PonyHammer: Night Lordby DiamondkzChaptersAction one: The talent for murder: Chapter TwoAction one: The talent for murder: Chapter FourAction one: The talent for murder: Chapter FiveAction one: The talent for murder: Chapter SixAction one: The talent for murder: Chapter OneAction one: The talent for murder: Chapter ThreeAction one: The talent for murder: Chapter TwoThe sparks of lightning beneath the armor fascinated me, the visual effect of the protective field work was simply pribluda, but so beautiful: it inflicted horror in hundreds as well as my midnight blue armor. The bright sparks flashed and immediately faded in the darkness of my apartments, I watched every flash on the mirror in front of me, looking into my own reflection. I do not know how it happened. Here I am. Alone in the dark. Alone with yourself. They are right, and I do not need their words to understand this. I do not need someone else's opinion to understand that here I'm wrong. But why, the one on whom I look, rested like an earthen in his farm? Ebony breathes in my back. Not literally, but I know her opinion. I must apologize, and change ... so want ... Princess. An infoplanet that I wanted to crush a couple of minutes ago with a characteristic "jin" informed me of a message from Prince Sanguinis. The captain of the first company of the Lunar Pony, our leader, direct and formal. After the Princess of course. The note was simple: "Brother, you need to talk." I gently nodded at the signal. I did not have much desire to do this - Sanguinis even belongs to the ruling dynasty, but I always served only the moon, not him, and he is inclined to forget about it. The message is "informal" - he wants to tell me something not as a captain of the first company, but as a thunderhead: "I welcome you, Valdés, I believe you have already begun to execute the orders in the manner you are fully committed to, and I can only wish you good luck and hope that you do not blunder again, regardless of the results of this company, I invite you to the Agrentum Lunas for your return to Canterlot. End of transmission. " Agrenthum to the Moons. He invites me ... to Agrenthum Lunas ... The sacred ritual of the ruling dynasty is the glorious rule of the princess ... What for? However, you need to write down the answer. -" I am glad to hear your voice, Prince Sanguinis, I gladly accept your proposal, "- no excitement, no joy - just a caustic lie, but nevertheless I had to say it. But now ... I need to solve an urgent issue, I had to undermine the chain ... *** So he, the day when we should leave, Fleur gathered her Blades into an honor guard, and Soarin brought part of his company as regular units, despite the domination of pegasus in the Trade Union, I was the diplomat, and Soarin had the brains to not get into this with her feathers, the case is given to the skin-wings, and it is better for him to keep quiet. "You do not go white and black, Valdes" She noted Fleur with telekinesis adjusting her mane, it's a bit risky to do it for such a trifle, but the knuckles on the armor were always the dirtiest part of it. Despite all my love for being clothed at midnight, this is really unsuitable. had to be changed to the color gamut of the entire legion, white and black. The clouds on which Las Pegasus was located were close enough to the mountain range, it seemed to have been higher before, but it seems that it was lowered for access to the terrestrial ground, it was significantly, much larger than in the old photos, becoming an autonomous city, and not a resort with a lot of casinos and hotels, and despite this, these same casinos have not gone anywhere. Despite the fact that day and night began to behave more chaotically, they were still moving at about the same pace, because arriving at noon we knew how much time we would have, the Trade Union did not want us to stay armed for a long time in their territory, and we will be damned by Tartarus if we allow ourselves to be so. We were greeted with fanfare and a red carpet, if I may say so. we were met not so many pegasas, mostly local guards, mercenaries griffins and minotaurs and a whole seneschal of the Avalos family, the current representatives of the Union, and I'm not surprised that she shivered towards me, it was a raspberry medium growth that rested against my chest , but, at least she did not lose her composure in speech. - House Avalos welcomes the Equestrian Ambassador and wishes the best to the Princesses. - The Kingdom of Equestria is pleased to see its friends and hopes for fruitful cooperation. She did not seem to have expected me to bow to her, but nevertheless she waved the wing and ordered the guards and mercenaries to reconfigure to accompany them, even though the city still lives, we are given the opportunity to go through without complications. I've been to Las Pegasus before the war, just a couple of times and basically I've been moving along the roofs, but this place has always had a bad place for those who like luck, and for those who want to lose everything that it has, it would seem a long isolation and survival had to change the mood of the inhabitants of the city, but no, closer to the center it was still a place of debauchery and revelry, solid casinos and several brothels, and they also managed to call the "town hall" of the casino of the richest clan, they also pass it on depending from wealth and influence. If there is a conflict, we will crush them faster than they realize that they actually began to attack. The whole delegation marched in the exact construction of the roar of armor drawing the attention of the whole street. With all our appearance we demonstrated to these jokers that the Equestrian power was back. and the dissenters will have to deal with us. The central entrance to the building was guarded by a pair of minotaurs, by the eye I felt that there were only two of them, well-equipped, with similar traits to the pupil and teacher, relatives are not to each other, the elder has a blind zone on the left side, a bandage on the eye, however both belong to the same community, the tattoos on the right shoulder are identical, they represent a crossed anchor, they pointedly removed the hammers from the door allowing us to go inside, it seems the younger one was trying to peer into my eyes. Inside Dyskord was going on, understand that we passed through the main hall to the second floor without incident to the meeting room, but even here the wine was pouring and I thought I could smell medical preparations that were not being used for the intended purpose. although fortunately, the Scars with the Blades, as well as the guards and mercenaries of the griffins, fought off their ardor and a group of ponies of varying degrees of moral decay left the room driven by flapping wings. There are only five pegasuses left and a young stallion at the head of the table is stretched out in his chair and revealing hoofs and wings greeted us warmly. - Finally! We are already waiting for you, and this I'm talking about the whole situation, not to mention specifically you! Tell me, how are the Princesses? How is Canterlot? Will life return to its rut? Ah, and my name is Cloudstern, how can I contact you? I can understand his joy. but I can not understand what he hopes, considering that his sugary joy he will convince me that he is glad of our arrival. - The Equestrian throne sends you its greetings, asks for forgiveness and rejoices that you could survive the Long Night, and also hopes that you will help restore Harmony to our lands. You can call me just Valdez. I will be honest, I was told by Fleur, I certainly distort them, but I understood the essence of her text perfectly. Adhere to decency, a positive tone and do not press on your opponent. However, I definitely cooled his joyful fervor, I saw exactly how he glanced at the commander of the griffins hoping that I would not notice. - Yes Yes! Of course! What is required of us? "To begin with, I would like to learn and convey to the princess the causes of direct slavery to unicorns and the semi-slavish attitude to the earth ponies, as well as the reason for the domination of Pegasus in the class question, now this is the primary question. He sat down on a chair, but quickly enough he thought of how to explain their behavior, the rest of the pegasus exhaled fears looking at the Blades, and one of the mares could not take my eyes off my chains that were wrapped and locked on locks on my front hooves. "Necessity, my friend." Earth ponies and unicorns could not cope without our protection, in exchange they worked, honor to honor, everything as before! In this dialogue, I still could not understand for whom he thinks me. - And yet! I would like to ask you a couple of questions, will not you? I nodded, I do not want to exchange notes with him, it's useless. "Why ... do you look that way?" Honestly, when we only saw you thought that the princesses themselves came to us, are you alicorn? Princesses turn everyone into alicorns? - No, we are Thunder Ponies, even if we look like we are not deceiving you, that we are like alicorns, it is a genetic coincidence, and also the genetic relationship of all of us with the Luna and Celestia. Several Pegasus looked at each other in astonishment. "So ... are we talking to the Prince now?" - Brad of an ass! It can not be! I cut off the mare which, a moment ago, I was staring at his question without worrying about propriety, at the same time I wanted to kill him, although from a certain point of view he was right. - No, we do not have the right to rule, we are warriors, improved and prepared to liberate our world. This was already a quote from the Codex, not the text of Fleur. "Well ... in any case, what is required of us at the moment?" And what is more important for us ... what will we receive from returning to the fold of Equestria? - You ask a strange question, you need to release the unicorns and earthly slaves from slave labor, accept the Royal Law and you will receive the protection of Equestria, and everything will return to its own places. - Just like Nocturne got protection? This question knocked me out of the rut, and my interlocutor smiled with a victorious smile, it was very strange, first of all how he learned about it, in the second turn ... it could hit hard on our authority. - Nocturne was a special case and ... - I understand, however, how do you explain your actions? Nocturne was our trading partner, and I do not like when my partners disappear. I did not know that. I missed it like, it's very bad. And maybe the problem was not that. - Nocturne was a special case of a blatant violation of the Royal Law and concealed it, when he was called to answer, he responded with an insult. - Do you want to say that you destroy all who do not agree with you? It can be said that the day fell through with a bang. "You can say that, but Las Pegasus does not break it as much, free the ponies, hand over the technology for recycling and return to the Kingdom, all that we ask of you. He lit a cigar, peering at the ceiling. - I think this is all for today, I ask the Royal delegation to leave this building, and SkyBreeze, then send us our mares, we will continue from the same place where we finished. This was a blatant impudence, but the reorganization of the Scars and Blades into the guard hinted to me that if I now strip this scum along with his retinue, no one will openly say "thank you" for this. "We'll come back, CloudShart, I hope future discussions will be more productive." Author's Note The chapter was written a long time ago and the translation would take a little time, if something that replaces my cranium did not try to squeeze my brains out. I apologize for this delay, but the new one will probably be even more, because as of yet that's all there is, and a new chapter will appear still unknown when. Excuse me. Action one: The talent for murder: Chapter FourOf course, we were not going to fight. I don’t think he would be so arrogant. Especially after such a failure. When will NightmarKrieg be ready? I may need his technique. One Squadron is ready to speak, however ... Why did you decide that you can call him? You already have no authority, and even after this episode... It is unlikely that Flower will allow you. This is more than reasonable. Of course, I can incline them to an adventure... But then it will continue in a sufficiently frequent manner so that the whole company cracks at the seams, unless, of course, I bear the punishment and admit my guilt... What I do not even from harm. I think Fleur or Soarin will help me... However, an urgent need is to find Radar; what did you mean when you said you didn't know where he was? I had it. The radar was damaged by the equipment, and its mare was almost killed by the commandos. The lad is depressed and does not leave the medical block, moreover, no matter how much you go there for him - so he is never there. A sudden roar stopped DeathMark, and I realized that I was annoyed a little more than usual. Or is it a concern? Do not try to judge him, Valdes. You have no right to do that after the SkyKilla story. I blinked, and the unicorn looked accusingly into my eyes. He was definitely on the side of Radar in this, but I was also on the side of Radar. I didn’t even think about it, a headache. His eyes are dulled - with him this happens when he thinks he was wrong. Your nightmares again? What is it this time? What is the question? We both know that they never come true. It seems that he bit his tongue, because it was because of me and my predictions that we ended up in such a croup. Forget. And good. About this you need to forget everything except me. *** Our apothecary was once a scientist in the field of science, which is now called "biomancia". However, I decided to quit it after... As he was sentenced to life imprisonment and practicing for illegal experiments and making narcotic dust from the horns of unicorns. Getting him out of prison was another matter; in fact, we could only do this by promising him an amnesty, and I had to agree between times that he himself was dependent on this dust, and, given our specific actions, some may share with him sawed off horns. True, no one would give up the trophy so easily, because “field medicine” was preferable for him. I hope that the new captain will keep him from the fact that he will plant the whole company on the "Northern Dust". However, at the entrance I was met by several servants, who hastily moved carts with supplies of various kinds. It seems that he was not in the mood to work, since he decided to put so many capsules in with a regeneration stimulator. Inside, work was in full swing, there were about thirty ponies in a state close to critical, but the stasis dream left them alive. Radar was not visible, while SkullRiver was engaged in reporting; the pen he wrote cracked from the way he squeezed his hoof, and his servant hastily left us to look for a new one. Do not sneak so much in my apothecary! A hoof kick on the table just screamed about his nervousness and tension. Let me guess, Flauver demanded an urgent report on the wounded and the cost of resources, and since I used to do it for you, do you have to plow like a damn? Kill her, Valdes! Seriously! Can you help me? I urgently need to take care of patients, and this fool only thinks about sending a report to Sanguinis as soon as possible! We all “helped” him; after all, it was behind him all of our medical equipment, which was required for our work. I switched the vox-earphone and called Ebony. She will help you, let's work. In his eyes I clearly saw anger that I ignored the first request. However, he instantly put on his set of medical equipment and at the same time took the nartetium. Where is the Radar hiding? Stokes the sadness and anger in the "Northern Dust". Asks not to let anyone. My back room, behind the third row on the eighth level. I, frankly, did not understand what was happening. Why do I have to look for the Radar and solve all these problems just to get what I need? It’s probably my fault that I can’t just call him as before. Still, the Master Signal stood just above my rank. Or maybe Flower is trying to piss me off. The last, so far, it turns out. Oh, and Valdes, about your project ... Not now. We need to stabilize the situation in order to prepare it. Yes, only I contacted HotRod. His works are rejected as demoralizing. Especially ... you know what chapters are for. It was bad, but will have to figure out later. The main thing is that HotRod is not injured ... He was one of the few Ultraponi who could be considered soldiers. Finding the Radar was not difficult for someone who knows exactly where the Scull River is. He was without armor and lay in a pool of water with a bottle of Northern Dust. It seems that he diluted it notably, although, it seems, I understood what Scull meant by the word "drowns." In general, what happened with the radar is not news. Many from the beginning of the war began to roll up personal dirge after the loss of loved ones or comrades. The Star Wolves built this into the cult of the Lone Wolf, as an example. However, how did Radar manage to get to taking drugs? Always considered him a fighter for the rights of workers with the burden of overthrowing the system of the noble houses of our people. He was just sentenced for a pirate radio station. You could say it was probably easier to get him out of jail than seventy percent of our company. Idealist, but, in general, adequate. "Stokes" sadness in drugs. V-Valdes... I knew that... Scull would betray me... That bastard... His voice was withered; he seemed to be taking a real drink that dried his throat. Scull managed to increase the effect of this drug, so that he even went through our physiology, although, as a rule, it dries up to a state of complete hoarseness, so I think he is still far from it. Radar, I know what happened ... And I regret that it happened. Therefore, I ask you to give me access to information about the enemy, captain ... Do not call me by this name! My name is HeartTax! With difficulty he shouted, and I reduced the sensitivity of the sound in the range of his voice through the inner ear. I do not like harsh noisy noises. What was more important is that Radar has returned to its name, while vehemently demanding to call it real. A clear sign of faded morale among those who decided to change their name to the time of the formation of the thunderous pony. He was still lying, so I had to lift him by the scruff of his neck and throw him into a corner, so that he would at least look into my eyes, and not into a basin of water. He was short of breath. For a second it seemed to me that he would reach back to the water, however, he resisted and simply bore me with his eyes. - Well, Radar, and now, please, remind you, what have we taught for so long? A simple oath that once led me to this path and which, perhaps, helped some others. He shook his head. Valdes... Stop... Please... Here are the data... On the shelf behind you... I took with me. I'm afraid you're a little late, Radar.” Now I am obliged to transfer you to a rehabilitation center. If you do not prove to me that this was a temporary narcotic opacification, I will do it. So it took about a minute. A minute of silence, during which I grabbed his data-slate to my own, under the base of my left hoof. She... I almost died... I almost died... Because of me... Guilt can be understood. Especially if he did not have time to establish a connection. His mare NightGlider was in the Fifth Claw, "Night Raptors". Very vulnerable branch - for their sharpness and impulsivity, they always had to be kept on a short leash. What happened? Now I had to help him. Otherwise we will also lose him, I am afraid to imagine the scale of the drop in morale, even if Radar was one step away from rehabilitation. The Raptors... They tried to decapitate them... They have a new leader, as usual. This time the attack aircraft... I did not have time to give them the order to retreat and that DeathMark took up a position... And DesMark without the support of someone else was dared because of the error of the Radar... Something is wrong. What was the problem? Storm of Chaos. DeathMark said that the wind is rising, and that it is rising unnaturally; SkyKilla confirmed that nature is magical. Our connection stalled as soon as we started the attack. It is clear what the problem was - without communication, it divided everyone, and the storm also suppresses all our equipment. In the name of the moon, someone had to explain to me, and explain clearly, why the diamond dog technique does not stall. Clearly, Error Flower. No... We did not... We ourselves volunteered, the rest were so angry after Nocturne that... they were torn into a fight, despite the warnings... They tell me another. He looked up. And I saw this tiredness and pain. Look around, Valdes. They go mad with anger. They waited to win, as they always won, and they simply rested! Flower offered to attack the doctrine of the Sky Scars; no one even wanted to listen. So that's what happened ... On the other side of opinion. Well, you will need to take into account. Valdes, tear these bastards, Glider hooked on the leader ... I want his head, please, I will implant him on the peak of my Damocles. Pure anger and thirst for blood. We are not conquerors, Radar. Let him drown himself further if he wants. I will not rent it, not now. Not now, when it can be useful to the company. *** The next morning, I felt better than usual. This time the nightmares were from what I prefer: corpses torn to pieces, lying in the mud and buried in the sand and thickets of “poisonous jokes”. True, I did not like what they did to the body of Fleur - it was just disgusting. In any case, it was necessary to discuss the alignment of forces, the possibilities and, more importantly, the Trade Union. We gathered again at Fleur. Before that, I managed to find out that NightmarKrieg will help me and will do everything to ensure that his “Predeathors” are ready. I reported this first to Fleur. Soarin had no ground equipment at all and he was not so important. So, the Trade Union will meet the forces of this gang by tomorrow's dawn... We have one night, if we do not want innocent ponies to fall under the distribution. I cannot agree with Soarin about the “innocence”, however, now it is better to keep mum, considering that I repainted my armor in the morning with the usual colors, anticipating the fight. Yes, one night. They have about four massive wagons, about fifty conventional trucks and three NightmairKrieg “Predators”, and he will thank you if we can return them. The rest was too much to mark this point; The report contained only approximate data on the number of small equipment and the dogs themselves. But the numbers still did not inspire joy. We had one and a half companies from the force: a company of Soarin, four divisions, counting the Equus Blades, and, possibly, one tank squadron from Krieg. Look at the place. If we do not destroy in the course of the battle, we will return it. I do not understand why you are doing this kind of problem. My company is ready for battle. He had two “Thunderhoof” and about a dozen “Storm Ravens”, four “Storm Eagles” and about fifteen “Stormclaws”, the number of smaller “Land Spiders” was out of the question. This is a crushing air force, not to mention how his company jumps into battle on the move. To some extent, we copy their tactics, but do not rely only on aviation. I am worried about something else, and by the way Fleur looked at him, I understood that she was thinking about the same thing. The Night Lords is the only company stationed nearby, and they will not help us. Flower has an order to clean the forest and she missed this gang, which means she will most likely “forget” about her until the Princess “reminds” her of this. She will not depart from the order. Your company is ready, and it is the only company we have. It doesn't seem like my words made him think. He continued to look at me like an idiot, waiting for me to agree with him. If we are battered, the Trade Union will be able to hit us in the back. We will endure two bouts in a row, but how many will we lose? Not to mention the fact that in this case it is necessary to clean Las-Pegasus with blood, not gloss. The voice of reason came from Fleur; I don’t know if she was interested in clearing our quarrels, but we haven’t left her any choice. Offer to sit out? Kidding me?! We swore to protect not for a beautiful word! Yes, they swore. And we must survive to fulfill the oath. We need to make a plan. They turned on me. Did they expect me to say something? We have two options: either steal the equipment, decapitate and slow down this gang, or crush them in less than one night. What is stopping us from getting out now? Is your company ready? Not sure about that. Nevertheless, yes, we can go now ... However, if we decide to make the second option, crush them at night and meet the army of the Trade Union on the battlefield ... then we can show her the power of Equestria. Why not just leave the skeletons and clear traces? This is possible ... However, I personally do not like this option. We will show the soldiers and mercenaries, what they want to drive. You can leave the burning skeletons ... Soarin, I would agree to this if I could still leave them in the form in which I did this just a couple of months ago. But now ... If we leave them, rumors will go. Someone will understand what they can deal with, but, believe me, this business is fixable for a week of rest and being in a friendly company, as well as a drop of the simplest propaganda. And he knows that I am a specialist in this. Fleur was silent all the discussion. There is an option to help the forces of the Union during the fight. But it seems that none of the two of you are interested in him. I’m not deciding anything here, Fleur, you and Soarin decide. I will obey your decision.. *** Every time the sun goes down, forces come to us. Whether it is the stars, or the moon itself favors us - it does not matter. What matters is that we are dressed at midnight. The engines of the cars were buzzing with anger, Krieg said they want to return their brothers. I can only believe his word, because I will not go in a sturdy tank hull. I do not need it. - Anything inspiring word, brother? Skykill was better than me and also knew how to inspire fear, especially when he whispered in his truly serpentine voice from behind. And in general, for the librarian, he was sometimes ... too calm. - You should go heading the attack, you know that? If you were a unicorn, you would look perfect on a historical fresco. I was grateful to him for these cars. As he himself said: “Do not worry, I will take it upon myself”. I do not know what he could “take”, but I did not like it. Many did not distinguish us when we were foals. It is just that “bright” SkyKilla and “dark” Valdes, and even now, with all the changes, this has not changed, except that it began to look a bit more like a filly - more refined and graceful. The way he calls for his inner source of magic was felt in the air by the strange smell of ozone and was given away by dry mouth. We have already seen dogs - they set up camp, and even from here you could see the lights of their welding machines. They were actively engaged in the repair of damaged equipment in open areas. To their misfortune, the land between Las Pegasus and the Eternal Forest was divided by a huge plain with virtually no hills... a favorite territory of the Sky Scars. The clouds that covered them moved at natural speed. After the storm of Chaos, the wind seems to have risen strongly ... we will not be noticed exactly until the last moment. - I have neither the right nor the ability to lead them. Better say what happened during our attack? He caught up with me on the other side of the twin lascannons of our “Predator”. - They have a sorcerer ... be careful, my brother. Victory or death. - This cry is silent, SkyKilla. I heard the sound of charging our machine gun condenser. We opened wings and scattered in different directions. He will escort Krieg and his cars, but I must join Fleur and her Blades. - We are the heirs of Equestria! Death to her enemies! This was the first thing I heard on her vox channel. At the same time, a volley of our cars sounded. The view of massive laser beams that cut through the night could have blinded, and the subsequent explosion could stun. The first volley issued us, and the battle horn made an accompaniment to the updated charging sound. The fires flared up stronger, and even from here I heard how the engines of their cars started to work. As small bikes and other personal cars took the lead and opened fire on us indiscriminately. Considering that we will not soon enter the affected area, and you can dodge their slow-moving missiles at this distance with just one turn ... but there were too many of them. Even if on the ground, at the will of the Moon itself, there appeared an assault detachment that would cut gun crews a hundred at a time, it would have helped us in any way. One of the Heirs protruded from the hatch and grabbed the assault bolter mounted near the hatch for firing. So did all the machines, including those that the enemy had, joining the general squall of fire. The only difference is that the bolter was a dog's long-range bullet weapon. A few bullets ricocheted or crashed against my helmet and frontal armor. They do not have enough power to effectively pierce at such a distance... But soon I will have to take off, or get into the transport, otherwise I will rub off into powder. Several missiles flew dangerously close, but our driver justified the name of his legion, maneuvering at high speed with unimaginable grace for such cars... Yes, that's right, they left our equipment without cover. They rush forward. The clouds today are lower than usual, so I hope that these dogs are afraid that the sky may fall on them. After all, it began when Soarin grabbed the moment. We needed the whole Soarin company to do this, however, the result was worth it... The total entry of Soarin’s company made a huge gap in the center of this mass of cars, and the motorcyclists joined our attack on the ground on their gravitsiklah. We had superiority in the air due to the destruction of all small aircraft, and we entered into this breach, completely self-confident... *** Go, go! Clean up debris! The problem of large combat vehicles of diamond dogs was that, if not to destroy them with an explosion, but only to stop, then they must be further cleaned of the crew in order to plug the still working tools. To do this, we sometimes had to separate and, while the Scars fought in this bloody race on the plain, we had to decapitate this gang. This is all that we could do in such a small composition. Tactical squads split up, creating an action theater for the Blades and clearing the wrecks of cars with a roar of bolter fire and knife strikes. Plus diamond dogs were in the fact that, more often, their leader does not need to be sought. And now, surrounded by battle and fire, we saw how he and his younger leaders took off only to attack us with a swoop on their primitive packs ... more like small missiles. But the leader's knapsack was quite massive, even by the standards of dogs. Spread out! The fast team, and the Blades tore their free construction and prepared swords. They were all unicorns, not necessarily noble, but able to handle bladed weapons. And I? I was with them. I saw my goal, and I heard this whisper more clearly than anything else - he called me to rip off my helmet and fight without it. I felt my hooves lengthen and claws were released ... like my own, as if I had them since birth. But more importantly, I heard thunder. I did not see the thunder clouds at the entrances, and Storm Seer Soarin said that now the weather was unfavorable for his magic. It meant nothing good. Lost right engine! I lead in the direction of the Heirs! - That didn't mean anything good either. And, more importantly, it meant that there is a massive threat to our aircraft and it needs to be found as soon as possible. The flapping of the wing together with the rebound saved me from being cut by a massive chain axe. Diamond dogs did not change much after the Long Night, but they became bigger and stronger, it was difficult to say anything about intelligence... they hadn’t seen them well before, except in mining, but what was more important to me was that they hunted the same game. Now their flocks have become more gangs than small groups, and now they are led not by the smartest, but by the strongest. And this, it seems, was such: massive, armored, black skin and black-and-white primitive armor, red eyes and strong stoopedness, however, it was smaller than the usual “leaders”. This carcass attempted to strike another blow, removing its ax from the ground, however, it was not difficult to dodge it. I did not believe that he was so clumsy, but so far the impression was just that. Ouch! Mouseponi is also here! Mouseponi funny, he came back here after he was smeared here! I do not know about whom it was, but probably he confused me with Glider. That's just Glider prefers swords, the rattle of claws against each other sparks. We came for you! It seems he wanted to grin, but he had to funny try to break the distance with me. The blows were consistent, I aimed at the neck during the dash, but I could only shake his paws off. His armor is pierced, but the wounds are not deep enough for danger, and I had to move away in order not to get hit by the back. He pricked up his ears and began to smell, it seems that he found that he was not fighting with Glider. The dog thought for a long time, and then his ears drooped. He clung to the ground and began to growl angry. Mouseponi... another ... Mouseponi ... He stood up again, then rushed forward, intending to push me onto the spikes at the end of his ax, where the blade ended, but I went to the side, moving my wings. Fleur on the other side seemed tired of working with fingers and hooves, and I saw blades spinning around her, wrapped in her telekinetic field, and used both for defense and for attack, moving each on its own, but constantly connecting, like to dance I was rougher. The “lance” went to the side, passing with a gliding blow to the hind leg, while I rushed forward, using the initiative to put the claws into the jaw and dig into it with all my might. he moved it in attempts to pull them out and even tried to throw me up with a sharp chin movement, but the force fields on the claws passed right through the lower jaw, tearing it apart and making it hang like a useless piece of meat while we shared the distance. A loud guttural roar spread through the clearing. Perhaps he wanted to say something, but alas. One of his retinue attacked me from Fleur, who was freed from her bout and rushed into the other, in the interval covering me with a volley from a large assault bolter. The last bolts went right through from the low resistance of the target, and the corpse fell on my side, “The Leader” did not seem to be in a hurry to get another attack, and I could use it. The claw entered the back of the head. I knew where the point was, beyond which you could effortlessly pull the head off the dog, along with part of the spine. What I, with a strong crunch of bones, hurried to do, pulled out, unfortunately, only the main part to the base of the hump and threw it in front of me, instantly crushing it with a blow of the hoof. That was enough for him to look at it, and not at the cocked “Widowmaker” on my hoof, letting out a full volley of sixteen shots, accompanied by cries of pain from other hellish dogs. In the ears immediately sounded a flurry of insults and curses for it. The noise created, in part, has a magical nature and in any case is quite unpleasant. The bolts entered the open head, and the lack of a helmet played a role in turning the head into a bloody mess. I'm afraid Radar will not get its prize ... The ax fell to the ground, and its paws began to try to grasp at the place where the head had been before. I know her, from which they now have such vitality, but sometimes she is surprised. Nevertheless, the body fell to the ground with a crash, and I heard a multiple howl from all sides. In some places, the howl immediately interrupted by the blows of blades. Valdes! I need you! Thunder installation is covered by our cars! It is already guided by the next plane! And, as if recalling this, the plane of the pilot, who a few seconds ago informed us about his injuries, fell near us. Fleur and I looked at each other and immediately divided in different directions: Blades go to rescue the pilot and crew, I go to tear off the heads. While I was moving in the direction of the Krieg signal, I saw a standard situation with the loss of a leader: the dogs are beginning to retreat in different directions or gather in small gangs for further resistance and to collect hordes. Many try to dig into the ground, but these usually only open to attack. Soarin and his company were actively driving them into the boilers and forced them either to surrender or die. They are still extremely dangerous in their numbers, but morale is temporarily broken. Now you can not let them regroup. Krieg and his machines actively moving in a circle around something remotely resembling a tank group. Lost cars were adorned, basically, with new color, accessories, knocked-over tracks and damaged implements. However, they covered up something resembling the "Hydra" anti-aircraft installation, which is used for civil defense. The tracks were replaced with something resembling... turbines, from which clouds came, and the guns were long coils with batteries at the beginning. A twin lascanís salvo slammed into the tower, trying to find its target, but no damage was done, which, given the material on the eye, was impossible. I saw the distortion in the air during the hit. Looks like our “shaman” is here. The position was attacked by one branch of the Heirs, but they would not break through quickly - the fire was too dense. Krieg, am I in the place where SkyKilla is? Flew to the west for the shaman - a dog trying to escape on the fly. It does not add up. What protects the installation? What's wrong with this machine? I do not know! Incoming request from another channel interrupted our conversation. This is Sergeant Geno, clear the airspace above the installation! We break through! Geno! We release smoke bombs! Full salvo! Krieg didn't seem to care. Heirs instantly loaded into the “Rino”, and I clung to the closed ladder, fulfilling the requirement to clear the sky. Machines synchronously fired smoke bombs from installations, and vehicles moved to the defensive circle of our own tanks. Get ready for the strike! I saw several rockets and grenades flying around us. The driver maneuvered in the smoke towards the fire, and I could only be glad that I did not ride on the front armor. A bolt of lightning shot into the sky with a flash of thunder, but I saw how he could not hit his target. I preferred not to find out how a pony feels, hooked on an armored personnel carrier crashing into the barricade at full speed, and unhooked a little earlier, braking its wings. The ward began to sweep less than a second while I rushed forward to destroy the installation. Cover it! *** Inside the car there was not enough space, so that the corpses torn from a fragmentation grenade had to be pulled out under fire. I have exactly the hole in the right rear knee and three holes in the right wing. Inside, everything was just as dirty, but I was more interested in the source of energy that fed the battery, the improved Cloud Generator, and... the device next could see through Chaos quite noticeably for me. I hurried to pull it out and provoked a chain reaction to break the generator and threw me back on the tower in the direction of our transport. Heirs gathered around and helped me remove the tower from me. - Get separated, dangerous source of energy, you need magicians to ensure safety. - Maybe then leave it in the tower? - No, he will stay with me. Despite the fire of battle, the cold that passed through them was palpable. They didn’t trust me. - In the case of mutation or other traces of danger, I will report immediately. Geno obviously did not want this, but for some reason he gave the order to further progress, leaving me only a look in my eyes. - SkyKilla, I need you. Report. Usually, he does not respond immediately, meanwhile, the battles ended, It is difficult to verify that much time had passed since dusk, before dawn was still far away. - SkyKilla, report. - Sergeant, you are not entitled to give orders to a senior librarian. It seems busy, he is not sharp on the tongue. - What have you got there? - I am working on a shaman, and if I tell you how, I will explain to Scars and Heirs what you will do with it. So for the old? We definitely need to do something, even SkyKilla is not holding back, although it is he who is to blame for what is happening ... Or me. - Missiles from the southwest! Shy away. Southwest? And how? We have suppressed all the points... *** Fortunately, at that moment everything turned out, the Sky Scars of the master of evasion and speed and from the antediluvian rockets on the thermal trail cost nothing. However, the fact itself was more eloquent of any word. Here something was wrong, we can not be confused with the dogs. Or you need to be a complete degenerate. We have already finished here, NightmarKrieg and Skykilla left the battlefield and I ... I followed the corpse of the leader, I promised Radar that I would bring my head, I would have to carry the carcass. Fleur and Soarin, as I heard there too, are met by a commander of Las Pegasus who is probably trying to justify himself for his subordinate. However, I love to make mistakes. Fleur sat on the back of the car, and Soarin periodically kicked the dog unconscious. An escort of griffins stood in front of them, apparently equipped mercenaries, a lot of freestyle symbolism and a few from Las Pegasus, led them like a minotaur, one of those that then stood on guard of the common premises, it is a bit strange. - You must understand that you attacked the subordinates of Las Pegasus and caused them great damage, as well as dealt a heavy blow to our military force and force us to respond. Is that so? They say the Beast, too, first tried to compromise, until the Princesses killed him right on top of his huge robot. It was good then. But this does not mean anything good, we destroyed them in time, the smartest quickly put together large hordes and have to use a lot more power. I lifted the corpse and threw it on my back, the problem is that he had a grenade that exploded in contact with the ground, it was worth examining it, it would take a long time to remove the fragments from the armor. Soarin and the mercenaries snatched the weapon and the second even managed to shoot a couple of times before the order was heard “clean”, it’s a pity that now this dog is half scalded with lightning, they have spoiled his skin, the coat will not come out so good if not cleaned. There was silence in the air for a second when I caught the gaze of the minotaur looking at my symbolism, color and skull. - Who is this and why does he take his body? As I saw you burn corpses. - Diamond dogs secrete controversy and then grow, in addition to the old methods of course. We need to burn the corpses or the horde will recover. Noted Soarin stopping kicking the corpse and turning to me. - Valdes! Drag to the rest of the corpses! I noticed Fleur’s agitated eyes, yes, it looks like everything could be worse if they really were one of the mercenary armies ... - Valdes? Is this your ambassador? And after this you are talking about the world? You look at him! I'm not sure what it looked like from the outside, but the fact of the mark told me enough to remind that I still look ominous ... but now it was unimportant. I can not give voice. - Grimaldes, clean up the corpse and collect your squad, the help of the Night Lords was appreciated. Go back to your location. I hurried to take off, and it seems he wanted to say something in the back, however I was faster, I connected to the Fleur systems to continue listening, and to be distracted from the claws of tearing my heart. - And what was that? - Grimaldes and his company are cleaning up. They are masters in this and we usually call them. - Why did you call him by another name? - This is his new name, Captain Soarin does not command him and... Knowing her, she most likely is boring now with his eyes. - A little tactless, the old name tingles his memory, - Tell your stories to someone else. Better tell me what to do with you now, you attacked our army. - A mercenary army, and this will be discussed tomorrow's diplomatic mission. - You are there too, aren't you? You are a soldier, not a diplomat. - I'm Heiress. We own everything perfectly. I do not like to just listen to the dialogue, I can not read emotions as clearly as usual. In any case, most likely we have a problem. - Okay, get ready, "Equestrians", tomorrow, when you can't justify yourself, I'll deal with you. Empty threat, I disconnected from the dialogue and landed on the Pegasus group of their army. it looks like they were examining corpses. Immediately they started and raised their guns, two of the seven fell and the shots came to the ground. I landed a little faster than I wanted. They seemed to be examining one of the cadaver pits. - Stand! I stopped and looked at them, they looked like I could devour a look, I love that look. - What are you doing here? Their commander stepped forward. - Yes, yes, friends are looking for whom you seem to have finished, who will now pay me back, hm? - Your wings are trembling and you can hear it even through power armor. He jumped back at the same moment and turned around. - Come on guys, it's not here. and if there is. Then after these bastards nothing. Author's Note Still looking for someone who will help me with better design and translation. Head detained very much and I apologize for this. Hope to get already in plus by estimates. Action one: The talent for murder: Chapter FiveThe joyful sound of hoofs on the hoof filled the air as soon as we returned. We pulled them up! Everyone and everyone! In our own way, we took revenge, even if not to the full extent of ours. But now even such a simple trifle was a clean apple in a pool of guano. I needed to hand over my armor to clean and calibrate Ebony and ClearNight. Our technophone and servants still have their work done around the old one, and the old Clear will most likely be beside himself with anger when he finds out. The wounds on the wings have healed, only light scars will remain as a reminder, but days will pass, and even they will heal, like any small wound. Speaking of scars, DesMark caught sight of me, knocking his head against Krieg, trying not to hook him with his horn. The radar, it seems, stopped to drown in drugs, because there was no trace of the reception. "Northern Dust" leaves no long traces of adoption. Now does not leave. He rushed to me, looking at the corpse, and was very upset when I threw him on the ground and it became clear that there was no head. Did not work? What were you waiting for, Radar? What will I capture him alive? That I risk everything for your empty revenge? Looks like that, and you waited, and I let you down. How is the Glider? He shivered and began to examine the corpse. Well, it is stable, and some time in the apothecary will raise it. What are you planning to do? I thought to skinned and hang on the frontal armor. I left my car clean for too long. That would be a mistake: the skull at the peak can be quickly removed. It was strange to hear from him. The radar was with us ... simply because it was, therefore it is “Radar”, therefore it is a radio operator. But it seems that soon the blood of a warrior will leap in it, and maybe I will have to clean my tracks. Hold off; do it but hide it. Now we have no opportunity to be ourselves. He smiled and clutched at me. Do you want to return everything, Master Claw? Doomed with phrases, first Flauver. If possible. But I have opportunities. At least I hope so. Looking at him, I felt that everything was going to work out. His joy at these words was amazing and contagious, but so far he has hope and the one who will support him. I have a task: do not let him down. All Krieg threw over the ground under the triple "cheers" and his laughter. Nobody was embarrassed that the victory was not ours, but belonged to the Scars. We have shown ourselves, and this is enough for them. I left them in speed: my presence and such joy from Radar can sow unnecessary rumors and conversations, but I cannot order them all to just keep quiet or cut off their tongues. I just don't want to. *** The servants live in underground rooms connected by a network of tunnels, which allows them to quickly move around the premises and carry out tasks and tasks with maximum safety even during combat. Big McIntosh was particularly concerned about the construction pattern, so I would have sinned without asking for a scheme for my company. Here and now, the base on soft ground equipped by us could withstand a massive attack and give us time to regroup and retreat. Although, I will be honest, if this red giant had learned that we had replaced fortified points and trenches with traps and additional escape routes, he would not be happy. Remembering this scandal that he gave his sister when he learned about minor adjustments for convenience... I smelled the corpse, passing by. And not that I was surprised, though, so brazenly, when we are on the front line ... Servants, it seems, also feel that our grip is weakening. After all, they, too, are subject to "a decrease in heartlessness and cruelty." And they, unlike the legionnaires, were non-doctrinal criminals. Obviously, someone decided to use the combat trap on the middle minotaur or manticore to crack down on another. The stakes were smeared with concentrated poison and dope from the extract of Melange, which expands the mind and acts as a light enhancer of sensations, so that it had to scream on these stakes for about a minute, and scream so that the whole camp would hear it. It was planted on the belly, not on the croup or upside down. She could not so fall on these pins, given their size and the fact that she was a Pegasus, and only one wing was broken, and very casually some pipe was broken. So, probably, it wasn’t earthly or pegasus: pegasi do not like to break each other’s wings out of solidarity. Although maybe someone sadism manifested. The servants for each legion accounted for a lot, before the Long Night a huge number of ponies arrived in the metropolitan area under the life integration program: bat ponies, zebras ... I heard that there were even Kirins, however, all changeings disappeared when this was announced ... Nobody and did not understand why, and nobody cried about them. So with mass mobilization, for each clatter there were at least one or two assistants for small things like cooking food and five over measure for the general work on the battlefield. Someone had to dig trenches, protect the base and cook food? Although they coped with the second so-so: the issued weapon was mainly a weak personal weapon, and the legions themselves equipped their servants if they wanted. Or helped them. We simply ignored them. No one wanted to work for criminals and grovel before them. So scored the same. Another thing is that some were recruited by gangs, and from time to time they had to be reminded that harmony still reigns here. Radar and others like him for a long time kept their heads off to everyone that this was slavery, and they themselves went to work. Especially they were fond of digging trenches: this is a thankless task for Bat Ponies, but he perceived it stoically, “we cannot exploit them.” But they are here of their own free will, although it is worth saying that they are basically changed like horseshoes: very few survive the front-line life. I was going to look at the "lower market", in fact - "black". It was a bit of a curiosity shop. Gangs usually collected trinkets and other things and resold them to someone. This eliminates the need to personally dig in the garbage and contributes to the domestic economy, but someone seemed to be terribly wound up, because when I entered, a bullet from a pistol flew into my head. The itch from hitting will be a long time annoying ... I guess they were frightened by the corpse taken with him. I saw Ebony, which between times was spinning here and there in her overalls, from which, even among many others, I could smell the medicines. All instantly clung to the ground and cocked their accumulated pistols, knives and everything else in anticipation that the shooting would begin now. Well, they learn. I hate it when civilians do not respond to the command "lie down" and come under attack. Beats on reputation. However, everything fell silent immediately, as everyone understood who they were shooting at. Arrow instantly tied his own comrades and pushed forward. One of them, trembling with this very pistol in his teeth, came up to me, coming out to meet them. Both were from the engineering group, and, judging by the clothes and tags, belonged to the same gang. Six and approximate ... It seems that I have not seen this gang before. Probably a new formation from some city that fought with another legion on the other side of the country. Judging by the scars and the bruising, they were soldiers, but it doesn't seem like someone strong. S-sorry, sir! O-he did not make out! We are not used to seeing you without armor! - He muttered, trying to justify himself. Nonsense: at the base we try to walk in it as little as possible, they could not see us without it. Ebony slipped through a quiet crowd like a ghost. Many unfamiliar faces. Looks like we have recently updated the staff. Gladii walked over the tendons on his front hooves, knocking the arrow on his knees. Before that, he stood, it seems, not knowing very well what situation he had got into; He seemed to have tried to hit back, but Ebony went behind me just as quickly. She obviously had other things to do, so I nodded to her and she disappeared into the crowd again. Earth pony hissed through his teeth, but raised his head and continued to look; he may die of bleeding, but we have enough time to talk about things. I gently put the body next to and said: If she has friends or relatives, take her and bury her. Mom! - was heard from the crowd. The young filly, barely three years old as having received a cutie mark, ran out to me and began to examine the body, trying not to cry in front of me in the whole neighborhood. Someone helped her carry the body, and I made a note that I would need to do this later. Rarely, when you see a family in our ranks, it must be redirected to a rehabilitation center. Made an orphan, abused before death, tried to hide, ruined the property of the Legion, undermined our security ... I didn’t want to think about the second one, it was just unpleasant, but the smell from the intercourse on the corpse was so obvious to me that it was just annoying. Fortunately, no one except me is aware of this. And you think that after that I will believe that he simply "did not recognize me"? Speak, you have a chance to justify yourself. He did not shudder. The people in the meantime tried to continue their business, but still did not take their eyes off: someone used and tried to work in their wallets, and unicorns in their pockets. That bitch that cuts my legs, someone, they say, is covered, with some bastard of yours. I had to kill her friend. Problems? He became insane from fear, not only from the fact that he shot, the shot only turned off the last feelings of self-preservation, and he tries to at least die with dignity. Who sent you here? I don’t know, they have distributed and that's it, come on, take out your axe and chop it up already. And then do me a favor and die. The stallion folded its head, waiting for a strike. Axe, mean? Many who can be, but in effect and not knowing us ... Laughing Eaters, probably. But it doesn't matter, he thinks that he will die for it instantly ... The Pinkie Pie Legion solves the matter with one stroke and does not think. I turned my eyes to the slightly dumbfounded but joyful assistant, he seems to hope that all the blame will fall on the madman nearby, and I was ready to please him. Make sure he survives, find Ebony or some of the other servants of the older legionaries. Take it to SkullRiver and say that he has a new test subject for new tools. Until then, make sure that he temporarily replaces the end of the waste systems and his diet was full in this matter. If the Princess finds out about this, or at least Flower, I can successfully lay my head on the block, but they don’t need to know about it at all, not one of them was under Nocturne. They do not fully know how free they can be, and old servants will tell them what is waiting for the disobedient. I wonder what Scull River will come up with. *** So it always happens: I went to talk to Ebony one-on-one, and here's the result: she consoled this orphan and at the same time checked something in the data tablet that I gave her. I watched from the roof of my cell and read their dialogue on the lips for the sake of prevention, at the same time sending to the Ebony tablet an order to send this filly to the center directly to Flutterbat upon my request. Flutter tends to give them priority. Behind this process, I was thinking about the situation we were all in. If Soarin's error manifests itself violently, then this can be worth everything. If Las Pegasus knows who burned Nocturne, then my name and my company can become a coffin in a diplomatic mission. I need to urgently withdraw from this status and give it to Fleur. With this thought, I contacted her, returning to my room, but the incoming call directly from Princess of the Moon and Prince Sanguinis made me cool down my ardor and prepare for a strict countdown. Despite the fact that I am no longer the Master of the Claw, I still ... have some opportunity for a personal dialogue with the Princess, even now very crumpled. For this, I even had a personal holo-projector, which I used only in two cases. Perhaps many will say that the new mighty form of the princess has made her even more divine ... I could not agree with them. May we and the people be warlike, the night has always been a mother, not a military leader, and how she becomes them, each time was given to bitterness. I'm not sure that this opinion was shared by someone else. This seems to have been wrong. Therefore I pushed it as far as possible. The last thing she needs to hear is that I consider her too ... far away from us, now far away. Sanguinis stood nearby, who seemed to have just returned from the battle. Eyes shouted that he soothes the thirst for blood, these veins from his eyes ... The projector did not show it in all its glory, but the dark blue filter coped so as not to slander her appearance. Majestic and noble in her form, Princess of the Night, tall, elegant and sophisticated ... It could be called unearthly, which to some extent was true. It is difficult to speak about it in concrete words, I just have to bathe in the rays of its greatness through attempts by a pathetic machine to imitate it. Many are filled with the desire to express themselves in moments when the Matriarch, and even more so the Princess looks at you. It becomes an alluring idea, and you just have to keep yourself in hand. But I left my eyes as if with a set of bones, a skeleton, which has nothing and nothing to hide. The princess wants a report, sergeant. Sanguinis plays the role of her voice when she believes that she should not waste time talking to someone who does not deserve it. I wonder why he invited me if he continues to do this. You shouldn't waste time on formalities, Prince, now this is a personal conversation. Valdes, I want to know the state of your company and its readiness to join the battle at Stalliongradde and Las Pegasus. So they want to relocate us closer to Las Pegasus? Stalliongrad? He is on the other end of Equestria! We are waiting for a hard march after this operation. Sanguinis snarled and looked somewhere outside the capture zone of the camera. Princess, I need to know what the official report is to make the appropriate corrections. She looked down at me as I tried to keep track of what was happening outside of my room, but it seemed that my ears were blocked. Just think, once it was synonymous with the word "blind", but it was this feeling that I now experienced. Reports from your legions differ, so I’m sending new model, "Sicaran" battle tank. They have already perfectly proved themselves in the main companies and other legions as more versatile machines and superior to them in the elimination of fast targets. I want to know why I did it and on whose tip ... Cause and tip? Soarin, there is no need to think. ... But more importantly, I want to know why I would have to ... But more importantly, I want to know why I had to listen to this assumption. Why aren't you in Las Pegasus? What are the next moves? Yes, it was a problem, we did not receive an embassy, and in fact we only exchanged facts and thoughts. But the question is ... We did not ask for it or did not give it to us on our own? Recalling it now, I understand how easy it was for us: a few quick actions, checks and provocations - and now we’re on edge and don’t want to discuss anything. Even Fleur either didn’t notice or was silent for some reason. We will continue to insist on our intentions, Princess. It did not suit her, the movement of the cheekbones showed it to me, but did it ... turn into a smile? Fleur in her report gave me a few thoughts. For you, as a leading diplomat, I have a new task. You have a hard job ahead of you, but I’m sure you can do it and do it. Fleur already knows everything, Soarin will continue to act in his manner, and you have to use this ... I cleared my throat, very carefully, and she gave me a voice, even if it was only confirmed by the sudden silence and nod of Sanguinis. Princess ... You must give Fleur the status of the lead of this mission. She watched my every word, it was visible in my eyes, and my heart pounded wildly at this look. As you ... you know, Nocturne was ... known to Las Pegasus, my further fulfillment of this task puts it at risk. The air froze in my throat, I almost exhaled and did not show my excitement more clearly than she sees. The smile did not fall from her face, and it made even more nervous. These thoughts have already been expressed by other and much higher persons than the Prefector and the Captain, and, as I said, I am sure that my children are able to do this better than others. If necessary, the eighth company will clean up the slop of this city like any other, and I think that the former Talon Master will make them think more about ... the consequences. A smile fell from her face when she returned her gaze to me, and not somewhere up. And I didn’t quite understand where I was, as if I felt something else, but it was in me, inside. It was ... I heard this feeling as ... greed. The Sun Princess forbade us ... Celestia can think about politics and the world as he wants. But here is my order, sergeant: act as you see fit, according to your moral and ideological concepts. Las Pegasus should be part of Equestria with little blood. But what is considered small, I leave to you and Prince Sanguinis. All this so fed this feeling that I did not know what to think until the sobering blow in the form of Sanguinis did not refresh my head. We responded in chorus, I do not know how Sanguinis, but for me it was a reflex. Will be done. This was the end of the program, and to calm down, I looked at my tablet, where I saw a new message from Sanguinis with a very interesting headline: "Lucky you". *** The news about the technique pleased Krieg and other pilots a little in the desire to break in new tanks, we heard about "Sikarans", but we have not tried it yet. However, if you believe the rumors about its accuracy and rate of fire, they will be useful to us soon. Krieg was with me when I decided to look into the dining room and learned that the transports are arriving today, and we can start their testing after calibration tomorrow. But the message of Sanguinis did not give me any more peace, for it was not in his habits to talk about luck. What could possibly happen that he was stingy with such an expression? In trying to escape from this, I looked around, trying to see something worthwhile attention, but this, unfortunately, was not. Everywhere there is just an ordinary routine: somewhere there, the Third and Fifth Claws fight again, and now I cannot separate them. Someone is just doing hufrestling, I haven’t counted several branches since we lost, so someone hasn’t gotten out. But Scull did everything that was in his power, according to the Ebony reports, though we lost in combat capability and we need new medicines as soon as possible. Suddenly there was a noise. The strangely familiar sound of flying aviation went over the ears, and ordinary ponies began to run around and take up defensive positions, even the chefs took out laser rifles and poked them in the direction of the shelters under the exclamations that someone else was hungry, while the others were hiding in bunkers or trenches while the legionnaires In general, they began to go out on the launching pad for aviation. Krieg pricked his ears and, jerking his ear, began to listen to what was happening. In his face, it seemed to me that they were attacking us, but given that the siren is not turned on, then everything is fine. I began to listen, followed by inserting a transmitter into my ear - sometimes even I need to stop the flow of information. - “StormEagle” “Wings of Fire”! Immediately stop picking up speed! Return to construction! Judging by the frequency, it was someone from the Fifteenth Company of Moon Ponies, probably our tanks, but I jumped up from the spot under the laughter of Krieg, who was falling from the chair, for another reason, I mumbled something, even I didn’t make it out and it sounded like ridiculous. However, if I do not know what sometimes I say, it does not mean that I know something else. This is my “StormEagle”! He was turned into something grotesque, smeared with blue and white inks with the ancient treasure number “Eight” on his forehead, she had been there before, only now she was painted on top of something else. The one who committed such vandalism deserved enough sentries to freeze all its edges, even if it is a thunder. How do you order to perform assault operations on this? It is for this purpose intended, and not for his foals to repaint! Smaller than Thunderhuffs, more weapons, less space and everything to throw me into battle with the selected unit, and now rocket systems and laser guns have been removed from it, only the poor searchlight and frontal heavy bolter remained ... why was it brought here ?! Under the desperate cries of DeathMark, I grabbed his binoculars from him, trying to see what the spot was right on the body with something gilded in the sun — it was a saxophone, and several legionnaires around me even danced to the rhythm of music that seemed to play on the radio channel, so I hurried to connect. In addition to the muffled cries of familiar voices, music, playing from the saxophone and singing in the discord pony, I heard a clear cry for help. - Sergeant Valdes on the canal urgently! They threaten to crash the plane on the landing pad! He was echoed by the singing voice of a filly with a clear Oriental accent. This is called landing baby! Get used to it! Cut the belts! We will teach you to land straight into the inferno! Call someone Krieg and his squadron! I need a barrage of eight assault cannon and a pair of lazcannon! The cries of protest were heard along with the new refrain to the accompaniment of some kind of religious organ music. This whole combination did exactly one thing - she told me HOW Sanguinis be enraged that he switched to such a word as “luck”. Eighth Claw, return to the construction and stop filling the channels of communication without a corresponding order. The music subsided instantly, and the stain evaporated, falling into the opened hatch. “StormEagle” returned to the building as soon as it caught up with it, and some ponies began to disperse, mostly those whose obligations did not require urgent intervention. The rest in anticipation were waiting for the return of this pack of garbage, which is sometimes referred to as the “Terror Squad”, or the Eighth Claw. Action one: The talent for murder: Chapter SixIn complete darkness, a candle was lit, then another, and another. They flashed slowly in the dark, and every movement of the head had to be accompanied by a bow. A bow of respect and humility. It was the work of Ebony to light ritual candles, but each lit one candle, repeating every movement and gesture with a wing or hoof. This ritual required a complete immersion in the process and awareness of the situation. The mind must be filled with the right proportions of the senses. “And darkness will overtake us for our sins.” Only two did not participate in this; one only for the time being, while the other was perplexedly watching his new detachment violate laws and rules, applying more religiosity to what is happening. In his view, a company of criminals should not risk so much by performing dangerous rituals that look more like a call from the forces of darkness than a sentimental rite similar to the sanctification of machine spirit. “We give you our souls and bodies, Princess of the Night. Our father gave us a guiding light to redemption." They surrounded the sanctuary in the unity of their voices and thoughts, folding their wings, forming an incomplete circle, where Ebony broke the line and depicted the deepening of a crescent moon. "You chose us, and, looking at the abyss, inviting secrets, we did not give themselves. We - betrayed the law and betrayed the essence." They flapped their wings, dispersing the smell of incense and extinguishing the candles. “For we are bandits and murderers! We are the Night Lords!" *** They came out one by one, led by little Ebony in a tactical formation. They were all Bat Ponies, from a distance similar to each other, like brothers and sisters, different only in size, eye color and small details, such as wild eyes or a soft gait. Noble Grimhart supported the weeping Songa, who, together with tears, wanted to get to her supply of goodies and alcohol as soon as possible and move on to prisoner diamond dogs. Next came the angry hissing and jealous of Songa TremorClaw, held by Havok, who was huge compared to them. Valdes accompanied them with a faint gleam of joy in his soul, ignoring the questioning glance of the new member of the department. "Akhm, Sergeant, you must understand that what is happening can cause many questions, and as a member of the department, I do not want to participate in such. And I'm not going to hide it eithe..." Valdes only looked at him with a melancholy look, already beginning to realize that he would have to handle this newcomer on his own, without the power and position that he had before. It's one thing when your sergeant tells you what the rules are, and it looks like protocol bypass and hidden violations. Another thing is when it was said by the Master Claw, responsible for the fighting spirit, whose word was indestructible, was the basis of the entire emotional component of the company. “... and I will immediately bring it to the captain!” The stallion proudly puffed out his chest, even slightly fluffed out, which spoke of real feelings. This was not surprising. Valdés could only lower his head with a heavy sigh, turning and going up to the only remaining candle that stood unlit. The last candle for him, the last candle for all of them. It inflamed by him and his weak suppressed magical potential, to which the newcomer, still dressed in power armor, looked spellbound, coming closer, almost stepping on his sergeant's wing. “I dedicate my service to the service of you, Great Mother. Demand with me, for my loyalty is absolute, and let the darkness of my soul devour me if I prove unworthy. Father gave light guiding. Bowing in front of him, remember, he thought only of us ..." - he whispered it quickly, without fail, without hitches or long pauses, like a spell or mantra, while others said it as something that taught them. The sound of his voice made LicanBlood think that this is his life, and he does it in front of him, as if this is not the betrayal of everything that the Liberation Crusade is going for. He grabbed the handle of the battle knife, wanting to interrupt this insane fanaticism. - "... when we make the shadows shudder, the Father is with us both in spirit and in body!" His voice trembled sharply, echoing no further than their ears. The blade stayed in the sheath when the bat pony jumped up sharply, extinguishing the fire with a wave of its wings and hanging up directly from the ceiling. "Go with them, LicanBlood, go with them and find out who you are with. I don’t know who you were in the Moon Ponies, I don’t know yet the sin that lies behind your soul, but now you are the “Terror Squad”, now you are the Eighth claw. Now you are a murderer and a monster. Now you are the Night Lord." He jumped back. Lican bounced back, fearing attack, but Valdez just headed for the exit. “I need to make inquiries about your account, Lycan.” Go with the rest of the squad and rest, because soon we will have a hard work. And I want you to be ready for it. He was going to argue, it was visible on the ears. Valdes mentally cleared his throat and shouted: EXECUTE, PRIVATE!!! He did not have the gift of the Song of War. But he had the good old "sergeant's voice", which made Lican hastily catch up with the rest of the Claw. Valdes just sighed again and went to work, whispering under his breath only: Rookie... Who did you put on my head, Sanguinis? *** The ships landed in turns, while the rest took up the line, receiving guests from another company. Everything will be as usual: Lunar Ponies will march across the parade ground, almost spitting each of us in the face, leaving the ships, finding a couple of enemies in our company... Hey! HorizonFall! How is your sister?! I did not ask? StormSiege, Ninth Claw. Rape, escape from law enforcement officers, threats of physical violence, theft of state resources. -YOU?! An undisciplined cry, the landlords already took acceleration when the rest of the group took it, trying to reassure them in every way while he was puffing nostrils, trying to stimulate his anger. In the end, he lay tied together. When he did, he remembered the face and voice. And Storm does not keep his mouth shut. At the same time, I watched my faithful StormEagle unload. Yes, on this machine at one time I led my company to the attack. I touched the hull, and the engines purred, recognizing his pilot and master. Havok also pulled out three massive metal boxes, in which there was obviously something hidden from the eyes of the Lunar Ponies, because their lieutenant was looking at them with suspicion. The First Claw, Atramentar, brothers and sisters according to their fate, bastards, whom only hatred united, came out in their massive terminator armor. All five accompanied NightmareFlower to meet with the lieutenant, take the machines and a couple of brotherly rituals inside the Legion. Songa tried to jump on my neck, which was stopped by a grip on the tail of a Tremor and a sharp blow to the ground with a full turn. Grimhart jumped out to me, while Tremor and Havok put Song in one row. In a slight bow, his face took a predatory grin, speaking of bloodlust. “We have not been broken, and we are free again, Talon Master. The "Terror Squad" is again at your disposal." Before my appointment, Grimheart was their sergeant, and this is not surprising: he is the purest of them. Caught in the distribution for "excessive cruelty", he got accustomed perfectly. Now he is with them in the same line, but still their sergeant is spiritual. What's in the boxes? Songa and Havok grinned, while Moon Ponies were about to leave as soon as possible, until all of this developed into something more dangerous. It will be necessary to talk heart to heart with Storm. GrimHeart rose. A gift for ours, sir. After we were locked in the hospital, it seemed to us ... It is worth a little to please the rest with our return. I raised an eyebrow. I wonder how they were going to do this? “Songa bought a StarWolf drunk barrel ... As long as we borrowed two more barrels.” I missed out on awareness. It was deadly. If we do the dirty work for the Princess of the Moon, the Star Wolves do it for Celestia. Let them not be so dangerous or strong, their “dirty work” is more often - just fights, where loyalty needs more brains. But they are a full-fledged Legion, and we are just a company. So happily I thought that for the sake of something small I give him my “flowers”! Songa rolled with wild laughter that her face strongly mixed with genetics expressed itself particularly terribly, and it was not Princess Luna who was to blame for this: Songa had an “eastern” grin, as they sometimes call him. She was obviously a half-breed, but finding parents of an orphan is not always easy. "At ease, fighters. In honor of your return, I propose to proceed to the ritual..." The newcomer in the group stood with them, still, apparently, unaccustomed to such a low level of discipline and eerie colors, even though he was a Bat Pony. Although, it seems, he is from these "northerners." Strong but puny clans. *** The two barrels went to the rest of the claws in hoofs, in the shadows and silence. Ours remained on its own binge, for Songi’s multiple caches here and there with various food items. She loves to pamper her taste. And today, to the mango, the music of GrimHart and a couple of captured diamond dogs was added a new box of fresh mangoes, just from the fridge. Since it was necessary to hide that we were still doing this, we had to hide in underground rooms for ordinary ponies and score everything so that the sound would not pass. We had a table, playing cards, a radio, a lot of cards and notes that Lhikan had buried in, trying not to pay attention to two target diamond dogs in muzzles and chains, chained to the wall. One dog whined in horror - one of the commanders, "nob." The second tried to giggle through the muzzle, looking at his companion. This is one of the "commandos", caught him there only one. It was still important to understand where his gang had disappeared: they were not found during the battle. GrimHart tuned up his saxophone, Havok tuned in the radio, Tremor and Songa wiped and prepared instruments. Suddenly, Ebony entered the room, along with two hard-working earths who were carrying a box. She sent them on, coming up to me. “Scull says, sir: his vital organs have been altered, his own waste flows into his blood, and he has already been found a point for connecting to the drain system. Should I execute the order? .. I didn’t want to think about it, I was not in the mood for the usual problems of the dog: I was looking at the file of a certain “Mare do well.” I heard about this image before the Campaign, even when the world was intact, and now - such a surprise, someone with such a nickname rushes along Las Pegasus, trying to eradicate crime with a simple fear of retribution. It will be interesting to look for him ... Yes, connect. Write down his screams if you want. Maybe we will need for a new video. One of the landies with a murmur pulled out a video camera, to which Ebony nodded. Everything will be, sir, I will follow the execution of the sentence. Well, we have already done everything so that he would not be seized: he died, someone from revenge dumped him on the spikes, before this forcing him to pohleat water from the waste system. Simple practice. Only now will find him so in a week. Songa had already begun to drink straight from the tap on the barrel, struggling with the flow of alcohol. Usual we will not overthrow, so she has to dodge and get alcohol from the Star Wolves. Rainbow Dash nobody said that she could not get drunk after the improvements, and as soon as she found out, she immediately with the new government ordered to develop alcohol for drunk thunder. They say it is cooked on the basis of our promethium... Song told me that yes. However, when she then tried to drink two such barrels and verify the result with the contents of my “StormEagle” gas tank, she was already drunk. "Nob" shuddered more strongly, as soon as GrimHart tuned up the saxophone and began to play one of his melodies. The little dog was no longer holding back and crying with joy, while the second one panicked in horror, trying, it seemed, to shut him up. Songa, meanwhile, was testing her favorite jar with its parasprites that follow her song. The Tremor was a bit simpler: she was fixing her repair kit on herself. A small claw-shaped manipulator with hydraulics, a plasma soldering iron, a drill ... It constantly changes the details to taste. Now took a horizontal claw. Probably going to rip the bones. Havok, along with GrimHeart, just hummed. One works in size and brute force, the second works with ordinary medical instruments and weapons. Lhikan looked with horror at what was happening, sitting next to them, constantly pointing to one or another instrument and asking questions, to which he received absolutely accurate and colorful answers. "Why does she need a burner?!" "Probably, he wants to burn his eyes, maybe he is going to insert his ear, I don't know. These dogs are not here for information” said Havok, thoughtfully eating mangoes, while Lhikan, with his jaw open, watched one of Parasprites, whispering Songi back to the bank. "Small mine. Take the "nob"." The tremor was determined decisively, as soon as everything was set up, heading for the dog, who still did not believe in what was happening, just smiling from under the muzzle. To the second, Songa came up in complete curtsy, beginning to sing a desperately whimpering dog and trying to calm him down. She didn't like it when they turned off too fast, so she stuck a dose of adrenaline into him; Tremor did the same. Grimhart pointed my hoof at this. “Any thoughts on why she’s so excited, sergeant?” This diamond dog found an exhausted filly, who seemed to serve as a slave. I learned this from one of the Krieg tankers; He said that the Scars had taken her and were going to transfer to the Alikornes, and they quietly handed over the dog to us under the blows of requests and persuasion. Tremor ripped off a muzzle. The dog instantly spat in her face and did not hold back the laughter. The claw sticking into the mouth, causing him to choke and shut up, trying not to move his lower jaw. The pneumatic motors were buzzing to the breath of a low thunderbolt. "Scream, bitch" Claws-clips pierced the nose, grabbing the central cartilage, and began to pull back under the loud cheek and try not to scream. The tremor was not appeased. Lican watched quietly and silently, while GrimHeart became interested in creating a new symphony. This is monstrous and immoral! Why does she do it?! Havok raised his hooves questioningly while sitting on his stool while I continued to watch reports on Las Pegasus. News bulletins, history: ordinary ponies who went to the city just to live, have already begun to merge information to relatives and friends, telling what they have and how. It was a disgusting city: foal prostitution, drug trafficking at the state level, and all this is covered by “noble advice”, which constantly fights with someone and “protects” unicorns andeartpony. Simple and working scheme. Songa took the battle knife and took hold of her claws. The dog tried to grab it, fight, fight and throw it off, but the mare, holding its magnetic hooves like a spider, surrounded it, letting its parasprites climb under the skin and slowly enjoy the meal. He screamed at the muzzle while she cut off his claws and poured it all with hot wax. Hey! Lycan! Do you want to process it ?! Tremor you small will not leave! I bet that she will burn his scrotum and break his spine! Songa was in her element and just danced on the wall, moving around. She kissed the dog on the forehead, then sprinkled ammonia solution into his eyes. Soon she probably will throw up or let her pets. I was interested in one news item... So, they have mares disappearing there now... Foals disappear... There are many who can send the Eighth Claw, it was only necessary to send them to the business correctly... Lycan whipped out a knife and shouted: "Enough! You were punished to stop this madness, but you continue! You will all be executed!" I just raised my eyebrow, leaving it on GrimHeart and Havok. The girls now had to keep their business, and I didn’t want to. A soldering iron entered the eye. The creature screamed, opening its mouth, and under this cry the pressure of the hydraulics increased. Looks like she wanted him to tear his jaw off himself under her pressure. Grimmheart pointed to the dogs, as the pony points with a fork on a plate of salad. “These creatures killed, terrorized, and committed many other crimes against the entire nation of ponies. I do not know where you have been all these years, in which joyful lie lived, but here it is true. They deserve their punishment, Lycan." The tremor whipped out a knife and began to prick the stomach wildly, trying to gut it alive, before it broke its skull. Blood and organs fell on a cold metal floor beneath the characteristic cotton of a skull bursting under the hydraulics. The tremor did not breathe throughout the entire process; she did it all in about a minute, while Songa was going to leave this dog with parasprites inside here for a few days. Tremor does not bring joy, but the feeling of retribution is more than joy. Havok jumped up, picking up her, slightly reeling. The second dog no longer cares what happened to his comrade. He was dying, and he was dying slowly, in agony. He will not faint until his flesh is eaten in pieces for a long time. Songa jumped off the wall, helping the Tremor resist and take off the instruments. "Hush, dear, everything is fine, he is dead, he fell from your hoof." Since Tremor has always been like this. She was perhaps too bloodthirsty for an ordinary maid, but she did not want to put up with it. Even becoming a thunder and finding in it his destiny and vocation, the little servant was still the same servant. Lycan would try to build a noble Lunar Pony out of himself, but I found what he was sent to: he was a bastard, brother of Prince Sanguinis, and was so angry that he tried to kill him, beating his servant until he was half dead, to gain time. He is one of us, just does not believe in it. He is a Bat Pony, and he is a traitor, and a murderer, he is the Night Lord. Author's Note We reached her hands through the translator just now. I'm afraid to imagine what to do with the next one, I’m still writing in the Russian chapter, there’s so much text that I don’t have enough strength to finish it off (haha, you have such small chapters and you say you want to cut the biggest, asshole ). People, I understand that I am writing in a very niche format and with very poor quality .... but can I have some feedback, please? Action one: The talent for murder: Chapter OneMany ponies from the servants were afraid of the dark corridors of the barracks of the eighth company of the Lunar Pony legion. There was always a grave cold and a soft moonlight looming overhead, and the quiet wind seemed to whisper lulling threats, suggesting rest and never again to worry about anything. All this complemented the gloomy gothic style: stone gargoyles on columns and moon candles under the ceiling. As well as it is necessary to this design - corridors looked out-of-date, and even EbonyDream itself - the mare of the bet pony, serving the master almost one year, could not answer precisely, whether it is cozy here. It was like a house, but this whisper... Despite the fact that its owner is inclined to refuse any excesses and delights, the rules and the task required the opposite, and in food it manifested itself more often. The owner preferred to eat raw meat and drink dirty, or toxic water, violating all the provisions of the Thunder Pony Codex on the quality of food to maintain standards-compliant physical mass. Because once again she will have to persuade him to eat a full meal and fruit. However, this was a self-serving plus - Ebony had to make an effort not to eat mangoes relying on the thunder pony of her people, it was a very expensive delicacy. A small but nonetheless double door was waiting for her for the next turn. She did not need to read the plate, his room is always here... And the presence of several other servants made her angry, given that she knew whose servants, in particular, FlowerKiss, the helpful pony of Captain Nightmare Flower, who hurried to push her ear away from the door so quickly, that fell on another maid who hurried to disappear, leaving them alone. "You're listening again, Flower." There was nothing new in this, she is constantly here when she is free. In fact, it is being exploited, but Ebony does not have to deal with this matter, if the gentleman does not think that this needs to be changed, then there is no need to do something. It's dangerous - the captain was not considered the most rational mare. - Ebony! Stop sneaking up like this! - with a heavy breath she pronounced a pegasus of a dark blue color that at least slightly added respect to her in the eyes of the servants. Although it was not bright, like many others, it did not distract the look. Ebony only pointed with the turn of her neck that she did not understand the conversation, and she pointed the wing behind her back, behind the scenes, ordering her to save the corridor from her presence. And only an apathetic look made her obey and evaporate, and of course this was helped by a glare of moonlight on an amulet around Ebony's neck - an amulet, which says that anyone who dares to contradict her, will answer to the Talon Master. *** The door opened with a characteristic rumbling, made of steel and with loud locks, it specifically did not allow itself a quiet penetration inside. She went inside slamming the door behind her and going forward - she was not stopped by the standing smell of incense and incense, so sharp it beats in the nose that she wanted to cry... Nevertheless, she went forward, standing on the right side of the working chair and putting the tray on glass table. He was without armor, completely naked, scarred, muscular, massive, dark blue, he lay on his stomach with folded wings and a completely untidy purple mane. It was easy to understand what he thinks when his eyes are closed. But he is sitting in front of a huge mirror, under the right hoof is an info-board, while he is holding the left at the level of his head, pressing himself on the temple. Apparently, he is writing something important ... And again he talks to himself, Ebony only knew that she should be around. *** Everything hurt, but my head hurt especially. It always happens after nightmares, this time it was again something that he did not see: blood, pain, death. In particular, as they all die in the consulate of the Trade Union of Las Pegasus, Canterlot - everywhere, however, this was not anything new. The princess said not to attach importance to these dreams. But it was difficult, more difficult than I would like. Experiencing one's own death every night is difficult. "Sir, you have not slept for three weeks, your brain can not stand it anymore." You need rest. - EbonyDream, I heard her come in, I heard her walk, I could hear Flower Flower breathing. My servants... I can not get used, it's wrong, but nevertheless... Practice has shown that it is necessary. "Thank you for your concern, Ebony, I'll think about your proposal a little later." - smelled the smell of food even under the tray, it smelled very appetizing, but... I did not want to eat, or rather, I did not want to eat such dishes. Even Ebony has a greater right to eat it. She was in her civilian uniform. Ebony is allowed to walk in what she wants, and she prefers simplicity, for which I love her. Justifying its name, the color of her eyes and mane was ebonite, but the fur was sky-blue - one of the most frequent color scales of fur. "Sir, you have not slept and have not eaten for a very long time, you need to gain strength." The Trade Union will not come to an Agreement without your help. Despite the fact that the campaign was called "Liberation", we often had to return the lost cities to the bosom of the Kingdom, so we had to change the term. This was the right decision, we could not lie, the campaign became too bloody to remain that very dream. - Your depression in connection with the latest events is understandable and justified. However, you are given a chance to be rehabilitated, I think, the Princess will forgive you if you cope with the new task. Alas, Ebony, alas, I can not share your optimism, I've committed too much evil in order... to... at least once again be called the Talon Master, at least. She opened the lid from the tray, and the smell instantly hit my nostrils. Especially fried meat. "Ebony, please turn on the light." The silver light lit up the room, and Ebony lay sideways on the next sofa. I did not understand this luxury, not to say that it was everyone's, but even when I was transferred to the rank of sergeant, my apartments in the cells were still more than worthy... Needless to deserve. I could eat anything, Ebony was used to seeing my hunger, but nevertheless, I had to remain gallant. Taking the tablet next to the table, I began to eat. The work itself will not do. "Captain Soarin and Prefector Fleur ask you for an audience, sir, they notified me of the urgency of this conversation." Urgency, yes, urgency, the right word. I do not know who decided that this was a great idea, but I was appointed a diplomat on behalf of Equestria. Me, with my symbols of shame and one of the symbols of even greater shame, with dense massive chains that I carry even without armor. Fortunately, I have already learned how to walk in them and not rant on the whole district. Ebony was happy, she still managed to persuade him. Now her master needed help, and considering that his entire squad was still in the medical corps of the Vermilion Alicorns on psychological rehabilitation, and the rest of the company now even looks askance at her even though she did nothing, at least not bad. However, if he continues at the same pace, it will also come in handy. And whether it is necessary to inform him of... "You can not hide anything from me, Ebony, you forget that for me there are no secrets." - nothing supernatural, just after you begin to read the emotions and feelings of the Matriarchs and Primarchs, not to mention the Princesses, the usual ponies can not hide emotions from me. Although, Ebony sometimes does this, but not this time. "Sir, you've received a message from Flutterbat." Forgive me for listening to it, but it will be better if I tell you its essence... Now, will you? The pause in her speech was quite long. She should not have listened to him. I saw this message three days ago, but did not open it, did not want it, I knew what was said there, and did not want to think about it. I'll read it later when I finish with the Union. - No. I know what's out there, Ebony. Before you go, leave the mango and wine. And look in the closet. There were my formal robes, but there was something more important. As soon as she opened it, an exact replica of the legion gladius and a crystal pistol looked directly at her. "Why should I do that, sir?" "I know what's going on with you, servants." This will deter those who decide to harm you. She swallowed, for the bat-pony she was too peace-loving. I could have given it to her before, but I had an amulet. "I think ... your patronage is more than enough for me." - No ... No more, more I'm not the Talon Master. Now I can not say anything to anyone outside my squad. - And how... "Nightmare controls everyone, they will not say anything ... We have no choice, Ebony, the gun is loaded with poisonous crystals." Poison is paralytic, not flying. She took it into the hooves and hung it under the robe, under the left wing. Gladius went under another. "Thank you, sir." - she said, taking an empty tray and leaving the room. I can only hope that at least she will use the gun. I set up the info board for communication and sent Soarin and Fleur a message. It's time for us to discuss our plan, but before that I need to sleep. *** Frankly, I was completely out of sorts for the morning. Despite the fact that we have long written such a thing as a sleep cycle, it still does not become more convenient. I suggested that they meet in the cell-barracks of the Heirs of the Princesses, Fleur kindly allowed me and Soarin to stay and discuss matters directly with her. In fact, our deployment points were not very far away, our small temporary cells were disguised accordingly with our wishes as commanders. True, we were divided by the fact that my delegation is going to negotiate, and Nightmare will have to clean up the nearest forests from the Diamond Dogs and creatures with the remnants of our company. I'm interested in this only how much it will kill the fighters in the process. - Valdes, Eighth Talon, "Terror Squad", I enter into your heavenly space. "I confirm your telemetry data, you've been waiting, Sergeant." So Soarin was faster, he offered the race and completely won it, and I was completely uninteresting to argue with Heavenly Scar at speed. If he suggests that I cross my claws, then you can talk. Heirs met me according to all the laws of etiquette. Fortunately, I have knowledge of behavior in the upper strata, which make up many of them, although there are still more creative ponies. They looked at me as usual - askance. Most often, ponies or believe in what's behind my back, or vice versa, consider it an exaggeration. The only fun is that in fact they are right in everything. Completely with combat equipment, some Heirs allowed themselves inappropriate remarks about my appearance and that the painted blood-red hoofs do not completely match my midnight blue with a few lightning bolts. And also, the wings of the bat on the helmet seem out of place due to the presence of my own, as well as the stupid chains. What can I say, the Heirs pull to look stylish. In my opinion, even more hypertrophied than the Iron Guard and Equestrian Hoofs love of apple cider. Despite the fact that our physiology has changed, Fleur, whom I once saw during her performances in Canterlot, was still above us. Her white fur and pink mane were still soft in appearance and color. It was a little more massive than us, and only because it was already the largest. She was a polite mistress, and at the moment, commanded a local contingent of the Heirs. And it will be a dead man who thinks that this tender mare with a love of posing is a disgusting fighter, I'm certainly not exactly equal with her on blades. Soarin considered himself a good guest and also brought some impressions to our table. On it, our changes are not very visible, it just increased in mass and growth, and also grew a long neck, like me, all the same sky-blue fur and soft blue mane color, and only a pair of "fiery" strands reminded him that he was a scar. We were all in fact only slightly smaller in complexion than the Princess, except for Fleur, she would have gone for the Princess ... If they themselves did not become twice as big after modifying. While Fleur was pouring wine, he arranged maps and dossiers. It was also in the electronic version, but in this formal setting it was preferred to use scrolls paying tribute to the old times. The room was furnished according to its high standards. However, to drag the podium into the cell was a completely disgusting idea, but it was not for me to judge it with my mirror on the whole wall. I felt a little embarrassed, because Soarin and Fleur clearly could read on their faces one thing - they do not like me. In particular, I think, because I'm no more than a sergeant. However, I am the senior in the diplomatic question of the Trade Union. However, awkwardness is not something that can hold me. As I sit down at a table I can not call "tactical," the first thing I'm going to do is the general intelligence data at the moment. The rest took in their manner what they prefer: Soarin examines the military capabilities of the Union, Fleur is of current cultural value. I already know all this, I read it all last night. It was more simply to refresh the memory. I, like many, still can not understand what eventually happened a year ago. The sudden storms of Chaos divide the world, and if we believe what Malcador told us during our training and formation of the Thundepony, there was a lot in Equestria - each city was separated and each time passed its own time. For example, when we arrived in Baltimare, we found out that the city had been fighting demons for ten years, dug in the port area and fighting there for its survival. Ten years, while for us it's been five months. And here it was even worse, the Trade Union experienced two or three generations of generations, about two hundred years. During this time, they became autonomous and independent, and more importantly, they developed their technology: lightning-rifles could not be compared with our plasma weapons. However, they outperformed the bolter in terms of power, and this was already enough, given the proliferation of these weapons. A primitive power armor for Pegasus... They could fly in it, which was inherently an achievement, without the strengthening of the wings. At least, at Thunder ponies wings reach almost two meters in the opened state, only this in fact allows me to fly in my power armor. The main thing is not to accelerate to Rainboom... "They can set up an army comparable to the full Legion of the Thunder Pony, comparable in number to the Sky Scars." This means that if they want to fight, we do not have the resources for a full-fledged conflict. Fleur had only three tactical squads and her comrades, Blades of Equus. Soarin had one company, and Nightmare did not go against the orders and would not help us... - Terrestrial ponies are servants working in the fields, and unicorns are forced to work in the enterprises by slave labor. Pegasus is the privileged people... There is not even a hint of harmony. - Fleur repeated to him, explaining to us the simple truth that the Accord will destroy the Trade Union as a phenomenon, which means ... "We need to persuade them to return to the fold of Equestria, and only with the arrival of greater forces will we be able to disarm them." I could offer to collect my department and just destroy businesses, warehouses, the entire infrastructure, paralyze the trade council in horror, however ... I can not do this. "If we can appeal to the old order, we can manage ourselves, but I think even Soarin understands that it's almost impossible to do this." - he snorted, obviously offended by my words. - For someone who is here on guest rights ... "I mean, to whom, how can you not know about pegasus pride?" We really believe that we can just go in there and say "Now you're back in Equestria, free the slaves"? No one will agree without a reason, and given the dangers, I would not threaten. "Valdez is right. We need to draw up a plan and a manner of behavior. Obviously, we must demonstrate strength, but excessive bravado will be superfluous. You can not provoke them. - Fortunately, Fleur chose not to show her negative attitude toward me and focus on the goal. Soaring bit off a piece of pie and continued. - They have heavenly technology, as well as an air fleet. All this is decentralized and divided into spheres of influence of trading families. Ships are not that dangerous, but large-caliber lightning cannons are strong enough to damage the "Predators" or destroy jetbikes. Considering that we have practically no armored vehicles, this does not mean anything good. Yes, the whole situation was based on the fact that we must either persuade them, or hope for the best. - Fleur, what do we know about the leaders of trading families? - Almost nothing. They are quite cultured and decent, as it seemed to the intelligence group, but no more. But we know that, in fact, they elect a representative. Alas, we can not bet on anyone, they elected a new one for the sixth term just last week. We were late for a week, and we can not move anybody who we like. Just think about it! *** In this vein, our whole evening passed: we made a plan, defined the behavior and actions in different situations. Fortunately, unlike them, I'm free from instructing subordinates. I am now the only Lord of the Night in the region. - Valdes, I'm not sure that your armor will suit a diplomatic representative. - At least remove the skull from your shoulder. - No. Good evening, Prefector Fleur. Good evening, Captain Soarin. - I answered shortly and rigidly, rising from my seat. It was a more personal dialogue. We have already decided important matters, and I better return to the cell, I will prepare for tomorrow. But Soarin caught me outside. - Valdes, do not explain your behavior? - Are you my cappelan for me to do this? I snapped at him neutrally, folding my wings and turning to him. He was not that angry, but just hurt. It's amazing that there is no Fleur here. - I am the captain, Valdés, and while we are not in the territory of the Union, you are also answering me."- - Remind me when it's okay. Showpony "Wanderbolt" became a soldier? Discord from two I would listen to it, not to mention that we are from different legions. Soarin I could not call a good captain, he is a captain only because he still is in command with his Matriarch and other captains. Although, I will be honest, they are all there for this reason. Now I frankly angered him, however, to my unconcealed surprise, he did not reach for his power saber. "Now I understand why Nightmare and the other Lunar Pony captains call you" uncontrollable. " I did not think you were so stupid. - Try to manipulate my self-esteem? Not a bad attempt. "You should listen to the words of Princess Luna and think about your behavior." Still not bad enough that I already wanted to tear off his wings. "You can trust me, I'll listen." - I turned, again spreading its wings. "Prepare to play your part, Captain." I need all your skills from you. The princess is right, but nevertheless, now I can not think about this, fresh scars on the muzzle on the eve of the diplomatic mission will be irrelevant. Action one: The talent for murder: Chapter Three"Nocturne crushes the will and fate of the weak," - so this city was spoken of even in ancient times, even at the time of its foundation. Last but not least, this is exactly what he did now, despite his own destiny. After our return, Soarin was furious. Even when we flew back, by his sight alone, it was obvious to everyone, including the fact that this rage spreads to the rest of the Scars. I'm weak in alchemy and bioengineering, but even I understand that this is the Spitfire inheritance in their genetic seed. True, it still remains a question of where it comes from herself. We hurriedly dispersed to our bases in this territory. Fleur covered my retreat and told me to meet later, or to hold the next meeting through the vox network. I had nothing against it. Soarin is now quite dangerous for me, although, as it seems to me, he will not raise a hoof on me while I wear these colors and do not cross the line. I returned almost on time. Flower returned from the Evergreen Forest, and they were already quartered and rested after the operation; however, it was obvious that many licked wounds. Many injured and damaged equipment; in particular, I saw traces of missiles on the "Predators" Nightmare Krieg. I knew that this pony hates, when the spirits of machines of his technique suffer. On the advice of Flutterbat and the marks in my behavior from Ebony, I should still start fighting in dueling and spending more time in training halls, so that the first place I went after I took off my armor was them. Strangely enough, I saw here a lot of ponies, actively trying to pretend that they are relaxed and not nervous, in particular - Nightmare Krieg and DeathMark near the heavyweight simulators. The first was actively gesticulating with the wing, while the other was leafing through the direction of Bulk Biceps. Let this muscular big man and not a bat-pony, or even a thunderbolt, should say that he did a lot for us. The whole room was huge and took into account the presence of all kinds of ponies. Alas, I did not help in its arrangement, so it was not in dark colors, for which the earth sockets probably were extremely grateful. Valdes! I certainly did not expect to see you here. Nightmare Crig came from the Navy. Once he could become an admiral of the heavenly fleet, if we had not lost him all during the Great Storm. Slightly low for a thunderbolt, he nevertheless received ethereal ringlets, which separated him from the crowd, as well as the fact that he was one of the "bright" beta ponies. His fur was brightly grape-colored, but more importantly, he showed: if your cutie mark is a wrench and a wheel, this does not mean that you work with pipes all your life. He was rightfully our tank commander, though, in my opinion, too ... clean. "Wow, have you finally got it?" Glad to see you, you were missing here. Frankly speaking, they spoke as if I returned a year later; but I was not strong for a month. Since I lost my rank, I'm not that caught the rest of the eye. Of course, our Master of the Artillery - the part-time responsible for all the reconnaissance in our company - the unicorn DeathMark was the first to notice this. The cutmark is a target with a measuring ruler across, gray mane and red fur ... He practically did not get anything from our mother's genosemy. "Greetings, lieutenants. You do not need to be you to look and understand: something is wrong. DeathMark, what happened? It was clear from their eyes that they were not surprised, although Krieg seemed to be a little upset that I was not friendly. However, he quickly distracted, returning to the problem that has appeared with us. "Listen, Valdes, I know that you are an amateur of officialdom, so let's start right away: either we are silent, or you give your word that you do not tell the captain about our opinion." DeathMark's low threatening voice contrasted with the high in Nightmare Krieg, but frankly, I did not understand why he threatened me. "Come on, Mark, calm down, I do not think Valdes will hand us over." To the point. In short ... we failed. Straight to Tartarus, their shadows. It was evident that Nightmare blamed himself unnecessarily. I do not think that he could fail without a reason. He covered his face with a wing, trying not to show me weakness. "What happened?" "Flower forced us to attack." Hell, I told her that the wind was not the same, and it did not seem like the behavior of ordinary Dogs ... In short, Valdes. We ambushed. Krieg lost six "Predators", I lost intelligence and two "Whirlwind" with the crew. On the convoys, the Diamond Dogs headed south, and we decided to intercept them, divided. We were beaten one by one, we hardly managed to escape from the ring. Losses are not that big, but fighting spirit is simply no. It's also the dogs of the Beast, the very ones that escaped from us; when Princess Luna killed him, they were almost paralyzed! But, as soon as they realized that we are not so terrible ... we just trampled on. Nightmare Krieg opened his wings, and his eyes almost covered the red veil. "We just needed to remind them who we are!" You should have seen this, Valdes! I personally turned the ram into a war carriage! And how these shouts screamed in horror, when they realized who attacked them! .. And only when they saw that we were few ... we just did not inspire terror, Valdes! They did not frighten us when they realized that we were not afraid ... I did not quite understand what the problem was: a sudden attack brings enough chaos to win, not to mention what I am now talking about with the second and third speed ponies, the first among the armored units. What happened? "Commandos, many, we were ambushed, I swear, Valdes, the one I threw from my Damocles, pissed before I climbed it, and even if I did not do it, I could smell it: I put my cloak out of the skin dog, he would not even have thought about it! I looked at both of them. It does not sound adequate, but nevertheless, this is the opinion of Nightmare and Mark, and these two are not the last person, speaking of our company. You said that they are going to the south? Yes, we have patted them, basically mobility, so there is still a chance for a strike. "How many days from Las Pegasus?" Nightmare seems to have calmed down, but the fact that he grabbed a pair of dumbbells of maximum weight and began to mow down his hoofs indicated that he was still hotheaded. "Six moons, Valdes." Six moons. Bad, we must immediately tell Fleur and Soarin. Nightmare put out of action the battle car ... but I do not know the configuration ... you need to get acquainted with the data of the shock groups. If there are a lot of commandos, this is already bad. Diamond dogs knew how to surprise, especially if they knew how to surprise a commando. "What did Celestia want, depriving us of this, Valdes?" We did not have a lot of things to cherish, and now there is not. Unicorn did not stop. It seems that he will not calm down soon, but I understood him. Of the three of us, only Nightmare Crig had anything. DeathMark had only war, the war that Captain Nightmare Dancer had given him. The war that we were deprived of. "You yourself know, DeathMark: we are liberators, not conquerors." He grinned, focusing on the scar from the demonic sword. I recognize this expression on my face. "I thought you could lie, Talon Master." It seems that I was wrong. Nightmare Crig turned abruptly and slapped him on the shoulder, why the unicorn only poked him with a horn in the wing with a sharp attack. I had to reassure them, as usual. "You both know that I think about it, and you know that we must remain silent." "For whom?" For the sake of the moon, which threw us to pieces! She told you she was sorry? She left us to die slowly into the ... He did not finish. Gladiy entered directly under the heart - not hooked, the blow should increase the influx of adrenaline and blood circulation; the point of impact will remind you where he is. He has a cold head, he will understand; the truth, his smoothness opposite my left shoulder said that there is a chance of the opposite. Everyone looked at us. I did not need to turn around to understand this. He took a deep breath and took a towel from Nightmare Krieg. "Lieutenant, take the lieutenant to the apothecary." I think he needs to calm down a bit. We can not afford to lose more fighters in a stupid rehabilitation center where they can not fight for Equestria. I'm definitely not swallowing words? It seems that I did not quite hear myself. "No, sergeant, you're right." It seems that he was a bit nervous. He took it by the side, and they slowly went to the apothecary, under the ambiguous glances of the remaining legionaries. Strengthen the load three times! Go-go! If I see once again that you have been overcome by some kind of dog, I'll write you down for the next match with the Equestrian Hooves and the Iron Guard! The screams of Blizzard Stoune paused. It's not for nothing that the captain appointed her a military lieutenant, and at the same time, he put the responsibility for our physical form. Before leaving the room, I looked at her, hanging upside down under the ceiling, examining everyone in the room. She winked at me before I evaporated in the dark corridor. *** I do not know what I expected when I entered the captain's office. Looks like I expected to hit the rack. After all, once in this office, I was ... welcomed. And now I am a guest here extremely undesirable, so much so that here, his darkness is light! Previously, the captain's office was built with a basis for what impression he wanted to make, in particular, the sense of threat and danger. Now it was literally a photograph of the Code. Official and well-groomed, the pegasus entering and hiding in the corner answered my immediate question. "And what happened there?" An attack on a superior in rank, an attempt to inflict a severe wound incompatible with life, a provocation! Have you completely lost your mind ?! I always ask myself, is this the irony of fate or a direct mockery? "No, Captain, Lieutenant DeathMark was close to losing control, it seemed strange to me, and it turned out that he was impulsive in connection with recent disappointments. What else could I say? She wants excuses, she will get them, and I can not hide that looking at her "teeth creak," I was enjoying myself. "Listen, Valdes, I suggest that you stop playing like filly and start working." I pricked up my ears, according to my calculations, she should have hated me for about another year and a half, and then, if I die, like in some melodrama - right at the end of the war - and I will not make her even more angry. All in attention. Captain, "I tried to translate the manner of the dialogue back, but by the way she stopped chewing the pen, it was rejected. "Answer me, why were you against my candidacy for the captain's place?" A simple question, the answer is no less simple, the problem is in number. "Because Nightmare Dancer did not consider you worthy and suitable even as a lieutenant." But only? Do you think me unworthy only because your foster father, who was executed six months ago, considered me a weakling? Why have not I seen a good provocation? I do not know, even the Diamond Dogs with their meager intelligence sometimes managed to get me out more. No, of course, it made me angry, but that I just got mad at it? Luna upasi. Because when you tell them has bypassed all traditions and rules - with the handouts of the solar princess - you remain the daughter of the "Queen of Terror" Tizka, the same unbearable, and so stupid. She pricked up her ears, and I heard the heartbeat become more frequent; eared ears and sticking tusks, however, were a simpler method of determining mood. "Forgetting, sergeant. "It's a pity you denied me an official dialogue, well, tolerate me on an equal footing." If you want an official reason, other than personal reasons? Ask Librarian SkyKilla, he will answer you. Covering with your younger brother, who still left at least respect? You're pathetic, Valdes. I sighed with fatigue, I did not sleep well for a long time, and it affected. As soon as I get the intelligence, I'll go to bed. "I need intelligence on a convoy of dogs." "You'll get it from Radar, if it's necessary." Let's return to the question, what should I do with you? Get support, and nothing else. "And will not you go to the moon?" What prevents me from sanctifying this incident? What? What are you talking about, Captain? I smirked when there was a knock at the office. I heard these steps; they were especially loud, surprised that she did not hear. "Captain, Sergeant Valdes do you have?" "Yes, come in." It was DeathMark; wounds already as it had not happened ... he was angry, but only for show-off. "Captain, I urgently need a sergeant for a rematch." "What remath?!" He attacked you! It's all seen! The unicorn was surprised, as I stood up. "Come on, we've already finished here." By the way, have you seen Radar? No. And what? The captain paused, and on the hoofs at the temples and the way she looked at the table, I understood what was happening to her. Yes, we mocked. I would even say, they mocked. But, in truth ... This is what I do best. Author's Note I found an excellent beta in Russian, so the old chapters I will soon run through the translator again and the quality of the text can go up significantly. I apologize for the delay, if someone is interested in this work ... there are many problems in reality, I hope I will not detain the next one.
Action one: The talent for murder: Chapter TwoThe sparks of lightning beneath the armor fascinated me, the visual effect of the protective field work was simply pribluda, but so beautiful: it inflicted horror in hundreds as well as my midnight blue armor. The bright sparks flashed and immediately faded in the darkness of my apartments, I watched every flash on the mirror in front of me, looking into my own reflection. I do not know how it happened. Here I am. Alone in the dark. Alone with yourself. They are right, and I do not need their words to understand this. I do not need someone else's opinion to understand that here I'm wrong. But why, the one on whom I look, rested like an earthen in his farm? Ebony breathes in my back. Not literally, but I know her opinion. I must apologize, and change ... so want ... Princess. An infoplanet that I wanted to crush a couple of minutes ago with a characteristic "jin" informed me of a message from Prince Sanguinis. The captain of the first company of the Lunar Pony, our leader, direct and formal. After the Princess of course. The note was simple: "Brother, you need to talk." I gently nodded at the signal. I did not have much desire to do this - Sanguinis even belongs to the ruling dynasty, but I always served only the moon, not him, and he is inclined to forget about it. The message is "informal" - he wants to tell me something not as a captain of the first company, but as a thunderhead: "I welcome you, Valdés, I believe you have already begun to execute the orders in the manner you are fully committed to, and I can only wish you good luck and hope that you do not blunder again, regardless of the results of this company, I invite you to the Agrentum Lunas for your return to Canterlot. End of transmission. " Agrenthum to the Moons. He invites me ... to Agrenthum Lunas ... The sacred ritual of the ruling dynasty is the glorious rule of the princess ... What for? However, you need to write down the answer. -" I am glad to hear your voice, Prince Sanguinis, I gladly accept your proposal, "- no excitement, no joy - just a caustic lie, but nevertheless I had to say it. But now ... I need to solve an urgent issue, I had to undermine the chain ... *** So he, the day when we should leave, Fleur gathered her Blades into an honor guard, and Soarin brought part of his company as regular units, despite the domination of pegasus in the Trade Union, I was the diplomat, and Soarin had the brains to not get into this with her feathers, the case is given to the skin-wings, and it is better for him to keep quiet. "You do not go white and black, Valdes" She noted Fleur with telekinesis adjusting her mane, it's a bit risky to do it for such a trifle, but the knuckles on the armor were always the dirtiest part of it. Despite all my love for being clothed at midnight, this is really unsuitable. had to be changed to the color gamut of the entire legion, white and black. The clouds on which Las Pegasus was located were close enough to the mountain range, it seemed to have been higher before, but it seems that it was lowered for access to the terrestrial ground, it was significantly, much larger than in the old photos, becoming an autonomous city, and not a resort with a lot of casinos and hotels, and despite this, these same casinos have not gone anywhere. Despite the fact that day and night began to behave more chaotically, they were still moving at about the same pace, because arriving at noon we knew how much time we would have, the Trade Union did not want us to stay armed for a long time in their territory, and we will be damned by Tartarus if we allow ourselves to be so. We were greeted with fanfare and a red carpet, if I may say so. we were met not so many pegasas, mostly local guards, mercenaries griffins and minotaurs and a whole seneschal of the Avalos family, the current representatives of the Union, and I'm not surprised that she shivered towards me, it was a raspberry medium growth that rested against my chest , but, at least she did not lose her composure in speech. - House Avalos welcomes the Equestrian Ambassador and wishes the best to the Princesses. - The Kingdom of Equestria is pleased to see its friends and hopes for fruitful cooperation. She did not seem to have expected me to bow to her, but nevertheless she waved the wing and ordered the guards and mercenaries to reconfigure to accompany them, even though the city still lives, we are given the opportunity to go through without complications. I've been to Las Pegasus before the war, just a couple of times and basically I've been moving along the roofs, but this place has always had a bad place for those who like luck, and for those who want to lose everything that it has, it would seem a long isolation and survival had to change the mood of the inhabitants of the city, but no, closer to the center it was still a place of debauchery and revelry, solid casinos and several brothels, and they also managed to call the "town hall" of the casino of the richest clan, they also pass it on depending from wealth and influence. If there is a conflict, we will crush them faster than they realize that they actually began to attack. The whole delegation marched in the exact construction of the roar of armor drawing the attention of the whole street. With all our appearance we demonstrated to these jokers that the Equestrian power was back. and the dissenters will have to deal with us. The central entrance to the building was guarded by a pair of minotaurs, by the eye I felt that there were only two of them, well-equipped, with similar traits to the pupil and teacher, relatives are not to each other, the elder has a blind zone on the left side, a bandage on the eye, however both belong to the same community, the tattoos on the right shoulder are identical, they represent a crossed anchor, they pointedly removed the hammers from the door allowing us to go inside, it seems the younger one was trying to peer into my eyes. Inside Dyskord was going on, understand that we passed through the main hall to the second floor without incident to the meeting room, but even here the wine was pouring and I thought I could smell medical preparations that were not being used for the intended purpose. although fortunately, the Scars with the Blades, as well as the guards and mercenaries of the griffins, fought off their ardor and a group of ponies of varying degrees of moral decay left the room driven by flapping wings. There are only five pegasuses left and a young stallion at the head of the table is stretched out in his chair and revealing hoofs and wings greeted us warmly. - Finally! We are already waiting for you, and this I'm talking about the whole situation, not to mention specifically you! Tell me, how are the Princesses? How is Canterlot? Will life return to its rut? Ah, and my name is Cloudstern, how can I contact you? I can understand his joy. but I can not understand what he hopes, considering that his sugary joy he will convince me that he is glad of our arrival. - The Equestrian throne sends you its greetings, asks for forgiveness and rejoices that you could survive the Long Night, and also hopes that you will help restore Harmony to our lands. You can call me just Valdez. I will be honest, I was told by Fleur, I certainly distort them, but I understood the essence of her text perfectly. Adhere to decency, a positive tone and do not press on your opponent. However, I definitely cooled his joyful fervor, I saw exactly how he glanced at the commander of the griffins hoping that I would not notice. - Yes Yes! Of course! What is required of us? "To begin with, I would like to learn and convey to the princess the causes of direct slavery to unicorns and the semi-slavish attitude to the earth ponies, as well as the reason for the domination of Pegasus in the class question, now this is the primary question. He sat down on a chair, but quickly enough he thought of how to explain their behavior, the rest of the pegasus exhaled fears looking at the Blades, and one of the mares could not take my eyes off my chains that were wrapped and locked on locks on my front hooves. "Necessity, my friend." Earth ponies and unicorns could not cope without our protection, in exchange they worked, honor to honor, everything as before! In this dialogue, I still could not understand for whom he thinks me. - And yet! I would like to ask you a couple of questions, will not you? I nodded, I do not want to exchange notes with him, it's useless. "Why ... do you look that way?" Honestly, when we only saw you thought that the princesses themselves came to us, are you alicorn? Princesses turn everyone into alicorns? - No, we are Thunder Ponies, even if we look like we are not deceiving you, that we are like alicorns, it is a genetic coincidence, and also the genetic relationship of all of us with the Luna and Celestia. Several Pegasus looked at each other in astonishment. "So ... are we talking to the Prince now?" - Brad of an ass! It can not be! I cut off the mare which, a moment ago, I was staring at his question without worrying about propriety, at the same time I wanted to kill him, although from a certain point of view he was right. - No, we do not have the right to rule, we are warriors, improved and prepared to liberate our world. This was already a quote from the Codex, not the text of Fleur. "Well ... in any case, what is required of us at the moment?" And what is more important for us ... what will we receive from returning to the fold of Equestria? - You ask a strange question, you need to release the unicorns and earthly slaves from slave labor, accept the Royal Law and you will receive the protection of Equestria, and everything will return to its own places. - Just like Nocturne got protection? This question knocked me out of the rut, and my interlocutor smiled with a victorious smile, it was very strange, first of all how he learned about it, in the second turn ... it could hit hard on our authority. - Nocturne was a special case and ... - I understand, however, how do you explain your actions? Nocturne was our trading partner, and I do not like when my partners disappear. I did not know that. I missed it like, it's very bad. And maybe the problem was not that. - Nocturne was a special case of a blatant violation of the Royal Law and concealed it, when he was called to answer, he responded with an insult. - Do you want to say that you destroy all who do not agree with you? It can be said that the day fell through with a bang. "You can say that, but Las Pegasus does not break it as much, free the ponies, hand over the technology for recycling and return to the Kingdom, all that we ask of you. He lit a cigar, peering at the ceiling. - I think this is all for today, I ask the Royal delegation to leave this building, and SkyBreeze, then send us our mares, we will continue from the same place where we finished. This was a blatant impudence, but the reorganization of the Scars and Blades into the guard hinted to me that if I now strip this scum along with his retinue, no one will openly say "thank you" for this. "We'll come back, CloudShart, I hope future discussions will be more productive." Author's Note The chapter was written a long time ago and the translation would take a little time, if something that replaces my cranium did not try to squeeze my brains out. I apologize for this delay, but the new one will probably be even more, because as of yet that's all there is, and a new chapter will appear still unknown when. Excuse me.
Action one: The talent for murder: Chapter FourOf course, we were not going to fight. I don’t think he would be so arrogant. Especially after such a failure. When will NightmarKrieg be ready? I may need his technique. One Squadron is ready to speak, however ... Why did you decide that you can call him? You already have no authority, and even after this episode... It is unlikely that Flower will allow you. This is more than reasonable. Of course, I can incline them to an adventure... But then it will continue in a sufficiently frequent manner so that the whole company cracks at the seams, unless, of course, I bear the punishment and admit my guilt... What I do not even from harm. I think Fleur or Soarin will help me... However, an urgent need is to find Radar; what did you mean when you said you didn't know where he was? I had it. The radar was damaged by the equipment, and its mare was almost killed by the commandos. The lad is depressed and does not leave the medical block, moreover, no matter how much you go there for him - so he is never there. A sudden roar stopped DeathMark, and I realized that I was annoyed a little more than usual. Or is it a concern? Do not try to judge him, Valdes. You have no right to do that after the SkyKilla story. I blinked, and the unicorn looked accusingly into my eyes. He was definitely on the side of Radar in this, but I was also on the side of Radar. I didn’t even think about it, a headache. His eyes are dulled - with him this happens when he thinks he was wrong. Your nightmares again? What is it this time? What is the question? We both know that they never come true. It seems that he bit his tongue, because it was because of me and my predictions that we ended up in such a croup. Forget. And good. About this you need to forget everything except me. *** Our apothecary was once a scientist in the field of science, which is now called "biomancia". However, I decided to quit it after... As he was sentenced to life imprisonment and practicing for illegal experiments and making narcotic dust from the horns of unicorns. Getting him out of prison was another matter; in fact, we could only do this by promising him an amnesty, and I had to agree between times that he himself was dependent on this dust, and, given our specific actions, some may share with him sawed off horns. True, no one would give up the trophy so easily, because “field medicine” was preferable for him. I hope that the new captain will keep him from the fact that he will plant the whole company on the "Northern Dust". However, at the entrance I was met by several servants, who hastily moved carts with supplies of various kinds. It seems that he was not in the mood to work, since he decided to put so many capsules in with a regeneration stimulator. Inside, work was in full swing, there were about thirty ponies in a state close to critical, but the stasis dream left them alive. Radar was not visible, while SkullRiver was engaged in reporting; the pen he wrote cracked from the way he squeezed his hoof, and his servant hastily left us to look for a new one. Do not sneak so much in my apothecary! A hoof kick on the table just screamed about his nervousness and tension. Let me guess, Flauver demanded an urgent report on the wounded and the cost of resources, and since I used to do it for you, do you have to plow like a damn? Kill her, Valdes! Seriously! Can you help me? I urgently need to take care of patients, and this fool only thinks about sending a report to Sanguinis as soon as possible! We all “helped” him; after all, it was behind him all of our medical equipment, which was required for our work. I switched the vox-earphone and called Ebony. She will help you, let's work. In his eyes I clearly saw anger that I ignored the first request. However, he instantly put on his set of medical equipment and at the same time took the nartetium. Where is the Radar hiding? Stokes the sadness and anger in the "Northern Dust". Asks not to let anyone. My back room, behind the third row on the eighth level. I, frankly, did not understand what was happening. Why do I have to look for the Radar and solve all these problems just to get what I need? It’s probably my fault that I can’t just call him as before. Still, the Master Signal stood just above my rank. Or maybe Flower is trying to piss me off. The last, so far, it turns out. Oh, and Valdes, about your project ... Not now. We need to stabilize the situation in order to prepare it. Yes, only I contacted HotRod. His works are rejected as demoralizing. Especially ... you know what chapters are for. It was bad, but will have to figure out later. The main thing is that HotRod is not injured ... He was one of the few Ultraponi who could be considered soldiers. Finding the Radar was not difficult for someone who knows exactly where the Scull River is. He was without armor and lay in a pool of water with a bottle of Northern Dust. It seems that he diluted it notably, although, it seems, I understood what Scull meant by the word "drowns." In general, what happened with the radar is not news. Many from the beginning of the war began to roll up personal dirge after the loss of loved ones or comrades. The Star Wolves built this into the cult of the Lone Wolf, as an example. However, how did Radar manage to get to taking drugs? Always considered him a fighter for the rights of workers with the burden of overthrowing the system of the noble houses of our people. He was just sentenced for a pirate radio station. You could say it was probably easier to get him out of jail than seventy percent of our company. Idealist, but, in general, adequate. "Stokes" sadness in drugs. V-Valdes... I knew that... Scull would betray me... That bastard... His voice was withered; he seemed to be taking a real drink that dried his throat. Scull managed to increase the effect of this drug, so that he even went through our physiology, although, as a rule, it dries up to a state of complete hoarseness, so I think he is still far from it. Radar, I know what happened ... And I regret that it happened. Therefore, I ask you to give me access to information about the enemy, captain ... Do not call me by this name! My name is HeartTax! With difficulty he shouted, and I reduced the sensitivity of the sound in the range of his voice through the inner ear. I do not like harsh noisy noises. What was more important is that Radar has returned to its name, while vehemently demanding to call it real. A clear sign of faded morale among those who decided to change their name to the time of the formation of the thunderous pony. He was still lying, so I had to lift him by the scruff of his neck and throw him into a corner, so that he would at least look into my eyes, and not into a basin of water. He was short of breath. For a second it seemed to me that he would reach back to the water, however, he resisted and simply bore me with his eyes. - Well, Radar, and now, please, remind you, what have we taught for so long? A simple oath that once led me to this path and which, perhaps, helped some others. He shook his head. Valdes... Stop... Please... Here are the data... On the shelf behind you... I took with me. I'm afraid you're a little late, Radar.” Now I am obliged to transfer you to a rehabilitation center. If you do not prove to me that this was a temporary narcotic opacification, I will do it. So it took about a minute. A minute of silence, during which I grabbed his data-slate to my own, under the base of my left hoof. She... I almost died... I almost died... Because of me... Guilt can be understood. Especially if he did not have time to establish a connection. His mare NightGlider was in the Fifth Claw, "Night Raptors". Very vulnerable branch - for their sharpness and impulsivity, they always had to be kept on a short leash. What happened? Now I had to help him. Otherwise we will also lose him, I am afraid to imagine the scale of the drop in morale, even if Radar was one step away from rehabilitation. The Raptors... They tried to decapitate them... They have a new leader, as usual. This time the attack aircraft... I did not have time to give them the order to retreat and that DeathMark took up a position... And DesMark without the support of someone else was dared because of the error of the Radar... Something is wrong. What was the problem? Storm of Chaos. DeathMark said that the wind is rising, and that it is rising unnaturally; SkyKilla confirmed that nature is magical. Our connection stalled as soon as we started the attack. It is clear what the problem was - without communication, it divided everyone, and the storm also suppresses all our equipment. In the name of the moon, someone had to explain to me, and explain clearly, why the diamond dog technique does not stall. Clearly, Error Flower. No... We did not... We ourselves volunteered, the rest were so angry after Nocturne that... they were torn into a fight, despite the warnings... They tell me another. He looked up. And I saw this tiredness and pain. Look around, Valdes. They go mad with anger. They waited to win, as they always won, and they simply rested! Flower offered to attack the doctrine of the Sky Scars; no one even wanted to listen. So that's what happened ... On the other side of opinion. Well, you will need to take into account. Valdes, tear these bastards, Glider hooked on the leader ... I want his head, please, I will implant him on the peak of my Damocles. Pure anger and thirst for blood. We are not conquerors, Radar. Let him drown himself further if he wants. I will not rent it, not now. Not now, when it can be useful to the company. *** The next morning, I felt better than usual. This time the nightmares were from what I prefer: corpses torn to pieces, lying in the mud and buried in the sand and thickets of “poisonous jokes”. True, I did not like what they did to the body of Fleur - it was just disgusting. In any case, it was necessary to discuss the alignment of forces, the possibilities and, more importantly, the Trade Union. We gathered again at Fleur. Before that, I managed to find out that NightmarKrieg will help me and will do everything to ensure that his “Predeathors” are ready. I reported this first to Fleur. Soarin had no ground equipment at all and he was not so important. So, the Trade Union will meet the forces of this gang by tomorrow's dawn... We have one night, if we do not want innocent ponies to fall under the distribution. I cannot agree with Soarin about the “innocence”, however, now it is better to keep mum, considering that I repainted my armor in the morning with the usual colors, anticipating the fight. Yes, one night. They have about four massive wagons, about fifty conventional trucks and three NightmairKrieg “Predators”, and he will thank you if we can return them. The rest was too much to mark this point; The report contained only approximate data on the number of small equipment and the dogs themselves. But the numbers still did not inspire joy. We had one and a half companies from the force: a company of Soarin, four divisions, counting the Equus Blades, and, possibly, one tank squadron from Krieg. Look at the place. If we do not destroy in the course of the battle, we will return it. I do not understand why you are doing this kind of problem. My company is ready for battle. He had two “Thunderhoof” and about a dozen “Storm Ravens”, four “Storm Eagles” and about fifteen “Stormclaws”, the number of smaller “Land Spiders” was out of the question. This is a crushing air force, not to mention how his company jumps into battle on the move. To some extent, we copy their tactics, but do not rely only on aviation. I am worried about something else, and by the way Fleur looked at him, I understood that she was thinking about the same thing. The Night Lords is the only company stationed nearby, and they will not help us. Flower has an order to clean the forest and she missed this gang, which means she will most likely “forget” about her until the Princess “reminds” her of this. She will not depart from the order. Your company is ready, and it is the only company we have. It doesn't seem like my words made him think. He continued to look at me like an idiot, waiting for me to agree with him. If we are battered, the Trade Union will be able to hit us in the back. We will endure two bouts in a row, but how many will we lose? Not to mention the fact that in this case it is necessary to clean Las-Pegasus with blood, not gloss. The voice of reason came from Fleur; I don’t know if she was interested in clearing our quarrels, but we haven’t left her any choice. Offer to sit out? Kidding me?! We swore to protect not for a beautiful word! Yes, they swore. And we must survive to fulfill the oath. We need to make a plan. They turned on me. Did they expect me to say something? We have two options: either steal the equipment, decapitate and slow down this gang, or crush them in less than one night. What is stopping us from getting out now? Is your company ready? Not sure about that. Nevertheless, yes, we can go now ... However, if we decide to make the second option, crush them at night and meet the army of the Trade Union on the battlefield ... then we can show her the power of Equestria. Why not just leave the skeletons and clear traces? This is possible ... However, I personally do not like this option. We will show the soldiers and mercenaries, what they want to drive. You can leave the burning skeletons ... Soarin, I would agree to this if I could still leave them in the form in which I did this just a couple of months ago. But now ... If we leave them, rumors will go. Someone will understand what they can deal with, but, believe me, this business is fixable for a week of rest and being in a friendly company, as well as a drop of the simplest propaganda. And he knows that I am a specialist in this. Fleur was silent all the discussion. There is an option to help the forces of the Union during the fight. But it seems that none of the two of you are interested in him. I’m not deciding anything here, Fleur, you and Soarin decide. I will obey your decision.. *** Every time the sun goes down, forces come to us. Whether it is the stars, or the moon itself favors us - it does not matter. What matters is that we are dressed at midnight. The engines of the cars were buzzing with anger, Krieg said they want to return their brothers. I can only believe his word, because I will not go in a sturdy tank hull. I do not need it. - Anything inspiring word, brother? Skykill was better than me and also knew how to inspire fear, especially when he whispered in his truly serpentine voice from behind. And in general, for the librarian, he was sometimes ... too calm. - You should go heading the attack, you know that? If you were a unicorn, you would look perfect on a historical fresco. I was grateful to him for these cars. As he himself said: “Do not worry, I will take it upon myself”. I do not know what he could “take”, but I did not like it. Many did not distinguish us when we were foals. It is just that “bright” SkyKilla and “dark” Valdes, and even now, with all the changes, this has not changed, except that it began to look a bit more like a filly - more refined and graceful. The way he calls for his inner source of magic was felt in the air by the strange smell of ozone and was given away by dry mouth. We have already seen dogs - they set up camp, and even from here you could see the lights of their welding machines. They were actively engaged in the repair of damaged equipment in open areas. To their misfortune, the land between Las Pegasus and the Eternal Forest was divided by a huge plain with virtually no hills... a favorite territory of the Sky Scars. The clouds that covered them moved at natural speed. After the storm of Chaos, the wind seems to have risen strongly ... we will not be noticed exactly until the last moment. - I have neither the right nor the ability to lead them. Better say what happened during our attack? He caught up with me on the other side of the twin lascannons of our “Predator”. - They have a sorcerer ... be careful, my brother. Victory or death. - This cry is silent, SkyKilla. I heard the sound of charging our machine gun condenser. We opened wings and scattered in different directions. He will escort Krieg and his cars, but I must join Fleur and her Blades. - We are the heirs of Equestria! Death to her enemies! This was the first thing I heard on her vox channel. At the same time, a volley of our cars sounded. The view of massive laser beams that cut through the night could have blinded, and the subsequent explosion could stun. The first volley issued us, and the battle horn made an accompaniment to the updated charging sound. The fires flared up stronger, and even from here I heard how the engines of their cars started to work. As small bikes and other personal cars took the lead and opened fire on us indiscriminately. Considering that we will not soon enter the affected area, and you can dodge their slow-moving missiles at this distance with just one turn ... but there were too many of them. Even if on the ground, at the will of the Moon itself, there appeared an assault detachment that would cut gun crews a hundred at a time, it would have helped us in any way. One of the Heirs protruded from the hatch and grabbed the assault bolter mounted near the hatch for firing. So did all the machines, including those that the enemy had, joining the general squall of fire. The only difference is that the bolter was a dog's long-range bullet weapon. A few bullets ricocheted or crashed against my helmet and frontal armor. They do not have enough power to effectively pierce at such a distance... But soon I will have to take off, or get into the transport, otherwise I will rub off into powder. Several missiles flew dangerously close, but our driver justified the name of his legion, maneuvering at high speed with unimaginable grace for such cars... Yes, that's right, they left our equipment without cover. They rush forward. The clouds today are lower than usual, so I hope that these dogs are afraid that the sky may fall on them. After all, it began when Soarin grabbed the moment. We needed the whole Soarin company to do this, however, the result was worth it... The total entry of Soarin’s company made a huge gap in the center of this mass of cars, and the motorcyclists joined our attack on the ground on their gravitsiklah. We had superiority in the air due to the destruction of all small aircraft, and we entered into this breach, completely self-confident... *** Go, go! Clean up debris! The problem of large combat vehicles of diamond dogs was that, if not to destroy them with an explosion, but only to stop, then they must be further cleaned of the crew in order to plug the still working tools. To do this, we sometimes had to separate and, while the Scars fought in this bloody race on the plain, we had to decapitate this gang. This is all that we could do in such a small composition. Tactical squads split up, creating an action theater for the Blades and clearing the wrecks of cars with a roar of bolter fire and knife strikes. Plus diamond dogs were in the fact that, more often, their leader does not need to be sought. And now, surrounded by battle and fire, we saw how he and his younger leaders took off only to attack us with a swoop on their primitive packs ... more like small missiles. But the leader's knapsack was quite massive, even by the standards of dogs. Spread out! The fast team, and the Blades tore their free construction and prepared swords. They were all unicorns, not necessarily noble, but able to handle bladed weapons. And I? I was with them. I saw my goal, and I heard this whisper more clearly than anything else - he called me to rip off my helmet and fight without it. I felt my hooves lengthen and claws were released ... like my own, as if I had them since birth. But more importantly, I heard thunder. I did not see the thunder clouds at the entrances, and Storm Seer Soarin said that now the weather was unfavorable for his magic. It meant nothing good. Lost right engine! I lead in the direction of the Heirs! - That didn't mean anything good either. And, more importantly, it meant that there is a massive threat to our aircraft and it needs to be found as soon as possible. The flapping of the wing together with the rebound saved me from being cut by a massive chain axe. Diamond dogs did not change much after the Long Night, but they became bigger and stronger, it was difficult to say anything about intelligence... they hadn’t seen them well before, except in mining, but what was more important to me was that they hunted the same game. Now their flocks have become more gangs than small groups, and now they are led not by the smartest, but by the strongest. And this, it seems, was such: massive, armored, black skin and black-and-white primitive armor, red eyes and strong stoopedness, however, it was smaller than the usual “leaders”. This carcass attempted to strike another blow, removing its ax from the ground, however, it was not difficult to dodge it. I did not believe that he was so clumsy, but so far the impression was just that. Ouch! Mouseponi is also here! Mouseponi funny, he came back here after he was smeared here! I do not know about whom it was, but probably he confused me with Glider. That's just Glider prefers swords, the rattle of claws against each other sparks. We came for you! It seems he wanted to grin, but he had to funny try to break the distance with me. The blows were consistent, I aimed at the neck during the dash, but I could only shake his paws off. His armor is pierced, but the wounds are not deep enough for danger, and I had to move away in order not to get hit by the back. He pricked up his ears and began to smell, it seems that he found that he was not fighting with Glider. The dog thought for a long time, and then his ears drooped. He clung to the ground and began to growl angry. Mouseponi... another ... Mouseponi ... He stood up again, then rushed forward, intending to push me onto the spikes at the end of his ax, where the blade ended, but I went to the side, moving my wings. Fleur on the other side seemed tired of working with fingers and hooves, and I saw blades spinning around her, wrapped in her telekinetic field, and used both for defense and for attack, moving each on its own, but constantly connecting, like to dance I was rougher. The “lance” went to the side, passing with a gliding blow to the hind leg, while I rushed forward, using the initiative to put the claws into the jaw and dig into it with all my might. he moved it in attempts to pull them out and even tried to throw me up with a sharp chin movement, but the force fields on the claws passed right through the lower jaw, tearing it apart and making it hang like a useless piece of meat while we shared the distance. A loud guttural roar spread through the clearing. Perhaps he wanted to say something, but alas. One of his retinue attacked me from Fleur, who was freed from her bout and rushed into the other, in the interval covering me with a volley from a large assault bolter. The last bolts went right through from the low resistance of the target, and the corpse fell on my side, “The Leader” did not seem to be in a hurry to get another attack, and I could use it. The claw entered the back of the head. I knew where the point was, beyond which you could effortlessly pull the head off the dog, along with part of the spine. What I, with a strong crunch of bones, hurried to do, pulled out, unfortunately, only the main part to the base of the hump and threw it in front of me, instantly crushing it with a blow of the hoof. That was enough for him to look at it, and not at the cocked “Widowmaker” on my hoof, letting out a full volley of sixteen shots, accompanied by cries of pain from other hellish dogs. In the ears immediately sounded a flurry of insults and curses for it. The noise created, in part, has a magical nature and in any case is quite unpleasant. The bolts entered the open head, and the lack of a helmet played a role in turning the head into a bloody mess. I'm afraid Radar will not get its prize ... The ax fell to the ground, and its paws began to try to grasp at the place where the head had been before. I know her, from which they now have such vitality, but sometimes she is surprised. Nevertheless, the body fell to the ground with a crash, and I heard a multiple howl from all sides. In some places, the howl immediately interrupted by the blows of blades. Valdes! I need you! Thunder installation is covered by our cars! It is already guided by the next plane! And, as if recalling this, the plane of the pilot, who a few seconds ago informed us about his injuries, fell near us. Fleur and I looked at each other and immediately divided in different directions: Blades go to rescue the pilot and crew, I go to tear off the heads. While I was moving in the direction of the Krieg signal, I saw a standard situation with the loss of a leader: the dogs are beginning to retreat in different directions or gather in small gangs for further resistance and to collect hordes. Many try to dig into the ground, but these usually only open to attack. Soarin and his company were actively driving them into the boilers and forced them either to surrender or die. They are still extremely dangerous in their numbers, but morale is temporarily broken. Now you can not let them regroup. Krieg and his machines actively moving in a circle around something remotely resembling a tank group. Lost cars were adorned, basically, with new color, accessories, knocked-over tracks and damaged implements. However, they covered up something resembling the "Hydra" anti-aircraft installation, which is used for civil defense. The tracks were replaced with something resembling... turbines, from which clouds came, and the guns were long coils with batteries at the beginning. A twin lascanís salvo slammed into the tower, trying to find its target, but no damage was done, which, given the material on the eye, was impossible. I saw the distortion in the air during the hit. Looks like our “shaman” is here. The position was attacked by one branch of the Heirs, but they would not break through quickly - the fire was too dense. Krieg, am I in the place where SkyKilla is? Flew to the west for the shaman - a dog trying to escape on the fly. It does not add up. What protects the installation? What's wrong with this machine? I do not know! Incoming request from another channel interrupted our conversation. This is Sergeant Geno, clear the airspace above the installation! We break through! Geno! We release smoke bombs! Full salvo! Krieg didn't seem to care. Heirs instantly loaded into the “Rino”, and I clung to the closed ladder, fulfilling the requirement to clear the sky. Machines synchronously fired smoke bombs from installations, and vehicles moved to the defensive circle of our own tanks. Get ready for the strike! I saw several rockets and grenades flying around us. The driver maneuvered in the smoke towards the fire, and I could only be glad that I did not ride on the front armor. A bolt of lightning shot into the sky with a flash of thunder, but I saw how he could not hit his target. I preferred not to find out how a pony feels, hooked on an armored personnel carrier crashing into the barricade at full speed, and unhooked a little earlier, braking its wings. The ward began to sweep less than a second while I rushed forward to destroy the installation. Cover it! *** Inside the car there was not enough space, so that the corpses torn from a fragmentation grenade had to be pulled out under fire. I have exactly the hole in the right rear knee and three holes in the right wing. Inside, everything was just as dirty, but I was more interested in the source of energy that fed the battery, the improved Cloud Generator, and... the device next could see through Chaos quite noticeably for me. I hurried to pull it out and provoked a chain reaction to break the generator and threw me back on the tower in the direction of our transport. Heirs gathered around and helped me remove the tower from me. - Get separated, dangerous source of energy, you need magicians to ensure safety. - Maybe then leave it in the tower? - No, he will stay with me. Despite the fire of battle, the cold that passed through them was palpable. They didn’t trust me. - In the case of mutation or other traces of danger, I will report immediately. Geno obviously did not want this, but for some reason he gave the order to further progress, leaving me only a look in my eyes. - SkyKilla, I need you. Report. Usually, he does not respond immediately, meanwhile, the battles ended, It is difficult to verify that much time had passed since dusk, before dawn was still far away. - SkyKilla, report. - Sergeant, you are not entitled to give orders to a senior librarian. It seems busy, he is not sharp on the tongue. - What have you got there? - I am working on a shaman, and if I tell you how, I will explain to Scars and Heirs what you will do with it. So for the old? We definitely need to do something, even SkyKilla is not holding back, although it is he who is to blame for what is happening ... Or me. - Missiles from the southwest! Shy away. Southwest? And how? We have suppressed all the points... *** Fortunately, at that moment everything turned out, the Sky Scars of the master of evasion and speed and from the antediluvian rockets on the thermal trail cost nothing. However, the fact itself was more eloquent of any word. Here something was wrong, we can not be confused with the dogs. Or you need to be a complete degenerate. We have already finished here, NightmarKrieg and Skykilla left the battlefield and I ... I followed the corpse of the leader, I promised Radar that I would bring my head, I would have to carry the carcass. Fleur and Soarin, as I heard there too, are met by a commander of Las Pegasus who is probably trying to justify himself for his subordinate. However, I love to make mistakes. Fleur sat on the back of the car, and Soarin periodically kicked the dog unconscious. An escort of griffins stood in front of them, apparently equipped mercenaries, a lot of freestyle symbolism and a few from Las Pegasus, led them like a minotaur, one of those that then stood on guard of the common premises, it is a bit strange. - You must understand that you attacked the subordinates of Las Pegasus and caused them great damage, as well as dealt a heavy blow to our military force and force us to respond. Is that so? They say the Beast, too, first tried to compromise, until the Princesses killed him right on top of his huge robot. It was good then. But this does not mean anything good, we destroyed them in time, the smartest quickly put together large hordes and have to use a lot more power. I lifted the corpse and threw it on my back, the problem is that he had a grenade that exploded in contact with the ground, it was worth examining it, it would take a long time to remove the fragments from the armor. Soarin and the mercenaries snatched the weapon and the second even managed to shoot a couple of times before the order was heard “clean”, it’s a pity that now this dog is half scalded with lightning, they have spoiled his skin, the coat will not come out so good if not cleaned. There was silence in the air for a second when I caught the gaze of the minotaur looking at my symbolism, color and skull. - Who is this and why does he take his body? As I saw you burn corpses. - Diamond dogs secrete controversy and then grow, in addition to the old methods of course. We need to burn the corpses or the horde will recover. Noted Soarin stopping kicking the corpse and turning to me. - Valdes! Drag to the rest of the corpses! I noticed Fleur’s agitated eyes, yes, it looks like everything could be worse if they really were one of the mercenary armies ... - Valdes? Is this your ambassador? And after this you are talking about the world? You look at him! I'm not sure what it looked like from the outside, but the fact of the mark told me enough to remind that I still look ominous ... but now it was unimportant. I can not give voice. - Grimaldes, clean up the corpse and collect your squad, the help of the Night Lords was appreciated. Go back to your location. I hurried to take off, and it seems he wanted to say something in the back, however I was faster, I connected to the Fleur systems to continue listening, and to be distracted from the claws of tearing my heart. - And what was that? - Grimaldes and his company are cleaning up. They are masters in this and we usually call them. - Why did you call him by another name? - This is his new name, Captain Soarin does not command him and... Knowing her, she most likely is boring now with his eyes. - A little tactless, the old name tingles his memory, - Tell your stories to someone else. Better tell me what to do with you now, you attacked our army. - A mercenary army, and this will be discussed tomorrow's diplomatic mission. - You are there too, aren't you? You are a soldier, not a diplomat. - I'm Heiress. We own everything perfectly. I do not like to just listen to the dialogue, I can not read emotions as clearly as usual. In any case, most likely we have a problem. - Okay, get ready, "Equestrians", tomorrow, when you can't justify yourself, I'll deal with you. Empty threat, I disconnected from the dialogue and landed on the Pegasus group of their army. it looks like they were examining corpses. Immediately they started and raised their guns, two of the seven fell and the shots came to the ground. I landed a little faster than I wanted. They seemed to be examining one of the cadaver pits. - Stand! I stopped and looked at them, they looked like I could devour a look, I love that look. - What are you doing here? Their commander stepped forward. - Yes, yes, friends are looking for whom you seem to have finished, who will now pay me back, hm? - Your wings are trembling and you can hear it even through power armor. He jumped back at the same moment and turned around. - Come on guys, it's not here. and if there is. Then after these bastards nothing. Author's Note Still looking for someone who will help me with better design and translation. Head detained very much and I apologize for this. Hope to get already in plus by estimates.
Action one: The talent for murder: Chapter FiveThe joyful sound of hoofs on the hoof filled the air as soon as we returned. We pulled them up! Everyone and everyone! In our own way, we took revenge, even if not to the full extent of ours. But now even such a simple trifle was a clean apple in a pool of guano. I needed to hand over my armor to clean and calibrate Ebony and ClearNight. Our technophone and servants still have their work done around the old one, and the old Clear will most likely be beside himself with anger when he finds out. The wounds on the wings have healed, only light scars will remain as a reminder, but days will pass, and even they will heal, like any small wound. Speaking of scars, DesMark caught sight of me, knocking his head against Krieg, trying not to hook him with his horn. The radar, it seems, stopped to drown in drugs, because there was no trace of the reception. "Northern Dust" leaves no long traces of adoption. Now does not leave. He rushed to me, looking at the corpse, and was very upset when I threw him on the ground and it became clear that there was no head. Did not work? What were you waiting for, Radar? What will I capture him alive? That I risk everything for your empty revenge? Looks like that, and you waited, and I let you down. How is the Glider? He shivered and began to examine the corpse. Well, it is stable, and some time in the apothecary will raise it. What are you planning to do? I thought to skinned and hang on the frontal armor. I left my car clean for too long. That would be a mistake: the skull at the peak can be quickly removed. It was strange to hear from him. The radar was with us ... simply because it was, therefore it is “Radar”, therefore it is a radio operator. But it seems that soon the blood of a warrior will leap in it, and maybe I will have to clean my tracks. Hold off; do it but hide it. Now we have no opportunity to be ourselves. He smiled and clutched at me. Do you want to return everything, Master Claw? Doomed with phrases, first Flauver. If possible. But I have opportunities. At least I hope so. Looking at him, I felt that everything was going to work out. His joy at these words was amazing and contagious, but so far he has hope and the one who will support him. I have a task: do not let him down. All Krieg threw over the ground under the triple "cheers" and his laughter. Nobody was embarrassed that the victory was not ours, but belonged to the Scars. We have shown ourselves, and this is enough for them. I left them in speed: my presence and such joy from Radar can sow unnecessary rumors and conversations, but I cannot order them all to just keep quiet or cut off their tongues. I just don't want to. *** The servants live in underground rooms connected by a network of tunnels, which allows them to quickly move around the premises and carry out tasks and tasks with maximum safety even during combat. Big McIntosh was particularly concerned about the construction pattern, so I would have sinned without asking for a scheme for my company. Here and now, the base on soft ground equipped by us could withstand a massive attack and give us time to regroup and retreat. Although, I will be honest, if this red giant had learned that we had replaced fortified points and trenches with traps and additional escape routes, he would not be happy. Remembering this scandal that he gave his sister when he learned about minor adjustments for convenience... I smelled the corpse, passing by. And not that I was surprised, though, so brazenly, when we are on the front line ... Servants, it seems, also feel that our grip is weakening. After all, they, too, are subject to "a decrease in heartlessness and cruelty." And they, unlike the legionnaires, were non-doctrinal criminals. Obviously, someone decided to use the combat trap on the middle minotaur or manticore to crack down on another. The stakes were smeared with concentrated poison and dope from the extract of Melange, which expands the mind and acts as a light enhancer of sensations, so that it had to scream on these stakes for about a minute, and scream so that the whole camp would hear it. It was planted on the belly, not on the croup or upside down. She could not so fall on these pins, given their size and the fact that she was a Pegasus, and only one wing was broken, and very casually some pipe was broken. So, probably, it wasn’t earthly or pegasus: pegasi do not like to break each other’s wings out of solidarity. Although maybe someone sadism manifested. The servants for each legion accounted for a lot, before the Long Night a huge number of ponies arrived in the metropolitan area under the life integration program: bat ponies, zebras ... I heard that there were even Kirins, however, all changeings disappeared when this was announced ... Nobody and did not understand why, and nobody cried about them. So with mass mobilization, for each clatter there were at least one or two assistants for small things like cooking food and five over measure for the general work on the battlefield. Someone had to dig trenches, protect the base and cook food? Although they coped with the second so-so: the issued weapon was mainly a weak personal weapon, and the legions themselves equipped their servants if they wanted. Or helped them. We simply ignored them. No one wanted to work for criminals and grovel before them. So scored the same. Another thing is that some were recruited by gangs, and from time to time they had to be reminded that harmony still reigns here. Radar and others like him for a long time kept their heads off to everyone that this was slavery, and they themselves went to work. Especially they were fond of digging trenches: this is a thankless task for Bat Ponies, but he perceived it stoically, “we cannot exploit them.” But they are here of their own free will, although it is worth saying that they are basically changed like horseshoes: very few survive the front-line life. I was going to look at the "lower market", in fact - "black". It was a bit of a curiosity shop. Gangs usually collected trinkets and other things and resold them to someone. This eliminates the need to personally dig in the garbage and contributes to the domestic economy, but someone seemed to be terribly wound up, because when I entered, a bullet from a pistol flew into my head. The itch from hitting will be a long time annoying ... I guess they were frightened by the corpse taken with him. I saw Ebony, which between times was spinning here and there in her overalls, from which, even among many others, I could smell the medicines. All instantly clung to the ground and cocked their accumulated pistols, knives and everything else in anticipation that the shooting would begin now. Well, they learn. I hate it when civilians do not respond to the command "lie down" and come under attack. Beats on reputation. However, everything fell silent immediately, as everyone understood who they were shooting at. Arrow instantly tied his own comrades and pushed forward. One of them, trembling with this very pistol in his teeth, came up to me, coming out to meet them. Both were from the engineering group, and, judging by the clothes and tags, belonged to the same gang. Six and approximate ... It seems that I have not seen this gang before. Probably a new formation from some city that fought with another legion on the other side of the country. Judging by the scars and the bruising, they were soldiers, but it doesn't seem like someone strong. S-sorry, sir! O-he did not make out! We are not used to seeing you without armor! - He muttered, trying to justify himself. Nonsense: at the base we try to walk in it as little as possible, they could not see us without it. Ebony slipped through a quiet crowd like a ghost. Many unfamiliar faces. Looks like we have recently updated the staff. Gladii walked over the tendons on his front hooves, knocking the arrow on his knees. Before that, he stood, it seems, not knowing very well what situation he had got into; He seemed to have tried to hit back, but Ebony went behind me just as quickly. She obviously had other things to do, so I nodded to her and she disappeared into the crowd again. Earth pony hissed through his teeth, but raised his head and continued to look; he may die of bleeding, but we have enough time to talk about things. I gently put the body next to and said: If she has friends or relatives, take her and bury her. Mom! - was heard from the crowd. The young filly, barely three years old as having received a cutie mark, ran out to me and began to examine the body, trying not to cry in front of me in the whole neighborhood. Someone helped her carry the body, and I made a note that I would need to do this later. Rarely, when you see a family in our ranks, it must be redirected to a rehabilitation center. Made an orphan, abused before death, tried to hide, ruined the property of the Legion, undermined our security ... I didn’t want to think about the second one, it was just unpleasant, but the smell from the intercourse on the corpse was so obvious to me that it was just annoying. Fortunately, no one except me is aware of this. And you think that after that I will believe that he simply "did not recognize me"? Speak, you have a chance to justify yourself. He did not shudder. The people in the meantime tried to continue their business, but still did not take their eyes off: someone used and tried to work in their wallets, and unicorns in their pockets. That bitch that cuts my legs, someone, they say, is covered, with some bastard of yours. I had to kill her friend. Problems? He became insane from fear, not only from the fact that he shot, the shot only turned off the last feelings of self-preservation, and he tries to at least die with dignity. Who sent you here? I don’t know, they have distributed and that's it, come on, take out your axe and chop it up already. And then do me a favor and die. The stallion folded its head, waiting for a strike. Axe, mean? Many who can be, but in effect and not knowing us ... Laughing Eaters, probably. But it doesn't matter, he thinks that he will die for it instantly ... The Pinkie Pie Legion solves the matter with one stroke and does not think. I turned my eyes to the slightly dumbfounded but joyful assistant, he seems to hope that all the blame will fall on the madman nearby, and I was ready to please him. Make sure he survives, find Ebony or some of the other servants of the older legionaries. Take it to SkullRiver and say that he has a new test subject for new tools. Until then, make sure that he temporarily replaces the end of the waste systems and his diet was full in this matter. If the Princess finds out about this, or at least Flower, I can successfully lay my head on the block, but they don’t need to know about it at all, not one of them was under Nocturne. They do not fully know how free they can be, and old servants will tell them what is waiting for the disobedient. I wonder what Scull River will come up with. *** So it always happens: I went to talk to Ebony one-on-one, and here's the result: she consoled this orphan and at the same time checked something in the data tablet that I gave her. I watched from the roof of my cell and read their dialogue on the lips for the sake of prevention, at the same time sending to the Ebony tablet an order to send this filly to the center directly to Flutterbat upon my request. Flutter tends to give them priority. Behind this process, I was thinking about the situation we were all in. If Soarin's error manifests itself violently, then this can be worth everything. If Las Pegasus knows who burned Nocturne, then my name and my company can become a coffin in a diplomatic mission. I need to urgently withdraw from this status and give it to Fleur. With this thought, I contacted her, returning to my room, but the incoming call directly from Princess of the Moon and Prince Sanguinis made me cool down my ardor and prepare for a strict countdown. Despite the fact that I am no longer the Master of the Claw, I still ... have some opportunity for a personal dialogue with the Princess, even now very crumpled. For this, I even had a personal holo-projector, which I used only in two cases. Perhaps many will say that the new mighty form of the princess has made her even more divine ... I could not agree with them. May we and the people be warlike, the night has always been a mother, not a military leader, and how she becomes them, each time was given to bitterness. I'm not sure that this opinion was shared by someone else. This seems to have been wrong. Therefore I pushed it as far as possible. The last thing she needs to hear is that I consider her too ... far away from us, now far away. Sanguinis stood nearby, who seemed to have just returned from the battle. Eyes shouted that he soothes the thirst for blood, these veins from his eyes ... The projector did not show it in all its glory, but the dark blue filter coped so as not to slander her appearance. Majestic and noble in her form, Princess of the Night, tall, elegant and sophisticated ... It could be called unearthly, which to some extent was true. It is difficult to speak about it in concrete words, I just have to bathe in the rays of its greatness through attempts by a pathetic machine to imitate it. Many are filled with the desire to express themselves in moments when the Matriarch, and even more so the Princess looks at you. It becomes an alluring idea, and you just have to keep yourself in hand. But I left my eyes as if with a set of bones, a skeleton, which has nothing and nothing to hide. The princess wants a report, sergeant. Sanguinis plays the role of her voice when she believes that she should not waste time talking to someone who does not deserve it. I wonder why he invited me if he continues to do this. You shouldn't waste time on formalities, Prince, now this is a personal conversation. Valdes, I want to know the state of your company and its readiness to join the battle at Stalliongradde and Las Pegasus. So they want to relocate us closer to Las Pegasus? Stalliongrad? He is on the other end of Equestria! We are waiting for a hard march after this operation. Sanguinis snarled and looked somewhere outside the capture zone of the camera. Princess, I need to know what the official report is to make the appropriate corrections. She looked down at me as I tried to keep track of what was happening outside of my room, but it seemed that my ears were blocked. Just think, once it was synonymous with the word "blind", but it was this feeling that I now experienced. Reports from your legions differ, so I’m sending new model, "Sicaran" battle tank. They have already perfectly proved themselves in the main companies and other legions as more versatile machines and superior to them in the elimination of fast targets. I want to know why I did it and on whose tip ... Cause and tip? Soarin, there is no need to think. ... But more importantly, I want to know why I would have to ... But more importantly, I want to know why I had to listen to this assumption. Why aren't you in Las Pegasus? What are the next moves? Yes, it was a problem, we did not receive an embassy, and in fact we only exchanged facts and thoughts. But the question is ... We did not ask for it or did not give it to us on our own? Recalling it now, I understand how easy it was for us: a few quick actions, checks and provocations - and now we’re on edge and don’t want to discuss anything. Even Fleur either didn’t notice or was silent for some reason. We will continue to insist on our intentions, Princess. It did not suit her, the movement of the cheekbones showed it to me, but did it ... turn into a smile? Fleur in her report gave me a few thoughts. For you, as a leading diplomat, I have a new task. You have a hard job ahead of you, but I’m sure you can do it and do it. Fleur already knows everything, Soarin will continue to act in his manner, and you have to use this ... I cleared my throat, very carefully, and she gave me a voice, even if it was only confirmed by the sudden silence and nod of Sanguinis. Princess ... You must give Fleur the status of the lead of this mission. She watched my every word, it was visible in my eyes, and my heart pounded wildly at this look. As you ... you know, Nocturne was ... known to Las Pegasus, my further fulfillment of this task puts it at risk. The air froze in my throat, I almost exhaled and did not show my excitement more clearly than she sees. The smile did not fall from her face, and it made even more nervous. These thoughts have already been expressed by other and much higher persons than the Prefector and the Captain, and, as I said, I am sure that my children are able to do this better than others. If necessary, the eighth company will clean up the slop of this city like any other, and I think that the former Talon Master will make them think more about ... the consequences. A smile fell from her face when she returned her gaze to me, and not somewhere up. And I didn’t quite understand where I was, as if I felt something else, but it was in me, inside. It was ... I heard this feeling as ... greed. The Sun Princess forbade us ... Celestia can think about politics and the world as he wants. But here is my order, sergeant: act as you see fit, according to your moral and ideological concepts. Las Pegasus should be part of Equestria with little blood. But what is considered small, I leave to you and Prince Sanguinis. All this so fed this feeling that I did not know what to think until the sobering blow in the form of Sanguinis did not refresh my head. We responded in chorus, I do not know how Sanguinis, but for me it was a reflex. Will be done. This was the end of the program, and to calm down, I looked at my tablet, where I saw a new message from Sanguinis with a very interesting headline: "Lucky you". *** The news about the technique pleased Krieg and other pilots a little in the desire to break in new tanks, we heard about "Sikarans", but we have not tried it yet. However, if you believe the rumors about its accuracy and rate of fire, they will be useful to us soon. Krieg was with me when I decided to look into the dining room and learned that the transports are arriving today, and we can start their testing after calibration tomorrow. But the message of Sanguinis did not give me any more peace, for it was not in his habits to talk about luck. What could possibly happen that he was stingy with such an expression? In trying to escape from this, I looked around, trying to see something worthwhile attention, but this, unfortunately, was not. Everywhere there is just an ordinary routine: somewhere there, the Third and Fifth Claws fight again, and now I cannot separate them. Someone is just doing hufrestling, I haven’t counted several branches since we lost, so someone hasn’t gotten out. But Scull did everything that was in his power, according to the Ebony reports, though we lost in combat capability and we need new medicines as soon as possible. Suddenly there was a noise. The strangely familiar sound of flying aviation went over the ears, and ordinary ponies began to run around and take up defensive positions, even the chefs took out laser rifles and poked them in the direction of the shelters under the exclamations that someone else was hungry, while the others were hiding in bunkers or trenches while the legionnaires In general, they began to go out on the launching pad for aviation. Krieg pricked his ears and, jerking his ear, began to listen to what was happening. In his face, it seemed to me that they were attacking us, but given that the siren is not turned on, then everything is fine. I began to listen, followed by inserting a transmitter into my ear - sometimes even I need to stop the flow of information. - “StormEagle” “Wings of Fire”! Immediately stop picking up speed! Return to construction! Judging by the frequency, it was someone from the Fifteenth Company of Moon Ponies, probably our tanks, but I jumped up from the spot under the laughter of Krieg, who was falling from the chair, for another reason, I mumbled something, even I didn’t make it out and it sounded like ridiculous. However, if I do not know what sometimes I say, it does not mean that I know something else. This is my “StormEagle”! He was turned into something grotesque, smeared with blue and white inks with the ancient treasure number “Eight” on his forehead, she had been there before, only now she was painted on top of something else. The one who committed such vandalism deserved enough sentries to freeze all its edges, even if it is a thunder. How do you order to perform assault operations on this? It is for this purpose intended, and not for his foals to repaint! Smaller than Thunderhuffs, more weapons, less space and everything to throw me into battle with the selected unit, and now rocket systems and laser guns have been removed from it, only the poor searchlight and frontal heavy bolter remained ... why was it brought here ?! Under the desperate cries of DeathMark, I grabbed his binoculars from him, trying to see what the spot was right on the body with something gilded in the sun — it was a saxophone, and several legionnaires around me even danced to the rhythm of music that seemed to play on the radio channel, so I hurried to connect. In addition to the muffled cries of familiar voices, music, playing from the saxophone and singing in the discord pony, I heard a clear cry for help. - Sergeant Valdes on the canal urgently! They threaten to crash the plane on the landing pad! He was echoed by the singing voice of a filly with a clear Oriental accent. This is called landing baby! Get used to it! Cut the belts! We will teach you to land straight into the inferno! Call someone Krieg and his squadron! I need a barrage of eight assault cannon and a pair of lazcannon! The cries of protest were heard along with the new refrain to the accompaniment of some kind of religious organ music. This whole combination did exactly one thing - she told me HOW Sanguinis be enraged that he switched to such a word as “luck”. Eighth Claw, return to the construction and stop filling the channels of communication without a corresponding order. The music subsided instantly, and the stain evaporated, falling into the opened hatch. “StormEagle” returned to the building as soon as it caught up with it, and some ponies began to disperse, mostly those whose obligations did not require urgent intervention. The rest in anticipation were waiting for the return of this pack of garbage, which is sometimes referred to as the “Terror Squad”, or the Eighth Claw.
Action one: The talent for murder: Chapter SixIn complete darkness, a candle was lit, then another, and another. They flashed slowly in the dark, and every movement of the head had to be accompanied by a bow. A bow of respect and humility. It was the work of Ebony to light ritual candles, but each lit one candle, repeating every movement and gesture with a wing or hoof. This ritual required a complete immersion in the process and awareness of the situation. The mind must be filled with the right proportions of the senses. “And darkness will overtake us for our sins.” Only two did not participate in this; one only for the time being, while the other was perplexedly watching his new detachment violate laws and rules, applying more religiosity to what is happening. In his view, a company of criminals should not risk so much by performing dangerous rituals that look more like a call from the forces of darkness than a sentimental rite similar to the sanctification of machine spirit. “We give you our souls and bodies, Princess of the Night. Our father gave us a guiding light to redemption." They surrounded the sanctuary in the unity of their voices and thoughts, folding their wings, forming an incomplete circle, where Ebony broke the line and depicted the deepening of a crescent moon. "You chose us, and, looking at the abyss, inviting secrets, we did not give themselves. We - betrayed the law and betrayed the essence." They flapped their wings, dispersing the smell of incense and extinguishing the candles. “For we are bandits and murderers! We are the Night Lords!" *** They came out one by one, led by little Ebony in a tactical formation. They were all Bat Ponies, from a distance similar to each other, like brothers and sisters, different only in size, eye color and small details, such as wild eyes or a soft gait. Noble Grimhart supported the weeping Songa, who, together with tears, wanted to get to her supply of goodies and alcohol as soon as possible and move on to prisoner diamond dogs. Next came the angry hissing and jealous of Songa TremorClaw, held by Havok, who was huge compared to them. Valdes accompanied them with a faint gleam of joy in his soul, ignoring the questioning glance of the new member of the department. "Akhm, Sergeant, you must understand that what is happening can cause many questions, and as a member of the department, I do not want to participate in such. And I'm not going to hide it eithe..." Valdes only looked at him with a melancholy look, already beginning to realize that he would have to handle this newcomer on his own, without the power and position that he had before. It's one thing when your sergeant tells you what the rules are, and it looks like protocol bypass and hidden violations. Another thing is when it was said by the Master Claw, responsible for the fighting spirit, whose word was indestructible, was the basis of the entire emotional component of the company. “... and I will immediately bring it to the captain!” The stallion proudly puffed out his chest, even slightly fluffed out, which spoke of real feelings. This was not surprising. Valdés could only lower his head with a heavy sigh, turning and going up to the only remaining candle that stood unlit. The last candle for him, the last candle for all of them. It inflamed by him and his weak suppressed magical potential, to which the newcomer, still dressed in power armor, looked spellbound, coming closer, almost stepping on his sergeant's wing. “I dedicate my service to the service of you, Great Mother. Demand with me, for my loyalty is absolute, and let the darkness of my soul devour me if I prove unworthy. Father gave light guiding. Bowing in front of him, remember, he thought only of us ..." - he whispered it quickly, without fail, without hitches or long pauses, like a spell or mantra, while others said it as something that taught them. The sound of his voice made LicanBlood think that this is his life, and he does it in front of him, as if this is not the betrayal of everything that the Liberation Crusade is going for. He grabbed the handle of the battle knife, wanting to interrupt this insane fanaticism. - "... when we make the shadows shudder, the Father is with us both in spirit and in body!" His voice trembled sharply, echoing no further than their ears. The blade stayed in the sheath when the bat pony jumped up sharply, extinguishing the fire with a wave of its wings and hanging up directly from the ceiling. "Go with them, LicanBlood, go with them and find out who you are with. I don’t know who you were in the Moon Ponies, I don’t know yet the sin that lies behind your soul, but now you are the “Terror Squad”, now you are the Eighth claw. Now you are a murderer and a monster. Now you are the Night Lord." He jumped back. Lican bounced back, fearing attack, but Valdez just headed for the exit. “I need to make inquiries about your account, Lycan.” Go with the rest of the squad and rest, because soon we will have a hard work. And I want you to be ready for it. He was going to argue, it was visible on the ears. Valdes mentally cleared his throat and shouted: EXECUTE, PRIVATE!!! He did not have the gift of the Song of War. But he had the good old "sergeant's voice", which made Lican hastily catch up with the rest of the Claw. Valdes just sighed again and went to work, whispering under his breath only: Rookie... Who did you put on my head, Sanguinis? *** The ships landed in turns, while the rest took up the line, receiving guests from another company. Everything will be as usual: Lunar Ponies will march across the parade ground, almost spitting each of us in the face, leaving the ships, finding a couple of enemies in our company... Hey! HorizonFall! How is your sister?! I did not ask? StormSiege, Ninth Claw. Rape, escape from law enforcement officers, threats of physical violence, theft of state resources. -YOU?! An undisciplined cry, the landlords already took acceleration when the rest of the group took it, trying to reassure them in every way while he was puffing nostrils, trying to stimulate his anger. In the end, he lay tied together. When he did, he remembered the face and voice. And Storm does not keep his mouth shut. At the same time, I watched my faithful StormEagle unload. Yes, on this machine at one time I led my company to the attack. I touched the hull, and the engines purred, recognizing his pilot and master. Havok also pulled out three massive metal boxes, in which there was obviously something hidden from the eyes of the Lunar Ponies, because their lieutenant was looking at them with suspicion. The First Claw, Atramentar, brothers and sisters according to their fate, bastards, whom only hatred united, came out in their massive terminator armor. All five accompanied NightmareFlower to meet with the lieutenant, take the machines and a couple of brotherly rituals inside the Legion. Songa tried to jump on my neck, which was stopped by a grip on the tail of a Tremor and a sharp blow to the ground with a full turn. Grimhart jumped out to me, while Tremor and Havok put Song in one row. In a slight bow, his face took a predatory grin, speaking of bloodlust. “We have not been broken, and we are free again, Talon Master. The "Terror Squad" is again at your disposal." Before my appointment, Grimheart was their sergeant, and this is not surprising: he is the purest of them. Caught in the distribution for "excessive cruelty", he got accustomed perfectly. Now he is with them in the same line, but still their sergeant is spiritual. What's in the boxes? Songa and Havok grinned, while Moon Ponies were about to leave as soon as possible, until all of this developed into something more dangerous. It will be necessary to talk heart to heart with Storm. GrimHeart rose. A gift for ours, sir. After we were locked in the hospital, it seemed to us ... It is worth a little to please the rest with our return. I raised an eyebrow. I wonder how they were going to do this? “Songa bought a StarWolf drunk barrel ... As long as we borrowed two more barrels.” I missed out on awareness. It was deadly. If we do the dirty work for the Princess of the Moon, the Star Wolves do it for Celestia. Let them not be so dangerous or strong, their “dirty work” is more often - just fights, where loyalty needs more brains. But they are a full-fledged Legion, and we are just a company. So happily I thought that for the sake of something small I give him my “flowers”! Songa rolled with wild laughter that her face strongly mixed with genetics expressed itself particularly terribly, and it was not Princess Luna who was to blame for this: Songa had an “eastern” grin, as they sometimes call him. She was obviously a half-breed, but finding parents of an orphan is not always easy. "At ease, fighters. In honor of your return, I propose to proceed to the ritual..." The newcomer in the group stood with them, still, apparently, unaccustomed to such a low level of discipline and eerie colors, even though he was a Bat Pony. Although, it seems, he is from these "northerners." Strong but puny clans. *** The two barrels went to the rest of the claws in hoofs, in the shadows and silence. Ours remained on its own binge, for Songi’s multiple caches here and there with various food items. She loves to pamper her taste. And today, to the mango, the music of GrimHart and a couple of captured diamond dogs was added a new box of fresh mangoes, just from the fridge. Since it was necessary to hide that we were still doing this, we had to hide in underground rooms for ordinary ponies and score everything so that the sound would not pass. We had a table, playing cards, a radio, a lot of cards and notes that Lhikan had buried in, trying not to pay attention to two target diamond dogs in muzzles and chains, chained to the wall. One dog whined in horror - one of the commanders, "nob." The second tried to giggle through the muzzle, looking at his companion. This is one of the "commandos", caught him there only one. It was still important to understand where his gang had disappeared: they were not found during the battle. GrimHart tuned up his saxophone, Havok tuned in the radio, Tremor and Songa wiped and prepared instruments. Suddenly, Ebony entered the room, along with two hard-working earths who were carrying a box. She sent them on, coming up to me. “Scull says, sir: his vital organs have been altered, his own waste flows into his blood, and he has already been found a point for connecting to the drain system. Should I execute the order? .. I didn’t want to think about it, I was not in the mood for the usual problems of the dog: I was looking at the file of a certain “Mare do well.” I heard about this image before the Campaign, even when the world was intact, and now - such a surprise, someone with such a nickname rushes along Las Pegasus, trying to eradicate crime with a simple fear of retribution. It will be interesting to look for him ... Yes, connect. Write down his screams if you want. Maybe we will need for a new video. One of the landies with a murmur pulled out a video camera, to which Ebony nodded. Everything will be, sir, I will follow the execution of the sentence. Well, we have already done everything so that he would not be seized: he died, someone from revenge dumped him on the spikes, before this forcing him to pohleat water from the waste system. Simple practice. Only now will find him so in a week. Songa had already begun to drink straight from the tap on the barrel, struggling with the flow of alcohol. Usual we will not overthrow, so she has to dodge and get alcohol from the Star Wolves. Rainbow Dash nobody said that she could not get drunk after the improvements, and as soon as she found out, she immediately with the new government ordered to develop alcohol for drunk thunder. They say it is cooked on the basis of our promethium... Song told me that yes. However, when she then tried to drink two such barrels and verify the result with the contents of my “StormEagle” gas tank, she was already drunk. "Nob" shuddered more strongly, as soon as GrimHart tuned up the saxophone and began to play one of his melodies. The little dog was no longer holding back and crying with joy, while the second one panicked in horror, trying, it seemed, to shut him up. Songa, meanwhile, was testing her favorite jar with its parasprites that follow her song. The Tremor was a bit simpler: she was fixing her repair kit on herself. A small claw-shaped manipulator with hydraulics, a plasma soldering iron, a drill ... It constantly changes the details to taste. Now took a horizontal claw. Probably going to rip the bones. Havok, along with GrimHeart, just hummed. One works in size and brute force, the second works with ordinary medical instruments and weapons. Lhikan looked with horror at what was happening, sitting next to them, constantly pointing to one or another instrument and asking questions, to which he received absolutely accurate and colorful answers. "Why does she need a burner?!" "Probably, he wants to burn his eyes, maybe he is going to insert his ear, I don't know. These dogs are not here for information” said Havok, thoughtfully eating mangoes, while Lhikan, with his jaw open, watched one of Parasprites, whispering Songi back to the bank. "Small mine. Take the "nob"." The tremor was determined decisively, as soon as everything was set up, heading for the dog, who still did not believe in what was happening, just smiling from under the muzzle. To the second, Songa came up in complete curtsy, beginning to sing a desperately whimpering dog and trying to calm him down. She didn't like it when they turned off too fast, so she stuck a dose of adrenaline into him; Tremor did the same. Grimhart pointed my hoof at this. “Any thoughts on why she’s so excited, sergeant?” This diamond dog found an exhausted filly, who seemed to serve as a slave. I learned this from one of the Krieg tankers; He said that the Scars had taken her and were going to transfer to the Alikornes, and they quietly handed over the dog to us under the blows of requests and persuasion. Tremor ripped off a muzzle. The dog instantly spat in her face and did not hold back the laughter. The claw sticking into the mouth, causing him to choke and shut up, trying not to move his lower jaw. The pneumatic motors were buzzing to the breath of a low thunderbolt. "Scream, bitch" Claws-clips pierced the nose, grabbing the central cartilage, and began to pull back under the loud cheek and try not to scream. The tremor was not appeased. Lican watched quietly and silently, while GrimHeart became interested in creating a new symphony. This is monstrous and immoral! Why does she do it?! Havok raised his hooves questioningly while sitting on his stool while I continued to watch reports on Las Pegasus. News bulletins, history: ordinary ponies who went to the city just to live, have already begun to merge information to relatives and friends, telling what they have and how. It was a disgusting city: foal prostitution, drug trafficking at the state level, and all this is covered by “noble advice”, which constantly fights with someone and “protects” unicorns andeartpony. Simple and working scheme. Songa took the battle knife and took hold of her claws. The dog tried to grab it, fight, fight and throw it off, but the mare, holding its magnetic hooves like a spider, surrounded it, letting its parasprites climb under the skin and slowly enjoy the meal. He screamed at the muzzle while she cut off his claws and poured it all with hot wax. Hey! Lycan! Do you want to process it ?! Tremor you small will not leave! I bet that she will burn his scrotum and break his spine! Songa was in her element and just danced on the wall, moving around. She kissed the dog on the forehead, then sprinkled ammonia solution into his eyes. Soon she probably will throw up or let her pets. I was interested in one news item... So, they have mares disappearing there now... Foals disappear... There are many who can send the Eighth Claw, it was only necessary to send them to the business correctly... Lycan whipped out a knife and shouted: "Enough! You were punished to stop this madness, but you continue! You will all be executed!" I just raised my eyebrow, leaving it on GrimHeart and Havok. The girls now had to keep their business, and I didn’t want to. A soldering iron entered the eye. The creature screamed, opening its mouth, and under this cry the pressure of the hydraulics increased. Looks like she wanted him to tear his jaw off himself under her pressure. Grimmheart pointed to the dogs, as the pony points with a fork on a plate of salad. “These creatures killed, terrorized, and committed many other crimes against the entire nation of ponies. I do not know where you have been all these years, in which joyful lie lived, but here it is true. They deserve their punishment, Lycan." The tremor whipped out a knife and began to prick the stomach wildly, trying to gut it alive, before it broke its skull. Blood and organs fell on a cold metal floor beneath the characteristic cotton of a skull bursting under the hydraulics. The tremor did not breathe throughout the entire process; she did it all in about a minute, while Songa was going to leave this dog with parasprites inside here for a few days. Tremor does not bring joy, but the feeling of retribution is more than joy. Havok jumped up, picking up her, slightly reeling. The second dog no longer cares what happened to his comrade. He was dying, and he was dying slowly, in agony. He will not faint until his flesh is eaten in pieces for a long time. Songa jumped off the wall, helping the Tremor resist and take off the instruments. "Hush, dear, everything is fine, he is dead, he fell from your hoof." Since Tremor has always been like this. She was perhaps too bloodthirsty for an ordinary maid, but she did not want to put up with it. Even becoming a thunder and finding in it his destiny and vocation, the little servant was still the same servant. Lycan would try to build a noble Lunar Pony out of himself, but I found what he was sent to: he was a bastard, brother of Prince Sanguinis, and was so angry that he tried to kill him, beating his servant until he was half dead, to gain time. He is one of us, just does not believe in it. He is a Bat Pony, and he is a traitor, and a murderer, he is the Night Lord. Author's Note We reached her hands through the translator just now. I'm afraid to imagine what to do with the next one, I’m still writing in the Russian chapter, there’s so much text that I don’t have enough strength to finish it off (haha, you have such small chapters and you say you want to cut the biggest, asshole ). People, I understand that I am writing in a very niche format and with very poor quality .... but can I have some feedback, please?
Action one: The talent for murder: Chapter OneMany ponies from the servants were afraid of the dark corridors of the barracks of the eighth company of the Lunar Pony legion. There was always a grave cold and a soft moonlight looming overhead, and the quiet wind seemed to whisper lulling threats, suggesting rest and never again to worry about anything. All this complemented the gloomy gothic style: stone gargoyles on columns and moon candles under the ceiling. As well as it is necessary to this design - corridors looked out-of-date, and even EbonyDream itself - the mare of the bet pony, serving the master almost one year, could not answer precisely, whether it is cozy here. It was like a house, but this whisper... Despite the fact that its owner is inclined to refuse any excesses and delights, the rules and the task required the opposite, and in food it manifested itself more often. The owner preferred to eat raw meat and drink dirty, or toxic water, violating all the provisions of the Thunder Pony Codex on the quality of food to maintain standards-compliant physical mass. Because once again she will have to persuade him to eat a full meal and fruit. However, this was a self-serving plus - Ebony had to make an effort not to eat mangoes relying on the thunder pony of her people, it was a very expensive delicacy. A small but nonetheless double door was waiting for her for the next turn. She did not need to read the plate, his room is always here... And the presence of several other servants made her angry, given that she knew whose servants, in particular, FlowerKiss, the helpful pony of Captain Nightmare Flower, who hurried to push her ear away from the door so quickly, that fell on another maid who hurried to disappear, leaving them alone. "You're listening again, Flower." There was nothing new in this, she is constantly here when she is free. In fact, it is being exploited, but Ebony does not have to deal with this matter, if the gentleman does not think that this needs to be changed, then there is no need to do something. It's dangerous - the captain was not considered the most rational mare. - Ebony! Stop sneaking up like this! - with a heavy breath she pronounced a pegasus of a dark blue color that at least slightly added respect to her in the eyes of the servants. Although it was not bright, like many others, it did not distract the look. Ebony only pointed with the turn of her neck that she did not understand the conversation, and she pointed the wing behind her back, behind the scenes, ordering her to save the corridor from her presence. And only an apathetic look made her obey and evaporate, and of course this was helped by a glare of moonlight on an amulet around Ebony's neck - an amulet, which says that anyone who dares to contradict her, will answer to the Talon Master. *** The door opened with a characteristic rumbling, made of steel and with loud locks, it specifically did not allow itself a quiet penetration inside. She went inside slamming the door behind her and going forward - she was not stopped by the standing smell of incense and incense, so sharp it beats in the nose that she wanted to cry... Nevertheless, she went forward, standing on the right side of the working chair and putting the tray on glass table. He was without armor, completely naked, scarred, muscular, massive, dark blue, he lay on his stomach with folded wings and a completely untidy purple mane. It was easy to understand what he thinks when his eyes are closed. But he is sitting in front of a huge mirror, under the right hoof is an info-board, while he is holding the left at the level of his head, pressing himself on the temple. Apparently, he is writing something important ... And again he talks to himself, Ebony only knew that she should be around. *** Everything hurt, but my head hurt especially. It always happens after nightmares, this time it was again something that he did not see: blood, pain, death. In particular, as they all die in the consulate of the Trade Union of Las Pegasus, Canterlot - everywhere, however, this was not anything new. The princess said not to attach importance to these dreams. But it was difficult, more difficult than I would like. Experiencing one's own death every night is difficult. "Sir, you have not slept for three weeks, your brain can not stand it anymore." You need rest. - EbonyDream, I heard her come in, I heard her walk, I could hear Flower Flower breathing. My servants... I can not get used, it's wrong, but nevertheless... Practice has shown that it is necessary. "Thank you for your concern, Ebony, I'll think about your proposal a little later." - smelled the smell of food even under the tray, it smelled very appetizing, but... I did not want to eat, or rather, I did not want to eat such dishes. Even Ebony has a greater right to eat it. She was in her civilian uniform. Ebony is allowed to walk in what she wants, and she prefers simplicity, for which I love her. Justifying its name, the color of her eyes and mane was ebonite, but the fur was sky-blue - one of the most frequent color scales of fur. "Sir, you have not slept and have not eaten for a very long time, you need to gain strength." The Trade Union will not come to an Agreement without your help. Despite the fact that the campaign was called "Liberation", we often had to return the lost cities to the bosom of the Kingdom, so we had to change the term. This was the right decision, we could not lie, the campaign became too bloody to remain that very dream. - Your depression in connection with the latest events is understandable and justified. However, you are given a chance to be rehabilitated, I think, the Princess will forgive you if you cope with the new task. Alas, Ebony, alas, I can not share your optimism, I've committed too much evil in order... to... at least once again be called the Talon Master, at least. She opened the lid from the tray, and the smell instantly hit my nostrils. Especially fried meat. "Ebony, please turn on the light." The silver light lit up the room, and Ebony lay sideways on the next sofa. I did not understand this luxury, not to say that it was everyone's, but even when I was transferred to the rank of sergeant, my apartments in the cells were still more than worthy... Needless to deserve. I could eat anything, Ebony was used to seeing my hunger, but nevertheless, I had to remain gallant. Taking the tablet next to the table, I began to eat. The work itself will not do. "Captain Soarin and Prefector Fleur ask you for an audience, sir, they notified me of the urgency of this conversation." Urgency, yes, urgency, the right word. I do not know who decided that this was a great idea, but I was appointed a diplomat on behalf of Equestria. Me, with my symbols of shame and one of the symbols of even greater shame, with dense massive chains that I carry even without armor. Fortunately, I have already learned how to walk in them and not rant on the whole district. Ebony was happy, she still managed to persuade him. Now her master needed help, and considering that his entire squad was still in the medical corps of the Vermilion Alicorns on psychological rehabilitation, and the rest of the company now even looks askance at her even though she did nothing, at least not bad. However, if he continues at the same pace, it will also come in handy. And whether it is necessary to inform him of... "You can not hide anything from me, Ebony, you forget that for me there are no secrets." - nothing supernatural, just after you begin to read the emotions and feelings of the Matriarchs and Primarchs, not to mention the Princesses, the usual ponies can not hide emotions from me. Although, Ebony sometimes does this, but not this time. "Sir, you've received a message from Flutterbat." Forgive me for listening to it, but it will be better if I tell you its essence... Now, will you? The pause in her speech was quite long. She should not have listened to him. I saw this message three days ago, but did not open it, did not want it, I knew what was said there, and did not want to think about it. I'll read it later when I finish with the Union. - No. I know what's out there, Ebony. Before you go, leave the mango and wine. And look in the closet. There were my formal robes, but there was something more important. As soon as she opened it, an exact replica of the legion gladius and a crystal pistol looked directly at her. "Why should I do that, sir?" "I know what's going on with you, servants." This will deter those who decide to harm you. She swallowed, for the bat-pony she was too peace-loving. I could have given it to her before, but I had an amulet. "I think ... your patronage is more than enough for me." - No ... No more, more I'm not the Talon Master. Now I can not say anything to anyone outside my squad. - And how... "Nightmare controls everyone, they will not say anything ... We have no choice, Ebony, the gun is loaded with poisonous crystals." Poison is paralytic, not flying. She took it into the hooves and hung it under the robe, under the left wing. Gladius went under another. "Thank you, sir." - she said, taking an empty tray and leaving the room. I can only hope that at least she will use the gun. I set up the info board for communication and sent Soarin and Fleur a message. It's time for us to discuss our plan, but before that I need to sleep. *** Frankly, I was completely out of sorts for the morning. Despite the fact that we have long written such a thing as a sleep cycle, it still does not become more convenient. I suggested that they meet in the cell-barracks of the Heirs of the Princesses, Fleur kindly allowed me and Soarin to stay and discuss matters directly with her. In fact, our deployment points were not very far away, our small temporary cells were disguised accordingly with our wishes as commanders. True, we were divided by the fact that my delegation is going to negotiate, and Nightmare will have to clean up the nearest forests from the Diamond Dogs and creatures with the remnants of our company. I'm interested in this only how much it will kill the fighters in the process. - Valdes, Eighth Talon, "Terror Squad", I enter into your heavenly space. "I confirm your telemetry data, you've been waiting, Sergeant." So Soarin was faster, he offered the race and completely won it, and I was completely uninteresting to argue with Heavenly Scar at speed. If he suggests that I cross my claws, then you can talk. Heirs met me according to all the laws of etiquette. Fortunately, I have knowledge of behavior in the upper strata, which make up many of them, although there are still more creative ponies. They looked at me as usual - askance. Most often, ponies or believe in what's behind my back, or vice versa, consider it an exaggeration. The only fun is that in fact they are right in everything. Completely with combat equipment, some Heirs allowed themselves inappropriate remarks about my appearance and that the painted blood-red hoofs do not completely match my midnight blue with a few lightning bolts. And also, the wings of the bat on the helmet seem out of place due to the presence of my own, as well as the stupid chains. What can I say, the Heirs pull to look stylish. In my opinion, even more hypertrophied than the Iron Guard and Equestrian Hoofs love of apple cider. Despite the fact that our physiology has changed, Fleur, whom I once saw during her performances in Canterlot, was still above us. Her white fur and pink mane were still soft in appearance and color. It was a little more massive than us, and only because it was already the largest. She was a polite mistress, and at the moment, commanded a local contingent of the Heirs. And it will be a dead man who thinks that this tender mare with a love of posing is a disgusting fighter, I'm certainly not exactly equal with her on blades. Soarin considered himself a good guest and also brought some impressions to our table. On it, our changes are not very visible, it just increased in mass and growth, and also grew a long neck, like me, all the same sky-blue fur and soft blue mane color, and only a pair of "fiery" strands reminded him that he was a scar. We were all in fact only slightly smaller in complexion than the Princess, except for Fleur, she would have gone for the Princess ... If they themselves did not become twice as big after modifying. While Fleur was pouring wine, he arranged maps and dossiers. It was also in the electronic version, but in this formal setting it was preferred to use scrolls paying tribute to the old times. The room was furnished according to its high standards. However, to drag the podium into the cell was a completely disgusting idea, but it was not for me to judge it with my mirror on the whole wall. I felt a little embarrassed, because Soarin and Fleur clearly could read on their faces one thing - they do not like me. In particular, I think, because I'm no more than a sergeant. However, I am the senior in the diplomatic question of the Trade Union. However, awkwardness is not something that can hold me. As I sit down at a table I can not call "tactical," the first thing I'm going to do is the general intelligence data at the moment. The rest took in their manner what they prefer: Soarin examines the military capabilities of the Union, Fleur is of current cultural value. I already know all this, I read it all last night. It was more simply to refresh the memory. I, like many, still can not understand what eventually happened a year ago. The sudden storms of Chaos divide the world, and if we believe what Malcador told us during our training and formation of the Thundepony, there was a lot in Equestria - each city was separated and each time passed its own time. For example, when we arrived in Baltimare, we found out that the city had been fighting demons for ten years, dug in the port area and fighting there for its survival. Ten years, while for us it's been five months. And here it was even worse, the Trade Union experienced two or three generations of generations, about two hundred years. During this time, they became autonomous and independent, and more importantly, they developed their technology: lightning-rifles could not be compared with our plasma weapons. However, they outperformed the bolter in terms of power, and this was already enough, given the proliferation of these weapons. A primitive power armor for Pegasus... They could fly in it, which was inherently an achievement, without the strengthening of the wings. At least, at Thunder ponies wings reach almost two meters in the opened state, only this in fact allows me to fly in my power armor. The main thing is not to accelerate to Rainboom... "They can set up an army comparable to the full Legion of the Thunder Pony, comparable in number to the Sky Scars." This means that if they want to fight, we do not have the resources for a full-fledged conflict. Fleur had only three tactical squads and her comrades, Blades of Equus. Soarin had one company, and Nightmare did not go against the orders and would not help us... - Terrestrial ponies are servants working in the fields, and unicorns are forced to work in the enterprises by slave labor. Pegasus is the privileged people... There is not even a hint of harmony. - Fleur repeated to him, explaining to us the simple truth that the Accord will destroy the Trade Union as a phenomenon, which means ... "We need to persuade them to return to the fold of Equestria, and only with the arrival of greater forces will we be able to disarm them." I could offer to collect my department and just destroy businesses, warehouses, the entire infrastructure, paralyze the trade council in horror, however ... I can not do this. "If we can appeal to the old order, we can manage ourselves, but I think even Soarin understands that it's almost impossible to do this." - he snorted, obviously offended by my words. - For someone who is here on guest rights ... "I mean, to whom, how can you not know about pegasus pride?" We really believe that we can just go in there and say "Now you're back in Equestria, free the slaves"? No one will agree without a reason, and given the dangers, I would not threaten. "Valdez is right. We need to draw up a plan and a manner of behavior. Obviously, we must demonstrate strength, but excessive bravado will be superfluous. You can not provoke them. - Fortunately, Fleur chose not to show her negative attitude toward me and focus on the goal. Soaring bit off a piece of pie and continued. - They have heavenly technology, as well as an air fleet. All this is decentralized and divided into spheres of influence of trading families. Ships are not that dangerous, but large-caliber lightning cannons are strong enough to damage the "Predators" or destroy jetbikes. Considering that we have practically no armored vehicles, this does not mean anything good. Yes, the whole situation was based on the fact that we must either persuade them, or hope for the best. - Fleur, what do we know about the leaders of trading families? - Almost nothing. They are quite cultured and decent, as it seemed to the intelligence group, but no more. But we know that, in fact, they elect a representative. Alas, we can not bet on anyone, they elected a new one for the sixth term just last week. We were late for a week, and we can not move anybody who we like. Just think about it! *** In this vein, our whole evening passed: we made a plan, defined the behavior and actions in different situations. Fortunately, unlike them, I'm free from instructing subordinates. I am now the only Lord of the Night in the region. - Valdes, I'm not sure that your armor will suit a diplomatic representative. - At least remove the skull from your shoulder. - No. Good evening, Prefector Fleur. Good evening, Captain Soarin. - I answered shortly and rigidly, rising from my seat. It was a more personal dialogue. We have already decided important matters, and I better return to the cell, I will prepare for tomorrow. But Soarin caught me outside. - Valdes, do not explain your behavior? - Are you my cappelan for me to do this? I snapped at him neutrally, folding my wings and turning to him. He was not that angry, but just hurt. It's amazing that there is no Fleur here. - I am the captain, Valdés, and while we are not in the territory of the Union, you are also answering me."- - Remind me when it's okay. Showpony "Wanderbolt" became a soldier? Discord from two I would listen to it, not to mention that we are from different legions. Soarin I could not call a good captain, he is a captain only because he still is in command with his Matriarch and other captains. Although, I will be honest, they are all there for this reason. Now I frankly angered him, however, to my unconcealed surprise, he did not reach for his power saber. "Now I understand why Nightmare and the other Lunar Pony captains call you" uncontrollable. " I did not think you were so stupid. - Try to manipulate my self-esteem? Not a bad attempt. "You should listen to the words of Princess Luna and think about your behavior." Still not bad enough that I already wanted to tear off his wings. "You can trust me, I'll listen." - I turned, again spreading its wings. "Prepare to play your part, Captain." I need all your skills from you. The princess is right, but nevertheless, now I can not think about this, fresh scars on the muzzle on the eve of the diplomatic mission will be irrelevant.
Action one: The talent for murder: Chapter Three"Nocturne crushes the will and fate of the weak," - so this city was spoken of even in ancient times, even at the time of its foundation. Last but not least, this is exactly what he did now, despite his own destiny. After our return, Soarin was furious. Even when we flew back, by his sight alone, it was obvious to everyone, including the fact that this rage spreads to the rest of the Scars. I'm weak in alchemy and bioengineering, but even I understand that this is the Spitfire inheritance in their genetic seed. True, it still remains a question of where it comes from herself. We hurriedly dispersed to our bases in this territory. Fleur covered my retreat and told me to meet later, or to hold the next meeting through the vox network. I had nothing against it. Soarin is now quite dangerous for me, although, as it seems to me, he will not raise a hoof on me while I wear these colors and do not cross the line. I returned almost on time. Flower returned from the Evergreen Forest, and they were already quartered and rested after the operation; however, it was obvious that many licked wounds. Many injured and damaged equipment; in particular, I saw traces of missiles on the "Predators" Nightmare Krieg. I knew that this pony hates, when the spirits of machines of his technique suffer. On the advice of Flutterbat and the marks in my behavior from Ebony, I should still start fighting in dueling and spending more time in training halls, so that the first place I went after I took off my armor was them. Strangely enough, I saw here a lot of ponies, actively trying to pretend that they are relaxed and not nervous, in particular - Nightmare Krieg and DeathMark near the heavyweight simulators. The first was actively gesticulating with the wing, while the other was leafing through the direction of Bulk Biceps. Let this muscular big man and not a bat-pony, or even a thunderbolt, should say that he did a lot for us. The whole room was huge and took into account the presence of all kinds of ponies. Alas, I did not help in its arrangement, so it was not in dark colors, for which the earth sockets probably were extremely grateful. Valdes! I certainly did not expect to see you here. Nightmare Crig came from the Navy. Once he could become an admiral of the heavenly fleet, if we had not lost him all during the Great Storm. Slightly low for a thunderbolt, he nevertheless received ethereal ringlets, which separated him from the crowd, as well as the fact that he was one of the "bright" beta ponies. His fur was brightly grape-colored, but more importantly, he showed: if your cutie mark is a wrench and a wheel, this does not mean that you work with pipes all your life. He was rightfully our tank commander, though, in my opinion, too ... clean. "Wow, have you finally got it?" Glad to see you, you were missing here. Frankly speaking, they spoke as if I returned a year later; but I was not strong for a month. Since I lost my rank, I'm not that caught the rest of the eye. Of course, our Master of the Artillery - the part-time responsible for all the reconnaissance in our company - the unicorn DeathMark was the first to notice this. The cutmark is a target with a measuring ruler across, gray mane and red fur ... He practically did not get anything from our mother's genosemy. "Greetings, lieutenants. You do not need to be you to look and understand: something is wrong. DeathMark, what happened? It was clear from their eyes that they were not surprised, although Krieg seemed to be a little upset that I was not friendly. However, he quickly distracted, returning to the problem that has appeared with us. "Listen, Valdes, I know that you are an amateur of officialdom, so let's start right away: either we are silent, or you give your word that you do not tell the captain about our opinion." DeathMark's low threatening voice contrasted with the high in Nightmare Krieg, but frankly, I did not understand why he threatened me. "Come on, Mark, calm down, I do not think Valdes will hand us over." To the point. In short ... we failed. Straight to Tartarus, their shadows. It was evident that Nightmare blamed himself unnecessarily. I do not think that he could fail without a reason. He covered his face with a wing, trying not to show me weakness. "What happened?" "Flower forced us to attack." Hell, I told her that the wind was not the same, and it did not seem like the behavior of ordinary Dogs ... In short, Valdes. We ambushed. Krieg lost six "Predators", I lost intelligence and two "Whirlwind" with the crew. On the convoys, the Diamond Dogs headed south, and we decided to intercept them, divided. We were beaten one by one, we hardly managed to escape from the ring. Losses are not that big, but fighting spirit is simply no. It's also the dogs of the Beast, the very ones that escaped from us; when Princess Luna killed him, they were almost paralyzed! But, as soon as they realized that we are not so terrible ... we just trampled on. Nightmare Krieg opened his wings, and his eyes almost covered the red veil. "We just needed to remind them who we are!" You should have seen this, Valdes! I personally turned the ram into a war carriage! And how these shouts screamed in horror, when they realized who attacked them! .. And only when they saw that we were few ... we just did not inspire terror, Valdes! They did not frighten us when they realized that we were not afraid ... I did not quite understand what the problem was: a sudden attack brings enough chaos to win, not to mention what I am now talking about with the second and third speed ponies, the first among the armored units. What happened? "Commandos, many, we were ambushed, I swear, Valdes, the one I threw from my Damocles, pissed before I climbed it, and even if I did not do it, I could smell it: I put my cloak out of the skin dog, he would not even have thought about it! I looked at both of them. It does not sound adequate, but nevertheless, this is the opinion of Nightmare and Mark, and these two are not the last person, speaking of our company. You said that they are going to the south? Yes, we have patted them, basically mobility, so there is still a chance for a strike. "How many days from Las Pegasus?" Nightmare seems to have calmed down, but the fact that he grabbed a pair of dumbbells of maximum weight and began to mow down his hoofs indicated that he was still hotheaded. "Six moons, Valdes." Six moons. Bad, we must immediately tell Fleur and Soarin. Nightmare put out of action the battle car ... but I do not know the configuration ... you need to get acquainted with the data of the shock groups. If there are a lot of commandos, this is already bad. Diamond dogs knew how to surprise, especially if they knew how to surprise a commando. "What did Celestia want, depriving us of this, Valdes?" We did not have a lot of things to cherish, and now there is not. Unicorn did not stop. It seems that he will not calm down soon, but I understood him. Of the three of us, only Nightmare Crig had anything. DeathMark had only war, the war that Captain Nightmare Dancer had given him. The war that we were deprived of. "You yourself know, DeathMark: we are liberators, not conquerors." He grinned, focusing on the scar from the demonic sword. I recognize this expression on my face. "I thought you could lie, Talon Master." It seems that I was wrong. Nightmare Crig turned abruptly and slapped him on the shoulder, why the unicorn only poked him with a horn in the wing with a sharp attack. I had to reassure them, as usual. "You both know that I think about it, and you know that we must remain silent." "For whom?" For the sake of the moon, which threw us to pieces! She told you she was sorry? She left us to die slowly into the ... He did not finish. Gladiy entered directly under the heart - not hooked, the blow should increase the influx of adrenaline and blood circulation; the point of impact will remind you where he is. He has a cold head, he will understand; the truth, his smoothness opposite my left shoulder said that there is a chance of the opposite. Everyone looked at us. I did not need to turn around to understand this. He took a deep breath and took a towel from Nightmare Krieg. "Lieutenant, take the lieutenant to the apothecary." I think he needs to calm down a bit. We can not afford to lose more fighters in a stupid rehabilitation center where they can not fight for Equestria. I'm definitely not swallowing words? It seems that I did not quite hear myself. "No, sergeant, you're right." It seems that he was a bit nervous. He took it by the side, and they slowly went to the apothecary, under the ambiguous glances of the remaining legionaries. Strengthen the load three times! Go-go! If I see once again that you have been overcome by some kind of dog, I'll write you down for the next match with the Equestrian Hooves and the Iron Guard! The screams of Blizzard Stoune paused. It's not for nothing that the captain appointed her a military lieutenant, and at the same time, he put the responsibility for our physical form. Before leaving the room, I looked at her, hanging upside down under the ceiling, examining everyone in the room. She winked at me before I evaporated in the dark corridor. *** I do not know what I expected when I entered the captain's office. Looks like I expected to hit the rack. After all, once in this office, I was ... welcomed. And now I am a guest here extremely undesirable, so much so that here, his darkness is light! Previously, the captain's office was built with a basis for what impression he wanted to make, in particular, the sense of threat and danger. Now it was literally a photograph of the Code. Official and well-groomed, the pegasus entering and hiding in the corner answered my immediate question. "And what happened there?" An attack on a superior in rank, an attempt to inflict a severe wound incompatible with life, a provocation! Have you completely lost your mind ?! I always ask myself, is this the irony of fate or a direct mockery? "No, Captain, Lieutenant DeathMark was close to losing control, it seemed strange to me, and it turned out that he was impulsive in connection with recent disappointments. What else could I say? She wants excuses, she will get them, and I can not hide that looking at her "teeth creak," I was enjoying myself. "Listen, Valdes, I suggest that you stop playing like filly and start working." I pricked up my ears, according to my calculations, she should have hated me for about another year and a half, and then, if I die, like in some melodrama - right at the end of the war - and I will not make her even more angry. All in attention. Captain, "I tried to translate the manner of the dialogue back, but by the way she stopped chewing the pen, it was rejected. "Answer me, why were you against my candidacy for the captain's place?" A simple question, the answer is no less simple, the problem is in number. "Because Nightmare Dancer did not consider you worthy and suitable even as a lieutenant." But only? Do you think me unworthy only because your foster father, who was executed six months ago, considered me a weakling? Why have not I seen a good provocation? I do not know, even the Diamond Dogs with their meager intelligence sometimes managed to get me out more. No, of course, it made me angry, but that I just got mad at it? Luna upasi. Because when you tell them has bypassed all traditions and rules - with the handouts of the solar princess - you remain the daughter of the "Queen of Terror" Tizka, the same unbearable, and so stupid. She pricked up her ears, and I heard the heartbeat become more frequent; eared ears and sticking tusks, however, were a simpler method of determining mood. "Forgetting, sergeant. "It's a pity you denied me an official dialogue, well, tolerate me on an equal footing." If you want an official reason, other than personal reasons? Ask Librarian SkyKilla, he will answer you. Covering with your younger brother, who still left at least respect? You're pathetic, Valdes. I sighed with fatigue, I did not sleep well for a long time, and it affected. As soon as I get the intelligence, I'll go to bed. "I need intelligence on a convoy of dogs." "You'll get it from Radar, if it's necessary." Let's return to the question, what should I do with you? Get support, and nothing else. "And will not you go to the moon?" What prevents me from sanctifying this incident? What? What are you talking about, Captain? I smirked when there was a knock at the office. I heard these steps; they were especially loud, surprised that she did not hear. "Captain, Sergeant Valdes do you have?" "Yes, come in." It was DeathMark; wounds already as it had not happened ... he was angry, but only for show-off. "Captain, I urgently need a sergeant for a rematch." "What remath?!" He attacked you! It's all seen! The unicorn was surprised, as I stood up. "Come on, we've already finished here." By the way, have you seen Radar? No. And what? The captain paused, and on the hoofs at the temples and the way she looked at the table, I understood what was happening to her. Yes, we mocked. I would even say, they mocked. But, in truth ... This is what I do best. Author's Note I found an excellent beta in Russian, so the old chapters I will soon run through the translator again and the quality of the text can go up significantly. I apologize for the delay, if someone is interested in this work ... there are many problems in reality, I hope I will not detain the next one.
