Midnight Rising

"Darling, we're your friends. I believe in you, as does Applejack. The others, well... They'll come around, eventually, and under your leadership Equestria will see a new dawn."

It had occurred to me as I entered the refinery that I had not seen any Sons of Gilda thus far. This made sense to me, considering how hard the Starborn could hit a place(particularly now, considering their new 'management'), but I had expected the Sons to be fighting back tenaciously. As it stood, there was what one could describe as a 'skirmish' occurring somewhere in the refinery. I could hear the Sons' antiquated combustion firearms thundering against the high whine of magical energy discharge, both sounds nearly drowned out by the clanging of the refinery works.

Stepping down onto the catwalk I turned left at the first available junction. The refinery was basically setup in a way that the catwalks spanned it in a rectangular shape, with a catwalk running down the center. Vats ran along tracks on the ceiling, tipping at the end to pour their contents into the smelters far below. There was no immediate threat from the machinery, not unless errant shots dropped the vats or grenades blew up the catwalks. I reached the bend in the catwalk, forcing me to turn right. I looked up the way, perusing the area. To my left was the wall of the cavern, with tunnels bored through it in various places where vats traveled to and fro, bringing the molten metals in from somewhere else in the mine. There were two large silos to my right, both stretching into the ceiling, apparently part of some ventilation system.

It was here I spotted a gang of Sons' sharpshooters down the walk some 50 feet, engaged with an unseen squad of Starborn, taking shots and ducking to reload. The haze and tunnel vision of combat had meant they'd not yet seen me, but I wasn't going to rely solely on battle psychology to keep myself hidden from them. Unfortunately I had virtually no cover. The distractions of the refinery and the battle would keep my organic enemies from being able to focus on me, and they hardly affected me, but even these distractions could not ptotect me from errant or lucky shots.

Dropping low I brought my eyes to bear on the Griffins and blinked, magical fire racing across the open air and striking one of my adversaries; his wings were instantly melted and his back lit ablaze, dying in a scream of pain unheard over the roar of the machinery. His comrade, having been on the other side of him, was unhurt, and at the sight of me he took to the air, immediately hitting one of the vats, knocking his flight askew. I knew he would not be able to fly easily in these cramped quarters, giving me some advantage, albeit minor.

I adjusted my aim onto the airborn Griffin and blinked, the bird diving through a gap in the catwalks and soaring below them. I gazed over the railing, catching sight of the once-mythical specimen banking up towards the catwalk. His wingtips glittered in the light, and I realized he had a razorwing mounting; a popular armor attachment among Griffins that gave their wings lethal cutting power. I ducked back as he came up, his wingtip slashing the railing in two in a shower of sparks. My gaze followed him but he did not stop to fire, instead turning and diving back down, flying forward.

I galloped up the catwalk, intent on keeping the gap closed. Fighting Griffins was like fighting sharks; the trick was to stay close to them and limit their manueverability. I watched as the bird came back around, taking a shot at me with his rifle from below. The bullet hit the catwalk and fragmented harmlessly. The Griffin said something inaudible, probably a swear, and took off, my plasma trailing him. He disappeared behind a vat to reload, and I took my chance.

Dashing forward I came upon the vat's other side and rounded to fire, stopping to focus and aim, a mistake that nearly took my life as the Griffin chucked his rifle like a spear, the mounted bayonet a five-sided star, the bird drawing a pair of six-shot volley pistols. I ducked to avoid the rifle-turned-spear and scrambled back around the vat as the Griffin opened fire, several bullets striking my suit and lodging themselves in the plates, leaving me with only bruises from the impacts.

I turned around as I cleared the vat, expecting the Griffin to follow, but he did not. Instead I caught a glimpse of him as he dove down again, coming up sharply and racing up to me. I opened fire, my fire slagging the catwalk, forcing the Griffin to veer off. He rolled over midflight, presenting me with a wide, but fast, target. I fired, one of my bolts catching the end of his tail, cooking the fur, the smell lost in the scent of molten metal and magical plasma.

Taking a moment to let my gems recharge I watched the Griffin disappear behind a cluster of vats below the catwalk and I backed up, checking over my shoulder just in time to see a squad of Starborn, drawn out by the fact they were no longer being fired upon by Griffns, coming around the vat from before. Caught between an aggressive bird-cat and a group of beings that gave adults nightmares I did the honorable and logical thing.

I ran.

I took off back the way I came, catching a glimpse of the Griffin coming up in my periphera vision, the bird slowing to a hover to take a shot, catching sight of the Starborn that shown up. He stopped, unsure of who he should shoot. I'm sure his instincts told him to shoot the Starborn, as they were the biggest threat, while his heart probably told him to shoot me, just so he could enjoy the satisfaction of killing an envoy of Equestria, even if just for a moment before the Starborn would cook the fur off his skin.

Regardless of what he felt his indecision gave me enough time to take cover in the entrance of the refinery, the very door I had come through 20 minutes ago. I heard the Griffin exchange fire with the Starborn, catching a glimpse of him as he flew off, black smoke trailing off his body as blue beams followed him.

Peeking back out I saw the Starborn squad, the three of them, bunched up at the corner, their collective gaze following the Griffin. I blinked a rapid shotstream, draining my gem as I fired into the crowd, slagging the whole lot. For all their advancements, I mused, they were still relatively dumb to bunch up together like that.

With the Starborn no longer an immediate threat I cautously ventured back into the refinery, findin my Griffin "friend" flying around below, waiting for me to come back out. I shook my head; target fixation was the number one killer on the battlefied, but I didn't expect a mercenary to know that, much less a bird.

As I reentered the refinery I went right, to the other side of the refnery, watching the Griffin immediately come for me. I waited until the Griffin neared one of the vats and opened fire, my fire melting one of the steel cables holding the vat up, suddenly turning it over and dumping the molten metal out. The Griffin veered off, but it was too late; a thousand gallons of molten steel was dumped onto his lower body, his fur gone in a second and his skin boiling. He shook midflight, colliding with the catwalk, his talons clawing at the railing as he struggled to climb up. I turned and looked at him, my guns following my reticle as my eyes fell on his face, contorted and screaming in pain, and I blinked. His face now a sizzling pot of liquid gray matter the dead bird fell to the refinery flow below.

Hey, it was a mercy killing.

I made my way back across the refinery, engaging Starborn and Griffins as I encountered both, running a little ragged from the heat of the refinery and the stresses of combat. I had entered another section of the refinery and could see an office on the far side, white lights spilling out of massive bay windows like a beacon amidst the never-ending seas of red and orange that played hell on my vision. I could see what appeared to be the Alicorn Star, Princess Flurry Heart, outside the office door, flanked by what appeared to be two Starborn.

I ventured into the new area of the refinery, thinking as I went. I knew that Flurry Heart was telepathic, the question was 'at what range could she hear thoughts?'. A question I intended to find out by experimenting. I made sure she hadn't seen me yet and crouched low, watching her as I went, random thoughts flowing through my head. Thoughts of non-sequiters and inane crap that no sane pony would think of. I made to within 30 yards of Flurry Heart when she perked up, turning around to face my direction. I took cover behind a vat, having escaped Flurry Heart's sight.

"Pinkie Pie?" I heard Flurry Heart question, killing all thought in my head to remain undetected. I heard her steel-clad hooves strike the steel of the catwalk as she strode across it. She stopped just short of the vat I was behind, turning round as one of the Starborn came up to her side.

"My Princess?" the Star said, and I realized that it was not a Star but rather another living pony. I kept my head clear, listening as the two ponies walked back towards the office, daring to peek out and watch as they walked.

"It was nothing, my subject. I heard thoughts that reminded me of your sister, Pinkie" Flurry Heart explained.

"Oh, I see..." I heard the mare say as they entered the office. I peeked back out, watching as the trio entered the office, the door closing behind them. I watched as they moved about, methodically searching the file cabinets. I watched Flurry Heart approach a computer, and a moment later I heard the rumblings deep in the refinery come to a halt, silence permeating the air, a slight ring in my ears all that could be heard.

"To the stallion hunting me; I know you yet live. Should you continue to hunt me, that may change... I wanted to speak to you, as mare to stallion. Equestrian, to Equestrian, and this is the only way I could. Any other way and you would just try to kill me. I want to tell you that the Equestria you know is predicated on LIES and FALSEHOODS. Your...'Empress'...is a MURDERER. She usurped the throne, and displaced the opponents she could not kill in Tartarus... Your Empress, my aunt Twilight, WILL face justice for the crimes she has perpetrated against harmony, and I urge you to cease your actions, lest you fall victim to the same justice, oh 'good' Hunter" Flurry Heart said over the refinery loudspeaker, finishing on such heavy sarcasm I could hear it dripping off her words. I paid little atention to what she had to say, instead watching as she and her cohorts left the office through a backdoor. I waited a solid minute before following, intent on seeing just what they were so interested in finding.