//-------------------------------------------------------// Nomad -by Havelock- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Many Travels //-------------------------------------------------------// Many Travels STASIS INTEGRITY: 100% BLOOD PRESSURE: NORMAL BRAIN ACTIVITY: NORMAL CYBERNETIC ANTI-REJECTION PROTOCOLS: ONLINE CYBERSPACE FIREWALL: 100% // 68% DANGER. DANGER. DANGER. CYBERSPACE THREAT IDENTIFIED. ACTIVATING ANTI-VIRAL PROTOCOLS. TUNNEL INTEGRITY: 100% 87% 54% 32% 9% SYSTEM OVERRIDE. REDIRECTING TUNNEL ACCESS, PLEASE WAIT. TUNNEL INTEGRITY: 3% TUNNEL REDIRECTION: 50% PLEASE WAIT. 63% 65% SYSTEM FAILURE. PLEASE REBOOT. TUNNEL COLLAPSE IMMINENT. RECOMMEND ABORTING OPERATIONS. SYSTEM FAILURE. ;alhgHA;LG;H;KGHA;K. SYSTEM FAILURE. PLEASE REBOO-al;hga;hgehigiah;;HGAU;GHUH;OIGHA;;IAHG;hhghdlghdghvnbiueuagf;ahhzhxjkdxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx OFFLINE. He woke up, startled by the sudden shock. "Where am I?" he asked. He looked at his limbs, wrapped in the black metal which were his new arms. "Did the tunnel collapse? Huh, déjà vu!" He felt the soft grass beneath him, he felt the breeze blow by him, and he felt the faint heartbeat of the world beneath him. "I must acquaint myself with my new surroundings, maybe then my brothers can find me more easily," He lifted himself off of the grass, blue robes dangling from his body. He brushed them off, and reassured himself of his provisions. A single loaf of bread, plenty of food for seven days at least. He gathered up his belongings, and wandered into the forest, being watched by the many animals, including a fox. *** "Wonderbolts, do you have a visual?" "Negative," Spitfire said, "we don't exactly know what we're looking for," "Anything that's odd or conspicuous, a surge of energy that big is nothing to ignore," she heard. She continued soaring above the Everfree, trying to find whatever it was that had stirred so much trouble for the princesses. Without warning, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are in a panicked state of mind, ordering a number of soldiers, and the Wonderbolts, to go out in search of this unknown disturbance. It annoyed her, the princesses having a sudden outburst of paranoia and pushing the nation into a state of panic. She figured that it was all a accidental magic surge from a rather powerful unicorn, so she was scanning the forest floor for a colorful pony probably skittering through the foliage in fear. "Down by that bush! I saw something move!" Soarin shouted. The team of expert flyers landed by the area of disturbance, peering around the horizon for anything that could be their target. "I don't see anything," Spitfire said. Something rushed at impossible speeds past her. "What was that?!" she said in panic. They peeked around cautiously, searching for their threat, while an alien breathed in relief. "They musn't see me, I look far too threatening to them," he said. He ran away, fleeing from the pegasi at break neck speeds. He wanted to get far away, to avoid any bloodshed. It was nearly sunset now, and he finally slowed his sprint to a relaxing amble. He admired the forests, watching the sunlight peek through the branches that blanketed him from the pegasi's prying eyes. When night came, however, he could still see the stars through the sheets of leaves coating the forest branches. "How beautiful..." he breathed. "You have greater wisdom, mortal," said a voice. He turned in alarm, finding his addressor, a fox. A nine-tailed fox. Her red fur glistened in the twinkling starlight, casting dazzling, dancing streaks across the darkness. She easily outmatched the night sky in terms of beauty. "A nine-tailed fox..." he said in awe. "Yes," she replied, "what is your name, traveler?" "I am just a nomad, fox," "Well then, Nomad, I have a task for you," "It's a relief I'm not to furnish a repast for you," "Oh, no," she laughed, "the animals here are plentiful," The nomad smiled, "May I ask, why do you have only one tail?" She smiled again, "How did you know I was a nine-tailed fox if I have only one tail?" "Your size, it is beyond that of a normal fox," he replied. "Well then, I have a task for you, I need you to retrieve my eight lost tails. As you may know, without them, I am vulnerable, and could die without care," She said. "An honor, fox," "Though, since I cannot hunt at the moment, I ask, do you have any food I could eat?" Nomad looked through his provisions, picking the loaf of bread he had stored for himself. "Here, it's all that I have," The fox sniffed the loaf, gently taking it from his hands and devouring every last crumb that it offered. "Ahh, thank you, please return with my tails quickly, I would also welcome it if you were to visit me and feed me like you have," "Of course, fox, I will do all I can for you," Nomad said, carefully stroking her cheek. She snuggled with it, accepting his affection openly, "There is a kingdom nearby, they could help you with your search, go there, and seek their assistance," "Your wisdom illuminates my path, fox, I shan't be long," He was off, dashing at incredible speeds to the forest's opening, gracefully avoiding the branches in his path and the stones beneath his feet. He burst out of the forest, scanning the horizon hastily, and, conveniently, finding a large castle on the side of a mountain. "There is the kingdom, I must speak to the ruler and request aid in helping that fox," Nomad said. Again he was off, rushing towards the elevated city. Suddenly sprouting from his mechanically armored back was a pair of glorious cyber wings. Waves of energy pushed out from the wings, thrusting him clear into the sky above him. He was soaring high above the clouds, fast! He had a strong urge to begin his search quickly, and was on the track to be slightly on the brash side. "For the stars! And to the cosmos!" he shouted, clearly enjoying his flight. Flying over the walls of Canterlot, he aimed himself for the largest building, ready to crash through the windows to get to the ruler as fast as possible. Aiming straight for a rather elegant window, a bird suddenly flew in front of him, forcing him to pull up and hit the wall savagely. He crashed through, tumbling with debris down onto the floor in front of Princess Celestia. Even she had to admit, nothing had surprised her more. A random, unannounced alien comes crashing into her very court, she must've jumped at least three feet! "Oohhhh.... that hurt..." Nomad said, "I need to work on landing," He looked around, finding many terrified ponies staring at him in utter shock. He looked up, seeing the large hole he had made in the palace roof. He cringed up slightly in embarrassment, What would Damos say? he debated. Finding Celestia sitting on her throne, thus probably making her the ruler, he joined his hands and bowed respectfully to her. "My fault, entirely, Damos would be ashamed of me," he said. Celestia, still trying to understand the whole situation, simply replied, "What...?" Nomad, brushed some dust off of his robes, "I am an adept Kamido monk, I am under the guidance of my mentor, Damos, I have come here with a mission to retrieve the eight lost tails of a nine-tailed fox, it is my hope that you could help me in my search for these sacred treasures," A sudden air of relief overcame Celestia, "Oh, uh, of course, we'd be glad to help you, though," she pondered for a bit, "would you be willing to help us?" "I relish the chance," he replied. Celestia was getting more and more surprises from this alien. Kind, cooperative, and somewhat jubilant in his last response. "Where do I begin?" Celestia was nearly overjoyed, she finally had the help she'd need out in the north, "I need you to board an airship, details will be given from there," Nomad smiled behind his helm, "And so, the adventure begins!" Author's Note Haven't thoroughly planned this story out so far, just gonna see how it goes. //-------------------------------------------------------// North's Frost //-------------------------------------------------------// North's Frost It was late night now, and Nomad was moving to board the airship as he had been instructed. He spent a while exploring the ship's features, finding many seemingly modern, along with many more rather primitive weapons on the ship. He examined them closer, seeing that each was made to kill. He shuddered slightly at the thought, despite the many fights he's seen, they've been with his mentor and have been directed specifically for being humane, and to treasure life whenever he has the choice to. At least, that is what Damos had instructed him to do. "How long will we be there?" Nomad asked few hours into the ride. "We're fighting a war right now, Nomad, expect a few weeks at least," a pony said to him. "Weeks... I pray that the fox will be alright," Nomad said. "Come again," "It was just some ramblings about what I need help with," Nomad said. "Okay, well, Spitfire may want to see you now, she'll brief you on what's going on and what you're gonna do," He nodded, then made his way down to the lower decks of the airship, finding the speedy pegasus sitting in a chair waiting for him. Nomad made his way in, stopping a few feet in front of the desk with his hands behind his back in a formal manner. "So," she began, "you're the little creeper I was looking for back in the Everfree, huh?" "... Pardon?" "You can disappear, and based on the hardware you've got with you, you're pretty well set for a fight, aren't ya?" "I... Ahem, could you restate that?" "What're you? Thick?!" she shouted, causing the young monk to take a step back, "You've got skills others of us don't have, and right now, we're getting ripped apart by the griffin military, you're gonna be our secret weapon against them," "... Understood..." "Listen, here's the job, clanker, the Crystal Empire is currently under occupation by the griffins, if you can get us through the enemy lines, we have straight shot at making it to the current military leader holed up there and take the empire back!" "... Is that it? Infiltrate and exterminate?" "Ha, you make it sound easier than it is, they've got some kind of weapon that's tearing our ground forces apart, and their air force is impossible to penetrate, unless we have you," The ship was suddenly full of activity, soldiers bustling hither and thither to make preparations. "Looks like we're here, be sure to impress, clanker, cause we'll have no use for your corpse," Spitfire finished. Nomad gratefully removed himself form her presence, "Damos was much kinder when he sent me into battle," he said. He looked out at the sky, seeing bombs going off in the sky off to the distance. It frightened him, he had never seen so many bombs in use before. "Why are there so many explosives?" Nomad asked. "Cause they're trying to shoot us out of the sky," the same pony replied. The ship was jostled, being grazed by a deadly missile in the hull. "Ha, best get the hell off before we take a hit to the hull!" the pony commented. Taking this advice to heart, he leaned over the edge, examining the fall. Mustering up his courage, he leaped from the ship, plummeting downwards at dangerous speeds. "I musn't open my wings, they will break them for sure," Nomad said, "I'll have to make the landing," He adjusted himself so he was in a diving position towards the ground. He went down at terrifying speeds. He adjusted himself for landing, hitting the ground extremely hard and making a slight crater where he struck. Throughout his bones were a series of complex shock absorbing rings wrapped around them, made for the very purpose of landing hard, yet, safely. Having activating this useful augmentation with a proper landing, he rose from the ground ready for the task at hand. "The nine-tailed fox is counting on me," he grabbed his rifle strapped across his back, "I must get this done so that I may take care of her as soon as I can," He grabbed a mag, hidden inside his robes, and placed it in inside the rifle. He then cocked the weapon, watching blue tipped, plastic rounds get loaded into the weapon's chamber. He began to review his mission in his head. "Find the griffin military leader and defeat him, they said he'd be in a fortress of some sort," he said. He looked around, finding the huge castle that marked the crystal empire. Knowing his goal on first sight, he rushed his way for it, moving at the truly insane speeds only Kamido were capable of. Around him, the griffins were in a frenzy, moving into the crowds of freshly deployed ground forces to maul them with their claws. Those who flew, were equally brutalized, often getting their wings severed or even a cut in the throat from the piercing weapons they were murdered with. Nomad was horrified, all the carnage that was unfolding on the field, taken as a casual thing by Princess Celestia. The cost of all life was very high to Nomad, and he wasn't ready to resort to this cruel method. Some griffin flyers noticed him gawking at the slaughter before him, and dived in to engage the monk. Seeing the attackers speeding towards him, a spark went off. "I am the disciple of a Cyber God!" he said. In a single, impressive backflip, he easily dodged the two assailants, firing several tazer rounds into their backs and incapacitating them. He landed on the ground hard, the winds of the blizzard casting frost on his dancing robes. Displaying himself as a severe threat, many griffin soldiers were pointing at him and converging on him. "Break beneath the weight of truth!" Nomad shouted, back handing a griffin to send him off course into the snow. Others were on their way to engage him, and, knowing he couldn't fight them all at once, avoided them all and ran for a nearby house. He skipped up and clung to the edge of the roof, throwing himself up to the top. From there, he was able to down a few griffins with his rifle before they were able to close the distance between them. The feathered warriors easily flew to the top of the house, engaging Nomad in a deadly, close quarters fight. Nomad countered this with heavy strikes from his rifle's stock, typically laying the soldier sprawled out on the ground and unable to fight. "You destroy yourselves with your evil!" Nomad cried, landing a powerful kick in a griffin's chest, breaking a few ribs. Their numbers were getting greater, and despite his efforts to dodge all the thrusts and slashes from spears and swords, he was still grazed here and there by them. In an attempt to gain breathing space, Nomad lowered his body to allow for higher kicks, eventually resting his head on the frosted floor and spinning on it in a whirlwind of hard-hitting cyber legs. The griffins were cleared out, and many retreated back to avoid the peculiar tactic. Nomad quickly returned to his feet, being greeted by the griffins drawing ranged weapons, looking much like muskets, and aiming them directly for the monk. He raised his arms in a defensive stance, taking several rounds into his cybernetic body. Fortunately, Nomad's cybernetics provided a permanent energy shield over his body, but even they couldn't protect him entirely from the lead that peppered him. His shield was broken after the first volley, throwing him back off the roof of the house he was on. "Ah! I must hide until my shields return!" Nomad threw himself back onto his feet, running for cover among the advancing pony forces. Hiding behind a crystal pillar jutting out of the ground, he stashed his rifle and pulled a sawed off shotgun from his robes. He checked the shells inside, lethal, carbon alloy slugs. He pulled out the shells and replaced them with non-lethal pressurized air rounds. He looked at his black armored arm, seeing the transparent blue screen of his shields reform around his body. Recharged and reloaded, Nomad poked his head form behind the pillar, locating an open sensitive point to exploit. Using advanced optical enhancements, Nomad spotted an ammo dump on one side of the far away griffin entrenchment, along with barrels of fuel for their artillery not far from the ammo dump. He took notice of how lightly it was guarded compared to the huge castle he had tried to breach earlier. "If I could dispose of the munitions and fuel, not only will that be a heavy blow, but it will distract them long enough for me to slip into the crystal fortress," He noticed more and more killing on the field, causing him to cringe up and cower. "If I could do this quickly, I could also help stop this bloodshed," Nomad said to himself. He summoned his cyber wings, gliding slightly above the thick snow at great speeds. He went straight for the fuel dump, hoping to ignite it to destroy it and the ammo near it. It nearly no time at all, he was already at the entrenchment, dodging musket fire from a small group of griffins guarding the fuel and munitions. Upon reaching a trench dug into the ground, a soldier popped out, thrusting a spear right into Nomad's wing and shattering it. He yelped in pain, quickly retracting his wings to prevent further damage, as he landed inside the trench. Five soldiers cornered the young fighter, pointing spears and musket barrels directly for his head. Nomad had few choices, his rifle was nearly empty and he couldn't draw the weapon in time, he had to introduce another advantage to the battlefield. Focusing his vision on the barrels of fuel, he thrust his palm in their direction, mustering up his psionic power and causing them to suddenly burst into flames, thus decimating the fuel and ammo supply. The five soldiers dived for the floor, trying to avoid the shrapnel thrown in all directions. This was his chance, he activated his cloaking, and rushed off to the crystal fort, leaping up to a low balcony hanging off the side. Just like that, he was in. He grabbed his rifle and fastened a fresh magazine inside it, loaded with the same non-lethal plastic rounds. "If I were to hide in a tower with a war beneath it, where'd I go?" he asked himself. He looked around, seeing the battle rage from beneath, arrows flying around haphazardly. He noticed that the tower lacked a sufficient bunker to reside in. "The top," he said, and began his ascent upwards. He checked his cyber wings, still damaged from the earlier attacks. "I can't fly like this," With this limitation, Nomad reactivated his cloaking, then leaped onto the walls, clinging to it like a spider. "My climbing claws will be most useful in this endeavor!" With great speed and grace, Nomad scrambled up the walls, going past staircases that hung off the walls, and leaping onto pillars in different rooms to reach higher ones. He didn't see any soldiers inside the tower, and it worried him that there were none. "The leader may have ordered all the troops to defend the outer tower from the ponies, I must not assume that he did not spare a few for himself," he said, still climbing. His ascent went smoothly, being completely invisible and moving through the castle swiftly. It wasn't long before he finally found the top floor, having a single door leading to a single room. The throne room. Resettling himself on the floor and relieving his cloak, he made his way to the door, debating his method of entrance. "They most likely are waiting for me, I must be swift, come like the wind, and go like lightning," Approaching the door, he grabbed a small, circular item from his robes, then placed it on the door, pressing a few buttons in rapid succession then retreating back to the side of the door. He armed a grenade, made to electrocute targets until they go unconscious from the shock, and then pulled a switch from his robes. "For the preservation of life," he said. He activated the switch, causing the charge he placed to blow the doors open, where he then tossed his grenade into the room. Hearing many agonized screams, Nomad slipped inside, being encountered by two guards left unscathed by the sudden assault. Nomad was fast to counter, blocking the punches of the first guard, and laying him out cold with a single strike to the head. The second, swung for his head, which Nomad ducked beneath, then swiped his leg while he was bipedal and struck him hard in the stomach as he was falling to the ground. Both were effortlessly incapacitated, and all that was left was the griffin military leader. "You," Nomad began, "pull back your attack, you have spilled the blood of enough already!" "So," the leader replied, "you're the ponies' secret weapon, never thought you'd look this ugly," Nomad recoiled slightly, "I will not ask you again, pull back your forces and leave this place for its rightful owners!" "You're mistaken, alien, the Crystal Empire belongs to the griffins, we've placed our flag here," "Then I will tear down your flag, your thirst for conquest is wrong in the eyes of the innocent!" "Look at you, such a great warrior, you could have everything, wealth, women, fight for what's right, alien, fight for us, in our vision to remake the land," "I fight to maintain order and peace, which is exactly what men of great power should strive for. You cannot continue with this, you cannot try to justify the killing of others, pull back your forces and lessen the blood that weighs upon you," "I am cleansing the land, purifying it from all this mediocrity! I thought you'd know better, I thought you'd realize that this is the best for everyone!" "The best for everyone is the freedom of their choice, griffin, to have peace among each other is less demanding of life and blood," "War feeds its people better, alien, I figured you'd know that, now either join us, or die by our claws," "Listen to yourself, griffin, you haven't given me any choice of walking away in peace, simply to die for you or by you. This is how demons come, griffin, this is a way to bring them to you, and be devoured by them. You have the chance to stop all this, but nothing will happen unless you pull your soldiers back, and leave the Crystal Empire in peace, do not be one who is evil," "Me? Evil? You've insulted me, alien, you are the one who is evil, preventing us from achieving our destiny! To be the greatest race in all the land! You are slowing us down, creature, I offered you the highest honor of joining our ranks, but I'm sorry, you must die now," Nomad tensed up, beginning to rush the leader as he turned away from him non-nonchalantly. Nomad heard a clicking sound, then an explosion suddenly caught him from beneath. He was knocked several feet into the air, the explosion singing his robes and shattering the level he was on. He was thrown off the tower, falling from extreme heights. He had no control of his fall, meaning he wouldn't be able to activate his landing implant, and from the height he was falling, he would surely die. "Bravo, we've got eyes on a falling target, know what it is?" "Negative, but it's not a pony for sure," "Copy that, open fire," Nomad intercepted communications from his allies, hoping to get help from them. Instead, he was greeted to a barrage of missiles heading his way. "Please be ready," he said, unfolding his wings. They were fully repaired. Activating the thrust on them, he stabilized himself and flew away from the missiles now chasing him. "Whoa, Dragon, this thing's moving faster than anything I've ever seen!" "How fast are we talking, Bravo?" "It's probably breaking mach 15 without a sweat, that's impossible as far as I know," Nomad looked back at the missiles, the distance between him and them slowing widening, "Let's put these missiles to use," Nomad looked around the battle below him, finding nothing of interest to destroy. "Contact, we've got contact with an iron golem, we're getting hammered down here!" Nomad's interest was piqued, as he began to locate the golem beneath him. "I've got a surprise for that golem," he said. "Dragon, tell me you can lend us some air support!" "Negative, Echo One, we've got our hooves full here," Nomad was on his way, soaring at great speeds to the metal golem on the tundra floor. He was getting closer and closer, with the missiles still pursuing him from behind. The golem was a great black machine, wielding blood stained maces and crude, heavily battered armor. "Peek-a-boo," he said, pulling up and letting the missiles strike the golem in the back. It stumbled onto the snowy floor, then dropped face flat into it, confirming its defeat. Nomad was invigorated, explosions were often a real treat for his still young mind. "Golem is down, repeat, golem is down, we're moving in to storm the castle," "Copy that, Echo One, Bravo team, do you have eyes on the griffin leader," "We saw him flying out on his own, he's retreating," "Bravo, stop him at once, we cannot let that bastard get away again," Nomad looked back, seeing a dark shape far, far out in the distance, "You cannot hide in the north's frost," he said, "I will end this battle, even if it means drawing griffin blood," Nomad was off in his direction, speeding off to catch the fleeing general. He was determined, and, slightly angry too. Now it didn't matter about bringing justice, it didn't matter about aiding the fox, all that mattered was that he had a score to settle. And he would not rest until he won. Author's Note Nomad's first experience with war. This is mostly an action chapter, by the next chapter I will try to implement some story behind how Nomad came to be and who the Kamido are. //-------------------------------------------------------// Innocence //-------------------------------------------------------// Innocence Nomad was quick in the griffin leader's direction, hiding among the clouds. He stalked him from far behind, not wanting to be seen by him, waiting for the opportune time to strike. Damos had taught him assassination techniques, and they had come in useful when sneaking up on targets. But unlike before, he'd be using lethal weapons, in an act to cripple the leader before bringing him back to the ponies. He loaded the small firearm, slipping a mag full of lead into the weapon. "Let's hope he doesn't move too much," Nomad muttered. He landed gently on the ground, tucking away his cyber wings promptly. He scanned the horizon, blocked by thick clouds of snow. Trudging carefully through, he activated infrared on his optical enhancements. He found the leader not far in front of him, speaking to two other griffins, and along with them, a minotaur. "What are you telling them?" Nomad wondered, inching in slowly. He crouched behind a mound of snow, listening intently on the conversation. "That artifact didn't work! You said that it would bring unimaginable power!" the leader shouted in frustration. "The artifact's purpose is not fully known, Morik, I even told you that we found it in the Everfree, could be ancient pony magic for all we know," the minotaur replied. "That artifact was supposed to help me win the Crystal Empire! To stamp out their mediocrity! The Gods themselves ruling the lands and favoring their own kind, Unscrupulous!" "Morik, calm down, we probably need more time to study the artifact," "That artifact? It's no more than the tail of an oversized fox!" Nomad was alert, "The missing tail..." He took a closer glance at the four creatures, seeing that the two griffins were holding a large crate. Nomad could most likely walk away with the crate, while distracting them long enough for the ponies to arrive. Having this plan set, he slowly emerged from behind the mound, hiding the weapon away in his robes. "What the-? You!" the leader shouted. "You have something I need," Nomad said, "I'm willing to walk away if you give me the artifact," Morik's interest was piqued, he looked back at the crate, then at Nomad, "What's that thing worth to you?" "Your freedom," Nomad replied. Morik thought for a moment, feeling a hatred build up towards Nomad. The way he had ruined his conquest, his weapon, everything, it made his blood boil. Nomad could see it all in his eyes, and readied himself for combat, reaching in his robes for his pistol and focusing on conjuring polyclones for defense. "No," he said, "you're dead," Immediately, Nomad spawned two clones from a wisp of smoke to defend him, and at the same time, Morik lunged at him, tackling the right Nomad hard. They were quickly engaged in a heated ground fight, both wrestling for dominance over the other. Nomad's clones were busy dealing with the minotaur and other griffin, making sure they did not get away. Morik was using his deadly claws, trying to get them close to Nomad's throat, and, was succeeding in doing so. Nomad was reaching for Morik's throat as well, in an attempt to cut off oxygen long enough for him to pass out, though, that is a long time. "Gotcha," Morik said. Suddenly, he was on top of Nomad, his claws threatening to slice Nomad's throat. "I told you, you're dead," Nomad seized his pistol, then held it up to Morik's head and fired, splattering gore everywhere. He threw him off and was back on his feet, seeing his two clones defeated, and the two others laying in the snow exhausted. Nomad looked back at Morik, realizing what he did. "... Are you..." he stammered, "... dead?" he fell to his knees, sudden nausea overcoming him, "I'm... I'm sorry..." "Oh, don't be sorry for the fool," Nomad looked up, seeing Spitfire march up, "He killed many good ponies, he deserved what he got," The ponies went and arrested the two others, leading them off bound in chains. Nomad still needed to ponder what he had done, he was lost as to what to do. "Damos must know, I've done something unforgivable," he said, "I need wisdom," "Oh, suck it up, Nomad, you did the right thing, good job on catching the VIP, and dealing with them," Spitfire said. Nomad was still shocked, confused about why things happened. He didn't know whether to blame himself, or to blame someone else. He went and retrieved the fox's tail, carrying it in one hand, and a pistol in the other. He boarded the ship going home, and was silent the whole time. He was offered food, but he felt sick to his stomach, he was offered a place to sleep, but he couldn't rest his tense guilt. "I'm a bit worried for him, all the guns he carries, you'd think that he's killed someone before," a pony commented. Nomad was in a catatonic state, swaying back and forth in a seat, unable to be shaken out of it. 'What have I done? What have I done? What evil have I committed?' he thought. Nomad's mind was defiled, his innocence taken and forever gone. Author's Note Sorry if this chapter's too short.