Chapter 5: The Hunter, The Tower, and The Alicorn
“The starborne terror tore through the heavens and struck with an untold might.”

Samus’ log: Celestial Year 1212 June 13

Gods.

The first civilizations first created deities to help them understand the world around them. Gods were there to help give early creatures something to fight for. However, the people who believe in gods can use them to rationalize their own actions, no matter how horrible they can be. It’s good that people have something to believe in, but it’s not good when others use religion to further their own personal gain.

A black maned, indigo mare stood in front of three ponies in armor. One of them had taken off her helmet to reveal a pink mare with a yellow mane,”I repeat again, hand over Cherry Tart.”

“I don’t know who you’re talking about,” the indigo mare said with a scoff.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Black Seas!” The Steel Ranger mare said.

“What’s going on here?” Samus asked as she stepped up to the two mares.

The Steel Ranger looked at Samus,”It’s none of your business-”

“If it affects the ponies of this town, and threatens others, then yeah, it is my business.” Samus interrupted.

The Steel Ranger frowned, as she looked Samus up and down. She noticed that the Enclave armored mare was taller than herself. She noticed that a griffon that had been following her had flown up to perch on a balcony, waiting to strike and a gasp coming from a pegasus that had been following her, and the same pegasus running into the city for some reason. She sighed,”If I disagree, there’ll be a fight, and I don’t want that.”

Black Seas scoffed,”You’re just looking out for yourself, aren’t you? You’re all big and bad when you come across a pony who’s weak, but when you meet somepony who’s willing to fight back, you get a little scared.”

“Look, I just don’t want my own ponies or yours getting hurt in a cross-fire, and considering this mare’s armor, and that griffon, I have a feeling at least one of my ponies is going to die if I fight.” The Steel Ranger looked at Samus,”My name is Star Paladin Strawberry Lemonade, I have been sent to retrieve an AWOL soldier...”

Sunny flew through the door as soon as she heard the name Cherry Tart. On instinct, she took Puppy in her forehooves, knowing full well the danger Steel Rangers posed if they needed something badly. She flew through the streets, perusing the area until she came across a red maned, yellow coated stallion sitting at a bar. She landed next to him, ignoring Puppy’s excited squeals over her flying,”Cherry?”

“Forget it, I ain’t going to them!” Cherry shouted, putting a hoof on his holster.

“Ah ain’t askin’ ya ta do that. Ah... want to know why they want ya so bad. Ah know ya, you’re a good pony, Ah never pegged ya for a Steel Ranger.” Sunny said.

“Yeah, I know.” Cherry said as he leaned back,”I suppose I wasn’t cut out for the life after I saw what they did.”

“What they did?” Sunny asked as she landed next to him.

Cherry gave a deep sigh,”There was a Stable, Stable 2, I believe, and we were sent to gather tech. The door opened for us and we saw the welcoming committee. I... silly me, I thought we were just going to talk, but then our CO ordered us to fire on those poor defenseless ponies.” He shook his head,”There was so much blood, that... oh goddesses.” He sighed again,”I stayed behind and watched as my other comrades followed the CO to rest of the Stable. I turned, only to catch a glimpse of other ponies leaving through a secret entrance. I waited until they leaved before I left myself. I threw away my armor and my gun and went here.” He frowned,”This never would’ve happened if SteelHooves hadn’t gone missing.”

Sunny looked back behind her at Puppysmiles, who was looking at something shiny,”Ah’m going to talk to Samus about this...” She said to herself as she picked up the filly and flew back towards the entrance.

“We were on a mission to acquire some technology. Now, I wasn’t there specifically, but I do know what happened: Cherry Tart left mysteriously after the mission, but we managed to track him here. I don’t know why he left, but he had an obligation to the Steel Rangers.” Strawberry said.

“An obligation to murder?” Sunny asked as she came out. She turned to Samus,”Cherry Tart left because these ponies outright murdered a whole bunch of Stable ponies just to get their tech!”

“What!?” Samus yelled. She turned and glared at Strawberry.

Strawberry’s eyes widened,”What!? But they told me-” She shook her head,”That’s-that’s just wrong.” She looked to her left,”This never would’ve happened with Star Paladin SteelHooves...” She looked up at Samus,”Even though I think that’s horrible, and I’m really mad at my superiors for lying to me, I’m afraid I can’t leave without him. Unless SteelHooves comes here right now and solves this, we aren’t leaving.”

Samus frowned. Part of her wanted to blast this mare’s head off for pretty much destroying an entire colony of people, but then, she was right. A fight here would be more trouble than it’s worth,”What if we find this SteelHooves?”

Strawberry raised an eyebrow,”Really? You can try if you want, but I don’t think you’d be able to do find him. However,I will give you three days. If he isn’t here in that time, I will come to arrest Cherry Tart.” She went over to Samus,”His shack is a few kilometers west of Manehattan. It’s easy to spot, just look for the alicorn skeletons.”

Samus nodded,”Understood.”

Black Seas frowned,”As much as I would hate to do it, with this deal, I’ll let you pass, provided you don’t cause trouble, Paladin.”

Strawberry nodded as she turned,”Alright, ponies, let’s go back to base.” Her rangers nodded as they left.

Reggie flew down next to Samus,”Think we could’ve taken them?”

Samus shook her head,”Not without casualties.” She turned to Sunny,”Take what you need, and come as soon as you can.”

“... Ev’rytime Ah look at the wasteland, Ah git a little depressed.” Sunny said as she flew behind the group,”Ah don’t know how wastelanders walk around this place!”

“Meh, you get used to it.” Reggie gave a shrug.

“I’ve seen worse.” Samus said simply.

“Ooh, a shiny cart!” Puppysmiles was investigating a little broken cart.

Sunny raised an eyebrow at Samus’ remark,”How much worse?”

“Try walking around in a place where there are no ponies and only irradiated, horribly mutated monsters and your high-tech suit can’t handle the area because it’s in an alternate dimension.” Samus said.

“... Yer crazy, aren’t ya?” Sunny said with a frown.

Regina shook her head,”She’s at least doing something about the world, though after the things I’ve seen, I’d believe anything.”

“Things?” Sunny asked.

“Sparkly transporting deer-things.” Reggie said simply.

Sunny raised an eyebrow,”What did Ah get mahself into?”

Samus looked up and noticed a beaten down shack. She looked around at a couple of alicorn skeletons,”This must be the place,” She said simply as she trotted up the shack. She looked around as she saw several destroyed landmines, with bones of what appeared to be raiders near them. She looked at the door and pushed it,”Locked.”

“Guess we’ll have ta pick the lock.” Sunny blinked as she saw Samus turn and kick the door down,”Or ya could kick it down like a friggin’ maniac!”

As soon as Samus kicked the door down, Puppy ran inside and began to look around the place. Samus walked inside, noticing that a few things were knocked down from her kick. She looked down and noticed a small orb object and a small statuette. She looked down and found on further inspection that it had the shape of a small orange mare on top of a pedestal with the words,’Be Strong’ written on it. Samus picked it up and then felt her muscles being bolstered. She blinked,”What the hell? Is this thing magic or something?” She shrugged and placed it in her inventory. She looked down at the orb.

“A memory orb! If only we had a unicorn...” Sunny said with a frown.

“We’ll probably find one.” Reggie picked it up,”This thing might have clues as to where Steely is.”

Samus looked out the window, and noticed some rubble, and a shape near it,”I think I’ve already found him.”

“Yay!” Puppysmiles went out of the house and ran towards the rubble.

“Good Celestia, she’s a little ball of energy!” Sunny said, while the rest followed.

Puppy poked the armored form,”Hello? Mister Robot?”

“Leave, now!” The ‘robot’ said.

Samus walked up to the figure clad in power armor,”Are you Star Paladin SteelHooves?”

“I am, but that doesn’t matter, you need to leave!” SteelHooves said,”I don’t know how much longer I can go!”

“What do you mean? How did you get like that anyway?” Samus asked.

“... You’re not going to leave until I answer, are you?” SteelHooves gave a heavy sigh,”My suit got overloaded, and now I can’t move. I’m afraid I’m going to go crazy because...” He sighed,”Don’t tell this to anypony, but I’m a ghoul.”

“A ghoul?” Samus then began to wonder why this guy didn’t change shape like a normal ghoul. She decided against using her mythological knowledge and asked,”What is that?”

“Something that’s been horribly mutated by nuclear radiation.” Regina explained,”Specifically, I think this guy might be a Canterlot Ghoul. Those guys were hit by Pink Cloud and are bonded to whatever they’re touching.”

‘Wait, radiation doesn’t work like that! Then again, I’m talking to a griffon, so what do I know?’ Samus looked down at SteelHooves,”Well, is there anyway to fix you? Hold on,” Samus went down to SteelHooves’ side and began to check him over. She then opened a compartment, and noticed various drugs that were once feeding into him,”Hmm, if I could find a master key or something...”

“There should be one in Tenpony Tower.” SteelHooves said.

“But that place is stuck in a barrier!” Reggie flew up to the two.

“I... I know a tunnel that runs under it. It’s filled with feral ghouls, however.” SteelHooves said with a growl.

“Feral ghouls?” Samus asked.

“Ghouls that went nuts, pretty much. It’s supposed to happen to all ghouls eventually, but I’ve seen ghouls that have stayed sane for years, though I’m not sure why.” Reggie said.

“It’s usually because those ghouls have something to fight for, something to keep them sane.” SteelHooves almost sounded thoughtful.

Samus leaned in, and used her hooves to lift up SteelHooves and placed him on her back,”Welp, you better show us! And I won’t take no for an answer!” She began to turn,”Where is it!?”

“What!?” SteelHooves sounded a little amused,”You remind me of somepony I knew once. Go east, then north...”

Sunny gasped when she saw Samus pick up SteelHooves,”Holy Tartarus, how strong are ya!?”

“... We’re here.” SteelHooves said as Samus’ group neared Tenpony Tower.

Samus looked up at the barrier and frowned,”What could be causing this?” she asked no one in particular.

“Possibly an alicorn. It’s highly dangerous, so be careful.” SteelHooves said,”Even a Steel Ranger has trouble with those things, especially with the bizarre upgrades they’ve been getting.”

“Upgrades?” Reggie asked.

“I’m not talking about the male ones from God. Goddess’ alicorns are getting abilities they’ve never shown before, such as controlling the weather, summoning flame, and having an increased shield durability. Usually a hellhound could easily tear through their shields, but now I’ve seen one alicorn deflecting their claws.”

“Oh great!” Reggie scoffed,”And Samus, you’re still planning on defeating her?”

Samus placed SteelHooves down, and reached a small opening in the ground,”Yep!”

Reggie blinked, then smirked,”And that’s why I joined you!”

Sunny gasped,”With all that!? Ya’ll are crazy!”

“Uh-huh. Stay out here with Puppy and SteelHooves, will ya?” Samus said as she and Reggie got into the opening,”Come inside when we destroy the barrier.”

Sunny simply gawked at the sheer madness of the two companions.

Samus grabbed the decayed creature and threw it to the ground, and fired on it’s head,”These things aren’t going to turn me into one of them, are they?”

Reggie chuckled,”Nope!” She used her tail to fire on one ghoul behind her and then slashed two others that came at her sides.

“Good!” Samus bucked one’s head off,”You know? I expected more!” She said as she turned to a single door in front of them. Samus walked towards it and pushed it open to reveal a long hallway, filled with ghoul bodies.

“Oh yeah, something’s definitely here. Something big and monstrous.” Reggie said as she walked with Samus out of the entrance room.

Samus looked down and noticed that most had large holes in their bodies, while others had broken necks and smaller holes on their heads,”Whatever did this was indeed strong...” She continued to walk with Reggie through the large corridor, and they stepped around the bodies, only to enter a small room.

“Greetings, I suppose you’re here to remove the barrier.” said a red alicorn with a black mane as he walked into view. This caused both Samus and Reggie to pull out their guns,”Wait,” The alicorn held up a hoof, his left eye glowing a little,”Hear me out first...”

“... I’m bored!” Puppy exclaimed, kicking a rock.

Sunny leaned in,”Well, ya want to play hopscotch!?” She pulled out a small stone.

“Okay!” Puppy said with a wide grin. Sunny proceeded to use the stone to draw little squares in the ground. Sunny walked over and gave a pebble to Puppy. Puppy took the little stone in her hooves and threw it.

“... You know what she is, don’t you?” SteelHooves said suddenly.

“We have nothing to say to you, Alicorn!” Reggie snarled.

“Please,” The alicorn said, bowing,”Unlike the Goddess, God gives his angels names. Call me Crimson Skies.”

Samus growled,”Shut up and talk.”

“Very well,” Crimson walked towards them,”You see, the people of this tower refused to bow to God’s will. They are so focused on spreading cruel thoughts of God, that they won’t stop! They think God is evil, when He is our saviour. These ponies would be better off spreading God’s word, not their own.”

“So, you’re keeping them from speaking their minds!” Samus yelled, stepping back a little. She noticed Reggie walking towards cover at the corner of her eye.

“What do ya mean?” Sunny asked as Puppy began to skip the squares.

“She’s a canterlot ghoul of the most terrible kind: Ghost Herd.” SteelHooves said with a somber tone.

“Uh, wha?” Sunny raised an eyebrow.

“Ghosts, as we called them, were little foals in suits like hers, that had their souls bonded to the Mark VI Omni-Environmental suits. There were tons during the fallout of the war. Most went insane, others are like her, trying to find their parents. Many, at least the insane ones, would simply try to kill anything that moves. I, unfortunately, found myself having to kill some of them. Even the sane ones went crazy after finding the fates of their parents.” he sighed,”If you know what’s good for you, you’d put her out of her misery now.”

“No.” Sunny shook her head,”Ah don’t believe ya!”

“You have to-” SteelHooves was about to say.

“Hi Weird Thing!” Puppysmiles said immediately. Sunny turned to see what she was talking about.

“Well, we need them to simply... allow our ideals to spread. We don’t want them to... lie.” Crimson said,”Or spread the idea that we are not right. We are only here to do good, and we can only do that if they do our bidding.”

“Like slaves!?” Samus growled,”You want them to conform to your own ideals!?”

“Now, now, let’s not get harsh. If they follow us, the civilization of Equestria will return!” Crimson gave a smile,”If they would go to us, they would understand what we are trying to accomplish! They should give us praise for trying to bring order back to Equestria!”

“So you’re saying you want to force people into your little club because you believe you’re right!? You are forcing these ponies to stick with your ideals by starving them, by killing them in this barrier!” Samus growled, aiming her gun at his horn,”Sorry, but I am not going with your insane little plan!” She fired at it.

The alicorn put up a shield blocking the shot,”Very well, then die.”

Sunny gasped as she saw a large black deer with a white muzzle and white antlers looking at the barrier. The deer thing turned to Puppy with a stoic expression and nodded,”Greetings, young one.” it spoke with a female voice.

“I’m Puppysmiles! Have you seen my mom?” Puppy asked.

“I am afraid not. Perhaps I could help you with that later.” She looked at Sunny and SteelHooves,”What is the cause of this barrier?”

“Uh, an alicorn. Some of mah companions are already trying ta-” Sunny blinked as she saw the thing raise a cloven hoof and proceed to punch the barrier.

The barrier rippled,”How unfortunate. I cannot break it.” She turned and walked to the green mare,”How long have your companions been in there?”

Samus rolled out of the way as she saw Crimson form a ball of energy and shoot it at her. She looked down at the dent the ball caused, and cursed. She looked and noticed him creating another ball. Seeing her chance, she fired at him while he made the ball.

Crimson grunted as the bullet hit his shoulder. He fired the ball, which caused Samus to dodge. He smirked as he caused the ball to move and strike at Samus from behind.

Samus grunted as she barely dodged it, only to scream when it scraped her side. She looked and noticed it bleeding. She slowly got up as she saw Reggie move behind the alicorn. She looked up and felt a red hoof hit her face.

“Amazing. You must be an earth pony if you can withstand a hoof from me.” He said as Samus got up and spat out blood. Samus then dodged and weaved another shot of the ball. He then grunted as three shots hit his back wings. He bucked the griffon from behind him, only to find Samus flying at his horn.

“This looks important!” Samus grabbed the appendage and proceeded to pull it, causing it to crack.

The alicorn screamed, and then shocked the mare, only to have his neck stabbed with a crimson knife. The alicorn fell, dead. Samus landed, wobbling a little.

“You alright?” Reggie panted.

“I... am alright for now.” Samus said as she limped towards the exit.

“A few minutes.” Sunny said.

“Indeed. Tell me, is one of them a little odd?” The thing asked.

“Uh, well Samus does some odd things, like talking about adventures on other dimensions...” Sunny raised an eyebrow.

“Good, then I have found what I needed.” The thing turned and watched as the barrier shimmered into nothingness,”The barrier has been lifted, let us go.”

Samus and Reggie headed up the stairs to see several ponies looking at them. Samus looked at them back as she overheard,”What happened?” One asked.

“Did the alicorn die?”

“Are we free?”

“Yes.” Samus said,”We defeated the alicorn, you... are free.” Samus then felt her eyes grow heavy as she fell. Her eyes then locked on to a deer holding SteelHooves on her back,’An elk?’ She thought before she fell unconscious.

Footnote: Level Up!

New Perk: Deadly Shot: You have greatly improved your ability to analyze your opponents, you now have an increased accuracy against anything you read about, or scan with your scan visor!

Author's Note

Sorry for the lateness of this chapter. Things came up.

Spoilers: Puppysmiles is a ghoul.

Right now, only the part with the elk and Sunny talking was added. Everything else was from the RP.