Spiral Knights: Equestrian Front

Chapters

Same mission, same raid, different circumstances
More than one function
Out of the castle and into the forest
Fragile Middle Ground
Giant 'Kindling' Monsters

Same mission, same raid, different circumstances

"Whee! This is always a fun time!" Another explosion rocked the level.

"You know we've gone through this place already, haven't you?" A nearby knight sighs with disdain as he unloads another shadow energy clip into a nearby toxoil that was thrown by the blast.

The knight's name was Dusk-Shooter, the sharpshooter of the group with the largest stock of weapons to use. He has a gun for almost any situation, and is his squad's primary source of shadow damage. Originally asocial, he took a while to open up to his squad mates.

Another knight looks at the gunner with amusement in his eyes as he approached. "I thought you were at least somewhat used to Blast's antics, Dusk."

Dusk-Shooter groans. "I still find it irritating that he dashes off before we can get any ground work done on a strategy. Sure; his bombs keep him relatively save, but without proper co-ordination they only serve to fling mobs our way." He turns to look at the other knight. "Surely you agree, Flame-Lance."

Flame-Lance is the leader of Delta Squad, one of the spiritual successors to Alpha Squad. High-spirited yet quick-tempered, he devises strategies and tactics with Dusk-Shooter for any situation they may come across. He is also the first knight to get Dusk to open up, and was the one to slowly form Delta Squad. His hot temper is reflected in his preference for fire weaponry, though he does have other weapons for flavor.

"I agree with you somewhat. Being tactical about how we tackle a compound like this will guarantee a successful run. However, we seem to be just fine with the basic 'go for broke' strategy considering our adaptable load-outs."

"I-I don't think that's something we should pride ourselves in..." Both the knights turn to the newest participant of the conversation; Volt-Crasher. Being the youngest of the group and the only Champion among three Vanguards, he has more than made up for it with his unique status as a supporting shock guardian. Despite his role, he is very shy, and is often the last knight to reach the end of a floor if the entire squad simply runs for it. His shyness can be a deadly lure; if his squad or any innocent creature is in mortal danger, he will enter a fit of rage.

Dusk gives him a inquisitive look. "What took you so long? Your the only one who can run faster thanks to his armor."

"Dusky, give him a break. You know how nervous he always gets." Blast-Bomb ran over to join into the conversation.

Blast-Bomb lives up to his name as the pure bomber of the squad, something seldom found amongst the Spiral Knights. He has almost every single mist bomb, bombs that spread a status-causing mist upon detonation, making him vital in a support sense. He is considered the most happy go-lucky off-the-wall knight in the Order and heavily modified a second Nitronome into a Party Bomb to showcase his love for parties.

Blast looks at Flame with pleading eyes. "On the subject of tactics and strategies, can't we forget all of that for just one floor? It's fine and all, but doing it all the time gets BOOOOOOORING!"

Flame-Lance sighs. "This floor ONLY. It isn't nowhere near as brutal as the next floor of this place, even though we always finish just fine. As soon as we reach the elevator, we get something worked out before continuing."

"YIPPIE!!!" Blast runs of, a Nitronome already primed.

Dusk shakes his head. "We better keep up with him to make sure he doesn't get himself killed..."

"Agreed."

The hack-and-blast method of attack worked out in the end. However, they encountered some slightly tight spots because of the toxoils ability to spread poisonous oil by simply moving. Gremlin scorchers also kept setting them on fire while menders kept healing everything, making for a hazardous fighting environment.

Compound 42 was infamous for these hazards, despite the fact that the two most prominent monster classes, slime and gremlin, are weak to shadow weapons. Toxoils and their turret-like brethren, compound polyps, are only found here, and many knights who attempt to fight their way through always get poisoned at least once. The gremlin presence only serves to make the place even more of a burning nightmare for knights who don't know what to expect.

Delta Squad wasn't one such group... on most days.

"Just... what were you thinking, Blast?" Dusk was giving his blast-happy squad mate the stink eye.

Blast simply looks at Dusk with innocent eyes. "I wanted to have some fun. What's wrong with that?"

"I said it before, I'll say it again; The Clockworks isn't some place to have fun in. That kind of attitude gets most knights killed in these depths."

"But we aren't most knights now, are we?"

"That's not my point..."

Flame simply shakes his head. "There they go again. Blast's energetic personality always clashes with Dusk's more serious outlook."

Volt looks at Flame with a little fear in his eyes. "S-shouldn't we try to stop them? If we get ambushed..."

"Nah, the elevator to the next floor is over there anyways." Flame stops right before stepping onto the elevator.

"Oh come on, why did you... oh right." Blast sits down on the elevator and looks at Dusk and Flame expectantly.

Dusk nods to Flame. "Then here's the basic battle plan; for engagements in tighter areas, Blast-Bomb will keep in front of us with a Shivermist Buster primed at all times. When the enemies are frozen by the mist, I'll fire on them with my Obsidian Carbine or Umbra Driver while Flame and Volt attack them with their shadow swords. If the Shivermist is unable to reach some enemies or if they are polyps, I'll switch to my Permafroster and Volt can switch to the Polaris."

A round of nods from his squad. Dusk looks at Blast and adds, "if you can find the time between Shivermist blasts, you can use your Dark Retribution for more damage."

Blast salutes. "Affirmed, Dusky!"

Flame steps forward. "For the bigger battle areas, we are going to try something new. The Shivermist is good, but I feel we can use combinations for greater effects."

Dusk puts a hand on his chin. "Pray tell, what kind of strategy do you have cooked up now?"

Flame rolls his eyes at the unintentional pun. "I feel it would be more effective in bigger areas, which is why I waited until after you were done with your strategy for narrow areas. Blast and Volt are going to lay down Stagger Storms and Voltaic Tempests respectively. While it won't immobilize them like the Shivermist, they can still be pushed around and the effects won't end when they get hit.

Volt's eyes widened in realization. "The shock-stun strategy."

"Exactly. During all this Dusk, you can use your Grim Repeater, Obsidian Carbine, or Umbra Driver for pure damage output while I use my Archarons charge attack. If the enemies get a bit too close, I can pull out my Valiance and use its blasts to push them away. Blast, you can use Dark Retribution for additional damage or the Nitronome for when they get too close."

"Affirmed as well, Flamey!"

"Volt, If you think you can, take a few shots with your new Phantamos or use your Gran Faust. Simply laying Voltaic Tempests doesn't suit your combat style.

"A-alright."

Flame nods once more. "Alright guys, lets do this. Let's see if we can spare creativity with our tactics."

"That went a lot better than expected." Dusk took the final shot at the last remaining giant toxoil before it could attempt to spike everyone.

Flame gives dusk an amused look as he went around picking up crowns. "You thought it wouldn't work?"

"It was more so the fact that Blast was once again getting a little too careless for my liking. Oh well, what's done is done."

"Of course it's done! Would you expect any less from us?" Blast skipped over to us and gave each of them a pat on the shoulder.

Volt wandered over as well. "W-we shouldn't get swelled heads over--"

*INCOMING TRANSMISSION*

Flare looks at his Mission Interface Pad with mild surprise. "They never tried calling us while we were in the clockworks before." He hits the receive button.

"Delta Squad come in, we've got an urgent problem that needs attention."

Flame looks at the female knight with surprised, yet stoic eyes. "Give us the briefing, Kora."

"As you know, Spiral HQ has been confused for a while over how the Clockworks could have levels where, not soon after one squad of knights pass through, another squad enter the same place with it once again teeming with enemies."

Dusk adopted a thinking posture. "I was always curious about that myself. Sure, the undead family simply rises again after a short amount of time and constructs are able to manufacture more of themselves or through gremlin production, but the other monster families?"

"Our thoughts exactly, Dusk-Shooter. Even the fiend family with their ability to summon more allies from the underworld shouldn't be able to repopulate levels that fast. Before I continue, are all of you familiar with cloning technology?"

Volt narrowed his eyes a bit. "Cloning technology was banned from use before Isora's takeover by Morai."

Blast look uncertain now. "Wasn't it to prevent the use of 'mass-produced bio-weapons'?"

Kora nodded. "Exactly, as it filed under animal abuse to clone a creature then warp its mind with physical and mental augmentations to fight and die for us." She shakes her head. "That's not stopping the gremlins from trying to eliminate our presence by any means necessary."

Flame's expression changed to that of anger. "You mean..?"

"We found a hidden away gremlin facility thanks to Zeta Squad's reconnaissance. They found out that the gremlins are cloning slime, beast, fiend, and even their own families in that facility."

Dusk sighed as he twirled his Grim Repeater. "So you want us to pay a visit to that facility and shut it down?"

"Affirmative, Dusk-Shooter. Your mission is to raid the facility and destroy it, along with recovering any intel you can on the gremlins operations. Be wary, not only might it be one of many cloning facilities, the gremlins might unleash all the monsters they cloned on you all at once, so expect a major battle if you're caught. Constructs will be there but are few and far between, so shadow and piercing weapons are highly recommended."

Delta Squad nods all at once before Flame says, "give us five minutes and we will head out."

"Actually, Morlin wants to see you guys in the lab before you head out, stating he has something that may help you during the mission."

"Alright, we'll head there first."

"I hope for a successful raid. Kora out."

Author's Note

All status effects are found on the Spiral Knights wiki here.

Sorry for how clunky this chapter might seem. I originally had a simplified summary of the squad as a type of prologue chapter, but it was sadly rejected.

List of weapons used or mentioned in this chapter sorted from first to last mentioned:
-Nitronome
-Shivermist Buster
-Obsidian Carbine
-Umbra Driver
-Permafroster
-Polaris
-Dark Retribution
-Stagger Storm
-Voltaic Tempest
-Grim Repeater
-Archaron
-Valiance
-Phantamos
-Gran Faust

More than one function

"Is this what you called us here for?" Flame-Lance and his squad held what appeared to be a bag based off of an arsenal station.

Morlin, the biotech who called them to the lab, nods. "They are Arsenal Bags, which will essentially allow you to switch between ALL of your weapons while in the middle of an operation without the need for an arsenal station."

Dusk looked at his bag curiously while Blast asks, "Are they only synched to each of us individually? I wouldn't want to pull out one of Dusky's guns when I'm looking for one of my bombs."

Morlin sighs. "They act the same as arsenal stations. Only the knight who uses it will have access to their equipment. Sadly, we were unable to make it support armor swapping as of right now."

Flame shakes his head. "None of us have any additional armors anyways." Looking back at his bag he adds, "Still, this will be immensely helpful to us in our raid of the gremlin cloning facility."

"All we ask for is for you to come back alive. Zeta Squad mentioned that they were working on something else in that facility, but were unable to procure any more information on it."

Flame nods as he puts on his bag with the rest of his squad. "You can count on it."

The run down to the actual facility was standard for most missions. It started out with a wolver den level that, oddly, contained slime monsters as well, something not normal for wolver dens. Same with the next level which was a deconstruction zone, only instead of constructs, fiends were found with gremlins, making for awkward combinations.

It was when Delta Squad reached the actual facility did they fully comprehend just how horrifying the whole situation was.

In front of them, spanning a few rooms, were tanks filled with various monsters found in the clockworks.

"W-what is this?" Even Blast couldn't keep up his cheery demeanor when he saw what laid before him.

Flame sighed before motioning everyone to follow him. "We can't stay in one spot forever. We need to get a move on."

All of the knights constantly felt the oppressive environment as they searched for intelligence they can take back to HQ. They saw a few monsters who were writhing in their tank, presumably in pain.

Dusk also felt unease from a different source. "I don't like this. We've gone this far without running into any active gremlins or constructs."

Volt was pretty close to a nervous breakdown. "W-w-when a-are we d-done? I want t-to l-leave."

Flame sighed again. "We need to scour this facility before we can initiate a self-destruct sequence." noticing a door leading to a large, dark room, he motioned his squad to follow him. "Keep your weapons ready, your eyes peeled, and your asses covered. We don't know what to expect."

"Of course you don't"

Delta Squad finds the door they went through suddenly sealed and the lights turned on. Surrounding them on higher scaffoldings were many gremlin scorchers and demos with a few menders in the mix. In front of them, on a large yet strange machine, was a gremlin who looked similar to Warmaster Seerus.

Flame was the first to speak. "Who are you?"

The gremlin simply chuckles. "While I normally don't give my name to lesser beings, I'll make an exception for you. I am Alcrose, successor to the late Warmaster Seerus. A pleasure to be your... temporary acquaintance, Delta Squad."

Dusk pointed his Obsidian Carbine at him. "How do you know about us?"

"Did you really think us gremlins are stupid enough to not gather intelligence on their sworn enemies?" Alcrose shakes his head in disappointment. "That's besides the point. Your presence here proves how gullible your kind is. Seriously, drop a glimpse of one of our facilities and you come running to check it out."

"And we intend on destroying it and getting out, you big, bad meanie!" Blast shouts at the gremlin.

"Oh we know this facility will be destroyed." This was met with confusion from Delta Squad. "But we also know... that you're going with it! Initiate the self-destruction sequence!" Alcrose laughs maniacally as the platform he was on flies up into a hole in the ceiling, Dusk shooting at him with no hope of his shots reaching. All of the gremlin demos throw a cluster of bombs at the knights to distract them as the others file away.

"We have to--" Flame was interrupted as the facility was rocked by an explosion not only from all of the demo bombs, but from outside of the room as well. Red lights and sirens started blaring as more explosions rocked the room.

Dusk quickly looked to Blast. "Try and bomb the door leading out of here!"

"Already on it." Blast runs past a terrified Volt as he primes a Nitronome. The door was unaffected by the explosion, however.

"Oh great, now what do we do?"

Flame's Mission Pad suddenly activates. "Delta Squ.. come i... there was... ... what's your..." The signal was choppy at best and only part of the transmission got through the static.

"Kora! The facility is coming down around us! We..." He looks back over at Blast, who kept trying to bomb the door for a way out before the ground shifted into a slant. Flame was overcome by one, simple reality.

They weren't getting out. They will be destroyed by the now self-destructing facility, now revealed to have been an elaborate trap.

The only thing they could do was prevent any other knights from trying to sacrifice themselves to extract them.

"Kora, if you can hear me, don't send an extraction team! There is no hope for us left. The gremlins have created an elaborate trap with the intention of taking us with their facility. I don't want any knights to try and sacrifice themselves just to get us out! We'll find out own way out of here."

"This is Delta Squad leader Flame-Lance signing off."

"Wh... wh... ou do..." Flame ends the transmission. He looks over at Dusk, who had a determined look, trying comforting Volt who was crying out of fright.

"Wait, we may have a chance! Look!" Blast points at the strange machine Alcrose was standing on. In the middle of its circle was a swirling white energy that looked like a wormhole.

Flame knew that if they wanted to live at all, they needed to go through that machine. "Dusk, Volt, Blast, we need to head through that gate!"

It didn't take long for Volt to pick himself up and run for it with Dusk and Blast on his heels. Flame quickly joined them and they jumped into the machine. The last thing they remember was being surrounded by white.

Alcrose looks on as the facility he was just in was consumed by a white light before disappearing entirely. "It appears the entire facility decided to... join them."

A young gremlin demo looked at his leader with a puzzled look. "Why did you authorize the portal to be sustained by all of the emergency power?"

Alcrose looks at the demo with a smile. "I'm glad you asked. See, those knights whom we call ' the metal intruders' seem to have a bit of a lucky streak. There have been times where elaborate traps failed because there were no contingency plans in store for them."

"Then... by that logic..."

"Correct. Against all odds, they would most likely of survived the destruction of the building they were in. Yet they didn't know how lucky they can get.

"That's where MY measure comes in. By giving them a sense of hopelessness in their environment, they would likely do anything to get out of the situation entirely and the portal fulfilled that role. It guaranteed their removal from Cradle, as the portal machine is most likely destroyed and it was one-way to begin with."

The demo looked on in awe. "Sir, you are BRILLIANT."

"We can't use the same tactic every time, though. odds are, the metal intruders now know of such traps and will plan accordingly. After all, the loss of one of their best squads will turn many heads."

"Just one question sir. Where did they go?"

Alcrose looks at the demo with a slightly insane smile. "I don't know!"

The first thing Delta Squad realized upon awakening was how much pain they were in.

"Did anybody get the license plate number of that tank that just hit us?" Blast was the first to stand up, although he was very uneasy on his feet.

Flame groaned as well. "No, but I'll get back to you on that." He goes to help Volt get back on his feet. "Where are we anyways?"

Dusk is in a sitting position. "No idea, but it looks somewhat similar to the Royal Jelly Palace, but with less slime substance."

"Guys... I don't think we're on Cradle anymore." Blast was looking out of a large window. When the rest of the squad joined him, they were astounded by what they saw.

Being so used to the narrow platforms and limited space, they were not prepared for the view of an endless sea of trees. Even the castle-like structure they were in wasn't situated on any risen or floating platforms. What topped off the view was the sky; it was complete with a real sun, not like the fake sky seen on the aurora isles.

And on a distant mountain, another castle rested on it's slopes.

"Spike, hurry up! We need to investigate the flash of light that occurred over the Everfree Forest." Princess Twilight Sparkle waited impatiently for her assistant to finish. When she saw the flash, she managed to flag Rainbow Dash down in order for her to gather the rest of their friends.

Spike came down the stairs with a slightly irritated look. "Twilight, the others have yet to get here. What's the rush?"

"What's the rush?! Based on the positioning of the white flash, it occurred over the Castle of the Royal Sisters. The rush is in finding out if the castle has been damaged at all!"

"Don't worry your head over it, Twi." Applejack walked into the library with her friends in tow.

Rarity looked a bit panicked herself. "Dare I say how disastrous it would be if all of our work on the place was undone."

Rainbow dash looked more primed for action than her friends. "If 'something' caused that flash, they will get the flank-whipping of their lives."

"I-I just hope none of the animals close to there are hurt..." Fluttershy whimpered at the prospect.

"I can't say what it was, bit it was certainly a doozy!" Pinkie Pie hopped happily in place despite her statement.

Twilight nodded to each of them. "If it turns out to be nothing, we can always just come back home. This is more of a precautionary measure for the safety of Ponyville."

"Then lets go!" Rainbow huffed irritably. With that, the six mares and one dragon headed for the Everfree Forest, intent on finding out what that light was.

Out of the castle and into the forest

"Just how complicated is this place? Even the Firestorm Citadel was less convoluted." Dusk groans audibly.

After Delta Squad found themselves in a new world thanks to the machine transporting them away from Cradle, they had attempted to leave the castle in order to get their bearings. Because of how linear all of the castle-like areas in the Clockworks were, they were not used to complex lay-outs.

Blast looks ahead. "I'm preeeeeeetty sure that... oh nope, that's the same statue we passed three times already."

Volt looks at the statue uncertainly. "Are you sure that's a statue we passed?"

"Pretty sure! There's a certain nick on the head that makes it stand out. Still can't figure out what these things are, considering they look like quadruped trojans."

Now Flame groaned. "How are we even going to find a way back to Haven, or Cradle in general, if we can't even get out of a lousy, partially cleaned-up ruined castle?"

"We could always use our area map!"

Dusk gave Blast an annoyed glance. "How is that going to work on an alien world?"

"I don't know. I just tried mine and it works!"

The rest of the squad look at each other before activating their mini-map and area map. Like Blast said, it activated and showed them a simplified map of the area's they've walked.

Dusk growled. "You've got to be kidding me..."

Flame sighed. "Only Blast would think of something like that. We haven't used our maps in forever and, as a result, simply forgot about them."

Volt looked at the map on his HUD before pointing to the left. "There's a place we haven't explored yet over there."

Flame nods. "Then we'll start that way. Even if it doesn't lead to the entrance, we can still get more of this place explored for future reference. Let's go and stay frosty." He holds his Combuster sword at the ready as he walks forward. They had agreed to change their weapon loadouts to what carried them through all their missions to Vanguard (Champion in Volt's case) because of how highly adaptable they are.

Just as they reached what appeared to be an entrance-way to a lower level, Dusk stopped them. "Do you hear that?"

Flame focused for a second. "That sounds like... voices."

Volt looked around, startled. "D-does that mean someone lives here, a-and that we're trespassing?"

Blast on the other hand looked ecstatic. "Yaaaaaay, intelligent life-forms! Do you think they like parties?"

"Worry about partying later, Blast. I would rather not get caught trespassing if someone does indeed live here and avoiding confrontations with anything is a must until we can get our situation sorted." Flame looks down the stairs. "While this might lead to the main floor and closer to whoever 'they' are, we can't stay in one spot forever.

Blast let out a disappointed huff before following his squad. "But they might be friendly like the Strangers!"

Dusk looks at Blast with mild annoyance. "That's a possibility, but they might also be hostile like the gremlins. Plus it's just the four of us, not an entire ships worth of knights. Even with our status as the 'most offensive' squad, I doubt we would last long if we were found."

Flame nodded. "Agreed. We can establish communications with the intelligent life-forms here later."

Dusk and Volt simply nodded. Blast had a disappointed look on his face as they descend further into the castle. He knew of his squad's paranoia, especially when it came to accepting gremlins who rebelled against their order, yet it was amped up due them possibly being the only knights in this land. Blast prided himself on being open-minded, but it will be hard to make a good first impression on a new species with paranoid squad-mates.

Volt looks around, hearing the talking get louder. "I think they're headed this way..."

Flame sighed as he referenced his partially filled map. "Let's take a slight detour... this way." At this point he was whispering.

Dusk sighed as he got out his Callahan. "Probably not going to lead to the exit."

As it turns out, according to what their auto-filling map told them, the way they went was full of dead-ends.

"Wait guys!" Blast had wandered into what looked like a washroom of some kind and was leaning close to the wall. "I feel a draft here. Maybe we can bomb our way out."

Dusk looks at Blast before looking at Flame. "If we want to get out of here ASAP, then we will have to do this. That, or risk going back and getting caught by whatever is here."

Flame sighs before looking at Blast. "Do it."

"Maybe... whatever landed here already went into the Everfree?" Applejack dared to ask her friends. They had found what appeared to be four impact marks on the main floor of the castle, close to what remained of a bedroom.

Pinkie bounced over, eye twitching. "Nope, they're still here, I just don't know where."

Rainbow sighed. "This is lame. It will take forever to comb this castle for whatever caused these marks."

"Maybe not..." Twilight was studying the ground when her horn sparked briefly. "Whatever landed here left traces of magic in their wake, like a breadcrumb trail. I think I can track it."

Fluttershy looked at her alicorn friend with worry. "D-do you think it's harmful?"

"Nope, this energy almost feels like a more processed form of the magic naturally in the air. All I have to do is lock-on to it and everything will--" She was interrupted by an audible explosion accompanied by the whole castle shaking.

Rarity gave an unladylike squeal. "What in Equestria was that? AH, DUST, GET A... ah... A-CHOO!"

Rainbow looked at Twilight with an impatient look. "We need that tracking spell or else whatever caused that is going to get away!"

"I almost got it... okay, I'm locked-on. Let's go girls."

Pinkie's ears start flapping. "Oh, flappy ears and pinchy sides. That means somepony made an overused joke!"

"Blast, how many times are you going to make that bad pun? You're beating a dead trojan." Dusk gave his overly happy squad-mate a glare through the disturbed dust.

"Aw come on Dusky, this moment was perfect for that joke!"

Flame was looking at the newly-blasted hole leading outside with curiosity. "That's odd... Nitronomes don't usually explode with that much force..."

Volt tapped Flame's shoulder with a panicked look. "W-what if s-someones h-heard that?"

Flame snapped out of his stupor. "Right, we need to leave NOW. Dusk, Blast, stop squabbling at each other and get moving!" Dusk gave Blast one more irritated glare before moving while the latter countered with a happy look.

As they skirted around the perimeter of the castle, they heard the voices shouting something inside. Quickening their pace, they crossed a rickety-looking bridge, much to Volt's displeasure, before finally clearing the tree line.

Flame looks around, deep in thought. "All these trees look the same... easy to get lost in, even with our area map."

Dusk looked back where they entered the forest from. "We should probably stick close to the tree line. We might find a cave to set up camp in."

"Or we could just go down into that ravine!" Blast pointed to what looked like a small cave system underneath the castle they were just in.

Flame looks at it. "That could work, but for now, it's a little too close for comfort to whoever is in the castle. Let's explore the parameter of the forest, if only to fill our maps in, then come back and set up camp."

Delta Squad agreed unanimously, with some hesitation on Volt's part, before heading further into the forest. They kept a careful eye on their mini-map as they explored the unfamiliar terrain.

"Geeze, The Gloaming Wildwoods have nothing on this place. I'm so used to having flat ground all the way through an area that places like this throw me for a loop," Blast said out loud.

Dusk had his Riftlocker out in case some beast-like creatures decided to attack them. "Not to mention all of the possible hiding places for creatures to utilize to their advantage."

"True. Keep a weapon out at all times." Flame had brought out his Blitz Needle. Blast shrugged and switched to his Dark Briar Barrage while Volt brought out his Sudaruska due to his lack of a piercing weapon.

There were many times when Delta Squad aimed their weapons at what sounded like rustling bushes in false alarm. Flame quickly switched his Blitz Needle out for his Furious Flamberge, not willing to risk filling an innocent creature with piercing energy needles.

This continued for a while until they heard a scream from deeper in the forest.

"Sounds like someone is in trouble! We need to help them!" Blast had already started running towards the source.

Dusk didn't look too pleased. "We still shouldn't come into contact with--"

"Dusk, they could be innocent beings with no way to defend themselves. As knights, we have to protect them no matter the cost!" Volt was the one to interrupt Dusk before running after Blast.

Flame casts a worried glance at Dusk before running after their squad mates. Dusk grumbled before taking off as well. "Sometimes I think we take our duties as knights just a little too seriously..."

Volt quickly caught up to Blast right before they reached a clearing. There were three small creatures that looked vaguely like the statues in the castle surrounded by wooden constructs that had a resemblance to wolvers.

One construct leaped at the creatures in the middle as they huddled together, screaming. Both Volt and Blast realized they couldn't make it in time to block or interrupt the attack.

Until a golden-white bullet streaked past them and hit the wooden wolver in the head, causing the creature to burst into wooden fragments.

"That might of been my best shot yet," Dusk stated with a hint of pride in his voice as he blew the smoke away from the muzzle of his Argent Peacemaker. He was quite the distance away, yet he could see and shoot into the clearing just fine.

While the wooden wolvers were confused, Flame had rendezvoused with Volt and the both of them proceeded to shield-bash their way into the clearing before taking up back-to-back positions with the small creatures in-between them, Combuster and Sudaruska at the ready. Blast and Dusk quickly joined them as the circle was closed by the constructs.

"W-what's going on?" Flame and Dusk resisted it, but Volt and Blast gave the creature who spoke a curious look. It sounded... SHE sounded like a young child.

'So they DO talk', Flame thought before refocusing on the things that surrounded them.

Because of the tight formation and the patience to wait out their prey, he knew these things were more intelligent than the monsters in the Clockworks. Yet one shot from the Argent Peacemaker was enough to disassemble one, despite the gun's weaker individual bullets. He entertained the thought of taking out his Wildfire to take advantage of their apparent fragility before discarding it and sticking to his sword.

"Blast, I want you to lay down as many Deadly Crystal Bombs as you can while Dusk and I fight them, I want minimal collateral damage. Volt, stay by the children and make sure they remain uninjured. Lash out as you see fit."

No words were spoken and Flame knew they understood.

The 'wolvers' attacked after Dusk got the first shot off with his Arcana. Most of them were focused on Flame, Dusk, and Blast, as they were the active attackers and the biggest threats. A few of them tried attacking the children in the middle, but they quickly got deconstructed by Volt's blade. Volt kept them mostly safe by keeping them behind his sideways-turned Ironmight Plate Shield and deflecting any attacks that came from above or the other direction.

Flame was dodging strikes left and right as he countered with quick sword swings. He even managed to split one directly in half, discovering that the 'wolvers' were completely made of wood, unlike lumbers. He didn't have time to think about it as one of the strikes connected with his side, injuring him a bit.

Dusk wasn't faring any better, as gunners are lightly armored and more about doing damage from behind their allies. He got many glancing blows before he switched to his Hail Driver and froze some of the 'wolvers' in place for some crowd control, preventing himself from getting ran over.

Blast was having the best luck. Due to the tricky nature of shard bombs, he had taken out most of the competition before any of the 'wolvers had a chance to strike. He kept moving while humming a happy tune, occasionally snickering at an unfortunate victim an out of place shard explosion.

"Alright, just a few more to go." Flame was slightly panting and he was covered in scratches, some deeper than others and leaked a blue liquid energy. However, right as soon as he got ready to strike that last few, he saw one of the ones he busted earlier reconstruct itself. "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!"

"The gremlins would kill to have constructs that reconstruct themselves..." Dusk slid back to Volt and the children with Flame and Blast.

Flame remembered what he saw earlier. "They are made completely out of wood. I think the only way to put them down permanently is to ignite them, yet I don't fancy starting a forest fire."

"T-then what should we do?" Volt's bravado was starting to fade.

Flame gave Blast a 'look' and the bomber nodded. Flame turns to the children they were protecting. "I can only think of one thing. Apologies in advance for what we are about to do." All he got were looks of fear and confusion.

"Ready!" Blast was holding a primed Shivermist Buster over his head. Flame looked at Volt and Dusk and they nodded as well before looking in the direction they came from. Sitting near the 'wolvers' paws was a ticking Nitronome, sitting there now because of Blast's 'bowling-bomb' trick

The ensuing explosion was enormous, but it was the signal.

"NOW!" Flame, Dusk, and Volt picked up the orange, yellow, and white beings respectively, enticing a few squeaks and cry's of surprise, and dashed through the opening the blast gave them. Blast started laying down Shivermist Busters to freeze any pursuers as they ran back to the ravine they designated as their campsite.

As Delta Squad retreated, the confused whines and yips followed them as the 'wolvers' found ice creeping up their legs and keeping them in place.

Author's Note

Should probably get the knight's appearance down for you guys before I forget.

Flame-Lance:
Personal Color: Red
Helm: Vog Cub Cap (Costume: Infernal Guardian Helm)
Armor: Snarbolax Coat
Shield: Grey Owlite Shield

Dusk-Shooter:
Personal Color: Dark Purple
Helm: Justifier Hat
Armor: Shadowsun Slicker
Shield: Dragon Scale Shield

Blast-Bomb:
Personal Color: Pinkish-Red
Helm: Bombastic Demo Helm
Armor: Volcanic Demo Suit (Costume: Obsidian Mantle of Influence)
Shield: Celestial Shield

Volt-Crasher:
Personal Color: Green
Helm: Mercurial Helm (Costume: Raging Warrior Helm)
Armor: Volcanic Plate Mail
Shield: Ironmight Plate Shield

Weapons in order of mentioning:
-Combuster
-Callahan
-Nitronome
-Riftlocker
-Blitz Needle
-Dark Briar Barrage
-Sudaruska
-Furious Flamberge
-Argent Peacemaker
-Deadly Crystal Bomb
-Arcana
-Hail Driver
-Shivermist Buster

Fragile Middle Ground

"Sorry we had to grab you like that, but I didn't see any other way out." Volt was scratching his head in nervousness back at their designated camping spot in the ravine.

The orange creature huffed. "You could of given us SOME warning."

"Flame-Lance did. Anymore of a warning and those constructs would of picked up on what we were doing," Dusk stated flatly as he started setting up a computer for energy and geological measurements. Delta Squad always carried around everything needed to set up a camp or outpost in case they ever needed a place to rest or if they discover something new.

The white one gives the orange one a flat glare. "Just be glad we got out of that alive, Scootaloo."

Blast gasped. "Oh no we totally forgot the introductions! Step number one of meeting anyone new is to exchange names." He hops over and gives them a happy look. "I'm Blast-Bomb, the red knight over there is our leader, Flame-lance. Mr. grumpypants over there is Dusk-Shooter." This was met with a flat look from Dusk. "And last but definitely not least is Volt-Crasher, the one who checked you three over for injuries."

The three looked at each other with a bit of confusion before the yellow one spoke up. "Well... I guess we can introduce ourselves. I'm Applebloom."

"I'm Sweetie Belle."

"And I'm Scootaloo. Together we make..."

"THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!" This got blank stares from the knights around them.

"We... kind of need our hearing for what we do..." Flame deadpanned, earning a embarrassed grins from the three.

Scootaloo spoke up first. "Sorry about that but that's besides the point. You four are aliens, aren't you?"

Volt looked over his shoulder from unpacking the medical supplies. "I... suppose we are..."

Flame nodded. "Since we are two different... "species" and are completely new to each other, we could exchange what information we know. Oh but first..." He turns to Dusk. "I want you and Blast to set up a perimeter around the base camp. I don't want anymore surprises if we can avoid it. Radio me and Volt if something comes up."

"Alright. The computer has finished setting up, so I'll head out immediately."

Flame nods before facing the children again, only to be met with suspicious glares. He shrugs. "Precautionary measures. We've all been paranoid ever since we got dropped on this planet. I'll explain in a bit, but for now why don't you tell me about your kind so we can avoid embarrassing mistakes later."

"What happened here?" Was all Twilight could ask.

They had come across a clearing that was full of blast marks, both big and small. Some timberwolf twigs were scattered and there was even one cut clean in half with some burn marks. There were also 'living' timberwolves that were frozen to the ground, yipping in confusion.

Applejack looked at the area with a mix of surprise and fear. "I don't know, but whatever did this must be very powerful."

Rainbow scoffs. "Puh-lease, we could take on whatever caused this. Besides, timberwolves aren't exactly the most stable of creatures; one hit and they fall apart."

Twilight gives her pegasus friend a flat look. "That's fine and all, but you must remember that they can be fast and travel in packs. Hitting one would only make way for two more to attack you." Rainbow's only response was to roll her eyes.

Pinkie eyed the frozen timberwolves. "Wow, that ice is potent if it can 'root' those timberwolves to the ground."

"G-girls... look at this." Fluttershy was pointing at--

"A piece of Sweetie Belle's mane!" Rarity cried out. "My poor little sister is somewhere in this filthy forest!"

Now Applejack was panicking. "If she's here, so is Applebloom and Scootaloo. What if that creature we've been following--"

"--Has foalnapped our sisters? Nooooooo!" Rarity wailed in in utter fear.

Rainbow quickly faced the two worried sisters. "Keep your heads attached. We need to find whatever caused this and FAST. Twilight, can you still tell where it went?"

"I can, but just barely. This area is overflowing with that energy and it's making it hard to track their trail." Twilight focuses a bit before pointing in a direction. "They must of went that way!"

Pinkie hopped forward. "No time to waste everypony!"

Flame was sitting on a sleeping bag at this point. "So let me get this straight; Your species is 'pony' with four sub-species consisting of unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies, and alicorns. Adult males and females are stallions and mares respectively while 'foals' are colts and fillies. This kingdom of Equestria is ruled by two alicorn sisters, one who raises the sun and one who raises the moon, while the third princess is friends with your older sisters. Did I get all of that?"

Applebloom nodded. "And that all ponies have inherent magic available to them, just that only unicorns can actively utilize it."

Volt chuckles, earning looks of confusion from the fillies. "Hahn would blow a circuit if he heard everything that was said. He always tells the rookie knights off for thinking elemental damage monsters derive their power from magic. He instead calls it 'psychic energy manipulation', despite saying its comprised of arcane energy manipulation a few seconds earlier."

Scootaloo rolls her eyes. "He must be fun at parties."

Flame shakes his head. "A volcano would freeze over before he would even consider attending one. I digress, I think it's time I tell you about my--"

"Flame-Lance come in, over."

The fillies look around with startled expressions before noting Flame holding his hand over the side of his head with a worried look. "Dusk, what's the situation?"

"I've identified six bogies heading in your direction. All of them look similar to the foals in our care, only a lot bigger and different colors. I'm heading back now via short-cut from my vantage point."

"I'll head back as well, no need for me to not be there."

Sweetie Belle squealed in delight. "Oh, they might be our sisters! We can totally intro...duce..." She trailed off when she saw Flame and Volt exchanging looks.

Flame finally shakes his head. "As charming as your sisters and their friends might be, our bringing you here might come off to them as a kidnapping. While they might be looking for you, I can't shake the feeling they are also looking for us, despite me questioning how they managed to track us in the first place."

Applebloom looked at the knights with a sad face. "B-but..."

"I'm sorry, but if push comes to shove and they turn out hostile to us, we will defend ourselves by any means necessary. We want you to go out and meet them; hopefully that will be enough to dissuade them from trying to confront us." When Flame noticed the worried doubt in the fillies facial expressions he added, "If it comes to a confrontation, someone's going to get hurt and I don't think any of us want that."

Dusk ran into the camp with Blast hot on his heels. "The ponies will arrive in T minus three minutes."

Flame nods before looking at the fillies. "I suggest you get out of here ASAP. If worst-case scenario happens, it WILL turn ugly."

Sweetie Belle pouts. "Alright... just promise us you'll visit us another time at our village."

Blast jumps forward excitably. "Will do, bomber's pride!" This was met with a round of nod from the rest of Delta Squad, with reluctance from Dusk. Satisfied, the fillies run out of the camp and towards their older siblings.

Volt sighed. "They were... quite cute, I must admit. Then again, most children are cute."

Flame rolls his eyes. "Stay focused for now. If the older ponies don't arrive within 10 minutes, then we are in the clear. Until then, remain prepared."

Blast shakes his head. "Having our weapons at the ready like we actually are fighting seems kind of silly."

"I don't mean THAT level of ready, just keep them within arm's reach in-case they--"

"Flame, your wounds from earlier haven't healed, have they?" Volt interrupted with a worried look.

Dusk facepalmed. "Seriously? You really need to learn when to take care of yourself over us. How effective can we be with an injured leader?"

Flame chuckles weakly. "I'm just stubborn like that. I prefer to take care of my squad mates over myself. No point in fussing about it now; all we can do is wait."

Flame and Dusk leaned against the wall of their camp while Blast and Volt sat down. They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence as they waited.

A minute passed...

Two minutes...

Dusk brought up his timer. "I guess those fillies must of at least delayed them. They would of been here by now."

Flame shakes his head. "We still need to wait and hope for the best."

Blast looked at his injured leader. "Hope for the best? That ain't the usual Flame-Lance plan I know."

"If you've got a better idea then I'm all ears."

Blast mulled over it for a bit. Running was indeed an option, yet there were just as many negatives with that as just staying put. "Nah... you sold me."

Not long after that, they noticed four blips on their radar. Volt grimaced. "So they weren't successful after all..."

Dusk huffs. "It was a fool's hope, but at least the number is down to four instead of six. If what the fillies told us is true, we will need to look out for unicorn magic, the pegasus' ability to probably fly fast, and the earth ponies' strength. Our tech will be more than a match for them though."

Flame looks at Dusk. "Don't get cocky. Remember; stay sharp, stay focused."

The four ponies that were on their radar rounded the corner. Delta Squad can now see a Blue pegasus, an orange and a pink earth pony, and a purple alicorn.

The ponies stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the knights. The orange and blue ponies had glares on their faces, while the purple one looked both curious and uncertain.

The pink one gave an enthusiastic wave, which Blast responded to with his own. Dusk looked between the two and facepalmed. "Skylark above, there's TWO of them..."

Blast looked offended. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it means."

"Blast, Dusk, zip it!" Flame hissed. He noted the purple pony walking slowly forward, with what sounds like complaining from the blue one. Remembering what the fillies said about alicorns, he slowly approached her as the leader of his squad, his mind reeling with what could possibly happen.

They met in the middle and stared at each other silently. It wasn't long before Flame noticed a growing excitement in the alicorn's eyes. He wasn't the best at reading people, but he could see it regardless.

Deciding to break the ice himself, Flame bowed his head. "A pleasure to meet you, your highness."

This surprised the princess. "H-how did you know?"

"I'm certain you ran into a trio of fillies on your way here?" She nods. "They filled me in on your species and culture including the fact that your kind, alicorns, are princesses."

The blue one suddenly flies forward. "And what exactly did you do to them in order to get that information, huh?"

Dusk decided to step forward himself. "In case you never payed attention, they didn't have any wounds or marks on them when they left us. If you're thinking we tortured the info out of them, you're sorely mistaken." This was met with a glare from the pegasus, which Dusk matched.

Now the orange one stepped forward. "How can we be certain you didn't use any mind-control tomfoolery on them? I swear if you did anything to my little sister..."

Volt timidly came up behind Flame with Blast. "Um... we really don't have that kind of technology..."

Flame nodded. "Agreed, plus we don't really have anything on us besides the bare-bones requirements for our kind's squads." The orange one remained unconvinced, but lessened her aggressive stance.

The blue one was about to retort when the pink one cut her off. "Geez Dashie, give them a chance. The fillies were returned to us unharmed and they were willing to talk. I think that's cause enough to celebrate!" She suddenly gasps. "Ohmygosh, I can totally throw a 'We Met Aliens' party!"

Blast nods enthusiastically. "I agree!" He then points at his squad mates. "I TOLD you guys they would be friendly!" Looking back at the orange and blue ponies, he added nervously, "At least most of them."

"That's besides the point...." Dusk grumbles.

The pegasus huffs. "I still don't trust you at all! You look too well armored for my liking."

The orange one nods. "I agree. besides, you let my sister go a little too--"

"Can everypony please calm down? We're in the middle of something important here!" The princess half-shouted in frustration. Seeing the blank look on the knight's faces, she gives a nervous cough. "Right... well since we conveniently know the same language, why don't we introduce ourselves? I'm Twilight Sparkle."

"I'm Flame-Lance, leader of Delta Squad." He looks at his squad mates expectantly.

Dusk sighed in reluctance. "Dusk-Shooter."

"Blast-Bomb!"

"V-Volt-Crasher..."

The pink pony started bouncing enthusiastically. "I'm Pinkie Pie and we'll become best friends!" She started staring at the the other two ponies.

"Nothing for it I guess. I'm Applejack."

"Rainbow Dash..."

Flame noted Rainbow's reluctance before looking at Twilight. "Now that that's taken care of, is there anything you want to ask of us, Princess Twilight?"

She grimaced. "Please drop the 'princess'. I've only recently became one and I'm not used to it by now."

"With all due respect your highness, I'm required to address you by title until less... hostile relations are established."

"Alright... well first of all, what are--" She was cut off by a bunch of screaming, followed by two earth shattering howls.

Dusk facepalmed. "This seems familiar..."

Giant 'Kindling' Monsters

The group of four knights and four ponies rushed towards where the screams and howls originated from. All of the knights activated their shields and caused them to emit their respective glows, much to the ponies' surprise.

Delta Squad, hearing screams for the second time in one day, immediately rushed off to see what was happening. Dusk didn't say anything as, despite his misgivings on the situation, he knew that Flame was trying to convince the ponies they weren't hostile. Any reluctance on his part would quickly eliminate any progress his leader made and he respected Flame more than that.

Rainbow could of flown ahead of the group with her speed to see what was wrong, yet she kept with the group out of suspicion it might be an elaborate trick by these armored aliens to separate them further. She has decided that one wrong move from any of the 'knights' and she would kick their flank out of Equestria.

More screams rang out as they approached. When the entire group reached the location of the screams, the fillies from before were cowering under a white unicorn and a yellow pegasus. Looming over them were what appeared to be giant wooden 'Snarbolaxes' that were bearing down on the cowering ponies.

"Alpha timberwolves!" Was all Twilight cried out. None of the knights could comment on it, as the both of the beasts began to raise a claw to strike the cowering ponies.

Rainbow, no longer seeing the situation as a ruse, flew with a burst of speed at one of the alphas and started bucking it in the head. It quickly grew annoyed and tried to swipe at the pegasus, who dodged out of the way with no problems.

The other one, seeing it's compatriot being distracted, quickly tried to land a blow on the ponies in front of it. All five ponies flinched waiting for the blow to strike.

Only for it to be blocked at the last second by the combined shields of Volt and Blast. Volt looks at the ponies with a slightly pained look. "Go! Get out of here!"

The crusaders, recognizing them from earlier, quickly scampered away with the older ponies. The alpha tried to crush the two knights with it's claw, only to slightly fall forward when the knights dashed away. It let out a howl of frustration before glaring at the two knights.

Volt started waving his hand in front of his face. "Ugh... that STENCH!"

Blast thought for a moment before reaching into his arsenal bag and pulling out a massive white tablet, baffling Volt. "Mint?" The beast roared again and hit the tablet away with a claw. Blast sighed before pulling his Nitronome out. "Alright, just thought I'd offer. Howzabout a refreshing blast?"

"I-I don't think now's the time, Blast." Volt said, drawing his Sudaruska right before the alpha tried hitting them, prompting them both to dodge and finally engage.

"Hope there's room for one more in this party!" Pinkie rushed forward, pulled a party cannon out of her mane, and started firing at the timberwolf.

"Now's not the time for that, sugarcube." Applejack huffed as she rushed forward with her energetic friend.

Flame, Dusk, and Twilight decided to help Rainbow with the other alpha. Right as it tried following the pegasus with it's claw in an attempt to strike her, it got shot by Dusk's Argent Peacemaker. "Hmph, these giant mounds of kindling should really smarten up."

Twilight ran up beside him and started firing magic bolts. "They aren't just "giant mounds of kindling". Not much is known about alpha timberwolves, so we need to be ready for anything."

"Nothing a little fire can't cure." Because they weren't in the forest anymore, Flame no longer felt he was limited to weapons that didn't cause fire. Wanting to test the waters a little bit, he pulled out his Volcanic Pepperbox and started firing as well. The effect was immediate, causing the timberwolf to howl in pain and strike at Flame, causing the three standing together to break in order to dodge.

Dusk looked at Flame as he continued firing. "Use a different weapon! That Pepperbox isn't strong enough to cause any sort of substantial fire."

"Just figured I would try!" Flame switched for his Fang of Vog and started jumping up the timberwolf, much to Rainbow's surprise. The alpha tried to shake him off, but he held firm and started slashing at the beast's back with the flaming sword. Fires did start, but every time Flame shifted positions on the it's back, the fires would quickly go out. It wasn't long before the timberwolf flung him off it's back.

Rainbow huffed as she dodged another strike. "Nice try, metal head, but I didn't see any substantial damage from that little attempt."

"It's resistant to small fires, how was I supposed to know?" Flame quickly switched to his Warmaster Rocket Hammer, It's appearance causing Twilight to flinch a bit, and once again went in to attack.

On the other side of the clearing, the mixed group was faring no better against their alpha timberwolf. Blast's explosions and Pinkie's rounds would only slightly stagger it and and any damage done was quickly repaired. Both Volt and Applejack were landing powerful blows, but they were constantly in danger of getting hit.

Applejack was amazed with Volt. Whenever the knight commanded the timberwolf's attention, any blows against the knight clashed with Volt's own blows with his massive, glowing sword. He does get a few glancing blows, but he never flinched and kept fighting.

Blast, on the other hand, was getting sick of seeing his larger-than-normal explosions do next to nothing, even with his bowling-bomb technique. However, when he got another glimpse of Pinkie's blue cannon, he got an idea. "Pinkie, stop firing for a second!"

This confused the pink mare. "Why? Aren't we in the middle of something here?"

"Bear with me. This is either going to be a brilliant idea or a horrible idea." Before Pinkie could say anything, he primed a Nitronome and stuffed it into the cannon. "FIRE IT!"

She didn't need telling twice. The cannon launched the bomb right at the timberwolf's head, the resulting explosion actually toppling the beast with substantial damage. "Woooow, that actually works fantastical!"

Blast nods enthusiastically. "You and I are going places!" He stuffs another bomb into the cannon for firing.

Volt and Applejack noticed what their friends were doing and quickly pressed the advantage they now had, striking the timberwolf whenever it's briefly toppled.

The only time they couldn't press their advantage was when Blast stuffed a different looking Nitronome into the cannon, only to realize it right after. "Whoops, wrong bomb!" The explosion from the bomb caused confetti, sparkles, and balloons to fly everywhere, serving to only annoy the timberwolf.

Pinkie looked shocked. "What was that?"

Blast gives her a nervous look before stuffing an actual Nitronome into the cannon. "Sorry, Nitronomes and Party Bombs look so similar sometimes."

She fires the cannon before deadpanning at him. "That sounds an awful lot like my party cannon..."

"You like parties too?"

"Yeah, I'm Ponyville's premiere party planner!"

Blast whooped. "Alright! When we're done, let's throw a massive party!"

Dusk heard Blast's whoop and sighed. "Like I said, there's two of them..."

"Later, Dusk!" Flame took another couple of swings with his hammer, it's brutal blows garnering more grimaces from Twilight and a more suspicious look from Rainbow. Rainbow didn't dare call out Flame while they were fighting for their lives, but her trust of them took a turn for the worse when she saw how brutally effective some of their weapons are, which didn't help the fact they had weapons to BEGIN with.

Not long after Flame switched to his hammer, it became apparent that this alpha was a lot stronger than the other one, easily recovering from harsh blows and a lot faster when repairing damage done. It also seemed a bit more clever, often faking Flame or Rainbow out in order to get a hit in, as well as going after Twilight or Dusk whenever it felt they were becoming too much of a bother.

Unfortunately for Flame, it started to go after Dusk so he moved to intercept, only for it to change it's course and swipe at him. He barely got his shield up to protect his body, but not only did he feel pain from his current injuries including from before the fight, but the claw had hit his helmet off and threw him back towards Twilight.

After landing, he fell to one knee, clutching his side from where his most serious wound kept getting worse. Twilight, after grabbing his helmet from out of the air with magic to return to him, gasped at what she saw.

Flame's head looked like it was made of pure, solid shadow while his eyes stayed as what was essentially an animated neon light. The real kicker was how his head was shaped; he had two pony ears on his head and a pony muzzle and mouth, which was currently gritted and leaking a blue liquid.

"Pardon my language, but this is beginning to piss me off..." Flame growled as he put his Warmaster Rocket Hammer away and brought out his Magma Driver. "Let's see if you can withstand magma energy!"

The burning shots fired from the driver not only instantly ignited the wood but even bounced and hit another part of the timberwolf. Howling in pain, the timberwolf rounded on Flame and viciously tried to bite him, only to miss and get a few more rounds from the driver. Dusk switched out his Argent Peacemaker for his Hail Driver and started shooting the legs, freezing them in place.

"What the hay?" Rainbow had quickly noticed rocks getting set aflame from the orange energy and frozen from the blue shots, convincing her further just how dangerous these 'knights' were.

Twilight noticed what Dusk was doing and used her magic to redirect the bounced shots that cleared the timberwolf, making a mental note to ask them what kind of energy they were using. The thought of discovering a new type of energy or even magic secretly excited her, but she was even more curious as to who or what these knights actually were.

Flame noticed that, while his Magma Driver was doing more visible fire damage than his Fang of Vog, the fires still kept going out. Yet the timberwolf couldn't resist the ice encasing it's legs, effectively immobilizing the beast. Deciding on an all-or-nothing strike, he switched to his Combuster and started charging it.

He was initially appalled to find that his weapon was charging slower than usual. His worry turned to surprise when he felt how much power was coursing through his charging blade as the middle started emitting actual flames. The blade felt like it was going to explode when it was done charging and Flame didn't want to take any risks. "Get out of the way, now!"

Dusk and Twilight got away, but Rainbow ignored the warning as she continued to attack and dodge the beast's snapping head. Twilight groaned, teleported right beside Rainbow, and teleported back with a yelp from the pegasus. All friendlies clear, Flame unleashed the energy.

The effect was almost instantaneous. Five massive pillars of fire erupted from the ground, one right after the other in rapid succession, and completely engulfed the timberwolf. The beast let out one final howl before finally collapsing, now no more than a burning pile of wood

Over in Canterlot Castle, as she was preparing to lower the sun, Celestia saw five pillars of fire erupt from the other side of the everfree forest near her old castle. "Hm? What's going on over there, I wonder..." She pursed her lips, wondering if it had anything to do with the flashing lights from earlier today. She made a mental note to write to her former student and ask about what had happened.

When the other timberwolf saw it's compatriot being incinerated by the waves of fire, it immediately ran away, yelping in fright. Everyone looked at the smoldering remains, either in utter shock or in awe of what just happened.

Flame looked at his sword, arm shaking erratically, before finally dropping it and collapsing backwards, breathing heavily in exhaustion. The sword deactivated as it hit the ground, still smoking from the energy it just released.

Applejack was the first to speak. "What... in tarnation just happened? Did Flame do that?"

Volt snapped out of his stupor and rushed to help Flame. He was appalled to find him covered in injuries, the one from before the fight was worse than before, and quickly got a med-kit out.

Dusk shook his head as he and Blast approached. "I told you. You need to take care of yourself as much as you take care of us."

Helmet still in Twilight's magic, Flame managed a weak grin. "Heh... that just... how I... roll."

"T-thank y-you." The knights look and see the yellow pegasus with the white unicorn and the crusaders.

Volt nodded. "I'm just glad you five are safe."

The white one sighed. "Dare I say, when that brute went to strike us, my life flashed before my eyes. I'm just glad we got away unharmed." She puts a hoof to her muzzle before her eyes widened in realization. "Oh how uncouth of me, I never introduced myself."

Twilight stepped forward. "We can do the re-introductions later. This place is still too dangerous for us to be loitering here."

Pinkie squeed in joy. "I'm just glad everypony is okay! I'm totally throwing an "Everypony's Safe and Sound" party on top of the "We Met Aliens" party!"

Blast nodded. "I'm with you, sister! Party like there's no--"

"Now hold on a second!" Everyone looks at a disgruntled Rainbow Dash. "Aren't we forgetting something? Like how they never mentioned that they have powerful WEAPONS?"

Twilight gave her a bewildered look. "Rainbow, I don't think we--"

"When were you planning on telling us? Just what are you trying to pull--"

Applejack cut her off. "Rainbow! For Pete's sake, they just helped us fight off two alpha timberwolves. I think they deserve more credit than that!" Looking at the knight with a slightly irritated look she added, "Although it would of helped your case if ya'll brought it up sooner..."

Flame coughed a bit. "I don't know... Would it of helped our situation if you knew from the get-go?" This got a deadpan from Applejack.

Rainbow opened her mouth to retort when Dusk cut her off. "I'd suggest engaging your brain before engaging your mouth. Think about what would've happened if we WEREN'T armed to the teeth with armor and weapons. What would've happened to your friends then?" This got a bewildered look from her.

Pinkie blanched. "How can you say things like that? Isn't that a little... harsh?" The other mares agreed.

Dusk shrugs. "I tell it how it is."

Everyone lapsed into an uncomfortable silence before Twilight gave a nervous cough. "Right... well we shouldn't stay here for much longer."

The yellow pegasus shivered. "W-where can we go?"

Flame motioned with his head. "We have camp set up further into the ravine. We can... recuperate there."

Twilight sighs and nods. "I guess that will have to do for now. You're too injured to make a trip to the castle. I'll... keep hold of your helmet for now." Flame nods as he gets up and leans on Volt. Everyone started making their way back into the ravine, Rainbow begrudgingly following.

Author's Note

I can tell fighting sequences are not my thing, but I tried anyways. Tell me what you think of it and what I could do to improve.

Weapons in order of use:
-Nitronome
-Sudaruska
-Argent Peacemaker
-Volcanic Pepperbox
-Fang of Vog
-Warmaster Rocket Hammer
-Magma Driver
-Hail Driver
-Combuster