A Few Miles South of the Canterlot Ruins…

“Well this is awkward.” I observed as I studied my doppleganger, all while starting to feel slightly dizzy.

Commander Dusk nodded. “You could say that again. It’s not every day I run into a double of myself… Especially one that clearly isn’t feeling too good.”

“What do mean?” Gramps asked from his side of the tent.

The Commander simply pointed at my feet. “He’s struggling to stand up straight.”

“Shit, he’s right.” Gramps said as he took a place next to me, giving me a good and sturdy backing to lean against. “Dusk, are you feeling OK?”

“Other than a bit dizzy? I’m alright.”

“No… No you’re not.” The Commander said as he started waving his now-glowing hand over me. “Something is draining your magic. It’s not fast enough to prevent you from replenishing your reserves, but it’s constant… When is the first time you felt like this?”

I thought about it for a moment before I finally realized where this little problem started. “Probably about a week ago when we went up north. I ended up passing out after a fight, and once I woke back up I was starving.”

“Then what the hell… Wait, you’ve got some sort of implant in your chest attached to the back of one of your ribs. I’m seeing some serious concentrations of energy around it.”

“That must’ve been put in when I got the augmentations…” I muttered “And I was on ice for so long no one probably noticed what it was doing.”

“Back up a minute, what augmentations?” The Commander questioned, looking more confused than anything.”

“Oh, the usual when you get prodded at by aliens. Unbreakable bones, vastly improved reflexes, and the unfortunate inability to get drunk.” I retorted.

“Right…” The Commander droned. “Anyway, let me fix this real quick.”

“Wait, what are you-”

BZZT!

On reflex I shuddered. It felt like hundreds of pinpricks of static stabbed into me in various parts of my body. As the tingling feeling subsided I certainly felt far more awake and focus, but one other thing just happened to come to mind and needed to be said. “Ow!”

“Quit acting like a foal.” The Commander chided as he stepped back. “That magic transfusion should keep you going for at least the next couple days, assuming that you don’t actually use any magic.”

“Well thanks…” I muttered in return. “But does anyone have an idea on how we’ll get through the next hour alive? I Dart just suggested a break-”

“There’s no need for a breakout when we’re not encircled.” The Commander said, cutting me off rather promptly. “What he turned on the rear-guard was an elaborate illusion spell.”

“Illusion spell… Wait a minute, where exactly did he learn it?” Gramps questioned, suddenly perking up at the Commander’s explanation.

“From your notebooks.” The Commander retorted.

“Um… Can someone elaborate?” Strike asked from his seat on the far side of the tent.

“I certainly can.” Gramps replied. “My first assignment in the Guard came when the Minotaur Kingdom launched a surprise invasion of the northeast part of Equestria. I used that spell to make it appear that our battalion was in fact a full brigade. While the illusion made it look like our front lines were intact, the rest of my battalion launched a flanking action. We wouldn’t have been able to successfully drive them back into their territory if I hadn’t done it.”

“Then what’s Kovac trying to do?” Comet asked, finally injecting himself into the conversation. “You obviously know quite a lot about him…”

“Well let’s see… What do we have pointed right at his forces?”

We were all silent for a moment before what the Commander was trying to say hit me. “He wants our armor out of the way.”

The Commander responded with a smile and a snap of his finger. “Exactly! When the armor is out of the way he’ll be free to sweep in and tear us apart.”

“So the only two things we have going for us is an airship and a bunched up group of armor…” Slowly but surely a smile developed on Gramp’s face. “Gentlecolts, I believe I have a plan.”

***

Twenty Minutes Later…

As both the picket and the newly-arrived Raptor hovered over the outskirts of what was Canterlot, I began to think. Kovac has to know by now that we aren’t going to turn our backs and expose ourselves… Which means that he’ll do the most logical thing and dig in to whatever is left of the old capital. Granted all that’s left are some chunks of wall and massive mounds of rubble that act as sizable barricades. They’re also excellent shields to hide behind, and I’ll be that Kovac’s forces are mustered behind the mound waiting for us.

“You all ready?” The Commander called out from his perch on the back of the lead Valentine.

From my spot on the ground next to the tank, I checked my shotgun one last time. The tube was still full. “Ready as we’ll ever be!”

“Alright, move it up!” The Commander shouted as he banged the top of the turret with a clenched fist. The tanks shuddered and in what looked like a well choreographed scene the ten tanks that had come with us to Canterlot started trundling forward. We only brought the Valentines because of their small size compared to the Mark VI that we had been galavanting around with after leaving Manehattan. While they were cramped, they were half the length and carried the same gun.

It was as they slowly trundled over the rubble that I could see the length come in handy. The Mark VI would have easily gotten stuck because of it’s obscene length, while the Valentines simply crawled up and over the obstacles.

“Dusk?” Steeljack asked as he came up to join me. “Does something feel off to you?”

“We’re marching into a firefight with two airships hanging over our heads and enough armor to blast most fortresses to rubble. Of course something feels off!”

Knowing Steeljack he was probably rolling his eyes. “What about other than the obvious?”

As we came up on the crest of one of the larger mounds of crushed debris I looked around. Other than Porter’s marines and the small legion of tanks, there was nothing. No sounds of rifle fire, no soldiers screaming for medics. I stopped and turned around, looking back down Canterlot Mountain from where we had come. “Son of a bitch…” I muttered.

“What is it?” Steeljack asked.

“What the hell? Where is everyone?” I heard the Commander hollar from his mechanized perch.

Suddenly it hit me. “It’s a trap!” I screamed.

At that moment all hell started to break loose. One of the tanks on the far side of the formation exploded in a fireball, it’s turret toppling blown off into a roll down the mountain. And the shadows above us changed, disappearing briefly in pinpricks of orange as another Raptor appeared out of thin air above us. All while that was going on rifle reports started echoing out behind us, and the head of one of the marines next to me exploded in a chunky red mist.

TAKE COVER!

Enclave stormtroopers hit the ground on the far side of the rise, while down the mountain I could now see the red flashes of laser rifles, likely carried by synths that were slamming into the rear of our formation. “We’ve gotta get out of here!” Steeljack shouted over the pops of his rifle. Suddenly one of the stormtroopers got the bright idea to target me. As he slammed into the ground next to me I ducked down to my knees in an instant, just in time for a slashing knife to cut through the air where my face was only seconds prior.

“Well would you like to find us a way out of here?” I chided as I planted my boot into the trooper’s groin and sent him tumbling down to the bottom of the mound.

“I wish I could!” Steeljack retorted as he knocked down his own opponent.

As the two of us ended up back to back, the Commander hit the ground behind us with a thud. “Well gents, it appears that we’ve got company.”

“Of course we’ve got-” As I turned around I saw what the Commander was actually talking about. West Wind and his partner in crime Kovac had finally reappeared. “Well then… Round two anyone?”

While Steeljack’s knuckles cracked the Commander offered a curt nod. “Kovac is mine.” In the blink of an eye he dashed forward towards the franken-unicorn, faster than I would think possible of most ponies of his apparent age. That left both Steeljack and myself to contend with West Wind and hopefully chalk one up for us on the scoreboard.

“So what’s our plan?”

I offered a shrug at Steeljack’s question. “I say we wing it…” As if on cue the two of us charged our pegasi opponent. My fist sailed over West Wind’s head as he ducked down, but Steeljack caught him with a knee to his jaw.

West Wind didn’t let the hit go unpunished as he grabbed Steeljack’s leg and pulled him to the ground. “Is that the best you can do?!” He yelled as he slammed the sole of his boot down into Steeljack’s chest.

With my opponent distracted I took to opportunity to clamber onto West Wind’s back and wrench him away from Steeljack. “Oh I can do a hell of a lot better!” As the pegasi thrashed under me I felt my shotgun get knocked off my back as I wrapped an arm around his throat.

“And just what is this supposed to do, you worthless worm?!”

“Well Westy-”

CRRRAACK!

With his head now cocked at an odd angle, I felt West Wind suddenly go limp and slid down against my chest. I did the smart thing and let him go, allowing his twitching body to land face up at my feet. As I stared down at the pegasi I saw his eyes darting around seemingly at random, probably in a panic as the life drained away from his mind. “It’s supposed to do that.” I whispered as I prodded the dying body with my boot.

The sounds of war suddenly faded, and I wasn’t standing in the midst of the hell that was the Wasteland anymore. I was standing in a dark lab, where in the center was an operating table. A younger Dusk was strapped to it as West Wind stood over him. “Well now, what do we have here…” The pegasi muttered.

“Piss off West!” The younger ‘me’ yelled.

West Wind simply rolled his eyes. “You really don’t know how much trouble you’re in, do you?”

As a masked surgeon entered the room I could see my younger self shaking his head. “All I know is that no matter what, I am going to-”

“Dusk, take cover!” I heard Steeljack shout as I was jarred back to the present.

As I whirled around I was faced with an immediate explosion that sent me tumbling down the rubble pile. “Damn it…” I groaned as I felt a distinct throbbing in my left shoulder. Off to my left was a chunk of armor plate from the turret of the tank I had been standing near. Likely it had something to do with the sudden onset of pain. Getting up on my knees, I caught sight of something out of the corner of my eye. As if a part of me was suddenly ripped out of my chest, I turned my attention just in time to watch Kovac spear Commander Dusk with a long officer’s sword. The Commander immediately collapsed, with Kovac hovering over him. Off to my right was the only option that I could tap at this point; my shotgun. It’s buttstock had been sheared off, likely by the impact of debris from the exploding tank, but other than that it was still a viable solution. I grabbed it and found that I was having trouble steadying myself, likely because I was still dazed after getting smacked by a chunk of armor plate. As I wavered I realized that I couldn’t use my left arm. It simply wouldn’t move. “Fuck it…”

“Dusk, what are you doing?!” Steeljack shouted from his spot up on the rubble pile.

That got Kovac’s attention, and from his distance I saw the flash of a pistol, followed by a dim scream from Steeljack as the lead round struck home. But by this point I was pushing everything else out. All that mattered was my weapon and Kovac…

BANG!

And the round struck home, hitting Kovac clear in the side of his face. As he fell I realized that he was standing on the edge of the cliff that marked the edge of the solid parts of Canterlot’s foundation. I didn’t even process the scream of pain that faded away into oblivion as the stallion fell out of sight. I felt someone tap my shoulder, but I ignored as I scrambled forward, not even actually managing to stand as I made my way over to the old stallion that Kovac had knocked down. By the time I was at his side the sounds of war were clear once again, although not as heavy as they had been previously.

“Damn…” The Commander groaned. “He got me good, didn’t he?” He said as he clutched at the dark red hole that was punched through his dull chestplate.

“You could say that…” I said as I examined the wound. For a moment, I turned my attention back towards where I had last seen friendly soldiers. “MEDIC!”

But my attention was once more retaken by my doppleganger as he grabbed my collar and formed me down towards him. “There’s nothing you can do.” He sputtered, flecks of his blood landing on my face.

“Oh come on! So I’m just supposed to let myself die?” I exclaimed.

“You’re your own stallion, Commander.” My doppleganger replied, now slightly wheezing. “I’ve lived a long and painful life… And it’s about time that my story ends.”

“But-”

“No, no but. You’re young, and you’ve got a long road ahead of you. However today ends, you keep going. You understand?” The Commander managed to sputter out.

I couldn’t help but nod, knowing where this was going. “I understand.” I whispered.

The old stallion smiled, and seemed to relax at that. “Good…”

“Commander?” I asked.

“Long… Live… Equestria…”

And with that, two centuries of pain and experience left us. It wasn’t dignified, or even clean. But it was probably the best ending that my double could have hoped for given the hell he had lived through. Before I got to my feet I took care to slide his eyelids shut, a final gesture of respect to the departed stallion.

“Dusk, Steeljack. Where the hell are you two?” Gramps called over the radio.

“West edge of the ruins.” Steeljack said into his radio as he joined me. “Why, what’s going on?”

“You need to get out of there, that’s what!” Gramps yelled. “That Raptor is coming down, and it’s going to take you two with it if you don’t move!”

Looking up I realized that Gramps was spot on. Now with a gaping hole in it’s side, the Raptor that West Wind’s forces had brought with them was slowly picking up speed as it descended towards us. “Steeljack, you have any ideas?”

“Just run!” He yelled as the two of us began backtracking through the battlefield.

But as the two of us clambered over rubble and blown out hulks of machinery, the raptor above us began accelerating downward. “We’re not gonna make it!”

“We’ll make it!”

“We’re not gonna-”

POP!

“-make it?” The sudden flash of light faded, and instead of being surrounded by death and destruction, Steeljack and I were surrounded by ponies sitting at consoles as the floor under our feet banked to the left.

“Helm, get us clear!”

Turning around I saw Porter standing behind Gramps, seated firmly in the captain’s chair that centered E-201’s bridge. “Talk about good timing.” He observed.

Outside were the sounds of crashing metal and rapturous explosions. But listening to Gramps, and putting together the fact that Steeljack and I were now standing on the bridge of the picket, I couldn’t help but feel confused. “Uh… So then who saved our asses?”

Author's Note

Well what do we have here, another chapter? Yes, as a matter of fact it is another chapter! Nifty, right? So Commander Dusk is dead, as anyone who saw the preview knows... If you only just found out and are going "Striker, what the hell man? He didn't even stick around for two full chapters!" Just know that the bad guys don't stay dead... Take that as you will. In the mean time I'm on to the final chapter! WOO! It's almost over!!!

In the meantime, anyone got questions? Like what you're seeing so far? Hell, maybe have some gripes? There's a comment section and the Mirrorverse Codex. Read and comment away, because I want to hear from you fellow denizens of this corner of the internet. Until next time gang!
-Striker