YOU WORTHLESS MAGGOTS AREN'T EVEN WORTH HITTING WITH A HYPER BEAM

Cinder sat idly in her tent, fiddling with the parts of her rocket launcher. As she did, her mind drifted and soon came upon an information cache that had so far remained mostly untouched. This one was all about something concerning a phenomena known as “Displaced”. She scrolled through the memories, hands going on autopilot and mind retreating to her mindscape and looking at all the information present. As she looked, she felt the information rush into her head:

1: She was a Displaced

2: Her Token was a hand grenade with a Mega Stone paint job

3: She could summon people through their Tokens, just as she could be summoned through hers.

4: Her Mega-grenade would force a Mega-transformation upon her arrival, though this was optional if she wished to stay normal.

Cinder shook her head and came back to reality, picking up her reassembled rocket launcher and standing up, a strange feeling flashing through her mind as her gem pulsed with golden light.

“... Well, what fortuitous timing be this!” she thought, jumping into the air and disappearing with a mental shout of, “Go! Gardevoir!”

Just as Cinder appeared from her summoning, she was greeted with a hailstorm of laser fire.

“Wah!” she cried, spinning out of the way gracefully and teleporting to the nearest perceived safe area. Before her was the ruins of what had appeared to be a once mighty city, but now it was nothing but a war zone filled with the most horrendous of creatures. Ponies clad in white and black were doing everything they could to fight back against the monsters, but more and more fell before the beasts.

“... What the fuck kinda fresh hell have I wandered into this time?” Cinder muttered, peeking out from behind cover and aiming her launcher at a dense cluster of monsters. She pulled the trigger with a quiet utter of “Moon Blast” and launched a trio of screaming, white energy blasts at the monsters, creating a massive explosion of cold, white light.

When the light faded, half of the monsters blown to bits. The ponies fighting the let out cheers of renewed sense of victory, charging back into the battle with renewed vigor. Cinder grinned a vicious grin and stepped out from behind cover, psychically boosting herself into the air and coming down upon various monsters as she fired rockets downwards, each explosion immolating a monster and propelling her back into the air.

A loud screech sounded out behind her, causing Cinder to turn… she really wish she hadn’t. A swarm of massive flying mutants were flying right towards her.

“Youuuuuu’ve… gotta be shitting me.” she muttered, teleporting higher and landing on one monster’s back. Sighing to herself and thanking her decent level of experience with handling demons, she pressed the quadruple-barrel of her launcher into the neck of the monster and fired a quartet of Moon Blasts, neatly severing its head and sending her even higher, allowing her to spin in midair, as graceful as a ballerina. She fired off more Moon Blasts, immolating several others of the swarm and propelling her back towards the ground via Newton’s Third Law. As she accelerated downward at terminal velocity, she flipped until she was falling head first, straight towards the unwary back of yet another creature.

She smirked and projected her thoughts to everyone within earshot. “ZEN HEADBUTT!” she cried, smashing her glowing skull straight into and through the monster, bursting from its chest cavity like a pissed off xenomorph chestburster. But that was just the opening another needed to slice down with it’s talons, raking across her back.

“Aaargh!” Cinder fell forward and sank to her knees, managing to boost herself just out of range of the next swipe. Hot tears ran down her face as she crawled backwards, wondering if she would even respawn so far away from her pokéball. The creature wasn’t done with her however, crying out and diving back towards Cinder.

“Look out!” some one cried, shoving Cinder aside as the mutant flew over.

Cinder rolled to a halt a few feet away, shaking her head and wondering just who it was that had saved her. “Whoever you are… thanks… Probably woulda died for real there…” She winced as she sat up, the cut on her back crying out its protest as she moved.

“Hold still,” the voice urged. “You were scraped pretty bad by that E.V.O.” She could feel a strange cream being placed and rubbed on her back, finding it oddly soothing.

“Mnh.. careful!” She flinched as the cream hit, only to relax seconds later. “Ooohhhh~ Hey, that feels pretty nice…” Cinder looked back up, trying to see the face of her savior. She expected to see one of those armored ponies, or maybe just somepony in general, but to her surprise, behind her was a human. His hair was black and spiky, but with a windblown appearance. And his skin was a deep tan that accentuated his brown eyes. His orange jacket flapped slightly in the wind, showing the striped, white t-shirt beneath. His jeans, though torn, still looked perfect for battle.

Cinder flushed, a deep red color splaying across her cheeks as she saw her first man in months. “H-hey… I’m Cinder. What’s your name?”

He smiled at her, adjusting the orange goggles that sat right on his head. “They call me Rex, Rex Masters. Nice to meet you, Cinder. Sorry for calling you into a heated battle, but I kinda got separated from your totem at the last minute.”

“Hey, it’s cool. I’m basically built for battle, y’know, even with my girlish figure.” Cinder chuckled, flipping her shotgun from her belt and one-shotting a nearby E.V.O. in the head with a Focus Blast.

Rex blinked. “Wow, now that’s a girl who means business! I like it!”

Cinder smirked at Rex, falling into a cocky pose that was only minorly ruined by the blush across her face. “Y’like what you see?” She winked flirtatiously, blowing him a kiss while firing more attacks into the crowd of monsters.

A tiny blush appeared on Rex’s cheeks, but his smirk was all he needed. “Hell yeah! With you on our side, these E.V.O.s are goin’ down!” Rex stood back up and looked out to the field, pulling on his goggles. “Need a ride?”

“I could use one.” Cinder clipped her shotgun back to her belt and fired off a Magical Leaf before drawing her Market Gardener from her back and hefting it on her shoulder.

Rex smirked as his legs began to glow with lines of circuitry. Cinder watched in amazement as his entire lower body transformed into a streamlined hover vehicle. “Then get on, lovely!”

“Whoa….” Cinder paused in amazement, then sat on the vehicle behind Rex, holding on for dear life.

“Woo hoo!” Rex shouted as the shot off the top of the building… which was twenty stories up. “Hang on!” he laughed as they started to plummet.

“OH JESUS I IMMEDIATELY REGRET THIS DECISION!” Cinder screamed as they plummeted, somehow managing to retain enough of her faculties to decapitate a monster on the way down with a single swing of her shovel.

Rex pulled up the front of his Ride, just in time to hit the slope of another destroyed building, shooting off into the city. He looked back at Cinder with a smirk. “Havin’ fun?!”

“No not really!” Cinder shouted back, even though her smirk betrayed her true feelings. As the pair rushed past more and more E.V.O.s, she took the opportunity to give each and every one of them a devastating slash to each of them.

“Yeah! That’s how we do it!” he cheered as they plowed through the E.V.O.s ranks. However, a buzzing in Rex’s ear made him refocus. He put his hand to his left ear. “What’s goin’ on, Spike? How’s our progress?”

“Not good,” his friend answered over the comms. “Van Kleiss’ army isn’t giving on this city. Anymore of this and we’ll have to fall back.”

“Fall back?!” Rex repeated. “Spike, this is Ponyville we’re talking about here!! This is our home!”

“It’s hard for me too, kid. Remember that. But we have to live to fight another day. The order is going out in five. Be ready.” The comm clicked off.

Rex growled. “I fucking hate these things.”

“The E.V.O.s or the comms?” Cinder teased, taking the time to empty her rocket clip into a few clusters of monsters. Once empty, she replaced it with another, clipping the spent clip onto her belt and emptying out her spare as well.

“We’re evacuating the city,” Rex informed her. “That means us too…” he went silent for a moment, looking around at the remains of the of the city. “So much for home.”

“Ouch. Well, even if we do have to evacuate, we can still do some major damage, yeah?” Cinder patted Rex’s back even as they sped through the city, launching off a few wide-angle, area-of-effect attacks.

He smirked widely. “I like the way you think!” Rex’s smile widened even more as he saw a massive horde of monsters up ahead. “And I got just the way to blow off some steam.” He pulled the Ride to a stop just ahead of the encroaching army and powered the machine back into him. “Uh… Cinder? You can let go now.”

“...” Cinder flushed and climbed off of Rex’s back, silently mourning the loss of his oh-so comfortable warmth. “R-right…” She shook her head and started charging up an orb of glowing, screeching power. When it was fully charged, she looked at Rex and smirked.

“Hey, Rex?”

“Yeah?” he asked, his left arm glowing with circuitry.

“Two words: Hyper. Beam.” Cinder released the blast, a massive beam of solid white energy tearing from her palm, screeching and whining like a horde of avenging angels, tearing straight through the center of the horde and detonating in a fiery backlash.

“.... Okay, tired now.” Cinder fell to her knees and panted, not used to using such a devastating move.

“Woah,” was all Rex was able to say. “That… that was… that was hot.”

“Whoo… yeah, well, I’m useless for another few minutes. I’m out of ammo too, so can you take care of the rest?”

“Thought you’d never ask.” His arm powered up again, transforming into a massive cannon. The back of the gun launched backwards, taking some of the rouble and ground before retreating back into the barrel. “This how we do it here, Missy!” The cannon started firing repeatedly, each bolt taking E.V.O. after E.V.O., constantly reloading from the rouble of the city. “Ponyville’s fighting back, bitches!”

“Now that’shot…” Cinder shot a thumbs up at Rex as she shakily stood and leaned against a nearby pole. She shamelessly ogled Rex as he fired, she hadn’t seen another guy in over three months, after all.

Rex never once noticed, too busy making sure that every E.V.O. fell for attacking his home. His ear comm buzzed. “Rex, we’re falling back. Now.”

“Are you joking, Spike? Aren’t you seeing what we’re doing out here?”

“Yes, but that’s not saving the other side of the city. Ponyville has fallen, Rex… I’m sorry. Now fall back. That’s an order.”

Rex growled under his breath, retracting his arm cannon, pulling Cinder out of her day dreams. “Huh? We moving already?” Cinder glided over to Rex, a puzzled look on her face.

“The city’s gone,” he said emotionlessly. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close. “Hang on!” Before she could even ask, out of Rex’s back sprung a twin-turbine jet pack that shot high up into the air.

“WHOA JESUS FECKIN’ CHRIST ASK ME FIRST BEFORE YOU DO THAT!” Cinder screamed mentally, lightly bopping Rex on his head as she hung on for dear life.

He chuckled a little. “Sorry, but when Spike says to go, we gotta go…” Rex trailed off as he looked to the other side of the city. Cinder followed his eyes and was awed and horrified by the sight. Endless amounts of creatures were piling into the city, burning and destroying everything. The screams of those unlucky enough to get left behind could be heard even from that high up. It was awful… just awful.

“God… is this a daily thing?” Cinder whispered, unable to take her eyes off the sight. Not even dealing with the demons in her world prepared her for this. A righteous rage filled her from her core, a burning rage tempered only by Rex’s grip on her. “This… not even the demons back home did this much damage…”

“It’s been going on for years,” Rex said solemnly. “We’ve been able to fight back a lot recently, but… this always happens. Van Kleiss’ army doesn’t have much left to conquer.”

“... I feel your pain… My Equestria’s been reduced to half size… there’s… one of the only things left untouched is the Crystal Empire and Canterlot. Even Ponyville has damage…” Cinder offered a comforting pat on the back to Rex, still hanging on as they flew through the air.

“We’d better get to the Providence base. Don’t need Twilight worrying about me.”

“Right… should probably explain me as well…”

He chuckled a little. “Yeah, Twilight’ll love to meet you. Haven’t had a Displaced actually visit… not since that weirdo shop owner. Hold on to me.” Rex’s turbines fired up to their maximum, shooting off in the opposite direction of Ponyville at nearly mach speeds.

Cinder yelped in surprise and clung tighter to Rex, silently enjoying Rex’s body heat. They flew for several minutes, a massive white building coming into view deep in the Equestrian Bad Lands.

“There it is!” Rex shouted over the roar of the winds. “Providence HQ. The only living resistance to Van Kleiss on the planet.”

“Wow… It’s… bigger than Canterlot Castle… Whiter, too.” Cinder mumbled, staring at it as best as she could from her position. She felt an absurd need to paint it red for some reason.

“Yeah, Luna is obsessed with the color. Twilight says it’s because of her late sister, Celestia,” Rex explained.

“Wait, Celestia is DEAD!?” Cinder couldn’t believe her ears, staring up at Rex with undisguised shock.

Rex was silent. “... I never met her myself. But legends say she was the first E.V.O.”

“...That’s… ouch….” She shook her head, “Anyway, shall we?”

“LZ’s just up ahead.” Rex slowed down as they approached, a landing pad extending out of the building with two others standing there waiting for them. One was a violet unicorn, wearing a lab coat and her navy blue mane tied back in a pony-tail. The other was a purple-scaled dragon wearing black sunglasses and an olive green suit. Rex and Cinder landed right in front of them, his turbines retracting away. “Spike, Doc Twilight, meet Cinder Guard,” he introduced. “She’s one of those Displaced people and was a big help to me during the siege.”

Cinder bowed, “Hello, I’m Cinder Guard. I’m a freelance soldier in Princess Celestia’s army in my home world. A pleasure to meet your acquaintance.”

Spike was, silent looking her over before turning to Rex. “Why is she here and what threat does she pose?”

“Oh Spike,” Twilight sighed, walking up to Cinder. “Not every stranger is a threat, ya know. Just because she looks a little different doesn’t mean we can’t trust her.” She stuck her hand out to Cinder. “I’m Doctor Twilight, head researcher here at Providence. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“..... Nice to meet you, too.” Cinder stared at Spike warily, a slight bit perturbed by the dragon’s demeanor.

“Don’t mind Spike,” Twilight waved off. “He’s just overprotective.”

“I can see that. Does he have some kinda complex or something?” Cinder kept staring at Spike, examining him and performing cursory scans of his surface thoughts. Satisfied that she wouldn’t be attacked anytime soon, she turned back to Twilight. “So… what’s there to do around here?”

“Well, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to examine you.” She forcefully turned Cinder around. “Hmm, oh yes, I’ll need to get you in the lab. We need to make sure that wound of yours isn’t infected with nanites.”

“... I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that there’s gonna be more than just that, isn’t there?”  Cinder deadpanned at Twilight, but complied anyway. “I mean, if it’s really necessary, I could just use Rest and sleep it off…”

“Not if you’ve got nanites,” Twilight said as she dragged Cinder into the base. Rex and Spike followed. “We need to check you now, before you end up turning into an E.V.O.”

“Right. That’d probably be for the best.” Cinder removed her arm from Twilight’s grip and glided serenely after her, floating along on a cushion of psychic energy.

“Ooh, clever. Psychic abilities are rare amongst ponies. I can’t wait to get you into the scanners!” Twilight giggled excitedly.

Cinder looked at Rex, slightly worried, “Uh… she’s not gonna vivisect me, right?” She sent the message directly to Rex, rather than just broadcasting it to the whole group.

Rex gave her a calming smile. “Don’t worry about the Doc,” he said. “She just wants to do a body scan. Dissections and the like are against her code. You’ll be just fine.”

“Oh good. Because I really don’t want to be vivisected in a world where I’m not sure I’ll respawn.”

“Ooh, a magic satchel as well,” Twilight said. “Reminds me of Pinkie Pie….” she trailed off. Spike walked up and put his claw on her shoulder. Twilight looked to her old friend and nodded. “Sorry, bad memories.”

“Huh? No, I just keep a bag of rags under my dress. I’d show you, but that would probably count as indecent exposure.” Cinder placed the bloody rag back under her dress, drawing out a fresh one and continuing to wipe down the blade of her shovel. “If you’re wondering, well, a gore covered shovel is a dull shovel. Also, it helps during my… er… ‘monthlies’.”

Twilight and Rex blushed, Spike simply quirking up an eyebrow. The unicorn coughed, getting her flush under control. “Well then… right this way.”

“Of course.” Cinder floated after Twilight as if she hadn’t just mentioned her period cycle.

After a brisk walk, Twilight was soon enough laying Cinder down in what could be called a futuristic CAT scanner. "Okay Ms. Guard, if you just lay still for a few moments. Just need a preliminary test to proceed."

Cinder complied, not moving. “So… this is just a scanner, yeah? This is a really nice looking machine… Pretty cool.”

Just as the machine started, it stopped halfway. Twilight groaned loudly. "It's a nice machine when it works. Rex, little help please?"

"Sure thing, Doc." Rex got down on the floor, sliding under the machine.

"Sorry about this," Twilight told Cinder. "We get mechanical problems a lot. Thankfully, Rex here is a genius mechanic."

“I see. I’m not very good with machines unless I’m breaking them. I didn’t class as Engineer, though I wish I did.” Cinder removed her tophat at this point, setting it on the floor with the rest of her effects.

"Well, I'm more of a mechanical engineer, myself," Rex said as he worked. "Was considered a prodigy on Earth, went to colleges all over the world, learning everything I could."

“Nice. I was… well, I played violin. Not much other than that.” Cinder hummed a nameless tune as she stared at the ceiling, bored out of her mind.

"Well, at least ya got yer looks," Rex laughed.

“That I did, that I did…” Cinder chuckled, then, completely bored, generated a few Shadow Balls and set them orbiting above her head in ever increasingly complex patterns, spinning endlessly around a tightly controlled Confuse Ray. The black and purple orbs danced around a central, roiling rainbow sphere, Cinder’s chest gem and eyes both shining a warm golden color.

Twilight scribbled furiously on a pen pad as she watched Cinder. Several cameras were turned to watch her, getting a look at every angle. Spike was on edge about the show, keeping a claw near his weapon.

After a few minutes, Rex finally pulled himself out from under the machine. "Alright, I think I got it. Let's get the lady checked."

“Ugh, finally. I was about to give up and just blast something unimportant.” Cinder let all her attacks dissipate into the air, laying flat once again.

Twilight activated the scanner again. The machinery moved and spun around Cinder, capturing every part of her body in data. After a few moments it was complete.

"Alright, now we just need to give the computer a couple kilobytes to process the data. Hopefully it'll turn up negative."

Cinder nodded, looking around, only to notice Rex had her launcher. She bolted upright and telekinetically snatched away the launcher, ripping it from his arms and into her grasp with a, “She’s mine!” Cinder cradled the weapon in her arms, checking it over for any dents or scratches. To her horror, a few pieces had broken off when she took it from Rex. “Oh no, I’m so sorry baby!”

Rex walked up, the broken pieces in his hands. "Sorry for not asking. I was just trying to help."

Cinder shot him a glare and held up her as-of-yet unnamed rocket launcher, “Help. Fix this.”

"Well, this is actually what I was doing to it," he said as he got down on his knees. He placed the broken parts near the launcher. To Cinder's amazement, little vines stretched out and grabbed the parts and pulled them into place. When she checked the parts, they were fully attached, without a single scratch anywhere.

“....” Cinder blinked and set down her launcher– Cifer, she decided– carefully and glomped Rex, spewing a wave of thanks and gratitude into his mind. “Oh thank you thank you thank you!”

Rex laughed as Cinder gushed. "Hey I couldn't just leave a beautiful girl without making sure she was fully prepped! Now, no matter what happens, the launcher can always fix itself. It's even regenerative if it goes too long without the parts."

“....” Cinder stared. “You’re serious?”

"Yeah! I just applied a few of my nanites to it and programmed them to keep the launcher active. No big deal."

Cinder grabbed Rex’s shirt and hauled him down to eye level, “Kiss me. Now.”

"Wait, huh?!" Was all Rex had a chance to say before their lips mashed against each other. Cinder was relentless, furiously kissing Rex with as much energy as she could muster. Though, shocked at first, Rex eventually gave in, returning the kiss.

Once they finally broke apart, Rex was fully out of breath. "Holy....hell..."

Cinder fared little better, though her “speech” was much clearer. “That was… pretty damn awesome…”

“I’ll say,” Rex laughed a little, trying to regain his bearings. “Now, uh, wanna tell me why you kissed me?”

Cinder blushed, “Ah… er… you’re hot, you feel like a nice person, you’re hot, you’re the first human male I’ve seen in three months, you’re hot, you fixed Cifer and upgraded her, you’re hot… Need I go on?” She shrank back a little, giggling nervously.

“You said I’m hot four times,” Rex pointed out, still somewhat dazed.

“You’re hot. It’s true.”

“Heh, wow,” Rex blushed, rubbing the back of his head. “Been a long time since a girl has been interested in me.”

“How long?” Cinder asked, idly performing maintenance on Cifer.

Before Rex could answer, Twilight cleared her throat, getting their attention. “Sorry to interrupt the young couple,” she said with a giggle. “But I have your test results, Cinder. You’ve tested negative for any nanites, but just to be safe I’d like for you to stay overnight. If you’re still clean in the morning, you’ll be free to return to your own world.”

“Right, right…” Cinder finished her maintenance and stood, reattaching all her equipment. “So… you got any food around here?”

“Yeah, I can show you to the cafeteria, if you’d like,” Rex offered.

Cinder’s stomach almost roared its approval. She spoke with a heavy blush, “Yeah, that’d be great.”

Rex smiled as he grabbed her hand. “Come on, then! We’ll get ya something to fill that belly.”

“Have fun on your date, you two!” Twilight called after them.

Cinder blushed and psychically slapped Twilight lightly on the back of the head. The mare just laughed it off, rubbing her aching head. “What a cute couple,” she said, getting back to work.

Rex led Cinder to quite the fair sized cafeteria. It had everything one would need to keep a healthy diet. Even meat was available for the griffons and minotaur operatives.

Cinder looked around in awe, taking in the construction. “Y’know, it’s funny. After three months of nothing but rations and the occasional supply drop… this is like heaven to me.”

“Well, everything is free for agents, so… I guess lunch is on me! Anything you want!”

“.....” Cinder’s pupil’s dilated as she made a psychically assisted beeline for the food, shoving agents out of her path and grabbing as much food as she could carry on a single tray, then she floated it behind her and grabbed another. And another. And another.

When all was said and done, she had five trays completely filled with food, some of it even stacked a few plates high. Cinder offered a tray toward Rex, this one with a few slices of assorted pizza. “I wasn’t sure what you’d want, so I just grabbed a few pizza slices. Want some?”

He smiled, taking the tray. “Sounds good to me. There’s a free table over here, care to join me?”

“I’d love to.” Rex led them over to a far off table, one that looked out into the Badlands. He pulled out a chair for Cinder to sit in. “Thanks, Rex.”

Cinder set the trays down and immediately tore into the food with a strange air of dignity and grace, not a single crumb leaving her mouth, not a single motion out of place.

Rex laughed a little, slowly eating his pizza. “Someone’s hungry,” he teased.

“You’d be eating like this too if all you’d had for three months was field rations for two meals a day with no third meal.” Cinder shot back, still stuffing her face gracefully.

He put his hands up in defense. “Hey, I’m not judging…. it’s actually kind of cute.”

She paused, fork halfway to her lips. “Well… that’s a first. Most people just think it’s weird how graceful I make pigging out look.”

“Grace is never something I’ve been able to pick up on. That was more my sister’s thing.”

Cinder shrugged and returned to her meal, pigging out once again. At this point three of her trays were already done, neatly stacked upon each other and off to the side. “Well, it’s not as much of a problem as you may think. All you really need to do is start off slow, then work your way up.”

“Heh, I’ll take your word for it. I’ll leave the grace to the pretty girl in front of me.”

“Oh stop, you’re gonna make me blush.” Cinder finished off her meal, levitating her empty dishes over to the dishwashers in the back.

“I thought that’s what my job was: making the pretty girls blush,” he said with a cocky smile.

Cinder lightly slapped him on the arm, “That was terrible.” She smirked at him, nonetheless, sidling up to him with a flirtatious grin. “So, wanna have a chance to reallymake me blush?”

“...I’m listening,” Rex said in return.

She trailed a finger down his chest and drew little circles on his abdomen, “You, me, tonight… aaaalllll alone~”

Rex was silent for a moment. “Dear gods above, I’ve met the perfect girl.”

“Heh, maybe not perfect, but I like to think I’m damn close.” Cinder smiled up at Rex, “So, whaddya say?”

“I’d say you’re on! But, just so no one gets suspicious, how about I show you around? We’ll be able to get deep into the base where no one will bother us.”

“Of course. So… how about a tour, loverboy?” Cinder clung to Rex’s arm lightly, batting her eyelashes at him.

“As the lovely lady asks,” Rex said with a smile, leading them out of the cafeteria.

They walked along the many walkways of the base, Rex pointing out certain spots and areas. Eventually, they came across a series of windows looking out into a what looked like a wildlife habitat.

“And this is the Zoo,” Rex told her.

“What kinda animals you got?” Cinder stared out over the Zoo, marvelling at the strange forest within.

“Well, the animals aren’t exactly the reason for the Zoo,” Rex said hesitantly.

“....It’s more E.V.O.s isn’t it.” Cinder deadpanned, staring at Rex with a blank expression. “No, don’t tell me. I can already guess the answer.”

Just as Rex was about to answer, a massive E.V.O., reminiscent of a tyrannosaurus rex, roared into view. Cinder facepalmed and sighed. “Eyup. E.V.O.s.”

“They’re permanents,” Rex said sadly. “The ones we haven’t been able to cure.” He pulled Cinder away from the windows and continued away. “We should keep moving. They get restless when prey are near.”

“Right…” Cinder shot one last look of pity at the monsters contained within the Zoo as she followed Rex.

“We’re coming up on one of my favorite spots in the base,” he said as they continued their stroll. “It’s kind of a sad place for some, but I find it inspiring.” They walked through an open door and found themselves in a beautiful garden. Sunlight shone into the room via a massive set of skylights, the light dancing on the plants and ponds all over.

“Wow… how could this be sad for anyone?” Cinder gasped and took in the garden, entranced by its beauty.

“That,” Rex said, pointing to the massive statue in the very center of the garden. It was large and enchanting, depicting a familiar mare cloaked in battle armor. Her mane forever frozen in the wind, an expression of defiance yet care on her muzzle. Rex and Cinder walked up to the statue, Rex reading off the plaque. “In memoriam of Princess Celestia, even in death she guides us all to a brighter future.”

“So she really is dead here….” Cinder mumbled, gently reaching out and touching the statue, as if she were unsure that what she was seeing was real. “I can’t believe it… goddess of the sun… what happened to her?”

“The legends say she tried to stop the original nanite event nearly two thousand years ago. She absorbed the blast, but ended up transforming into the very first E.V.O. It gets a little hazy after that, but the most common theory is that Luna used the Elements of Harmony to destroy her. The results ended up spreading the nanites all over the world, leading to what we have now.”

“I… I see…” Cinder turned, too shocked to keep looking at the statue. “It’s a beautiful garden, nonetheless…”

“So this is our new ally,” a voice spoke from behind the couple.

“Eh!?” Cinder spun again, facing the intruder. “Who are you?”

Standing behind them was a navy blue mare with a flowing starry mane. Her horn was amazingly sharp at the point, but not all that long and her wings laid flat against her back. She wore a pure white dress suit, not a single blemish anywhere to be seen.

“Oh, hey there Luna,” Rex greeted. “Cinder, meet Princess Luna, a.k.a the White Knight of Providence. She created the organization with the purpose of dealing with every E.V.O.”

“Well met, Miss Cinder,” Luna greeted.

Cinder bowed, “Greetings, Princess Luna. Your organization is impressive, to say the least.”

“I appreciate your compliments,” she replied, though her emotionless voice betrayed her feelings. She looked up at the glimmering statue, completely silent. She turned on her heel and started walking away. “Try not to break too much. We don’t have much left.” In a few quick strides, she was gone.

Cinder stood, nonplussed at her cold actions. “.... I get what she’s gone through, but man, she’s scary.”

“She’s also the only thing on the planet devoid entirely of nanites,” Rex said. “She started everything here from the ground up, since Equestria fell into anarchy after Celestia… passed.”

“Y’know, the more I stay here… the more things start to feel… eerilyfamiliar… I swear, there was this one thing back on my earth…” Cinder rubbed her forehead, trying to remember just what it was that felt so familiar.

“Like a TV show, maybe?” Rex asked with a smirk. “Particularly a cartoon?”

“Possibly… it’s been years, so I don’t really remember much. Especially considering what Aaron did to my memories to keep me alive…” Cinder rubbed her forehead harder before giving up. “Ah forget it. It’ll come to me later, I’m sure.”

Rex chuckled. “Yeah, sure. But, trust me, I know the feeling of missing memories. I’m missing about five-ten years of my own memory… and that was about two thousand years ago.”

“Ouch… I’m missing most of my memory of being a human, save for anything that’s ambiguous enough to not cause any disconnect between body and brain. I’m also missing a set of memories from another existence, the ones that give me combat skills… The most intact bits of memory about my life are from this body… a Gardevoir.” Cinder shook her head. “I’ll get them back one day, I know for certain, but sometimes it’s a little difficult when I get flashes of memory of being a mercenary with a brain the size of a peanut… or when I forget that I only have three fingers, not five.”

“Well, in the meantime,” Rex said, bringing Cinder close by the waist. “Care to make some new memories?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” Cinder floated up slightly, kissing Rex on the lips and wrapping her arms around his neck.

The next morning, Doc Twilight walked through the halls of Providence HQ, heading for a specific place. She stopped right in front of the door, knocking lightly. “Rex? Are you awake?” She pressed in  the keypad, the door sliding up. “Rex, have you seen Cinde–OH MY CELESTIA!!” the good doctor screamed at the sight within. Her ward, Rex, was in the same bed with their new ally, Cinder… and it was plainly clear neither were wearing anything underneath the cover.

“Gah!” Rex screamed awake from Twilight’s shout. “Whowhatwherewhen?!”

Cinder snapped awake, gently rising to a sitting position with a quiet, “Oh, good morning, Doctor.”

“You...you… you two….” Twilight stutted with a blush growing deeper and deeper.

At that moment, Spike walked into view, his only reaction being a quirked eyebrow. He turned to Twilight. “Cute couple, hmm?”

“Oh shut up, Spike!” Twilight practically screeched. She groaned, putting a hand to her growing headache. “Just… just get down to the examination room as soon as you can. We need to do a final test to make sure you’re clean… might as well throw in an STD scan just to be safe.”

“Hey!” Rex shouted. “Would you two just get out of here?!” He threw his arm forward, transforming into a giant mecha arm that punched out the door controls, slamming it shut. “...well, that was not how I wanted to start my morning.”

Cinder giggled and kissed Rex’s cheek. “Well, it’s better than waking up at three in the morning to fight off a horde of demons, that’s for sure. At least they care, yeah?”

“Yeah, I suppose. Appreciate what you got, as they say,” Rex said as he crawled out of bed. Cinder took the time to appreciate Rex’s form, resting for a moment longer.

As she serenely floated from the bed and returned her dress to its rightful place upon her body, she smiled at Rex and blew him a kiss. “Well? Shall we?”

“After this.” Before she could ask, Rex scooped her up bridal style and planted a deep kiss on her lips. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was plenty to leave Cinder dazed as he set her back down. “That, was thanks for last night.”

Cinder’s mind felt fuzzy, too fuzzy to even communicate properly. A heavy blush set in on her face as she moaned out, “G-gar~”

Rex chuckled as he bust down the broken door. “Come on, beautiful, let’s go. You got a doctor’s appointment to keep.”

“R-right…” Cinder’s “voice” felt static-y and fuzzy, so dazed was she as she gently picked her way through the corridors, blush still present. Despite her stumblings, Rex was able to guide her back to Twilight’s laboratory.

“Welcome back, lovebirds,” the doctor greeted, no longer surprised. She motioned for Cinder to get back into the scanners. Cinder gingerly laid down on the platform, still slightly dazed, though slowly coming back to reality.

As Twilight performed her tests, Spike took Rex off to the side. “What’s up, Spike?”

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” the spy asked. “What if she’s an infiltrator? In here to get to you?”

“Spike, that’s nuts! Look, I get it, you don’t want the Circe thing to happen again, but I’ve got a good feeling about this.” Spike quirked an eyebrow. “And no, not because of last night! But because of everything that led up to it and afterward. I care about her.”

He was silent for a moment before putting his claw on Rex’s shoulder. “Then I wish you luck, Rex. With women, you’re gonna need it.”

“Thanks, Spike. That means a lot.” The drake just nodded, letting Rex walk back over to Cinder and Twilight as the scans finished up.

“S-so, doc, how am I doing?” Cinder asked, rubbing her rear as she stood.

“Still negative thankfully. Your completely clear of any harmful nanites… and nothing bad from your ‘adventures’ last night.”

“Well, that’s good.” Cinder winced as she stepped just a hair too quickly. “Say… y’got any ice? I’m a little sore from… uh… yeah.”

Twilight giggled, moving off to the nearby freezer. Rex rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. “Sorry ‘bout that… like I said, it’s been a long while.”

“Never be sorry for fucking your partner metaphorically into the ground and leaving her an giggling mess. That’s talent, right there… Though it’d be nice if I could get some ice cream.” Cinder leaned up against Rex and batted her eyelashes pleadingly, almost begging him for ice cream.

“...by the gods, how does anyone resist you?” He sighed, getting up and going to the same freezer as Twilight handed Cinder her ice. Rex came back a few moments later with a few ice cream sandwiches. He handed one to Twilight, one to Cinder, and tossed another off to Spike who caught without issue. “So the lady asks, so the lady gets as my dad used to say.”

“Thank you~” Cinder sat on the package of ice, bringing the sandwich to her lips and nibbling it adorably.

Rex watched as he ate his own. “How are you so cute, adorable, and beautiful all at the same time? It’s just too much perfection.”

Cinder winked and flipped her hair, “It’s called… being me.”

“Well Cinder,” Twilight said between bites. “With your results negative, you’re free to return home at any time.”

“Thanks, doc.” Cinder nodded appreciatively at Twilight, finishing up her sandwich. “Ahh, that’s nice… haven’t had ice cream in a while…”

Rex looked away, a little downtrodden. “So… I guess this goodbye then, huh?”

“It doesn’t have to be, y’know.” Cinder held out her Token to Rex, the grenade still fresh, as if it hadn’t been used to summon her the day before.

Rex took it in his hand, feeling a bit relieved. “Well then Cinder, I suppose that leaves me with one thing to say to you.”

“Yes?”

He sat down on the table, cupped her chin and pulled her into another deep kiss. When the two broke, he asked, “Wanna be my girlfriend?”

“.....” Cinder flushed red and sank into his chest, mumbling, “Definitely.”

Rex smiled widely, taking a little gear out of his pocket. He took Cinder’s hand and slid it onto her finger. “This is my token, and you can use it to contact me at anytime. It can also take you right back here if you ever want to visit.”

Cinder stared at the gear, almost as if it were a wedding ring. A massive flush spread across her face once again. “I- of course. I’ll be sure to call you. In the meanwhile… here.” She pressed her grenade back into the palm of his hand, closing his fingers around it. “Just take this and call whenever you need my help.”

“I will, I’ll call real soon.” Rex kissed her again gently. “Just don’t forget about me while you’re blasting demons, okay?”

“How could I?” Cinder smirked, “You’re my boyfriend.”

He smiled lovingly, but Twilight ruined the moment. “Aww~, you two are so cute together!!”

Cinder merely flicked a tiny Thunder Wave at Twilight, enough to send a tiny jolt through her system, but not enough to truly paralyze. “Shush, you. Let us have our moment.”

Twilight put her hands up in defeat, walking off to keep Spike company. Rex chuckled. “Well that was somewhat of a moodkiller.”

“Indeed.” Cinder smiled and pulled away slowly. “So… I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah,” he gave her one more sweet kiss. “Hopefully soon.”

“Soon, I promise.” Cinder reciprocated, then, taking a single step back, gracefully spun in a circle, flaring with red light and dissipating into the aether with a quiet humming sound.

Rex leaned back slightly with a sigh. “By the gods… I think I’m in love.”

Cinder spun back into her world, tripped, and fell over onto her bedroll. She gave a quiet squeal of joy. “Oh my god I think I’m in loooove~” Before she could get too into her private celebration, she heard the alarm go off, signalling that a wave of demons was once more approaching the Eastern Front’s forward base.

She sighed,“A girl’s work is never done, it seems. Oh well. Killing time!”

And as she hefted Cifer back onto her shoulder and slung her Market Gardener– Maxwell– over her back, clipping her shotgun– Lucille, because why not– onto her belt.

“ALRIGHT YOU BLUE MOTHERFUCKERS! WHO WANTS A PIECE OF MY FIERY, RED, ASS!?”