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.