Destiny: Embers of Hope

Gone... It was all gone... Somehow... Somehow... Everything had changed in the recent years. So many things... life had been so... Happy, up to this point. Technologies had been advanced, the average life expectancy went up, weaponry and medicinal supplies had been improved several dozenfold. It was a golden age. It was the age of the Traveler. Then. Just like that, it was all wiped out. Something hit us. Hit us hard. Smashed us down, tried to stamp us out. Not many of us survived. And those of us who did owed our lives to the Traveler. Now, The Last City of Equestria remains, a testament to a Pony's will to live. It stands over the ruins of the once glorious country, silent. Standing. Protecting. Guarding the last of Ponykind with massive walls, and deadly warriors. Guardians of every race and class. Earth Ponies, Unicorns, Pegasi. Even Changelings, Zebras and Dragons. All of them are gathered here, willing to defend this last little scrap of salvation with their lives. Each Guardian can be a Loner, or part of a Fireteam. Naturally, being a Loner isn't common. Even in times of such darkness, the ancient Pony beliefs of Friendship and inner strength still run strong. Fireteam "Ember" consisted of only two Ponies, an Earth Pony Titan and a Pegasus Hunter.

This is their story.

Perched on the wall of the Last City, clad in White, Silver, and Black Armor, was an Earth Pony. On his back was a massive longsword, nestled between his shoulder blades. Right next to it was a Pulse rifle, loaded and ready for action. He was a Titan. The toughest of the tough, and one of the more well known guardians of the City. Silently, his eyes scanned the horizon from within the dark plating of his helmet. It was his task to defend the wall, and by all means, he would die to do so. Gently reaching for his weapon and turning it over in his hooves for the umpteenth time, he set the weapon down. Nothing else had happened that day anyhow. He had already been standing in place for several hours. He needed to do something to take his mind off of the agonizing boredom. While his post was indeed important, keeping his mind sharp was also a top priority. Sometimes, a little writing was just was he needed to get his mind back in gear. Making certain that there was absolutely nothing else in the area, he took a seat, picked up his data pad, and started an entry:

[02/07/2734]

[Begin Entry:]

It's been two and a half weeks since the last attempted invasion. Food and ammunition are beginning to run scarce, and I doubt we'll be able to hold off another if it were to strike. Nevertheless, I Stand here, a guardian of the wall, willing to die for my duty, much like the first noble heroes that built it. My primary weapon is loaded with what is probably the last full clip I'm going to see for awhile. Unless we happen to have a miracle, We will not last much longer. But by the Traveler's Light, if we do happen to fall on this day, then I will take as many of them as I can with me. And they will fear the name, Cobalt Strike.

[End Entry]

He set the pad back in it's place, Before he stood back up, picking the rifle back up. He let out a sigh, before sweeping the horizon with his eyes again. Today would be a long day.

Winter Frost flew around the wall. Another long patrol for the Hunter, but it wasn't like she hadn't done it a million times before.

The pegasus was an ice blue with a white mane, like the frozen color of her namesake. She wore powerful wing blades, designed with pulse technology, and had a pair of automatic pulse weapons, one strapped to each foreleg, along with retractable combat claws. Her armor was light and her ground cloak rolled up on the back of her armor, where it always stayed when she was in the air. She hoped to find some kind of ammo dump at some point, as without it, her ranged pulse weapons were useless, even if they were just pistols. At least the claws and blades were edged by perpetual generators, though, if those things broke... Winter would cross that bridge if she came to it. No use borrowing trouble. The aliens have given us enough as it is.

She carefully looked around, continuing to scan the area outside the city. No matter how boring the patrol might be, it was important. And somehow she just had the feeling that this entire day was about to go to shit anyway. Murphy Law hadn't bucked up in the mess hall that morning, which was her first sign. So she had packed the equipment she would take on a long hall for her short patrol. Now she was waiting for the second sign in a weird combination of boredom and anxiousness.

Her helmet armor was scuffed and dirty, painted with urban camo. She saw no point in having shiny beautiful armor when that shine could easily get you killed on the battlefield. Winter was pragmatic, so she simply waited for the fecal matter to hit the air circulators, flicking her claws in and out of their casings as she did so.

Almost at the same time, both Ponies took note of each other's presence. A simple nod was exchanged between them. There wasn't much point in wasting any energy on words. There would be plenty of time for that later. Giving his weapon another inspection, he vaguely wondered if he would have the time to disassemble it and put it back together before anything happened. There wouldn't be much purpose in doing something like that, other than to alleviate the boredom, but he still considered it nevertheless. Giving the hunter one final glance, he turned his gaze back to the fields. If today was boring, that was good. As one might tell from his entry, today didn't need any more excitement. He shut his eyes, and inhaled. Counting to four, he Exhaled. It was his task. He wasn't about to abandon it because he was bored. Opening his eyes again, he resumed his post.