him for getting his much needed revenge.

“Keep on moving,” Straken ordered to the group behind her. “We’ve nearly got him.”

Orthodox ignored the weary cheers that answered her, his eyes focused on his helmet readouts.

‘Here we come,’ he thought to himself, Dainn only a kilometre away. ‘Oh, the fun times that we’ll have…’

“Agent Orthodox,” Straken’s voice cut in through his thoughts of violence. “Distance?”

“Still a kilometre,” he answered, increasing his pace.

It was early morning and they had been walking throughout the night. Three days of travel had led them from Ponyville, through the forest and past a grouping of mountains. Now they were walking through a light covering of snow, the ground punishing to their pony companion’s hooves. The number of breaks had doubled, but at least now they were finally near their quarry.

“I can smell him,” he stated to the others. “He’s running scared.”

“Actually, he doesn’t appear to know that we are following him,” Elijah cut in, ponies slowing down while the scientist came alongside him. His coat and boots were still spotless, something very strange considering that the rest of them were covered in a thick layer of grime. Orthodox wrinkled his nose, Elijah was his least favourite friend at the best of times and right now it was just getting annoying.

“How would you know? I don’t see a sensor suite on that head of yours.”

“I have my ways,” Elijah answered cryptically, causing Orthodox to roll his eyes.

“Look Elijah, no one’s going to have an issue if you just come forth and say: ‘Oh yes, I sacrificed a newborn goat this morning and Lord Satan granted me the knowledge of the inner workings of Dainn’s mind in return'. Just stop acting like such a mysterious knob.”
He ignored the gasps of the ponies behind them, Elijah looking down at him with disapproval.

“Orthodox, you should know that such fairy tales aren’t true. There’s no ‘Satan’ waiting to drag you to Hell.”

“Not true? This coming from the guy who cuts off heads to make magic spells?”

“My line of work is entirely different to those… primitive notions,” Elijah informed, his nose twitching. “I conduct science.”

“I’m sure you do,” Orthodox muttered, knowing that he wasn’t going to get Elijah to admit that he was nothing but an evil wizard. Before the scientist could continue the argument, Orthodox checked his helmet display.

“Distance?” Straken asked, seeming to know what he was doing. He glanced at her, the army Colonel already having drawn her sword. He smirked at that, it seemed like she was keen to get up close and personal with Dainn. Maybe he should let her take the King on, it might prove to be good entertainment.

“Eight-hundred and closing,” he told her, checking his own rifle before activating the power cell. He looked up ahead, a large hill of snow obscuring their view. “Get ready.”

At his words, a green flash lit up the early morning sky. They all stopped and looked up, heavy snow beginning to fall. A vicious wind began to grow, and Straken started to stride quickly to the hill. He followed, the Colonel turning her head and gesturing forwards with her officer’s sword.

“Everyone, get ready for combat!” she yelled over the steadily growing wind. “Stick together in case the weather gets worse, and I get first dibs on Dainn!”

“My, what selfishness,” Agent Stuart observed over the communications to him. Orthodox snorted in response.

“Let her try, worst case scenario is that he beats her and then we get to kill him.”

“True,” Gary conceded, and a click sounded when he ended the channel. Orthodox’s helmet optics adjusted for the snow, and he followed Straken with the ponies in tow.

‘This is it,’ he thought to himself with a grin. ‘Time for a showdown.’

Dainn continued to stumble through the snow, weary from his traveling. He hadn’t had any sustenance for days now apart from a brief drink of water from a stream. He had only his thoughts of vengeance to drive him forwards, a thin layer of snow coating his bare hooves. The worst part was that his heavy iron armour was ice cold, and it was only due to the padded interior that he hadn’t frozen to death already.

‘Just one last hill,’ he thought to himself, remembering the location of his army with a keen mind. He finally crested the top and scanned the surrounds, his brow furrowing.

He couldn’t see anything, instead of a bustling siege camp there was nothing. A flash of panic spiked through him before he relaxed, a grin on his face when he peered into the distance.

The tell-tale blue glow of the magic shield that surrounded the Crystal Empire was gone, only the faint outline of its normal magical dome remaining.

‘Ah, the Crystal Empire must have fallen,’ he realised, nodding his head and beginning the trek down the other side of the snowy hill. Energy flooded him, Dainn now striding towards the city with his head held high. ‘At least some of my soldiers prove to be decent.’

He walked for another ten minutes, hooves sinking slightly into the light snow. In his mind he could picture the fallen empire, and he hoped that his troops had saved the rulers for him. If not, well, then he could always vent some of his frustration on them instead.

Now with the Crystal Empire under his control, he had a reliable staging point to retake Equestria. He wasn’t sure about the state of the rest of the Equestrian towns and cities, but with the local guards proving to be even more incompetent than his fallen soldiers he doubted that any Caribou still held power in the pony country.

With his successful army behind him, including his obviously better generals, he was going to crush Equestria under his hooves. ‘Maybe I’ll be lenient and spare half of the females,’ he wondered, continuing to stroll through the snow. ‘After all, it’s such a waste to just kill all of the-‘

Clunk

His thoughts were interrupted when his hoof made contact with metal, Dainn looking down with a curious gaze. A glint of iron caught his eye and he bent down to investigate, his hands brushing away the snow.

He stopped and stared at the armoured gauntlet that he had revealed, the piece of armour sticking upwards with the fingers outstretched. Shaking his head with a scowl and making a note to reprimand his troops for leaving valuable equipment behind, he grasped the gauntlet and pulled.

It came off with a tug, revealing a frozen hand covered with mattered brown fur.

Dainn froze, letting go of the gauntlet and taking a step back. With dread flooding his heart, he outstretched his glowing hand and held the palm out towards the snow.

From the hand a flash of green shot out, melting the snow and revealing the grisly secret that it held underneath.

Corpses of Caribou lay forgotten, blood frozen upon surprised faces. Dainn reeled back when their hair started to burn from his magic, dead eyes locked open.

“There’s one over there!”

His head snapped up at the shout, the blood freezing in his veins. Twenty ponies, all armoured in dull armour seeming to be made from crystals, were staring straight at him. The soldiers began to advance through the snow towards him, Dainn spotting that a number of them held crossbows as well as spears.

It was then that he realised just what had happened, and what fate was in store for him.

The Crystal Empire had won, and he was doomed.

‘Not today,’ he thought, outstretching a hand towards the crystal ponies. They had closed the distance and the ones that had crossbows were taking aim, however Dainn wasn’t about to just give up. A bolt of energy shot out, and he grunted with the effort of casting the spell. Unluckily for him it fell short of the ponies themselves, however it kicked up a wall of snow and frozen body parts when it hit.

Raising his hands to the sky, he poured all of his energy into his next spell. It was risky, he hadn’t much magic left in him, but this was his one shot to escape. With another green flash that lit up the surrounding area, he called down the snow and wind. A vicious gale of wind blew into existence and snow began to rain down.

Panting with exhaustion, Dainn turned around and headed back the same way he had come. He paused only to grab a discarded broadsword from the hand of a dead soldier, the weapon not doing much to calm his pounding heart.

With his magical blizzard in force his pursuers would hopefully lose him. Normally he wouldn’t have had any qualms with just killing them, but he didn’t know how many other patrols his commotion would draw. With his body weary, his best chance was to run and not waste energy fighting pointless battles.

Seeing the hill that he had run down, he headed towards it with a desperate speed. Due to his weak magic, the blizzard that he had conjured was small in size and wouldn’t provide protection for long. He needed to escape and head back into the forest to hide, out on the snowy plains he’d be easy pickings for the Crystal Empire soldiers.

Dashing up the hill with a glance behind him, he saw no ponies following him through the snowstorm. Panting, he turned his head around once he had crested the hill, only to be met with the most unexpected sight.

The female alien, the one that he was sure he had killed, was a mere body-length away from him with surprise in her eyes.

Dainn had only time to blink in shock before she snarled and charged, a thin sword swiping in an arc towards his head.
Raising his blade, he just managed to block the female’s strike. Before he could even retort she had raised another object in her other hand, the short and stocky weapon glowing a bright blue. Knowing the danger that the alien’s ranged weapons presented, he did the only thing possible.

Dainn lunged forwards in a tackle, dropping his sword in the process. The glowing weapon let out a bright bolt of energy while the alien stumbled, the discharge flying up into the sky. He collided with her midsection, one of his antlers knocking the sword out of her grasp and causing a sharp spike of pain to soar through his head. The two fell to the snowy ground and started to roll down the hill, Dainn’s mind working overdrive.

He tried to channel a magic bolt through his hand and into her chest, but another pang of pain ran through him. Wincing, he could do nothing while they continued their downward journey. They stopped with a thud at the bottom of the hill, snow still falling around them with the wind howling in his ears.

A glint of metal was the only warning he got, Dainn jerking his head back just in time for a blade to pass a mere hair’s breadth from his face. Scrambling back on all four limbs, he quickly got to his feet only to be set upon again by the alien.

He dodged her strike with a roll to the side, turning around he faced his opponent.

The alien had a large cut down her face that was leaking blood, however it was already clotting closed. Her face was no longer locked in a scowl, but instead she possessed the cold, hard look of seasoned killer. Before he could even catch his breath, she flipped the knife over in her hand so that the blade was facing downwards and charged at him again.

With no other options, he lashed out with his hands in an attempt to halt her attack. His right arm stung when the razor-sharp pieced the skin; however the tip stopped just short of his face. Struggling to push it away, his knees quivered when the alien actually made ground and sunk the tip into his check. His hand clenched down on her forearm, Dainn feeling toned muscle underneath the dirty green cloth.

He lashed out with a kick while jerking his head back, the blade leaving his face with a generous coating of his blood while its wielder stumbled on her feet. With both hands he went for the knife, hoping to take it off of her and end the fight. Before he could seize the advantage a vicious blow struck him on the cut on his cheek, Dainn sent reeling with stars of pain in his vision. Another punch followed up to his nose, stunning him.

Hitting the ground with a thump, he was vaguely aware of a weight falling atop him. With a start he realised that she was pinning him, ice-cold blue eyes staring at him while the alien’s knife descended towards his throat. In a desperate attempt he raised his hands once more, roaring when the knife blade punched through a palm and only stopped when the hilt hit bone.

With his multiple wounds burning with agony, he lashed out with a sharp head-butt. The female grunted when he struck her on the forehead and her grip slackened. With his legs he rolled them over in the snow so that he was on top, and with the knife still embedded in his palm he forced it down towards her.

Her hand shot out and grasped him around the wrist, her face scrunched up with concentration. She struggled to stop him from stabbing her, but as soon as he added his second hand to the fight the knife resumed its descent downwards. He aimed for her soft throat, the bloodied tip of the knife drawing ever closer to the skin. His muscles burned and his body ached, but still his lips curled up into desperate smile.

A muffled bang sounded from beneath him, a searing pain shooting through his chest. Another shot rang out, this one striking him just near the groin. He bellowed with agony and increased his force, vaguely aware of a metal barrel pressing up against his neck.
A third shot, this one from the left of them, rang out.

Dainn felt the strength leave his body, the world slowing down. Looking down at his own chest, he let his hands drop. A hole was punched through the breastplate, hot blood pumping out before his eyes.

Dainn, King of the Caribou and Conqueror of Equestria, closed his eyes and collapsed down upon the very alien that he had come so close to killing.

The snow continued to fall, and the last thing he heard was hurried hoofsteps through the snow.

Lieutenant Blaze lowered her rifle, the blizzard around her starting to lessen in force.

She stared at the Colonel and King, her hands shaking with what she had just done.

She’d shot him. She’d killed Dainn.

Blaze’s mind froze for a few moments, going over the information again and again. The rifle in her hands felt non-existent, and she stared at the two beings that before her intervention had been locked in a life-or-death struggle. Movement caught her eye, and she saw Colonel Straken twitch.

“Colonel!”

Her gun dropped from her hands and she raced towards the Colonel. Reaching her, she pushed the limp body of Dainn off before dragging Straken away. Looking over the human whom she had come to respect, she winced when she noticed the multiple cuts and bruises. Straken was dazed, a smoking handgun clenched in her hand.

“Nice shot, Pony.” Blaze tore her eyes away from Straken at the comment from Agent Stuart, the human bending down over Straken. She briefly noticed Lead Researcher Elijah making a beeline towards Dainn, the scientist crouching over the fallen King with his back towards them.

“Is the Colonel alright?” Princess Luna approached from behind them, the rest of the ponies spreading out and staring at the spectacle.

“She’ll be fine,” Agent Stuart replied. “She’s ex-commandos after all.”

With that he slapped her on the cut cheek, Straken’s eyes shooting open.

“Damn it!” she cursed, levelling her compact pistol towards Stuart. He raised his hands and she sat up, Straken lowering her gun and glancing around at them all. “Where’s Dainn, is he dead!?”

“He’s dead.”

All looked over towards Elijah, the scientist standing back up and nudging the King’s body with a foot.

Straken nodded at the information, before running a hand down her bloodstained face. “Good. Urggh, I’ve fallen out of practice.”

“Are you kidding?” Agent Orthodox spoke up, calmly strolling towards them. “That fight was awesome! I’ve got it all on tape, and the fact that a pony fired the last shot was just beautiful.” He clapped his armoured hands together. “He almost had you too, you should be thankful that Blaze shot him.”

“I was just about to shoot him myself,” Straken informed, looking at her handgun before replacing it into her boot. “Blaze simply got in first.”

“We can cease this bickering,” Luna pointed out. “Our enemy lies dead in the snow, it’s over.”

“It’s far from over,” Straken replied, grunting while Agent Stuart helped her get to her feet. “We’ve still got Caribou to wipe out.”

“Imprison,” Luna stressed, earning a scowl from Straken.

“Yes… imprison,” the human spat with distaste.

Any further conversation was interrupted with further hoofsteps approaching. The magic blizzard had stopped and when Blaze looked up she could see a mass of crystal pony troops approaching them.

“Hello!” one of the leading crystal ponies yelled out, Luna grinning before advancing towards them. Blaze squinted, a familiar stallion leading the hundreds of new soldiers.

“Shining Armour!” Luna cried out, both leaders moving out to meet each other. “You have managed to hold out!”

Ponies from both sides rushed into the middle to meet each other, the Equestrians filled with hope while the crystal ponies eyed the human weaponry with awe. Blaze started to head towards a group of finely armoured crystal pony officers, before a hand was placed on her shoulder. Turning her head, she saw Colonel Straken looking at her.

Was that a smile?

“Thanks Blaze,” Straken acknowledged with a nod and whisper. “Don’t tell the others, but you saved my behind back there. “

Blaze smiled back, returning the nod. “Don’t mention it, anything for a friend.”

Blaze’s comprehension of the world shattered when Straken pulled her into a brief hug, the normally cold Colonel letting go with a final pat on the back. “You did well; you’re a fine officer for a primitive.”

“And you’re a surprisingly good hugger for a cranky space alien.”

Both let out a small chuckle, before making their way towards Luna. Before they could take a single step, however, Agent Orthodox turned around and pointed towards the sky.

“Incoming!”

Blaze followed his finger, an object streaking down from the sky towards them. Fire covered the metal cylinder, a roaring sound filling the air. Equestrians, Crystal Ponies and humans dived to the ground, scattering out of the way. The object showed no signs of slowing and smacked into the snow with a massive boom, upheaving snow and dirt.

Blaze, crouching down with her arms over her head, removed them to open her eyes.

The grey cylinder was steaming, the snow around it melted into nothing. Dirt and more snow continued to rain down from the violent displacement, Blaze wincing when a groaning sound sounded from the metal object.

A ramp thumped onto the ground and a bipedal figure stepped out. Blaze recognised the black armour with the single white skull icon, looking the same as Gary’s and Orthodox’s. Two blue eyes shone with light from the helmet, the figure now fully emerged from the pod.

The newcomer, who Blaze assumed was a new human soldier, looked around at them all. In his left hand he held a gun glowing with the same blue energy of Straken’s pistol, however the weapon he held looked more like a cannon compared to the handgun. In his other was an equally large weapon, this one sporting ten barrels all linked together in a circle. A huge ammunition belt, each bullet bigger than one of her fingers, fed into the multi-barrelled gun from a huge pack on the newcomer’s back.

“Have no fear, fellow soldiers and native bipedal equines,” the figure announced with a male voice dripping with heroism. “I have answered your calls of distress, and I am here to help free you from your debased tormenters. I pledge my life to defeating the slaver scum that have for so long kept you under the cruel yolk of servitude and I promise to-“

“Nigel,” Orthodox interrupted with a shake of his head. “It’s already over.”

The figure paused for a few moments, Blaze tilting her head.

“I missed it?” the soldier named ‘Nigel’ inquired.

“Yup,” Agent Stuart confirmed, gesturing to the body of Dainn that Elijah was guarding. “We’ve already killed the King.”

The new human was still, Blaze wondering what was happening. Her confusion was shared all around, crystal pony and Equestrian equally puzzled.

“Fuck!” the new human cursed loudly, storming back into the object that he had arrived in. “That’s the second time this month!”

The ramp closed behind him, sealing him inside. From the closed pod they could hear muffled curses and banging, Orthodox walking in front of it and shrugging his shoulders.

“Eh, he’ll get over it.”

Celestia raised her head from the pillow, her sister entering the room with three guards in tow.

“Sister!” Luna greeted, lunging forward to hug and nuzzle her. “You’re better!”

Despite everything that had happened, Celestia smiled at their reunion. “Indeed Luna, however I wish that I had not regained my memory.” Luna stopped nuzzling at this, however the hug continued.

“Oh, so you remember everything?”

“I do, I don’t think that I’ll ever forget,” she shuddered. “However, I must ask, how are-“

“Our subjects are safe,” Luna informed, a grimace on her face. “Some are still… damaged from the Caribou, however with the help of the humans we have driven the Caribou out of our country.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow, and she sat up in her bed. “Humans?”

“Creatures from planets beyond the stars,” Luna told her. “They aren’t the best of peoples, however in this instance they are on our side. They despise slavers, and they have sent soldiers to assist us in defeating them.” Her sister’s face hardened. “Even now, I only just convinced them to not kill every last Caribou. There are still many reported cases of Caribou apparently ‘resisting arrest’, resulting in field executions without trial.”

“What did you arrange?” Celestia questioned, not entirely sure that she was against the destruction of the Caribou after the pain that they had delivered upon her ponies.

“The humans are rounding up every last Caribou they can find on the planet, and are taking them to a planet they said serves as a prison colony.”

“How is that possible?”

Luna hesitated. “This may be hard for you to comprehend in your current state, sister, but they have… a fleet of spaceships in orbit. Their forces are gigantic in number with deadly technology, as we speak they are combing the planet and capturing Caribou.”

Celestia nodded and closed her eyes, taking a second to gather her thoughts. It was just like a foal’s story; however instead of conquering the planet the aliens had actually helped them.

There was, however, one question that she had to ask.

“And Dainn?”

“Dead,” Luna informed, Celestia spotting a twitch of a smile on her sister’s face. “He was fighting one of the humans when a guardmare, Lieutenant Blaze of the Solar Guard, shot him dead with a human weapon. One of the human scientists has claimed his body for research, and has left the planet with Dainn’s corpse.” Luna tightened her grip. “He’s gone forever, Sister.”

“Good,” Celestia replied, starting to get out of bed.

“Sister, you need your rest,” Luna told her, placing a hand on her shoulder and pushing her back down. “You’re still weak.”

“But our ponies need me.”

“I’ll look after them,” Luna told her, a determined look in our eyes. “I’ve made a deal with the humans. In exchange for trade deals and permission for them to send research teams, they will assist us and the other countries with rebuilding. Already they have provided us with assistance from their healers and supplies, and they have promised more.”

Giving up and laying back down, Celestia looked Luna in the eyes. “You said they weren’t ‘the best of peoples’, can we trust them?”
Luna seemed to gain a look in her eyes, as if she was recalling certain events.

“We can,” she answered. “They are what we would normally view as evil, however they have shown no ill-will towards us. We aren’t a threat to them, and a few even pity us for what has happened.”

“It still doesn’t feel right, allowing them to have so much control without even meeting them,” Celestia murmured, more to herself than to Luna. “However, I guess we don’t have much choice.”

“I will ensure that everything goes okay,” Luna reassured, stepping towards the doorway.

With a smile, Celestia nodded towards her sister. “Thank you, I trust you to do a good job.”

“I will endeavour to ensure that our subjects recover fully from their foul experience,” Luna smiled back. “Have a good rest, Sister.”

“I will,” Celestia acknowledged, closing her eyes when the door to her room shut. “Thanks to you, I can.”

With that, she returned to sleep, leaving the hospital room in silence save from her light breathing.

Straken glared at the communication hologram, the Princess on the other end giving her a stare back.

“You will promise to uphold our bargain, and to ensure that every Caribou makes it to your prison planet alive?”

She was beginning to regret deciding to take charge of the Caribou prisoners, traveling with them on the UIP Navy Cruiser that was serving as a prisoner transport. The Captain of the starship had conceded authority over to her, having no desire to deal with either the thousands of prisoners or the demands of Princess Luna.

“I assure you, Princess,” Straken replied with a clenched fist. “Every single one of the Caribou on this ship will be transported to the prison, where they will atone for their crimes.”

Luna continued to gaze at her, before she nodded her head once more. “Good, are you planning to return to the planet? My sister wishes to thank you personally.”

“I will not be planning to return for some time,” Straken answered curtly. “I have to return to my former position. Inform your sister to pass on her thanks to the UIP as a whole, I’m sure that whichever officer is assigned to your planet will be positively delighted to receive it.”

“I’m sure that they will be far more concerned with mourning the loss of your friendly presence,” Luna calmly answered back without a single visibly hint of mockery. “I wish you a safe trip, Colonel. Now, how do I turn this off?”

“This button here, Ma’am,” a UIP Army Communications Officer informed Princess Luna, before the communication channel was shut off.

Straken swivelled around on her chair as soon as it did, facing the bustling ship’s bridge. The ship’s captain, Captain Adrian Winchester, twirled his bushy brown moustache while he glanced down at her from his command chair.

“Yet more demands?”

“Correct,” Straken answered, getting out her seat and pointing towards four grey-armoured marines at the side of the room. “You four, with me.”

“Colonel,” the Captain spoke up. Straken paused and met his gaze, brown eyes meeting hers. “You aren’t possibly thinking of defying the orders of our new acquaintances, hmm?”

In response, Straken narrowed her eyes. “I’ll need to borrow a few more of your marines.”

The Captain chuckled, the deck crew around him looking between the two before focusing back on their readouts. “Of course you can, Colonel.” With that out of the way, she nodded and resumed moving towards the door. “One more thing, Colonel Straken.”

Grinding her teeth, Straken looked up at the amused Captain. “Yes?”

“Please make use of the airlocks after you’re done,” Winchester requested before leaning back in his chair. “I’d rather avoid having such filth create a mess in my ship.”

Straken’s face twitched into a smile, and she nodded her head in agreement. “But of course Captain, that was my plan from the start.”

“Good,” Winchester replied with a smile of his own. “Do be quick, I wish to be back into port within a week.”

Without another word, Straken opened the door and left the bridge with her borrowed soldiers in tow.

She had prisoners to take care of, after all.

Dainn awoke with a groan, his mind fuzzy. He was vaguely aware of a cool feeling around him, and he blinked his eyes open to be met with a harsh light.

“I assure you, I’ll refrain from damaging him too much. You don’t need to worry Cornelius; your department will have ample time to study the specimen with his faculties intact.”

Oh no. He knew that muffled voice. That was the voice of the evil mage that he had fought near the pony town.

He tried to move his limbs but found them stuck in place. Blinking the light out of his eyes, he angled his head to inspect his body.

He was lying in a pure white pod of some sort, his arms somehow clamped down at his sides while his legs were just as immobilised. There were no visible restraints, however he was aware of some sort of energy binding his limbs to the surface resting upon. With his heart pumping, he glanced around his prison.

Lights were in the ceiling overhead, the source of the blinding white light. Looking to the right, he saw a far more distressing sight.
A tray was sitting on a simple grey bench, numerous tools and sharp implements lying upon it next to syringes filled with liquids of different colours. A set of antlers were placed on the table, a device with scrolling lines of alien script on a screen connected to them via cables.

With a heavy heart he realised that they were his antlers, now that he looked at it there was no way he would have been able to fit in the pod-prison. That also meant no magic until his antlers regrew, which meant at least a month stuck in whatever Tartarus the mage would subject him to.

“I’ll have to call you back Cornelius, the specimen has awoken.”

Looking towards his left, Dainn noticed a doorway slide sideways into the wall. He briefly got a glimpse of a starry night sky through a large window, a mass of blinking lights and alien controls filling the rest of the room, before a figure of nightmares strolled through the entrance.

“Ah, you have awoken, Your Highness,” the mage observed, leaning over to glance down at the side of the pod. “You’re healing well. Good, we need you in tip-top condition.”

“W-what?” he managed out, his throat dry and parched. The mage grinned at him and sat down on the side of the pod, leaning back and looking at him.

“You nearly died,” the alien stated simply. “My, Straken and that Pony Lieutenant got you good. I had to remove a bullet from your stomach on the field, without them noticing as well.” The alien waved a hand in the air. “Do you know how difficult it is to find a vane through fur? I nearly didn’t get the serum into you in time.”

“Serum?”

He didn’t like where this was going.

“Why, the serum to fake your death,” the mage explained casually. “Let’s be honest, Straken and the others weren’t about to just let me take you alive, Hell they nearly finished you off then and there. It’s funny, I had to save your life and then make it look like you were dead. Can you believe that?”

“Let me go, Demon!” Dainn began to thrash. In truth he couldn’t believe it; however he knew for certain that he had no desire to play a part in this nightmare. His efforts were fruitless though, and all he earned was a disappointed tutting from the mage.

“Such a shame, and here I was hoping you’d be a decent ship guest.” The mage left his seat and began to touch a glowing panel on the side of the pod, multiple beeps ringing out while his fingers danced on the surface. “I guess I’ll just have to put you to sleep for the rest of our trip.”

“You bastard!” Dainn insulted, the mage not even flinching while he stepped away from the pod.

“Oh lighten up,” he advised, a drone sounding out while another section of white began to close the top of the pod. “I assure you, once we return to my colleagues you’ll make plenty of friends. Sweet dreams.”

The top of the prison closed, locking Dainn in the darkness with only his own screams for company.

The small grey spaceship continued its flight throughout the cosmos, heading to a region of space not found on any star charts.

The reign of King Dainn was no more.

Spike watched while Twilight took another sip of tea, his claws clenched around his own cup of apple juice.

Here he was, surrounded by six of his friends, and yet he felt like he wasn’t supposed to be there at all.

They had all forgiven him for his loss of control, Twilight thankfully having recovered from the effects of the Caribou magic. He still didn’t believe it though, every time he looked at Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Applejack or Rainbow he still felt the guilt well up. Twilight had been distant as well, no longer laughing at his jokes.

His only condolence was that he hadn’t… done ‘that’ with any of them during the occupation, although he still regrated ever single second of treating Twilight like a slave.

He took a sip of juice and glanced around, the girls all talking with smiles on their faces. It had been two weeks since Princess Luna had freed Equestria with the help of the humans, and thankfully all six of his friends had helped each other to recover. He stared back down at his cup, letting out a sigh while remembering that he had been a part of their torment.

“Hey, Spike.”

He looked up, Twilight sitting down beside him while the others continued their own conversation.

“Yes?” he asked, refusing to make eye contact.

“Are you okay?”

“I guess,” he replied, swirling his juice around. “I should be the one asking you that, though.”

Twilight sighed, and he looked up when she put a hand on his shoulder. “Spike, I now that you still feel guilty, but we’ve all forgiven you. Even Big Mac couldn’t fight off the Caribou magic, and we’ve also forgiven him as well. We know that you and the stallions didn’t have a choice, you weren’t yourself.”

“I still feel like it was my fault,” he confessed.

“It wasn’t,” Twilight told him, before she smiled. “You’re still my number one assistant.”

He couldn’t help but grin at his title, and he felt some of the guilt fade away. “You mean it?”

“Of course I do,” she told him, Spike finding himself in a hug.

“Hey, look up there!”

Spike and Twilight both looked up towards the night sky at Pinkie’s call, a shower of shooting stars zipping across the night sky.
The hundreds turned into thousands, all of them streaking across before disappearing. All of them gazed with open mouths at the scene, and he broke the silence.

“Wow, so many wishes…”

All six of his friends voiced their agreements, Spike leaning into Twilight’s embrace.

He didn’t need to make a wish, things were already returning to normal.

The End.

Author's Note

And so we reach the conclustion.

~~Evil has fallen, and Good has won!~~ Ah, I mean, at least the ponies are okay?

That's all that matters, right?

Yes, well, moving on, this fic is finally over. I admit, it's not the best subject to base a fic on, but it does have it's uses.

Some may ask 'but what about all of the loose ends?' Well, I have always had a soft spot for sequels...

Well, it's over for now, so until next time.

Be Careful What You Wish For

As a new day dawned in the former country of Equestria, a single caribou mage by the name of Rudolf was already up and working. Clad in a single black robe the young mage flicked through yet another spell book in the Canterlot castle library, browsing for any spell that might ease his anxiety. The de-horned, naked, yellow unicorn mare kneeling down in the corner with a collar attached by a chain to the wall was also meant to release his anxiety, however right now Rudolf lusted for knowledge and not for carnal pleasure.

His personal slave kept quiet, it had only been two weeks since the caribou had successfully invaded Equestria and already she was broken in like the good little pet she was. Rudolf smiled as he continued to flick through the spell book he was holding, the first night in which he had acquired her had been one of the best he had had. Breaking her in for the first time as she begged was a moment which he wished he could have recorded. He still wore her pretty yellow horn around his neck to provide him with extra magical energy.

His hands flicked through the pages and stopped as he eyed a particular spell title, an entry titled: ‘Summoning Spells, From Frogs to Couches, All That Your Heart Desires.’ It seemed that spending the early hours of the morning amongst the dusty bookcases had payed off.

Rudolf grinned as he imagined getting a new mare, one that he could break all over again. All the ponies not already accepting of their new positions as the bottom of society had already been claimed by higher leaders or had been locked in that Castle dungeons with special ‘treatment’ until they submitted. He pictured in his mind the ideal candidate: a strong, iron-willed beauty preferably with large tits and a nice rump would be amazing. It would be even better if she was a guard, those mares where apparently the most entertaining to ruin.

He eagerly read the spell, finding it quite simple actually which was a bonus. He wasn’t the strongest of caribou magic users but he was able to hold his own, his specialty being slave control measures. Smirking, he walked back over to his pet and groped her chest, the unicorn moaning through her red gag as Rudolf’s hand kneaded her young breasts.

Preparing himself, Rudolf concentrated, pictured the descriptions of his ideal female and summoned magic to his antlers, the unicorn horn around his neck glowing as he drew excess power from it. Rudolf probably didn’t need to but he wanted his perfect female so bad that some more power couldn’t hurt. He kept smiling as a glowing red circle appeared on the floor as the unicorn beside him whimpered in fear at his magical might.

It was only a simple spell so Rudolf was certain that nothing would go wrong, he was confident in his own abilities and that was all that was needed.

United Imperium of Planets Army Colonel Tabitha Straken stood in front of the full length mirror, ensuring that her olive-green army dress uniform was satisfactory. Although she was relatively well-endowed the armoured vest under her uniform hid her chest, something she didn’t mind. Large boobs may be good for securing the support of horny older officers but they weren’t that useful for stopping bullets or energy shots.

Her room on board the orbital station was barren, a small space containing a mirror, wardrobe, set of drawers and a single bed with a nightstand. She was currently attending some courses on advance battlefield control, learning about new communication technology that was being developed to assist Command and Control officers like her to shift through the tons of data that was a part of any major military operation.

A set of cold blue eyes stared back at her, Straken running a comb that was clutched in her white-gloved hand through her jet-black hair that contrasted her pale white face, all three features common for those descended from her ice-covered home-world of Spriggen. Her freshly polished jackboots shone as did the golden buttons and medals on her uniform. Her trusty officer’s sword hung from her brown belt in its white scabbard, the blade passed down from her father when she had obtained her commission all those years ago.

On her left hip, sat a bulky black leather holster that contained her special issue plasma pistol, the sidearm packing more of a punch then ballistic or laser weaponry but its downside was that it was a much larger gun. Straken didn’t mind, she had found that having a very large, aggressive looking pistol strapped to you tended to encourage people to listen to what you had to say. It wasn’t just for intimidation however; Tabitha knew how to use it thanks to her prior training and experience. Four years of compulsory service in the standard infantry from age eighteen may seem harsh but it was effective in breeding efficient soldiers.

Her uniform in order, Straken placed her comb in her breast pocket and made one final check as she bent down to lift her right pant leg. Strapped to the inside of her leg in small holsters was a simple combat knife and a single ballistic sidearm, the snub-nosed handgun compact but still packing a punch. Tabitha had found put over the years that one could not be too careful, an extra gun or knife could make all of the difference in a fight for survival.

Standing back up she smoothed her uniform, casting a final glance in the mirror that contained her six-foot tall form. She looked professional and dangerous at the same time, her awards for combat service in multiple regiments as well as a few for bravery and valour shining bright on her chest. A final nod to herself and she exited her temporary quarters into the hustle and bustle of a military space station at breakfast time.

She strolled past troops armoured in the dull grey full armour of UIP Navy marines and technicians. Lower-ranking officers in uniforms like hers except with less medals saluted as she walked past, the green uniforms of army personnel broken up by the blue of the navy and the occasional black of the special warfare departments. Straken steered clear of any black-uniformed soldiers, the UIP’s many intelligence departments were infamous around the know universes for their seemingly unlimited capacity for cruelty.

Straken eventually made it to the station’s primary personnel teleporters; the large, elevator-like devices used for transit to the military garrison world below where her course was taking place. A large man in the uniform of the Internal Security Agency walked past her towards the centre device, Straken so focused on taking the teleporter furthest away from him that she accidently walked into one that was powered down. She didn’t notice the ‘Out of Order’ sign slightly hidden behind a pair of chatting mechanics.

Realising what she had done, Straken debated leaving for another teleporter but gave up when she decided that walking out of the non-functioning teleporter would be too much of an embarrassment. Glancing outside she pressed the button that closed the teleporter door, the solid metal barrier sealing her off from the outside noise. Relying on her past service in the drop-pod commando corps she bent down and located the hidden panel under the control console.

Opening the panel she flicked the switch that turned the teleporter on, a warm yellow light illuminating the room as the device powered on. Allowing herself a brief smile at her success Straken keyed in her destination and pressed the accept button.
Nothing happened.

Her smug look fading, Tabitha resorted to the tried and true tactic of rapidly hammering the button until the infernal machine worked. A red glow surrounded her which caused the Colonel to stop, the soldier preparing for transport as she clasped her hands behind her back. Only then did she notice that she hadn’t transported yet and that the colour around her was red and not the normal light blue that one saw in UIP teleporters.

‘Well, looks like I’m going to be late for class,’ was all she had time to think before she disappeared in a flash, the teleporter never activating as it powered itself down.

Rudolf clapped his hands together gleefully as a form took shape in his summoning circle, a tall and slender bipedal figure obscured by bright red smoke. His pet whimpered in fear electing Rudolf to slap her across the muzzle, sending the unicorn to the floor where she lay. The caribou was not concerned about his property however; he was just about to get a new toy after all. He prepared his shock stick, the magical black baton charged with energy in case the female materialising was a little more aggressive than he expected.

His look of glee turned into confusion as instead of a pony that he had hoped for a strange creature clothed in what looked like military garb was standing in the circle instead. The being appeared female if the eyes and furless facial features were an indication, not a pony, caribou, griffon, zebra, minotaur or even a changeling but a completely new creature. The new arrival seemed just as puzzled as he was, the female staring at him and the unicorn in shock. Rudolf was broken from his examination of the female, in particular the sword it had, as the pet beside him seemed to murmur in awe from her spot on the floor.

Knowing that all females were weak creatures, Rudolf came to the conclusion that a show of dominance by himself would confirm his high social position equivalent to the alpha male in whatever social structure the alien came from. Raising his baton Rudolf struck the pet on the back, the mare squealing as electricity coursed through her body causing her to spasm on the ground.

Another hit and the squeals were replaced with pained moans, Rudolf satisfied with both his pet’s level of volume and his show of force. He moved back up and faced the creature with a smug look in preparation to order her to service him; however he was met by a dark grey object with a black circle glowing blue in the middle pointed directly at his face.

The clothed female eyed him with harsh blue eyes as she held the large object in her left hand, a hate-filled sneer on her angular face as she revealed sharp canine teeth.

“Slaver,” she spat in a cold voice, Rudolf snapping out of his trance to raise his stun stick once more. The alien was faster however, the title ‘Slaver’ the last word the young caribou mage heard before a bright blue plasma bolt impacted his face, burnt off his flesh and then annihilated his skull in an explosion of blood and bone.

Straken lowered her gun towards the creature that was still alive, the snivelling alien a female judging from the mammary glands and crotch area. Straken examined the sobbing being through the sights of her weapon, trying to compare the creature to any known xeno species either allied with the UIP or against them.

The female had hooves on her hind legs, hands with four fingers and a thumb on her arms, a covering of fur that was a light yellow in colour and short-cut brown hair. A short tail matching the hair was splayed out on the ground as the creature stared up at Straken in fear as it lay on its back.

Tabitha had the impression that the alien was like a strange combination of a colourful horse and a human, the being having a small muzzle on its face, extremely large, brown eyes and horse-like ears. Unlike a horse however its breasts where located on its chest like a human’s, Tabitha casually noting that the female’s nipples were brown like its hair and eyes. Also of note was the strange growth in the middle of the forehead, the bony yellow protrusion barely visible.

The Colonel gazed down at the corpse of the deceased slaver, a small pool of blood growing around what was left of his ravaged head. She noted that the creature looked like a bipedal moose with hands, the being wearing a plain black robe. Deciding that he would be of no use to her for information, Straken checked that they were still alone before crouching down next to the terrified alien.

“Listen here Creature,” Straken addressed, hoping that the alien could understand her, “can you understand what I am saying?”
A nod from the teary female confirmed to Straken the creatures did indeed speak English, not that great a surprise as one would expect. The UIP had extended its influence across a wide stretch of space and primitive local populations often picked up the Empire’s primary language from traders. What surprised Tabitha the most was that it seemed like slavery existed here, given the UIP’s track record of slaver extermination she doubted that the Empire knew of this planet.

“I’m going to remove your gag now,” Straken instructed slowly to ensure that her message got across. “Scream or yell and I will kill you,” the plasma pistol was moved closer, “bite me and I certainly will kill you, understand?” A rapid nod was received from the alien, Tabitha releasing the clamps of the red ball-gag with her free gloved-hand.

The gag was removed with a plop, the human throwing it on the ground as the alien breathed in a deep lungful of air. Tabitha allowed her a brief moment before the questioning began.

“What is the name of this planet?” she asked firmly, the creature’s eyes seeming to lose focus for a second before they returned to full awareness.

“It’s… it’s called Hesperia,” the alien replied shakily, bracing as if Straken was going to hit her for replying.

“What is your name?” was the next question, the creature still trembling as a stream of blood from the dead caribou nearly touched a hind hoof.

“It’s ‘Pet’ or ‘Slave’ depending on how Master is feeling,” she mumbled out as she glanced to the dead body next to her. “You killed Master though, so now I don’t know. Why did you do that?” Straken attributed the question to what had no doubt been days spent in a submissive role, most likely mental conditioning to ensure obeisance. She gestured to the dead alien with her free hand as she leaned towards the creature that stared up at her.

“That beast is no longer your master, no one is. What was your name before you were enslaved?” It looked like the alien was struggling to remember her own name, Tabitha questioning just how long she had been held for. Judging from the looks of the creature she still seemed relatively healthy, most slaves, sexual or otherwise tended to show serious signs of abuse after a few weeks in her experience meaning that the female had been enslaved only a few weeks ago at most.

“It was, it was,” the alien was having difficulty retrieving the information, Straken wondering if memory suppression techniques had been employed on the female. A spark of happiness appeared in the creature’s eyes as a small smile appeared on her face. “I remember now! My name is Maple Fields!” the alien was elated at her revelation, Straken cutting off any further celebration.

“Good, now what are you?”

“I’m a pony, a unicorn mare,” Straken watched as Maple Fields touched the bony stump on her forehead with a hand before the ‘mare’ glanced at the body of the other creature. She looked to Straken for permission, the Colonel warily nodding for the ‘pony’ to proceed as Straken kept her gun trained on the equine as Fields reached down the front of the body’s robes. The creature withdrew a silver necklace decorated with a horn, Straken noticing that the horn was the same yellow as the pony.

“What happened?” Straken inquired again, Maple Fields glancing back towards the body on the ground. “He can’t hurt you anymore,” Tabitha reassured, the pony gathering herself as she breathed deeply.

“I know, I just feel so… unsure,” another look towards the gun and the alien soon continued. “The Caribou came during the Summer Festival, they took the guard completely by surprised as they teleported in. I don’t know how they do magic, I’ve only seen Mast… them use their antlers when they have a unicorn horn. They all had big breastplates, nets and stun sticks which they then used to start to hurt ponies to capture them. Princess Celestia was beaten by a warrior and they removed her horn in front of us, I don’t know where Princess Luna was but a day later she was being walked like a dog as she was spanked. We are all expected to walk on all fours to ‘remind us of our place.’

The Caribou told us all that the gods had deemed that females were merely meant to serve males, considering how weak and frail we are.” Maple Fields hung her head, Straken observing that the mare still believed some aspects of the controlling rhetoric. “We all had collars put on us and banned us from wearing clothes,” the mare nodded towards the black collar still around her neck securing her to the wall, “and we were either given away, used right there and then claimed or auctioned off. The caribou told all of the stallions that it was their right to use mares as objects and most of them soon joined the caribou with only a few resisting.”

Straken spat on the ground at this information, the soldier fuming as she heard how the majority of the male population turned against their own females for their personal gains. She was confident that in the same situation that any males in the UIP would fight to the death rather then submit to such debauched slavers.

“That was two weeks ago,” Maple went on. “Any stallion that refused to rape a mare then was locked up in the dungeons with a few of the more violent mares in the guard. Every day the Caribou remind us of the punishments that they all are facing for their actions, even foals aren’t spared.” Maple actually started to weep again at the reminder of what happened. “Colts are being brought up to be just like the Caribou while fillies are either kept to be trained as good slaves or claimed by the more horrible males.” Straken’s anger had reached boiling point, however one could not tell from her calm exterior.

The Colonel stood up and unsheathed her sword as Maple looked at the weapon in amazement while a cyan sheen covered the silver metal, the powerfield of the sword activating with a hum. Straken brought it down, severing the chain that held the mare to the wall as Maple closed her eyes. The pony opened them once it became apparent that the scary female was not going to kill her, the furless alien gesturing with her sword in an upwards motion.

“Come on, get up,” Straken commanded, the pony scrambling to get off the ground. As the naked mare stood up, making no effort to cover herself, Straken noted that the pony was short, only coming up to her chest. Maple stared up at her tall saviour with awe.

“What’s your name and what are you?” Maple questioned, Straken debating for a while whether to answer the query before deciding that fostering some trust between the pony could lead to more useful information about the situation.

“I am Tabitha Straken, Colonel in the United Imperium of Planets Army, Command and Control Corps.” The mare took in the military garb and weapons of Tabitha, only now fully comprehending that before her stood a high-ranking military officer from an alien race. “As for what I am,” Straken pressed on as she withdrew a small silver pen-like object from her breast pocket, “I’m a human but all that matters to you is that I am a soldier from space.”

“Oh, I knew I hadn’t seen a creature like you before,” Maple commented, Tabitha not responding as she pressed a button down on the silver device she held to her mouth, a beep sounding as Straken kept her gun trained on the doorway.

“This is UIPA Colonel Tabitha Straken of the Command and Control Corps, ID number three-four-seven-three-nine-seven-ten-slash-twenty-B. Issuing a urgent call for assistance from all available assets, co-ordinates unknown but I am currently stranded in hostile territory alone. Local society is in aftermath of hostile takeover, occupants speak English and large amounts of slavery are present. In accordance with order Thirty-Seven-B I am engaging hostiles to the best of my ability, requesting immediate backup.”

Maple trembled as the human put the device back in her pocket, the mare understanding most of what Straken had said. She had interpreted that the human had asked for help somehow and was now planning to go out to fight the Caribou.

“Wait! You can’t go out there!” Maple protested, fearful for her own safety and that of her new friend. Straken continued to check her weapons and equipment, the solider carrying spare energy packs for her pistols in her belt and a small pouch contained a case of cyanide pills in case of capture. Tabitha had sent off her sub-space message, with all of her equipment ready she was going to do what was expected of any UIP citizen in a situation like this.

She was going to kill as many Caribou and pony stallions that were aiding them as she could before re-enforcements arrived, she killed every hostile or she fell in combat either by an enemy or her own hand if capture was likely.

“It’s simple pony,” Straken didn’t use the mare’s name in order to prevent attachment. “I’m going to do what your males should have done and attempt to eliminate every filthy slaver that stains the ground with their presence. No matter if I die, my comrades will arrive and finish what I start. I suggest that you stay here and attempt to hide.” Straken moved to the door without waiting for a reply, a shout from Maple stopping her.

“Wait!” the Colonel turned around to spot the mare hesitantly lift up the stun baton, the weapon still crackling with energy. “I’m coming with you,” Maple said as her voice gained focus and determination. “If you… die then I’m going to be left her alone until some more find me, I don’t want that to happen again.” Tabitha watched impassively as Maple’s free hand moved to guard her groin, the pony slowly raising it back up to grip the handle of her baton as the Colonel shrugged with sword and gun in hand.

“Suit yourself,” she responded while turning around an opening the door, “just stay out of my way. You civvies are always a burden in combat.”

With that Straken strode out of the room with plasma pistol raised, Maple following behind hesitantly as she gripped her weapon and questioned if going with Tabitha was a good idea after all.

In a darkened room a communications device shaped like a grey rectangle with blinking lights went off, an orange claw lashing out from the bed in an attempt to seize it. The scaled limb got it on the third try, moving the communications unit to a fang filled mouth as a finger pressed down on a flashing button.

“This is Orthodox, the Fuck are you waking me up for?” a male voice demanded sleepily, an orange lizard tail flicking out from the covers as the owner yawned.

“… You have an assignment.”

“Fuck off, it’s Sunday morning,” the voice replied, rolling over in the simple white-sheeted bed which disturbed the numerous empty alcohol bottles sharing the space with the occupant. “What the hell is going on that you need me for, I thought that Chalmers got all of this urgent shit?”

“Agent Chalmers is currently on a diplomatic mission and is not able contacted.”

“That’ll go well, we better prepare for another war” Orthodox muttered as he sat up in the bed, stretching a pair of scaly orange arms out to either side as the male voice conversing with him continued.

“Due to this you are to gear up and assemble in the briefing room, your being sent in to provide backup to an Army Colonel stranded on an unknown hostile planet. A brief sub-space message informing us that hostiles are slavers and that she was engaging the enemy was all we have received so far. Urgency is stressed of course.” The orange figured sighed deeply, two clawed feet hitting the metal floor as the 4’8 tall bipedal lizard hacked up some mucus from his throat.

“Fine fine, give me five minutes,” he gave in and closed off the channel without bothering to wait for confirmation. He plodded into the bathroom; an unknowing observer would describe him as an orange dragon with no spines or wings who also happened to be only slightly taller than a midget. A quick minute spent brushing the taste of whisky out of a sharp-tooth filled maw and Orthodox ambled over to a chair with a large set of black objects resting on it.

The lizard went about fitting the armour to his naked body, a main chest plate with wrist gauntlets and leg pieces being secured on before with a finger he pressed a button concealed under an armoured panel on the side of his chest piece. With a whir a blue glow lit up on the armour pieces, black metal plates extending out to join the pieces together until Orthodox was completely covered in powered black armour except for his head.

A single logo of a white skull with a third eye on its forehead was located on his left breast armour with the letters ISA, which stood for ‘Internal Security Agency’, underneath the simple mark. A final look in a mirror showing bright green eyes and a hairless orange head was taken before Orthodox placed his helmet on, the single optical sensor band lighting up with a menacing blue glow.

His metal-booted feet clanged on the metal floor as he walked over to his simple dresser, withdrawing multitude of pistols and knives that he stored in his armoured suit in holsters and compartments. He brushed off a poster of a nude and busty porn-star off dull grey box, lifting the lid to uncover a multitude of grenades of different types and sizes. Stuffing the entire box’s worth into storage compartments Orthodox reflected on the wonders of the Quantum storage technology that allowed him to carry so many interesting tools of death.

He had one more thing left to do, a visit to the wardrobe against the grey wall his last stop before the briefing. Keying in a code to the electronic lock on the heavy doors Orthodox opened it up and withdrew a ballistic shotgun that was slung over his back as well as two duel gauss machine pistols. A large rapid-fire plasma assault rifle that was almost as large of him was his last choice, his armour enabling him to easily lift it in one hand as he crammed extra energy magazines into his storage.

His equipment secured, he sent a mental command for his helmet’s faceplate to lower revealing his mouth. A cigarette was fished out from a compartment and placed between his lips, a small flame that came out from the armour covering his right thumb used to light the deathstick. Orthodox breathed in the smoke with a happy sigh, opened his door and walked out onto the deserted floor of the living quarters located on the ISA listening post he was living in for the moment.

As he started to walk to the base’s briefing room to meet with the commander in charge of the facility he cocked his plasma rifle, the thin blue line in the middle of the weapon on the sides glowing with a blue energy.

‘I wonder just which Fucker has pissed us off and it going to die today?’ he mused as he finished the cigarette, swallowing the remains as his blank faceplate closed shut.