Let Loose the Dogs of Warby TrebassChaptersChapter 1: Two Unexpected PackagesChapter 2: Trebass on a PlaneChapter 3: The Sky's the LimitChapter 4: Hanging by a ThreadChapter 5: A Taste of Something DifferentChapter 6: Operation EvacuationChapter 7: Flashing Before the NightChapter 8: The Morning Brings Bad NewsChapter 8: (ALTERNATE ENDING)Chapter 9: Sacrifice and SacrilegeChapter 10: No More Chains to Hold us BackEND CHAPTERChapter 1: Two Unexpected PackagesTrebass woke up with the sun shining through the window onto his face. The weather ponies had scheduled a rainstorm that morning. The raindrop hit the window over and over again, forcing Trebass to get ouf of bed. He walked down the stairs quietly, hoping not to wake up Alexander who was sleeping in the next room. He stepped into the kitchen and opened the fridge. "Milk... orange juice... yogurt..." Trebass browsed the shelves and decided to pour himself a glass of milk. He took the pitcher and closed the fridge door with his flank. He opened up a cupboard and grabbed a mug. Then he emptied the milk carton into his mug. He trotted into the living room, and opened the curtains to reveal grey clouds and pouring rain. He sighed as he took another sip of his milk. The mailpony was delivering letters to mailboxes on the street. He put placed a package by Alexander's mailbox. Trebass thought it was a bit big, so he placed his mug on the table and put on his coat. He opened the door and walked through the pouring rain to the package. He knelt down to examine the package. The wet covering paper had a string wrapped around it and a bow tied at the top. He placed the parcel under his arm and walked back inside. He placed the package on the table and began to undo the string. The wrapping paper fell and revealed a cardboard box with the words "To Trebass" scrawled in some sort of red ink. He cut open the box and what saw the last thing he would expect. A gun. The firearm had a brown wooden handle, the letters "G" and "M" were carved into the wooden handle. "Trebass?" Alexander called out to him from the top of the stairs. Trebass panicked and closed the box again, "Yeah?" He took the paper and the box, and hid it under the table. "Did somepony open the door?" Alexander asked, walking down the stairs. "Uh, yeah. The mailpony came and I picked up the mail." Trebass stepped in front part of the box that stuck out from underneath the table. "So... Where's the mail?" Alexander asked. "Umm..." Trebass attempted to make up an excuse. But just in the nick of time... *DING DONG* The doorbell had rung, "Oh! I wonder who that is?" Trebass quickly pushed the box back under the table and rushed to the door. Alexander sighed and wandered off to the kitchen. Trebass opened the door. A blue pegasus stood there with an umbrella over his head. "Shock Bolt." Trebass thought to himself. He was thinking of slamming the door on his visitor's face. But he withheld himself, obviously not wanting to anger Royal Flush anymore than he had already. "Umm... Greetings, Trebass was it?" Shock Bolt offered a valid greeting, but Trebass simply stood there. "Yeah, what do you want?" Trebass' tone deepened as he leaned on the wall. "I.... Wanted to apologize for the other day. I was naive and stupid. And for that, I am truly sorry." Shock bowed slightly before looking up to see Trebass' reaction. After a long pause Trebass finally replied, "It's alright, no hard feelings. I was acting stupid as well. Come inside and we'll have a drink okay?" "W-Why thank you! I'd be honored." Shock bolt lowered his umbrella and entered the house with Trebass. The two entered the kitchen. Shock took one step inside and was immediately met with a loud slam from Alexander's side of the room. Alexander had cut straight through apple into the wooden counter. He looked up, "Well look who it is. It's the pegasus that put my friend in a coma." Trebass walked past the table, glancing at the box underneath. "Easy, he survives. Today." Shock looked to the side trying to avoid eye contact with them. The coffee had finished brewing and was poured into three seperate mugs. The three sat down with cups of coffee. "My instict is telling me you're not here to apologize." Trebass placed his cup down. "You're not as stupid as you look." Shock replied sarcastically. Alexander felt like crushing his coffee mug. Trebass simply shrugged the comment off. Shock Bolt continued, "Royal came to me in tears, I saw her enter this house with a gun. Explain that to me." "She came in, she pointed the gun at me, said something about making a choice, and then she left. It's as simple as that. " Trebass explained. "A choice...." Shock whispered to himself but Trebass could easily hear him. Alexander stood up and trotted behind the kitchen counter. "I... Have to leave. Thanks for the coffee." Shock stood up and bowed slightly again. "Pleasure having you in our... humble adobe. Don't come again." Trebass took another sip of his coffee. Shock left their house, opened his umbrella and trotted through the wet puddles that carpeted the sidewalk. Chapter 2: Trebass on a Plane"I need Bable out of my head if I'm ever going to win Royal Flush over. Or have a normal life for that matter" Trebass took a bite out of his apple, staring out into the rain. "The Eyeglass is charged up and ready to go, we'll start whenever you're ready." Alexander said, his head in the refrigerator. "I'm ready if you are." Trebass finished his apple as he drew the curtains. Alexander opened a beer can that he took from the fridge, "Are you sure you want to do this?" "I think I need a break from our world anyways. Could you send me to a tropical island or something?" Trebass turned the trigger frame that opened up to the metal corridor. "It's not up to me to decide. It's kind of hard to explain, but imagine all of space as a clock and that the Eyeglass is a clock on top of the clo-" Alexander was cut off by Trebass, "A simple No would have sufficed you know?" Alexander and Trebass arrived at the vault door, they entered Alex's laboratory. The large computer screen, the Eyeglass, and the Velvet Chair. Trebass sat in the Velvet Chair and put the flashing metal bowl on his head. He checked the M.A.S.T. it read "HOME". "Run me through the basics again will you?" Trebass looked at the computer screen, confused. "The Eyeglass is going to bring you to a random destination in space and time, try to find out something about Bable, get on the Eyeglass before it leaves, get back here to pay your rent." Alexander chuckled as he typed in more complicated commands into the computer. He stepped to a lever to the side. "Are you ready?" Alexander asked as he put on his safety goggles over his face. Trebass nodded. Alexander pulled the lever. Sparks flew out of the Eyeglass and, within an instant, Trebass and the Velvet chair vanished from sight. Trebass felt the same way as the previous "Trip" with the Eyeglass. The numbed body, white all around him, and being rendered unable to move. But this time, a mysterious loud whirring noise could be heard. Trebass opened his eyes to another pony sitting across from him. The pony was wearing a green and black camo helmet and vest. Ponies of a similar image sat beside him. Trebass looked to his left and five other ponies wore the same outfit. He looked to his right and it was the same, but the stallion adjacent to him had his helmet sitting on his lap. He had a light brown coat and a dark brown mane. But his cutie mark was covered by the camouflaged outfit he wore. "You're from the town we just came from aren't you?" The pony sitting next to him asked. "Um... Yeah, where are we right now? If you don't mind my asking." Trebass looked behind to find a window. "You're on the Equestrian Cloud right now, the best top notch transport plane out there. We're just about to land Los Pegasus. Or what's left of it anyways." The stallion put his helmet. "Well, what's left of-" Trebass question was soon met with an answer, but not from the pony beside him. He glanced out the window and saw the tall modern buildings collapsing. The parts of the building that still stood were overgrown with plantlife or were covered in rubble. "Sweet Celestia..." Trebass whispered to himself. "I'm surprised you haven't gotten used to it by now, it's been this way for the past ten (10) years. By the way, I didn't quite catch your name." "It's Trebass, nice to meet you." He extended his hoof, expecting a hoofshake. "Name's Braeburn, fifth (5th) platoon in the Equestrian Army, and the pleasure's all mine." He returned the hoof shake, but stood snapped into an upright position. The rest of the other soldiers mimicked him. The stomps of two large hooves could be heard, and shook the plane itself. A large minotaur with a camouflaged vest walked in the middle aisle, between the upright soldiers. He stopped when he reached Trebass. He turned to face him and bent down so he was eye level with the white unicorn. "Son, shouldn't you be in the back with the rest of the civialians? Or are you a new recruit that the General didn't tell me about?" The minotaur's voice caused the metal walls to vibrate. "U-Um... I..." Trebass was cut off by Braeburn, who was still sitting as straight as any ruler. "There were no more spaces for this civillian." The minotaur gave Braeburn a stare so cold it could have frozen his heart if the plane wasn't so hot. "No more spaces... Sir." Braeburn added. The minotaur grunted, then proceeded to the cockpit no more than twenty (20) meters away from Trebass. Trebass was able to catch a glimpse of the dog tags that were hanging from the minotaur's neck. They read, "Iron Will" "Who was that?" Trebass asked Braeburn. Braeburn let out a deep breath, as he was attempting to hold it until the minotaur had left the room. "That was Sergeant Iron Will. The highest authority on this here transport carrier." "Oh, I see... So Why are we in Los Pegasus?" Trebass asked. "Well, I'm here for two (2) reasons myself. The first (1st) being to drop off you civilians in the hidden army shelter here in the good 'ol city. And the second (2nd) being the mare I got back at the base waitin' for me." Braeburn looked at the window with Trebass. "Is she a soldier too?" Trebass asked. "Nope, just a civilian trying to hide from the enemy. Just like everypony else that lives in the shelters." Braeburn replied. "Who is the enemy?" Trebass had so many questions and was hoping he hadn't annoyed Braeburn. "Diamond Dogs." Braeburn's straight face turned into a look of anger. Suddenly, a loud booming sound came from outside. Chapter 3: The Sky's the LimitA loud explosion rocked Trebass off of his seat as he fell onto the floor. The room started flashing red as a loud alarm went off. A voice spoke from the intercom, "Mayday! Mayday! We have been hit! Please prepare for impact!" "Get in your seat pardner!" Braeburn pulled Trebass from the floor into his seat. Trebass fastened the safety belt around his body and put his head between his legs, with his hooves sheltering the back of his head. A volley of explosions filled Trebass' head as the plane began to twist and turn. *KABOOM* Another explosion had created a large hole in the side of the plane! Three soldier ponies were dragged into the hole and flew out of the plane, theirs screams sent shivers up Trebass'. The hole was two seats to the left of his seat. "Why do all bad things happen two seats away from me?" Was what Trebass would have been thinking if he weren't faced with mortal danger. He could feel the bolts that held his seat to the floor giving away. He looked towards Braeburn and tried to reach out to him. But the bolts on his chair snapped, and he was dragged out into the open sky. Braeburn removed his safety belt and grabbed a parachute from underneath his seat, and he dove through the hole in the plane after Trebass. Besides the words "Oh Crap, Oh Crap, Oh Crap." Being repeated in his head, Trebass tried to regain his balance in mid-air. He centered himself so that the ground was below him, and the clouds above him. The wind shot through his mane as he spread his arms and legs apart to slow his fall. He looked up and saw Braeburn with his arms and legs snapped together, diving straight towards him. The collision caused Trebass to lose his sense of direction as he spun around and around. Braeburn grabbed Trebass by wrapping his arm around his body, then he pulled the ring on his parachute. A white cloth flew out of the bag on Braeburn's back. Four strings were tied the cloth to the bag and the two began to slowly descend onto the sandy sidewalks of Los Pegasus. They landed. The wind blew dust into Trebass' eyes. He covered his eyes with his hoof and tried to look around. Rubble was falling from the rotting structures. It was clear that no one had lived in the tall towers and and buildings for a long time. Braeburn crawled from underneath the deflated parachute on the ground. He removed the parachute bag from his back and threw it on the ground. The two looked up and saw the "Equestrian Cloud" engulfed in flames. It was heading towards the east. They could hear the impact from a mile away, but the crash site was on the other side of the city. "All those soldiers and civilians..." Trebass fell to his knees. They had to see if anyone had survived the crash, but how? "We have to get a good view of the city to find the crash site. Better hurry, the bandits come out at night." Braeburn walked over to the revolving door of a nearby building. He tried to push it forward, but a pile of debris prevented it from moving. "Can't we climb on the overgrown vines to the top?" Trebass tugged on one of the vines to test it's reliability. It felt stable enough to climb. The two began to scale the giant structure. About halfway to the top a vine snapped underneath Trebass, Braeburn caught him by the hoof just in the nick of time. It was a dangerous climb, but eventually they made it in time for nightfall. They collected some twigs from the overgrown trees that were scattered on the roof of the building. Luckily, Braeburn's military vest was equipped with an emergency lighter. They started a fire that lasted them the entire night. The sparks crackled below the stars, the crickets chirped in the night, and the warmth of the fire pressed up against Trebass' chest. "You said you had a mare waiting for you back at the base, who is she?" Trebass asked. "Her name's Deviree, she's the most beautiful thing you'll ever lay your eyes on. But be sure not to lay a hoof on her, understand?" Braeburn loaded a sixth (6th) bullet into his revolver. "Wouldn't dream of it, I kinda... have a mare back at home too." Trebass examined the gun that Braeburn had given him earlier, since his suit was equipped with two sidearms. "Kinda? Oh no... Was she on the carrier that crashed?" Braeburn asked. "No, she's not from... Here. Exactly." Trebass replied. Braeburn didn't quite understand what Trebass meant, but he simply shrugged it off his mind. They both sat by the fire, admiring the stars in the sky. The fire started to go out, until nothing was left except a dead black crisp. Trebass' eyelids became heavy, and eventually left him in the dark. The howling wolves from the hills sent a chill up his spine as he tossed and turned in the night. What unbearable thoughts haunted his dreams? Only Trebass and Bable knew. The white unicorn mumbled to himself, "Bable... No..." As he drifted off to sleep. Chapter 4: Hanging by a ThreadTrebass awoke to find Braeburn tying a pair of vines to a thick tree branch. He stood up, his revolver was sitting beside him. The bullets were scattered around it. It seems Braeburn didn't want it to go off accidently in the night so he removed them from the gun. "Morning pardner." Braeburn welcomed his newly awoken companion. The sun was just rising from hills and Trebass, for some strange reason, felt refreshed by the dry sand blowing from behind him. He stood up, putting his vest on and grabbing his revolver. The gun reminded him of that incident at the cafe with Royal Flush and Shock Bolt. He tried to block the image from his head. "Ready for to kickstart your morning?" Braeburn asked, holding on to one of the vines he had tied to the branch. Trebass nodded, and began ran quickly towards the vine. He jumped and grabbed the vine then began to rappell down the side of the building. It took them about fifteen (15) minutes to reach the dusty sidewalk below. Trebass was surprised the vine didn't snap as he was rappelling down. "We need to check for survivors at the crash site." Braeburn said, brushing his rump off. "What about Deviree?" Trebass caught up to his colleague. "I know Deviree is safe. The civilians and soldiers on that carrier on the other hoof..." Braeburn closed his eyes for a moment, then continued walking towards the crash site. They trotted through the sandy slopes for about half an hour. A cloud of smoke rose up from behind a large hill. "That must be the crash site." Trebass said, wiping the sand from his eyes. The two finally came to the top of the hill, the sight was terrifying. As colossal plane stuck out of the ground, and the wings were laying on two nearby hills. The plane's body reached up into sky. "See any survivo-" Braeburn was cut off what sounded like a shriek of a mare. "Somepony help!" A green mare was standing on the highest point of plane that stuck out of the ground. Trebass tried to call out to the mare, but his voice was silenced by Braeburn's hoof against his mouth. "Quiet! Look over there, see them?" Braeburn crouched down and pointed to a lower part of the plane. Trebass looked as hard as he could, and saw three figures crawling towards the mare. The largest figure stood up, the sun shone on him and revealed his face clearly. He shouted out, "This is Diamond Dog territory! Trespassers will be punished severely!" "What are they?" Trebass asked. "Who do you think they are? They're Diamond Dogs, the enemy." Braeburn whispered, pulling out his revolver. "No! Please no!" The mare called out for help as Trebass and Braeburn began to run towards her. The largest Diamond Dog held the mare up by the neck over the plane's edge. *BANG*BANG* Braeburn fired two (2) shots into the air to startle the Diamond Dogs. "That was a mistake you'll wish you hadn't made!" The head Diamond Dog tightened his grip on the mare. "H-Help... Me..." The mare clawed at her throat for air. "Let her go! She didn't do anything wrong!" Braeburn shouted. The head Diamond Dog didn't say anything, instead he drew his arm back. Braeburn felt relieved, but only for a moment. The mare had been sent flying from the plane wreck. Her screams echoed while she fell from the plane. Trebass watched, as she landed behind a pile of wreckage. The sound of her impact on the ground lit a fire inside Braeburn's eyes. "I'll kill you all!" He screamed at the plane wreckage. He began to climb through the plane through the passenger seats. The bodies of dead and bloody ponies littered the seats, civilians and soldiers alike. The sight of all his fallen friends enraged Braeburn even more. He came to an open hatch, he jumped up and climbed to the top. "You're already dead." A smaller Diamond Dog met with Braeburn near the open hatch. *BANG* The Diamond Dog fell over, dead. Smoke blew from Braeburn's revolver, "Not today." Braeburn climbed the slanted plane. He came up to the came to the highest point of the plane, but the rest of the Diamond Dogs were nowhere to be found. A loud thumping noise approached him. A large lump in the plane's metal appeared before Braeburn's hooves. The lump burst open, and out came the Diamond Dog. It grabbed Braeburn by the neck. He dangled over edge of the plane, struggling to free himself from the Diamond Dog's grip. "You'll never... Beat... The... Equestrian Army... Even if I... Perish..." Braeburn gasped for breath as the Diamond Dog's grip tightened. "Your pathetic little band of guns cannot best the empire of Diamond Dogs!" The Diamond Dog loosened his grip. *BANG* Another gunshot echoed throughout the wastelands. Braeburn was falling for a mid-second, but a friendly hoof grabbed his arm. The Diamond Dog fell behind Braeburn with a wide-eyed facial expresion. The helping hoof lifted him onto the plane. "I can't leave you alone for five (5) minutes can I?" The assistant was Trebass, he placed his gun back in his back pocket. "That mare... She died because of me." Braeburn threw his gun to the ground. Trebass glanced out to the horizon, and saw more smoke rising in the distance. But this time it wasn't from the crash site. This time, it was a flare. Chapter 5: A Taste of Something DifferentA red flare created a small puff of smoke below the plane crash. Four (4) ponies in forest camouflage were standing below Trebass and Braeburn. "Hello up there!" The pony holding flare called out to Trebass. The white unicorn waved back to his ally on the ground. Braeburn and Trebass began to descend through the plane's passenger seatings. They finally reached the cockpit, which had broken windows which they could use to escape what was left of the Equestrian Cloud. They approached the four (4) ponies they greeted earlier. "Well I'll be! It's corporal Braeburn!" One of the ponies, a colt, saluted and the ponies behind him imitated the action. "At ease soldier. What's your status?" Braeburn asked. "We ejected from the plane before it landed. We're.... The only ones left, sir." The colt took his helmet off, which revealed a black coat with a blue and silver mane. "I see... What's your name soldier?" Braeburn noticed the depressed look on the colt's face. "Thunderlane sir! Third (3rd) platoon of the Equestrian Army sir!" The black pony introduced himself with another salute. Braeburn glanced up at the sky, the sun showed that it was just about noon. The sky was blue and clear of clouds. "So what should we do now?" Trebass asked Braeburn, who was still staring into the sky. "Well, we should get you to the civilian shelter now. But with your gun skills, I don't think your just a civilian. Are you?" "Yup, just your usual civilian. But I've certainly shot a gun before... For self defence." Trebass replied. Braeburn gave Trebass an unsure look, and then looked east of the plane crash. "The civilian shelter is just east of here. We should tell the families of the deceased..." Braeburn sighed depressingly. The four (4) soldiers, plus Trebass and Braeburn, began the trek towards the civilian shelter. Hours passed as nopony spoke at all, only the howling desert wind disrupted the awkward silence. They passed dead bushes and skeletons as the tall buildings of Los Pegasus grew smaller and smaller as they walked away from the plane crash. Trebass was covered in sweat, he was so used to the rainy weather in Ponyville. He felt the heat of the sun on the back of his head. Braeburn remained unfazed by the hot desert rays, while Thunderlane began to pant heavily. Suddenly, Braeburn stopped in his tracks, so did the others. He walked towards a cactus, Trebass thought this was quite strange. Braeburn pulled one of the needles on the cactus down. A loud clanging drowned out the vicious desert gusts blowing in the background. The sands began rise up from the ground, then fell back down again. Two metal plates separated and revealed a large staircase leading into a dark corridor. More ponies with rifles emerged from the staircase. Trebass, Braeburn, Thunderlane, and the other soldiers raise their hooves in the air. "We're not hostile! We're soldiers!" Thunderlane exclaimed. The soldiers lowered their guns, and one of them spoke up. "Sorry about that sirs. Welcome to the civilian shelters. Come inside, quickly!" Everypony entered the secret passage. The lights came on. Ponies with ragged and tattered clothing quivered in fear at the sight of these new soldiers. The shelter was about the size of a small library. Broken wooden tables and chairs were set up around one side of the room. A large vault door was in another corner of the room with the words "Food Storage, Authorized Personell Only" engraved on the it. "Braeburn!" A mare in the corner called out to him. Braeburn turned around, "Deviree! how have you been since I left?" "So that's Deviree?" Trebass thought to himself. The mare was a pegasus with a minty green coat, and a mane that was black as the night. She wore a light brown coat that had multiple holes in it. "I missed you so mu-" Deviree stopped in mid sentence when she saw Trebass standing behind Braeburn. Trebass raised his brow in confusion, as Deviree stared at the ground kicking her hooves. "I must apologize Trebass, Deviree is a bit.... Shy. At times." Braeburn walked over to the Food Storage vault. Deviree looked over her shoulder at Trebass, smiled, then she followed Braeburn to the vault. "What a strange mare, don't you think Thunderlane?" Trebass looked around him, but Thunderlane was no where to be found. "What's going on around here?" Trebass thought to himself. Then walked over to Braeburn and Deviree. Braeburn was talking to one of the guards when Trebass arrived, "Corporal Braeburn here, I'd like to take three rations out. One for me, and two for the ponies behind me." One of the guards nodded and unlocked the door then went in. He came out after a few minutes later with a tray that had three plates on it. The potatoes, Fish, and bottles of wine made Trebass' mouth water. "This looks like something that would be served at the Gala!" Trebass exclaimed. "Since I'm a corporal, I have higher privileges for my family and friends." Braeburn explained, carrying the tray to a table. Trebass thought it was a bit unfair to the civilians might have needed it more. He looked around, most of the civilians looked hungrier than he did. But he didn't want to upset his hosts, so he sat down at the table with Braeburn and Deviree. Just before Trebass could take a bite out of his food, another soldier came up to Braeburn and whispered something into his ear. Braeburn nodded, then stood up. "I'm sorry you two, but I must attend this meeting." Braeburn walked off into another room. An awkward silence stood between Trebass and Deviree. "Would you like some wine?" Trebass asked. Deviree didn't say anything, she simply nodded. Trebass poured the wine bottle into her glass, then into his own. The two ate silently for about five (5) minutes. Then, Trebass felt a tug on his vest. A small foal looked up at him, "Excuse me mister... Can I have some food please? I'm really hungry..." Trebass could hear the foal's stomach growling. He looked over to Deviree, then back over to the foal. He took a potato and handed it to the foal. "Thank you mister! Bless you!" The foal said, running off to his mother. The mother looked to Trebass with a thankful smile. "You must have a kind soul." A voice came from across the table, it was Deviree. "I didn't know you had a voice." Trebass chuckled. Deviree giggled, then spoke up again, "The fact that you would give up your only ration for the day for a foal, it makes me happy." Her eyes gleamed from the ray of the light bulbs that lined the ceiling. Trebass didn't realize how beautiful Deviree was when Braeburn described her. But now that he saw her with his own eyes, he forgot all about the war that was going on as they ate. Chapter 6: Operation EvacuationTrebass and Deviree talked over their meal for an hour, Trebass shared stories of his time in Ponyville. "Ponyville? I've never heard of it before. Where is it?" Deviree asked. "It's... Very far away from here, it's near Canterlot and Cloudsdale." Trebass replied. Tales were told laughs were exchanged as the wine bottle emptied more and more. Trebass felt glad that he left his own world and came to this post-apocalyptic world to meet Deviree. But his joy was soon interrupted by a large explosion coming from the staircase where Braeburn and the others had entered. Ponies screamed as the explosion filled the room with smoke. Dark figures emerged from the smoke with guns in their paws, the Diamond Dogs had found their civilian shelter. Their guns began to fire bullets in all directions as the Dogs spread throughout the room. Through the chaos and bullets flying everywhere, Trebass grabbed Deviree by the arm and took her through another door "Quick! We have to get out of here!" Trebass whispered. "No, we should go this way. I've explored this place when Braeburn was on missions." Deviree explained, as she pulled Trebass behind a kitchen counter. She opened a hatch on the floor and descended into darkness. Trebass was unsure about her decision, but soon followed her after some bullets had hit the frying pans hanging above him. Or rather, the loud clanging caused him to lose balance and fall into the hatch. Deviree light up a torch she took off the wall and saw Trebass on the floor. She helped him up, then giggled. The two proceeded down the black corridor. The dripping of water from the ceiling annoyed Trebass. He pulled out his revolver and checked the cylinder, there were five (5) bullets left in it. He would have to preserve them, and only use them in case of emergency. Trebass' eyes wandered towards Deviree, he realized just how beautiful she was through the fire of the torch she was carrying. The only sounds, besides their hoofsteps and the dripping waters, were the screams of ponies behind them being shot to death. Many civilians had fallen at the hands of the Diamond Dogs. "How did they find out where our shelter was?" Deviree asked herself out loud. Trebass thought back to the plane crash, there were three Diamond Dogs that threatened that mare's life. Braeburn had shot one Diamond Dog, and Trebass had shot the leader. Perhaps the third Dog had escaped and followed them somehow, but they couldn't be absolutely sure of the fact. "Um... Who knows?" Trebass decided to hide the incident with the mare and the plane crash. The finally came to a dead end, Deviree looked up to find a hatch on the ceiling. Trebass opened it, and peeked outside. The sun blinded him, he needed time to adjust his eyes since he had spent so much time in the dark. Desert sands blew up in his face as he climbed out. He turned around to help Deviree up, but a gun was immediately put to his head. "Hooves up partner." A familiar voice spoke from behind him. Trebass quickly reached for his revolver and pointed it at his assaulter, "Your arm is shaking, and your sight isn't calibrated. Nice try, but I've had more experience with guns than you. Even if you ARE a corporal." Trebass didn't need to face his enemy to realize that it was Braeburn that pointed the gun at him. The gun was lowered and Braeburn spoke up, "What's happened to Deviree?" "She's right under our noses. Oh, and the safety on your gun is still on." Trebass replied with a smug look on his face. Braeburn stepped off the hatch, and put his rifle on his back. Trebass lifted the hatch up, and helped Deviree up. "Braeburn! How did you escape?" Deviree hugged her mate. "There was a secret exit in the briefing room. But we all went outside when we heard the explosion, but the most of us didn't make it past the door... Me and the Captain managed to get into the secret exit. But the Captain fell in battle, he detonated the exit to keep the Dogs from leaving..." Braeburn explained. "It doesn't look like the captain did a very good job, look!" Trebass pointed behind him, a large tank slowly approached them. "Well then, We're in for a fight." Deviree pulled two pistols from her coat. "We'll avenge the fallen." Braeburn loaded a new magazine into his machine gun. "Let's send them to hell." Trebass loaded a sixth (6th) bullet into his revolver. Chapter 7: Flashing Before the NightA single tank rolled in from the distance. The plating was blue and covered with gems. A cannon was mounted on the top that stretched about five meters past the tank itself. Diamond Dogs were marching in front, behind, and to the sides of the tank. Braeburn counted about three Diamond Dogs on each side of the tank. The three ponies hid behind a large boulder in the middle of the desert. Trebass saw multiple smaller boulders that littered the battlefield that they could hide behind. "So whats the plan?" Trebass asked, pulling the hammer back on his revolver. "We take out the infantry first, then we use this on the tank." Braeburn pulled out a grenade from his vest. "He only has three, so we can afford to lose two (2). But the third (3rd) needs to be detonated in the tank." Deviree added. Trebass peeked from the left side of the boulder. The tank was getting closer, it was about a football field away from them. "I'll distract them with my rifle. Meanwhile, Deviree will take out some of the infantry with her two (2) revolvers." Braeburn peeked out from the top of the boulder. "Wait, then what do I do?" Trebass asked. Deviree grabbed a grenade from Braeburn's vest and tossed it to Trebass. "Of course I get the hard job." Trebass sighed. The tank was about fifty (50) meteres away from them. If their plan was going to work, they had to execute it immediately. Braeburn hopped out from behind boulder and began to fire bullets at the tank and infantry. Deviree grabbed Trebass and led him to one of the smaller boulders next to them. They both hid quietly, as the bullets flew between Braeburn and the tank. Deviree began to shoot at the infantry with her revolvers. She took out the units on the right side and in front of the tank. The rest of the units hid behind the tank. The cannon turned towards Deviree, her eyes widened. "Watch out!" Trebass tackled Deviree out of the way as a shell flew by her mane. The explosion knocked them both into the battlefield. The infantry behind the tank began to fire at Trebass and Deviree, they had nothing to take cover behind. A large explosion sent Diamond Dogs flying from behind the tank. "Nows your chance! Go!" Braeburn shouted, still firing bullets at the tank. Trebass began to run towards the tank, but fell face first into the sand. He screamed in agony, as a piece of debris stuck out of his leg. He looked back at Deviree, she was unconscious on the ground. It was up to him to take down the tank. He crawled towards the tank, with the grenade in his hoof. The tank was about ten (10) meters away from him. Luckily, he was so low that the tank driver wasn't able to see him. "Anytime now Trebass!" Braeburn loaded another magazine into his machine gun. Trebass finally came right next to the tank. He placed the grenade in his mouth, and tried to pull himself up onto the moving tank with his hooves. The pain of the debris that stuck out of his leg was unbearable. He lifted himself up onto the side of the tank and spit out the grenade into his hoof. The tank sped up suddenly, Trebass lost his balance and fell onto the top hatch. The hatch snapped open, and out popped a burly Diamond Dog. The Diamond Dog reached out and grabbed Trebass by the neck. Trebass quickly placed the grenade in vest pocket. The Diamond Dog shook Trebass back and forth, his paws wrapped around his neck. The white unicorn gasped for air, as he clawed at his own throat for breath. Through the struggling and the flailing, Trebass caught a glimpse of the M.A.S.T. It read "Forty-Eight (48) Hours" "Great... Just great." Is what Trebass would have been thinking if he wasn't being strangled at the time. Trebass felt his life flashing before his eyes. The sound of a shell being fired at his friends crushed his eardrums. The shell exploded on the boulder that Braeburn was hiding behind. Trebass couldn't see anything past the smoke and dust that the shell had created, but he couldn't think about his friends now. The Diamond Dog's grip tightened, Trebass' gasped for air as his lungs felt like they were about to explode. Everything began to fade for Trebass. His hearing was muffled, his body began to numb, and all the figures around him began to blurr. *BANG* The loud gunshot whizzed past Trebass' mane. The Diamond Dog who was suffocating him fell over, with a bullet sized hole through his head. Trebass fell with him, but he grabbed the side of the tank as his enemy drifted further away from the moving vehicle. The white unicorn's hooves were just barely dragging on the dusty dunes, as he was face to face with the tank's treads. Trebass pulled himself up onto the side of the tank. He opened the hatch that led into the interior of the tank. A brown Diamond Dog was pulling levers and pushing buttons inside. The Dog looked behind him, eyes wide open to find a pony had breached their defences. "Just dropping a package off, no need to sign." Trebass pulled the pin and tossed it to the scrawny Diamond Dog in the tank. Without hesitation, Trebass jumped from the tank onto the sandy desert floor. The debris was still stuck in his back leg. "Damnit. I didn't think I would go out like this..." Trebass closed his eyes, but felt something pulling him up. He eyes shot open, and saw Braeburn below him. The earth pony was carrying Trebass on his shoulders. The two walked about four (4) steps before the grenade detonated inside the tank. *KABOOM* The explosion caused Braeburn to fall over on his face, and Trebass to fall on his side. Braeburn looked over to the tank, there was nothing left of it except a metal skeleton of an army vehicle. "I can't leave you alone for five (5) minutes can I?" Braeburn said smugly, as he lifted himself off the ground. Trebass smiled, then rested himself on a nearby boulder. He looked behind him. Deviree was still laying there, unconcious. "We better set up camp, before it gets dark again. You grab Deviree over to that large palm tree over there. I'll go see if we can grab some supplies from the dead soldiers." Braeburn picked up his gun, and trotted off towards the metal skeleton that was originally a tank. "What happened to don't lay a hoof on her?" Trebass asked, jokingly. Braeburn turned his head, "Just. This. Once." He began to walk towards the tank again. Trebass sighed, as he crawled over to Deviree. He stood up on one of his back legs. He picked her up, and began to hop towards the palm tree in the distance. He stared up at the sky, the sun was already setting. The sky looked like a giant rainbow as the colour transitioned from dark blue to yellow then to red. The red sky surounded the sun as it set behind a large dusty hill. He finally reached the palm tree, and by the time he had placed Deviree down, she was already asleep. "From unconcious to slumber... What a strange mare..." Trebass whispered to himself. He took off his vest and placed it around Deviree, who was now curled up in a ball. He thought he could hear her whisper "Thank you..." But his hearing was still a bit nullified, so he wasn't too sure. Trebass took the lighter that Braeburn had given him earlier, and broke off some branches from the nearby bushes. He started a fire some distance away from the palm tree so that it wouldn't burst up in flames. Trebass had enough of things going up in flames, including his love life. About half an hour passed, Braeburn finally returned. "I found some rations on the dead soldier. Enough for all of us." Braeburn noticed Deviree, with Trebass' vest on her sleeping body, the light of the fire flickering on and off her face. "You're a kind fellow. If I were to leave her with anypony, it would be you." Braeburn smiled, and tossed a ration tin at Trebass. He caught it, and opened it. There wasn't much in it, some baked beans and rice, but that was it. He saw Braeburn place down three flasks down next to the fire. "What do we do now? Since the shelter is lost..." Trebass asked, he was wondering if anypony else made it out alive. He prayed that the little foal he had helped was alive. Surely the Diamond Dogs wouldn't have been so cruel as to kill a child. Would they? He thought of the mare back at the Equestrian Cloud, how he couldn't do anything to save her. All these burdens weighed heavily on him. Braeburn interrupted Trebass train of thought, "We should find the nearest military base. It's the safest place for you and Deviree." "What about you?" Trebass asked. "I'll continue to fight for my princess, and for my ponies. If I fall in battle, I want you to protect Deviree. Understand?" Braeburn handed a flask to Trebass. Trebass took the flask, "You have my word." Chapter 8: The Morning Brings Bad NewsTrebass awoke, the sun was just rising over the hill. Braeburn was still laying down next to Deviree. The fire that burned last night was now turned to black ash. The cool desert breeze rustled the palm tree leaves. The white unicorn stood up and stretched. The pain in his back leg had began to ease. He remembered that Braeburn had removed the debris and wrapped a bandage around his leg last night. The pain eased enough for Trebass to walk around with all four of his legs. He glanced back at the sleeping couple. The fact that they were both sleeping under his own vest bothered Trebass, but not very much. He decided to exercise his leg, to get used to the feeling. He walked over to a bush that was about fifteen (15) metres away from the palm tree. The cool morning air refreshed him in a strange way. Trebass was about to touch the bush, but he stopped. He heard hoofsteps, quiet ones. His hearing had been restored enough to realize that he wasn't alone. He looked all around him. The only possible hiding places he could see were behind the broken boulders from the day before and the tank that was now reduced to scrap metal. He pulled out his revolver from it's holster and pulled back the hammer. He extended it from his face so that he could look down the sights. He walked slowly towards the broken boulders. He pressed his back against the largest one. He slowly looked around the corner. He saw nothing. He continued around the corner, then suddenly. *THUD* Trebass felt a large blunt object on the back of his head. He fell to the ground and caught a glimpse of a mysteriously hooded character. Based on the hooves and tail that were sticking out of it's cloak, it was obvious that it was pony. Trebass quickly aimed his revolver at the hooded figure. But the figure used his back leg to kick the gun out of his hooves. Trebass tried to get up, but the figure kicked him down. "You'll wish you never crossed my path." The mysterious figure said, as he pulled out a knife from his cloak. Trebass rolled off to the side, as the figure thrusted the knife into the ground where he was originally laying. Trebass got up quickly but his leg was still sore, but it wasn't anything that could stop him. He glanced to the side where his gun was laying. The figure was approaching him slowly, the knife still in his hooves. Trebass dove for his gun, and aimed it at the figure. He pulled the trigger. *BANG* The gunshot echoed throughout the barren wastelands, past the tanks, and to the snoring Braeburn who was still lying next to Deviree. The bullet had just missed the figure. "Seriously?" Trebass thought to himself, as he stood up to back away from the figure. "You're really bad at aiming huh? I'll make this quick." The figure spoke with a familiar voice. Trebass couldn't quite put his hoof on it, but he felt like he knew this pony's name. His eyes widened, but he needed to confirm his suspicions. He threw himself at the hooded figure. Trebass ripped the hood off of his enemy. The sight shocked him. The pony had a greyish black coat, with a blue and silver mane. It was Thunderlane. "Why?" Was all that Trebass could ask. "Because the Diamond Dogs want you dead, thats why!" Thunderlane shouted. "You're being very vague. There's more to this story isn't there?" Trebass knew something was amiss, but decided to let Thunderlane explain it himself. "They've got my marefriend and her sister. If I don't kill the corporal, they'll die..." Thunderlane sighed with a saddened look on his face. "But why Braeburn?" Trebass asked. "Braeburn has nothing to do with this! It's you they're after." Thunderlane said, with a strange look on his face. "W-What?!" Trebass was even more confused than ever. For one thing, he wasn't a corporal. Second of all, why would the Diamond Dogs even know him? After all, he wasn't from this time or place. "They never gave me your name, but they described you as a white unicorn with a black mane. They only referred to you as The Corporal. I assumed you were part of the army, even thought I've never seen you around her before." Thunderlane added. "Wait... Fleur De Lis knew who I was, even thought she had never seen me before! Maybe these two events are connected..." Trebass thought to himself. But while he was lost in thought, Trebass had been pinned down Thunderlane. "I'm sorry, but I have to finish the job." Thunderlane raised his knife. "So has it come to this? I will perish, without finding out who Bable is? Without finding true love? Without besting my rival in the game of love?" Trebass closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate. Chapter 8: (ALTERNATE ENDING)Thunderlane plunged the knife into Trebass' heart. Everything went quiet for the longest time. The grey pegasus removed the knife from his prey's body. "What have I done...." He whispered to himself. The white unicorn just lay there, his eyes closed. Thunderlane turned around, and headed towards the civilian shelter. Which was about half a days trip. For the entire trip, he never looked back. Not once out of shame, not once to mourn the death of his companion. The blood that dripped from his hooves merged with the sweat that the heat of the sun had created. He finally saw multiple figures patrolling around an area. Thunderlane walked a bit further and realized that they were Diamond Dogs. The Dogs recognized him, and allowed him to pass. The pegasus looked around, and saw the bodies of dead civilians. The ragged and tattered clothing made it very hard to realize they were deceased. The sight made Thunderlane sick, but he held it in as he stepped down the staircase that led into the civilian shelter. He was at the bottom of the stairs, and he found a Diamond Dog that towered above all the others. He wore a vest made of colourful gems. It was clear that this was the leader of the Diamond Dogs. "Have you completed your mission?" The leader asked with a booming voice. The other Diamond Dogs toasted wine and messily ate the rations that were stored in the ration vault. Thunderlane ignored them and replied, "Yes sir. The Corporal is dead." "Very good. As promised, I will return your loved ones to you." The leader snapped his fingers, and two more Diamond Dogs came out of a room. Following them were two blue pegasi that had gags around their mouths. The guards removed the gags. "Thunderlane!" One of the pegasi called out. "Shut up!" One of the more vile looking Diamond Dogs pushed her to the ground. Thunderlane was about to attack the Diamond Dog, but he was held back by two more guards behind him. "Let me go! You promised their safety!" Thunderlane shouted. "I promised I would return them to you. And I have. But now..." The leader took out two pistols from his coat. "No... Please no!" Thunderlane was about to break down in tears, as he watched the two pegasi cry. "P..Please Help us...." The pegasi were drenched in tears. "No one can help you now. But I'll leave you with this. The pegasus you see standing in front of you has murdered an innocent pony. That cannot be forgiven. Do you really want to live with somepony a filthy as he?" The leader put one pistol to each of the pegasi's head. The smaller pegasus looked up at Thunderlane, "Is... This true?" Thunderlane stuttered, "N-No! I.. I mean.. I did... But..." Both pegasi turned away from Thunderlane. "How does it feel? Do be rejected by those you love. And you achieved all of this, by murdering an innocent unicorn. You're pathetic." The leader pulled the hammer back on each of his guns. Thunderlane didn't dare to appose the leader of the Diamond Dogs, other wise he would have gotten a bullet in his head. "Say good-bye to your precious Flitter and Cloudchaser." The leader pulled the triggers on both the guns. Chapter 9: Sacrifice and Sacrilege*BANG* Another gunshot echoed past Trebass' ears. Thunderlane fell on top of Trebass, a patch of blood began to leak onto his white coat. Trebass pushed Thunderlane off of his body. He got up to face his saviour. Braeburn stood there, smoke emanating from his machine gun's barrel. "Pathetic, may Princess Celestia herself damn you to hell." Braeburn cursed the now dead body of Thunderlane. "They had his family Braeburn!" Trebass shouted. "It doesn't matter. He betrayed his nation. So he betrayed his own family." Braeburn turned his back to Trebass. Trebass simply sighed, as he followe Braeburn back to the palm tree. By the time the two stallions arrived, Deviree had just awoken. It seemed that she had slept through the entire fight, which would have been for the best. "Good morning you two!" Deviree greeted them with cheeriness. Her voice was like a refreshing splash of water to Trebass' face, since he had been confronted with so much hatred and despair recently. Braeburn handed Deviree on of the six (6) ration tins that he had found the other night, he also handed her one of the three (3) flasks of water." Trebass reached for one of the tins and opened it. He slowly ate the beans and rice, then washed it down with a flask of water. Braeburn simply sat there, motionless. Deviree and Trebass finished their rations. Braeburn decided to save his rations for later. The three of them set off to the north. They walked for about an hour, Trebass could see a large archway in the distance. The archway connected two large large desert walls. "That's Nightmare's Gorge, a railroad track runs over the archway. The train should be coming around right about now." Braeburn explained. Trebass stopped, and turned around. He could hear a loud rumbling behind him. The ground beneath him began to vibrate, the pebbles shook violently. Five (5) tanks rolled in from behind the hills. They approached the three ponies quickly. "How did they find us again?!" Trebass began to run towards Nightmare's Gorge with Braeburn and Deviree. "They must have heard the gunshots from earlier!" Braeburn galloped faster and faster as the tanks were speeding up to them. "What gunshots?!" Deviree asked. "We ran into... an old friend earlier this morning." Trebass looked back at the tanks. The tanks began to fire shells at the three of them. Braeburn arrived underneath the archway. He heard the sound of a train traveling towards the archway quickly. Trebass and Deviree caught up with Braeburn. "There are too many take down with two grenades! What are we gonna do?" Trebass asked. Braeburn looked up at the archway above him. A thought crossed his mind. He didn't like the idea he was getting, but it was the only way. He pulled Trebass to one side, away from Deviree, and lowered his voice "I'm going to blow up the archway." Trebass backed away, "But... Won't tha-" He was cut off. "I know what will happen to me. But you have to take Deviree and get out of here. I'll take down the archway and you get her to the nearest military base north of here." Braeburn looked at Deviree, she was keeping an eye on the tanks that were approaching. Deviree turned to them, "What's the plan guys?" Trebass and Braeburn both looked at her with saddened faces. "What's the matter? They're getting closer!" Deviree trotted over to Braeburn. Trebass grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her away. "Hey! What are you doing?!" She tried to release herself from Trebass' grip, but he didn't give in. "Braeburn help!" She called out to her partner, but he simply turned away and started walking towards the archway. Braeburn began to scale the inside of the archway, he reached the top and rested on a ledge that stuck out from the cliff. He could see Deviree, still crying out to him. "Are you crazy?! You'll kill yourself!" Deviree panicked, Trebass was still restraining her. "We have to go. Now." Trebass pulled her away from the archway. "No! I won't leave him!" Deviree pulled out her revolver from it's hollister, Trebass smacked it out of her hoof. "Why are you doing this?!" Deviree looked at Trebass with teary eyes. The white unicorn said nothing, and resumed pulling her away. Braeburn placed a grenade on the ledge he was sitting on, then grabbed onto a stalactite that hung from the bottom of the archway. The entire bottom of the archway from littered with stalactites. He leaped from stalactite to stalactite all the way to the other side of the archway. By the time he had reached the other side, the tank were just beneath him and Deviree was out of sight. "Now I have no regrets." Braeburn pulled out his rifle and aimed at the grenade the he had placed on the other side of the archway. He pulled the trigger, and a bullet was sent flying. A large explosion caused half of the archway to collapse. He took out his second (2nd) grenade, then pulled the pin. The detonation obliterated the rest of the archway, along with Braeburn. Trebass and Deviree watched from a distance. Deviree broke down in tears, as Trebass saluted his friend that had sacrificed himself so that they could fight another day. Debris and rubble completely blocked the tanks from proceeding any further. "We need to hurry, they'll send infantry to climb over that rubble soon." Trebass rested a hoof on Deviree's shoulder. They began to trek north. For hours, they said nothing. Complete silence filled the air as the two looked at the sandy road. They made their way out of Nightmare's Gorge, and out into the open. Trebass could see something small in the distance, it was shaped like a cube and black. It looked like they had found the military base Braeburn had instructed Trebass to take Deviree to. The base was too far, it looked like they would have to rest the night. It had taken them the entire afternoon to escape Nightmare's Gorge, and it looked like the sun was already setting. They decided to make a fire for the night, then continue in the morning. Trebass glanced at his M.A.S.T. It read, "Twenty-Four (24) Hours Remain" He sighed, then realized something. The Eyeglass was still at the crash site! It was clear that the sight was too far back for him to make it in a day. Plus, the Diamond Dogs were still back there, what was he going to do? The two collected branches from dead bushes to create a small fire that would last them the night. The sun had already set, and the moon was just about to rise. For the longest time, neither of them spoke a word. But Deviree spoke up. "Why did you agree to his plan? And why did you pull me away from him?" She asked, quietly. The wolves howled in the night, but Trebass ignored them. "I guess I just don't like seeing mares getting hurt. And his plan was the only way we could escape." "But there could have been another wa-" Deviree never finished her sentence, as Trebass leaned in for a kiss. Their lips collided, and the crackle of the fire was the only sound in the middle of the desert. Even the wolves paused their howling for the two lovers underneath the moon. The stars themselves began to twinkle in applaud for them. With their eyes both closed Trebass climbed on top of Deviree. His horn glowed, then the fire perished into ash. No pony could see the acts the two were comitting. For Trebass, it felt like the night had lasted forever. Chapter 10: No More Chains to Hold us BackThe morning came again. Deviree was asleep in Trebass' arms. The sun was no where to be found. The sky was empty of clouds. Trebass opened his eyes. The pile of ash from last night was still there, the dusty wind blew swirls of sand around, and Deviree was still in his arms asleep. He glanced towards her flank, it was only then that he noticed the Dove that was imprinted across it. "What an interesting Cutie Mark..." Trebass thought to himself. He quietly removed himself from Deviree, trying his best not to wake her up. He stood up and stretched again. He decided not to wander off this time, the last time he did had almost killed him. He was cheerful for a moment, then he had remembered the events of the day before. Even though Braeburn was gone, he couldn't help feeling guilty for falling in love with his soul mate. He took out another ration tin. There was an extra two (2) tins that Deviree and Trebass could share. "He'll have plenty to eat where he is now." Trebass opened the tin. He sat beside Deviree, who was sleeping under Trebass' vest again. The white unicorn was careful not to wake her with his eating. He scarfed down the beans and rice, then took a large gulp of the water flask. He wiped his mouth, then tossed the tin to the side. The sound of the tin hitting the ground woke Deviree up. "Oops, crap." Trebass was hoping not to awaken her. "Mm... What was that?" Deviree asked as she rubbed her eyes. "Um... Nothing. We should probably get going soon." Trebass tried to cover up his mistake, but he knew that Deviree could see through it. "Don't lie to me, I can read you like a book." She said, wrapping her arms around him. Trebass kissed her lightly on the cheek, "We really should get going..." "C'mon sweetie... Just a few more minutes?" Deviree pleaded, running her hoof down his chest. Trebass carefully removed her hoof. Deviree sighed, "What's the matter now?" Trebass glanced at the black building in the distance, "I've... Got to be somewhere in less than twenty-four (24) hours." Deviree paused for a moment, then stepped back a bit. "There's somepony else... Isn't there?" "No, of course not... It's just... My family is far away from here." Trebass tried to make up an excuse, not wanting to tell her about the mares he had fallen in love with. He felt terrible for his act of lust, but he attempted to block it out. "I see... I'm sure we could find a way to get there. Maybe the military base over there has a transport carrier heading to your home?" Deviree stood up, so did Trebass. Trebass began to collect his possessions, as did Deviree. Their guns, rations, and clothes were laying around where the fire was the night before. They began to walk towards the military base in the distance. It took them nearly an hour to make it half way when suddenly, something caused them to stop. A loud throttling noise came from behind them. Trebass turned around, numerous Diamond Dogs on motorbikes were riding towards them. The Dogs were twirling around chains and shooting guns off their bikes. "Run!" Trebass grabbed Deviree and began to gallop towards the military base. The Dog's motorbikes caught up to the two ponies. They began to ride circles around them. Trebass felt a cold metal chain wrapping around his back legs. One of the chains tripped him as he fell on his face. They began to drag him around in a circle. The wheel of another motorbike was just inches away from Trebass' face and kicked up sand and dust in his face. Deviree reached for her revolvers, but the sound of a something else in the distance stopped her. A black helicopter emitted a loud whirring noise as it flew towards her. She smiled, as she saw a familiar face in the cockpit. "Sergeant Iron Will. It's been a while." She smiled, then began shooting at the circling Dogs. Trebass mouth filled up with dirt as he was dragged around circles by the chain wrapped around his leg. He managed to pull his revolver out of it's holster. He began shooting at the bike that the chain was attached to. The chain snapped, and Trebass rolled out of the path of the other bikes. He limped over to Deviree as she was still shooting at the motorbikes. The Dogs were too quick, and they easily dodged each of her shots. It wasn't too long until she had run out of rounds. "I'm out, but it's not over yet." She said, looking up. Trebass looked up with her, but then covered his eyes with his hoof. The spinning propeller of a helicopter swirled dust up in his face. He could see a recognizable face in the windshield. A minotaur smiled at him, then took a step back. The door on the side opened, and a large mini-gun emerged. Iron Will took hold of it, and began firing at the Dogs. One by one, the Diamond Dogs flipped off their bikes. Soon, only Deviree and Trebass were left standing. The helicopter lowered and landed then Sergeant Iron Will hopped down from it. "Hello Sergeant!" Deviree saluted. Trebass saluted as well, but didn't say anything. He hoped the Sergeant wouldn't recognize him from the Equestrian Cloud. "Equestrian Cloud.... Equestrian Cloud.... Wait a minute!" Trebass remembered that the Eyeglass was still at the Equestrian Cloud wreckage. "Iron Will! I need a ride back to the crash site of the Equestrian Cloud!" Trebass blurted out. Iron will snapped his head towards Trebass. He gave him a glare that sent a shiver up Trebass' spine. "Trebass! You can't address the Sergeant like that!" Deviree whispered loudly. "I would be furious if I was still a Sergeant." Iron Will looked at the ground with a saddened look on his face. "What do you mean if you were still a Sergeant?" Deviree asked. "I have resigned as of today. I just handed in my papers an hour ago. Then I saw something in the distance, two ponies who were very familiar." The retired sergeant replied. "But... Why?!" Deviree asked again. "I have let my princess down. I failed to save my own soldiers. There was one parachute, and I took it for myself. I fought through squadrons of Diamond Dogs to get here. But it wasn't enough to atone for me abandoning my soldiers." Iron Will clenched his fist tightly. All three of them had a moment of silence for their dead comrades. Braeburn, the civilians, even Thunderlane. The more Trebass thought about them, the more rage filled his body. "None of us are soldiers. Not anymore. We have the freedom to do what we please, so let's avenge our fallen brethren! Nothing can stop us anymore! No more superiors, no more emotions, no more fallen ponies, not even Celestia herself can slow us down!" Trebass raised his hoof in the air inspirationally. Iron Will and Deviree nodded, then they all climbed into the helicopter. It flew off the ground and into the direction of the Equestrian Cloud. END CHAPTERTrebass could see the smoke rising in the distance, they were approaching what was left of the Equestrian Cloud. The spinning blades on top of the helicopter whirred just inches above his head. The side door was open, Deviree was sitting behind a gatling gun that was attached to the helicopter. Iron Will sat in the cockpit piloting the heli itself. "We're getting closer. If the heli gets too close then it'll be shot down in seconds. Trebass, you'll parachute and take the Eyeglass out of here!" Iron Will shouted over the whirring of the helicopter blades. "H-How did you-" Trebass asked, but was interrupted by a bag thrown onto his chest. Deviree sat there, "You better come back to me. Or else I'll shoot you down myself." She hugged Trebass. Trebass kissed her then came up for breath, "I'll come back, I promise." Iron Will glanced over his shoulder, then smiled and returned his eyes to the smoke in the distance. It took them almost all morning to get to their destination. "When you two love birds are done, I think Trebass stop is coming up." Iron Will pointed forward. The metal skeleton of the Equestrian Cloud rose out from behind the hills. But this time, something was different. A tall flag was planted at the very top of the wreckage. The flag had a gemstone on it with the face of a hound inside it. The sight below the flag was horrible. Ponies hung by ropes from the sides of the wreckage. The image disgusted Trebass, he felt like vomiting. Iron Will didn't seem fazed, but Deviree was in the back puking in the corner. They were just above the metal skeleton now. Trebass turned to face Deviree, after she had wiped the puke from her mouth. He kissed her on the lips. "O-Oh, I'm sorry... The vomit..." Deviree blushed, as she flustered embarrassingly. "Oh, I barely noticed. I got lost in your eyes for a bit." Trebass jokingly said. An awkward silence lasted a few seconds, until the two of them began to giggle loudly. "Now you're making me blow chunks! Get ready to jump kid!" Iron Will gagged. Trebass stuck his head out of the open side door. He looked down, it seemed like he was about a mile above the ground. "Can't you lower the helicopter a bit-" Trebass asked, but was cut off. "NOPE!" Iron Will kicked Trebass out of the helicopter. Trebass shouted something angrily at the minotaur, but the sound of the helicopter blades drowned it out. Iron Will smiled, then closed the side door. "I'm gonna get you back one of these days!" Trebass shouted in his mind. He faced the ground as he descended towards the wreckage site. He pulled the ring on his parachute and the sail cloth came out of the bag on his back. Trebass began to descend onto the surface of the Equestrian Cloud quickly. Suddenly, the sound of bursting guns echoed from below. He was being shot at! The bullets pierced his sail cloth, he began to descend even faster. It wasn't long until his body slammed onto the side of the grounded aircraft. He managed to grab onto a piece of loose metal sticking out from the side. The shouts of his enemies below caused him to look down. The Dogs that were shooting at him looked like little ants to him, little ants with guns. He glanced at his M.A.S.T. It read "Fifteen (15) Minutes Until Departure." He was running out of time. He took out his pistol, and aimed it at a nearby window. The window shattered, as Trebass jumped from the piece of metal he was holding onto. He landed on top of one of the passenger seats. But it wasn't the area where the Eyeglass was, he had to keep looking. He decided to search the upper area of the plane. Trebass climbed from seat to seat until he reached the door to the next room of the plane. The carrier was buried in the ground on a slant, which made the task even harder. He opened the door, but immediately jumped back into one of the seats behind him. Suitcases and all sorts of luggages fell from the next room and onto the bottom of the plane. He resumed climbing and searching, but to no avail. He finally reached the very top of the wreckage. A hatch was above him, he opened it. He emerged to find a helicopter in the distance shooting at the ground. "That's the distraction, time to find the Eyeglass." Trebass climbed out of the hatch, but was stopped by a large paw wrapping around his neck. "You're not going anywhere!" A Diamond Dog had ambushed him. Trebass had a sense of "De Ja Vu" as he had been in this situation before. But this time, he didn't have anypony to help him. Pulled out his pistol, and shot the Dog right in the knee. The Diamond Dog shouted in pain, as Trebass pushed off of his captor with his back legs. The Dog fell back into the hatch, the hatch door slammed shut and locked it self. Meanwhile, Trebass found himself sliding down the steep incline of the Equestrian Cloud. He was approaching the bottom speedily, until suddenly... "Aha! Gotcha this time!" A Diamond Dog had popped out of another hatch in front of him. Trebass' back legs collided with the Dog's face, as they both were knocked into the hatch. The two fell onto the inside of the aircraft as Trebass grabbed onto a nearby seat. It was much steeper inside the Equestrian Cloud than on the outside. The Diamond Dog held onto Trebass' back left leg crying for help. "I don't think so pal." Trebass shoved his right back leg into the Dog's face. The impact sent the dog falling. Trebass closed his eyes, as he heard the sound of the Dog hitting the bottom. He opened his eyes and looked up. He saw the hatch above him had not locked itself yet. He reached up and opened the hatch. He climbed out, and began to slide down again, this time more slowly. About halfway down the plane's outer body, his M.A.S.T. began to beep loudly. It read, "Dimensional Transport Unit Detected in Nearby Radius." "What the hell does that mean?!" Trebass yelled out frustratingly. His loud tone of voice attracted the attention of more Diamond Dogs on the ground. "Uh oh." Trebass said to himself. He had to find cover quickly, the Dogs had already begun shooting at him. He opened a nearby hatch and jumped down into it. The first thing that caught his eye was the massive hole in the side of the plane. "That's it!" He blurted out. He remembered that the Eyeglass flew out of the plane when it was shot down by the Diamond Dogs. He took another look at the M.A.S.T. There was an arrow that pointed west of the giant hole. The timer was also counting down from "Five (5) Minutes" He stuck his head outside, he could see the helicopter above him being shot down. A massive explosion knocked it into the side of the aircraft. It was close enough for Trebass to jump into. "Here we go again..." Trebass sighed, as he leaped from the hole towards the helicopter. He managed to grab hold of the pontoons on the bottom of the helicopter. A helping hoof reached out to him and pulled him up, it was Deviree's. "No luck?" Deviree asked. "I think it's somewhere down there!" Trebass pointed to the sandy ground. "I'll try to land this thing, but you have to shoot down any anti-aircraft units on the ground!" Iron Will shouted. Trebass nodded, but an explosion knocked him and Deviree back. Deviree was knocked unconscious as she hit the back of the helicopter. "Looks like it's up to me." Trebass grabbed the handles of the outside minigun. He began firing at the ground as Iron Will descended. They landed in a clear space surrounded by walls of debris. "This is as far as I go." Iron Will said, as he ripped the minigun from the helicopter. "I'll protect Deviree, you just focus on getting whatever you came here for. Oh, and take this. You're gonna need it later on." He tossed a Dove-Shaped key to Trebass. He caught it, then placed it in his vest pocket. "Thanks. For everything sarge." Trebass said as he ran towards the direction that his M.A.S.T. pointed. "For the last time, I'm not sergeant. Not anymore." Iron Will ran towards a group of Diamond Dogs with his minigun in hand. Trebass followed the arrow on his M.A.S.T. Finally, he saw the Eyeglass in the distance. But his joy was interrupted by an explosion near his hooves. He was sent flying into a piece of broken metal. "Ouch... Mines?!" He pulled out his pistol, just in case he ran into any more Dogs. Luckily, the explosion didn't injure him that much. He carefully slipped by the mines that were visible, and hoped he wouldn't trigger any that weren't visible. He finally made it to the Eyeglass. It was covered in rubble, but it looked like it would function properly. He found the metal helmet lying next to it, he placed it on his head. He looked at this M.A.S.T. The timer was counting down from ten (10) seconds. But, out of nowhere, a Diamond Dog leaped at him. He froze in place, he thought he was done for. Until suddenly... *BANG* The Diamond Dog was pushed to the side by a bullet placed in his head. Trebass could see the shooter in the distance, it was Deviree. She stood on top of the helicopter and waved to her love. Trebass chuckled, then waved back. But by then, the Eyeglass had already activated and everything around him began to fade away. The vision of Deviree was replaced by a black and red pegasus in a lab coat sitting at a table, sipping his tea away. "Ah, you're back. That was quick." Alexander placed his cup of tea down. "Quick? How long was I gone?" Trebass asked, as he removed the metal helmet from his head. "About Twenty (20) minutes." Alexander replied. "T-Twenty (20) minutes?! I was in there for days!" Trebass exclaimed. "I guess time passes differently when your in different dimensions. Anyways, did you find out anything about Bable yet?" Alexander asked. "No, I was too busy fighting off hordes of canine terrorists!" Trebass exited the Eyeglass. "Interesting, I'd like to hear more of your adventure. How about over dinner?" Alexander walked with Trebass towards the vault door. "How about over a drink? I'm practically taken in two (2) dimensions you know?" Trebass chuckled. Alexander nodded, and they both exchanged laughter. "Wait a minute... Two?"
Chapter 1: Two Unexpected PackagesTrebass woke up with the sun shining through the window onto his face. The weather ponies had scheduled a rainstorm that morning. The raindrop hit the window over and over again, forcing Trebass to get ouf of bed. He walked down the stairs quietly, hoping not to wake up Alexander who was sleeping in the next room. He stepped into the kitchen and opened the fridge. "Milk... orange juice... yogurt..." Trebass browsed the shelves and decided to pour himself a glass of milk. He took the pitcher and closed the fridge door with his flank. He opened up a cupboard and grabbed a mug. Then he emptied the milk carton into his mug. He trotted into the living room, and opened the curtains to reveal grey clouds and pouring rain. He sighed as he took another sip of his milk. The mailpony was delivering letters to mailboxes on the street. He put placed a package by Alexander's mailbox. Trebass thought it was a bit big, so he placed his mug on the table and put on his coat. He opened the door and walked through the pouring rain to the package. He knelt down to examine the package. The wet covering paper had a string wrapped around it and a bow tied at the top. He placed the parcel under his arm and walked back inside. He placed the package on the table and began to undo the string. The wrapping paper fell and revealed a cardboard box with the words "To Trebass" scrawled in some sort of red ink. He cut open the box and what saw the last thing he would expect. A gun. The firearm had a brown wooden handle, the letters "G" and "M" were carved into the wooden handle. "Trebass?" Alexander called out to him from the top of the stairs. Trebass panicked and closed the box again, "Yeah?" He took the paper and the box, and hid it under the table. "Did somepony open the door?" Alexander asked, walking down the stairs. "Uh, yeah. The mailpony came and I picked up the mail." Trebass stepped in front part of the box that stuck out from underneath the table. "So... Where's the mail?" Alexander asked. "Umm..." Trebass attempted to make up an excuse. But just in the nick of time... *DING DONG* The doorbell had rung, "Oh! I wonder who that is?" Trebass quickly pushed the box back under the table and rushed to the door. Alexander sighed and wandered off to the kitchen. Trebass opened the door. A blue pegasus stood there with an umbrella over his head. "Shock Bolt." Trebass thought to himself. He was thinking of slamming the door on his visitor's face. But he withheld himself, obviously not wanting to anger Royal Flush anymore than he had already. "Umm... Greetings, Trebass was it?" Shock Bolt offered a valid greeting, but Trebass simply stood there. "Yeah, what do you want?" Trebass' tone deepened as he leaned on the wall. "I.... Wanted to apologize for the other day. I was naive and stupid. And for that, I am truly sorry." Shock bowed slightly before looking up to see Trebass' reaction. After a long pause Trebass finally replied, "It's alright, no hard feelings. I was acting stupid as well. Come inside and we'll have a drink okay?" "W-Why thank you! I'd be honored." Shock bolt lowered his umbrella and entered the house with Trebass. The two entered the kitchen. Shock took one step inside and was immediately met with a loud slam from Alexander's side of the room. Alexander had cut straight through apple into the wooden counter. He looked up, "Well look who it is. It's the pegasus that put my friend in a coma." Trebass walked past the table, glancing at the box underneath. "Easy, he survives. Today." Shock looked to the side trying to avoid eye contact with them. The coffee had finished brewing and was poured into three seperate mugs. The three sat down with cups of coffee. "My instict is telling me you're not here to apologize." Trebass placed his cup down. "You're not as stupid as you look." Shock replied sarcastically. Alexander felt like crushing his coffee mug. Trebass simply shrugged the comment off. Shock Bolt continued, "Royal came to me in tears, I saw her enter this house with a gun. Explain that to me." "She came in, she pointed the gun at me, said something about making a choice, and then she left. It's as simple as that. " Trebass explained. "A choice...." Shock whispered to himself but Trebass could easily hear him. Alexander stood up and trotted behind the kitchen counter. "I... Have to leave. Thanks for the coffee." Shock stood up and bowed slightly again. "Pleasure having you in our... humble adobe. Don't come again." Trebass took another sip of his coffee. Shock left their house, opened his umbrella and trotted through the wet puddles that carpeted the sidewalk.
Chapter 2: Trebass on a Plane"I need Bable out of my head if I'm ever going to win Royal Flush over. Or have a normal life for that matter" Trebass took a bite out of his apple, staring out into the rain. "The Eyeglass is charged up and ready to go, we'll start whenever you're ready." Alexander said, his head in the refrigerator. "I'm ready if you are." Trebass finished his apple as he drew the curtains. Alexander opened a beer can that he took from the fridge, "Are you sure you want to do this?" "I think I need a break from our world anyways. Could you send me to a tropical island or something?" Trebass turned the trigger frame that opened up to the metal corridor. "It's not up to me to decide. It's kind of hard to explain, but imagine all of space as a clock and that the Eyeglass is a clock on top of the clo-" Alexander was cut off by Trebass, "A simple No would have sufficed you know?" Alexander and Trebass arrived at the vault door, they entered Alex's laboratory. The large computer screen, the Eyeglass, and the Velvet Chair. Trebass sat in the Velvet Chair and put the flashing metal bowl on his head. He checked the M.A.S.T. it read "HOME". "Run me through the basics again will you?" Trebass looked at the computer screen, confused. "The Eyeglass is going to bring you to a random destination in space and time, try to find out something about Bable, get on the Eyeglass before it leaves, get back here to pay your rent." Alexander chuckled as he typed in more complicated commands into the computer. He stepped to a lever to the side. "Are you ready?" Alexander asked as he put on his safety goggles over his face. Trebass nodded. Alexander pulled the lever. Sparks flew out of the Eyeglass and, within an instant, Trebass and the Velvet chair vanished from sight. Trebass felt the same way as the previous "Trip" with the Eyeglass. The numbed body, white all around him, and being rendered unable to move. But this time, a mysterious loud whirring noise could be heard. Trebass opened his eyes to another pony sitting across from him. The pony was wearing a green and black camo helmet and vest. Ponies of a similar image sat beside him. Trebass looked to his left and five other ponies wore the same outfit. He looked to his right and it was the same, but the stallion adjacent to him had his helmet sitting on his lap. He had a light brown coat and a dark brown mane. But his cutie mark was covered by the camouflaged outfit he wore. "You're from the town we just came from aren't you?" The pony sitting next to him asked. "Um... Yeah, where are we right now? If you don't mind my asking." Trebass looked behind to find a window. "You're on the Equestrian Cloud right now, the best top notch transport plane out there. We're just about to land Los Pegasus. Or what's left of it anyways." The stallion put his helmet. "Well, what's left of-" Trebass question was soon met with an answer, but not from the pony beside him. He glanced out the window and saw the tall modern buildings collapsing. The parts of the building that still stood were overgrown with plantlife or were covered in rubble. "Sweet Celestia..." Trebass whispered to himself. "I'm surprised you haven't gotten used to it by now, it's been this way for the past ten (10) years. By the way, I didn't quite catch your name." "It's Trebass, nice to meet you." He extended his hoof, expecting a hoofshake. "Name's Braeburn, fifth (5th) platoon in the Equestrian Army, and the pleasure's all mine." He returned the hoof shake, but stood snapped into an upright position. The rest of the other soldiers mimicked him. The stomps of two large hooves could be heard, and shook the plane itself. A large minotaur with a camouflaged vest walked in the middle aisle, between the upright soldiers. He stopped when he reached Trebass. He turned to face him and bent down so he was eye level with the white unicorn. "Son, shouldn't you be in the back with the rest of the civialians? Or are you a new recruit that the General didn't tell me about?" The minotaur's voice caused the metal walls to vibrate. "U-Um... I..." Trebass was cut off by Braeburn, who was still sitting as straight as any ruler. "There were no more spaces for this civillian." The minotaur gave Braeburn a stare so cold it could have frozen his heart if the plane wasn't so hot. "No more spaces... Sir." Braeburn added. The minotaur grunted, then proceeded to the cockpit no more than twenty (20) meters away from Trebass. Trebass was able to catch a glimpse of the dog tags that were hanging from the minotaur's neck. They read, "Iron Will" "Who was that?" Trebass asked Braeburn. Braeburn let out a deep breath, as he was attempting to hold it until the minotaur had left the room. "That was Sergeant Iron Will. The highest authority on this here transport carrier." "Oh, I see... So Why are we in Los Pegasus?" Trebass asked. "Well, I'm here for two (2) reasons myself. The first (1st) being to drop off you civilians in the hidden army shelter here in the good 'ol city. And the second (2nd) being the mare I got back at the base waitin' for me." Braeburn looked at the window with Trebass. "Is she a soldier too?" Trebass asked. "Nope, just a civilian trying to hide from the enemy. Just like everypony else that lives in the shelters." Braeburn replied. "Who is the enemy?" Trebass had so many questions and was hoping he hadn't annoyed Braeburn. "Diamond Dogs." Braeburn's straight face turned into a look of anger. Suddenly, a loud booming sound came from outside.
Chapter 3: The Sky's the LimitA loud explosion rocked Trebass off of his seat as he fell onto the floor. The room started flashing red as a loud alarm went off. A voice spoke from the intercom, "Mayday! Mayday! We have been hit! Please prepare for impact!" "Get in your seat pardner!" Braeburn pulled Trebass from the floor into his seat. Trebass fastened the safety belt around his body and put his head between his legs, with his hooves sheltering the back of his head. A volley of explosions filled Trebass' head as the plane began to twist and turn. *KABOOM* Another explosion had created a large hole in the side of the plane! Three soldier ponies were dragged into the hole and flew out of the plane, theirs screams sent shivers up Trebass'. The hole was two seats to the left of his seat. "Why do all bad things happen two seats away from me?" Was what Trebass would have been thinking if he weren't faced with mortal danger. He could feel the bolts that held his seat to the floor giving away. He looked towards Braeburn and tried to reach out to him. But the bolts on his chair snapped, and he was dragged out into the open sky. Braeburn removed his safety belt and grabbed a parachute from underneath his seat, and he dove through the hole in the plane after Trebass. Besides the words "Oh Crap, Oh Crap, Oh Crap." Being repeated in his head, Trebass tried to regain his balance in mid-air. He centered himself so that the ground was below him, and the clouds above him. The wind shot through his mane as he spread his arms and legs apart to slow his fall. He looked up and saw Braeburn with his arms and legs snapped together, diving straight towards him. The collision caused Trebass to lose his sense of direction as he spun around and around. Braeburn grabbed Trebass by wrapping his arm around his body, then he pulled the ring on his parachute. A white cloth flew out of the bag on Braeburn's back. Four strings were tied the cloth to the bag and the two began to slowly descend onto the sandy sidewalks of Los Pegasus. They landed. The wind blew dust into Trebass' eyes. He covered his eyes with his hoof and tried to look around. Rubble was falling from the rotting structures. It was clear that no one had lived in the tall towers and and buildings for a long time. Braeburn crawled from underneath the deflated parachute on the ground. He removed the parachute bag from his back and threw it on the ground. The two looked up and saw the "Equestrian Cloud" engulfed in flames. It was heading towards the east. They could hear the impact from a mile away, but the crash site was on the other side of the city. "All those soldiers and civilians..." Trebass fell to his knees. They had to see if anyone had survived the crash, but how? "We have to get a good view of the city to find the crash site. Better hurry, the bandits come out at night." Braeburn walked over to the revolving door of a nearby building. He tried to push it forward, but a pile of debris prevented it from moving. "Can't we climb on the overgrown vines to the top?" Trebass tugged on one of the vines to test it's reliability. It felt stable enough to climb. The two began to scale the giant structure. About halfway to the top a vine snapped underneath Trebass, Braeburn caught him by the hoof just in the nick of time. It was a dangerous climb, but eventually they made it in time for nightfall. They collected some twigs from the overgrown trees that were scattered on the roof of the building. Luckily, Braeburn's military vest was equipped with an emergency lighter. They started a fire that lasted them the entire night. The sparks crackled below the stars, the crickets chirped in the night, and the warmth of the fire pressed up against Trebass' chest. "You said you had a mare waiting for you back at the base, who is she?" Trebass asked. "Her name's Deviree, she's the most beautiful thing you'll ever lay your eyes on. But be sure not to lay a hoof on her, understand?" Braeburn loaded a sixth (6th) bullet into his revolver. "Wouldn't dream of it, I kinda... have a mare back at home too." Trebass examined the gun that Braeburn had given him earlier, since his suit was equipped with two sidearms. "Kinda? Oh no... Was she on the carrier that crashed?" Braeburn asked. "No, she's not from... Here. Exactly." Trebass replied. Braeburn didn't quite understand what Trebass meant, but he simply shrugged it off his mind. They both sat by the fire, admiring the stars in the sky. The fire started to go out, until nothing was left except a dead black crisp. Trebass' eyelids became heavy, and eventually left him in the dark. The howling wolves from the hills sent a chill up his spine as he tossed and turned in the night. What unbearable thoughts haunted his dreams? Only Trebass and Bable knew. The white unicorn mumbled to himself, "Bable... No..." As he drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 4: Hanging by a ThreadTrebass awoke to find Braeburn tying a pair of vines to a thick tree branch. He stood up, his revolver was sitting beside him. The bullets were scattered around it. It seems Braeburn didn't want it to go off accidently in the night so he removed them from the gun. "Morning pardner." Braeburn welcomed his newly awoken companion. The sun was just rising from hills and Trebass, for some strange reason, felt refreshed by the dry sand blowing from behind him. He stood up, putting his vest on and grabbing his revolver. The gun reminded him of that incident at the cafe with Royal Flush and Shock Bolt. He tried to block the image from his head. "Ready for to kickstart your morning?" Braeburn asked, holding on to one of the vines he had tied to the branch. Trebass nodded, and began ran quickly towards the vine. He jumped and grabbed the vine then began to rappell down the side of the building. It took them about fifteen (15) minutes to reach the dusty sidewalk below. Trebass was surprised the vine didn't snap as he was rappelling down. "We need to check for survivors at the crash site." Braeburn said, brushing his rump off. "What about Deviree?" Trebass caught up to his colleague. "I know Deviree is safe. The civilians and soldiers on that carrier on the other hoof..." Braeburn closed his eyes for a moment, then continued walking towards the crash site. They trotted through the sandy slopes for about half an hour. A cloud of smoke rose up from behind a large hill. "That must be the crash site." Trebass said, wiping the sand from his eyes. The two finally came to the top of the hill, the sight was terrifying. As colossal plane stuck out of the ground, and the wings were laying on two nearby hills. The plane's body reached up into sky. "See any survivo-" Braeburn was cut off what sounded like a shriek of a mare. "Somepony help!" A green mare was standing on the highest point of plane that stuck out of the ground. Trebass tried to call out to the mare, but his voice was silenced by Braeburn's hoof against his mouth. "Quiet! Look over there, see them?" Braeburn crouched down and pointed to a lower part of the plane. Trebass looked as hard as he could, and saw three figures crawling towards the mare. The largest figure stood up, the sun shone on him and revealed his face clearly. He shouted out, "This is Diamond Dog territory! Trespassers will be punished severely!" "What are they?" Trebass asked. "Who do you think they are? They're Diamond Dogs, the enemy." Braeburn whispered, pulling out his revolver. "No! Please no!" The mare called out for help as Trebass and Braeburn began to run towards her. The largest Diamond Dog held the mare up by the neck over the plane's edge. *BANG*BANG* Braeburn fired two (2) shots into the air to startle the Diamond Dogs. "That was a mistake you'll wish you hadn't made!" The head Diamond Dog tightened his grip on the mare. "H-Help... Me..." The mare clawed at her throat for air. "Let her go! She didn't do anything wrong!" Braeburn shouted. The head Diamond Dog didn't say anything, instead he drew his arm back. Braeburn felt relieved, but only for a moment. The mare had been sent flying from the plane wreck. Her screams echoed while she fell from the plane. Trebass watched, as she landed behind a pile of wreckage. The sound of her impact on the ground lit a fire inside Braeburn's eyes. "I'll kill you all!" He screamed at the plane wreckage. He began to climb through the plane through the passenger seats. The bodies of dead and bloody ponies littered the seats, civilians and soldiers alike. The sight of all his fallen friends enraged Braeburn even more. He came to an open hatch, he jumped up and climbed to the top. "You're already dead." A smaller Diamond Dog met with Braeburn near the open hatch. *BANG* The Diamond Dog fell over, dead. Smoke blew from Braeburn's revolver, "Not today." Braeburn climbed the slanted plane. He came up to the came to the highest point of the plane, but the rest of the Diamond Dogs were nowhere to be found. A loud thumping noise approached him. A large lump in the plane's metal appeared before Braeburn's hooves. The lump burst open, and out came the Diamond Dog. It grabbed Braeburn by the neck. He dangled over edge of the plane, struggling to free himself from the Diamond Dog's grip. "You'll never... Beat... The... Equestrian Army... Even if I... Perish..." Braeburn gasped for breath as the Diamond Dog's grip tightened. "Your pathetic little band of guns cannot best the empire of Diamond Dogs!" The Diamond Dog loosened his grip. *BANG* Another gunshot echoed throughout the wastelands. Braeburn was falling for a mid-second, but a friendly hoof grabbed his arm. The Diamond Dog fell behind Braeburn with a wide-eyed facial expresion. The helping hoof lifted him onto the plane. "I can't leave you alone for five (5) minutes can I?" The assistant was Trebass, he placed his gun back in his back pocket. "That mare... She died because of me." Braeburn threw his gun to the ground. Trebass glanced out to the horizon, and saw more smoke rising in the distance. But this time it wasn't from the crash site. This time, it was a flare.
Chapter 5: A Taste of Something DifferentA red flare created a small puff of smoke below the plane crash. Four (4) ponies in forest camouflage were standing below Trebass and Braeburn. "Hello up there!" The pony holding flare called out to Trebass. The white unicorn waved back to his ally on the ground. Braeburn and Trebass began to descend through the plane's passenger seatings. They finally reached the cockpit, which had broken windows which they could use to escape what was left of the Equestrian Cloud. They approached the four (4) ponies they greeted earlier. "Well I'll be! It's corporal Braeburn!" One of the ponies, a colt, saluted and the ponies behind him imitated the action. "At ease soldier. What's your status?" Braeburn asked. "We ejected from the plane before it landed. We're.... The only ones left, sir." The colt took his helmet off, which revealed a black coat with a blue and silver mane. "I see... What's your name soldier?" Braeburn noticed the depressed look on the colt's face. "Thunderlane sir! Third (3rd) platoon of the Equestrian Army sir!" The black pony introduced himself with another salute. Braeburn glanced up at the sky, the sun showed that it was just about noon. The sky was blue and clear of clouds. "So what should we do now?" Trebass asked Braeburn, who was still staring into the sky. "Well, we should get you to the civilian shelter now. But with your gun skills, I don't think your just a civilian. Are you?" "Yup, just your usual civilian. But I've certainly shot a gun before... For self defence." Trebass replied. Braeburn gave Trebass an unsure look, and then looked east of the plane crash. "The civilian shelter is just east of here. We should tell the families of the deceased..." Braeburn sighed depressingly. The four (4) soldiers, plus Trebass and Braeburn, began the trek towards the civilian shelter. Hours passed as nopony spoke at all, only the howling desert wind disrupted the awkward silence. They passed dead bushes and skeletons as the tall buildings of Los Pegasus grew smaller and smaller as they walked away from the plane crash. Trebass was covered in sweat, he was so used to the rainy weather in Ponyville. He felt the heat of the sun on the back of his head. Braeburn remained unfazed by the hot desert rays, while Thunderlane began to pant heavily. Suddenly, Braeburn stopped in his tracks, so did the others. He walked towards a cactus, Trebass thought this was quite strange. Braeburn pulled one of the needles on the cactus down. A loud clanging drowned out the vicious desert gusts blowing in the background. The sands began rise up from the ground, then fell back down again. Two metal plates separated and revealed a large staircase leading into a dark corridor. More ponies with rifles emerged from the staircase. Trebass, Braeburn, Thunderlane, and the other soldiers raise their hooves in the air. "We're not hostile! We're soldiers!" Thunderlane exclaimed. The soldiers lowered their guns, and one of them spoke up. "Sorry about that sirs. Welcome to the civilian shelters. Come inside, quickly!" Everypony entered the secret passage. The lights came on. Ponies with ragged and tattered clothing quivered in fear at the sight of these new soldiers. The shelter was about the size of a small library. Broken wooden tables and chairs were set up around one side of the room. A large vault door was in another corner of the room with the words "Food Storage, Authorized Personell Only" engraved on the it. "Braeburn!" A mare in the corner called out to him. Braeburn turned around, "Deviree! how have you been since I left?" "So that's Deviree?" Trebass thought to himself. The mare was a pegasus with a minty green coat, and a mane that was black as the night. She wore a light brown coat that had multiple holes in it. "I missed you so mu-" Deviree stopped in mid sentence when she saw Trebass standing behind Braeburn. Trebass raised his brow in confusion, as Deviree stared at the ground kicking her hooves. "I must apologize Trebass, Deviree is a bit.... Shy. At times." Braeburn walked over to the Food Storage vault. Deviree looked over her shoulder at Trebass, smiled, then she followed Braeburn to the vault. "What a strange mare, don't you think Thunderlane?" Trebass looked around him, but Thunderlane was no where to be found. "What's going on around here?" Trebass thought to himself. Then walked over to Braeburn and Deviree. Braeburn was talking to one of the guards when Trebass arrived, "Corporal Braeburn here, I'd like to take three rations out. One for me, and two for the ponies behind me." One of the guards nodded and unlocked the door then went in. He came out after a few minutes later with a tray that had three plates on it. The potatoes, Fish, and bottles of wine made Trebass' mouth water. "This looks like something that would be served at the Gala!" Trebass exclaimed. "Since I'm a corporal, I have higher privileges for my family and friends." Braeburn explained, carrying the tray to a table. Trebass thought it was a bit unfair to the civilians might have needed it more. He looked around, most of the civilians looked hungrier than he did. But he didn't want to upset his hosts, so he sat down at the table with Braeburn and Deviree. Just before Trebass could take a bite out of his food, another soldier came up to Braeburn and whispered something into his ear. Braeburn nodded, then stood up. "I'm sorry you two, but I must attend this meeting." Braeburn walked off into another room. An awkward silence stood between Trebass and Deviree. "Would you like some wine?" Trebass asked. Deviree didn't say anything, she simply nodded. Trebass poured the wine bottle into her glass, then into his own. The two ate silently for about five (5) minutes. Then, Trebass felt a tug on his vest. A small foal looked up at him, "Excuse me mister... Can I have some food please? I'm really hungry..." Trebass could hear the foal's stomach growling. He looked over to Deviree, then back over to the foal. He took a potato and handed it to the foal. "Thank you mister! Bless you!" The foal said, running off to his mother. The mother looked to Trebass with a thankful smile. "You must have a kind soul." A voice came from across the table, it was Deviree. "I didn't know you had a voice." Trebass chuckled. Deviree giggled, then spoke up again, "The fact that you would give up your only ration for the day for a foal, it makes me happy." Her eyes gleamed from the ray of the light bulbs that lined the ceiling. Trebass didn't realize how beautiful Deviree was when Braeburn described her. But now that he saw her with his own eyes, he forgot all about the war that was going on as they ate.
Chapter 6: Operation EvacuationTrebass and Deviree talked over their meal for an hour, Trebass shared stories of his time in Ponyville. "Ponyville? I've never heard of it before. Where is it?" Deviree asked. "It's... Very far away from here, it's near Canterlot and Cloudsdale." Trebass replied. Tales were told laughs were exchanged as the wine bottle emptied more and more. Trebass felt glad that he left his own world and came to this post-apocalyptic world to meet Deviree. But his joy was soon interrupted by a large explosion coming from the staircase where Braeburn and the others had entered. Ponies screamed as the explosion filled the room with smoke. Dark figures emerged from the smoke with guns in their paws, the Diamond Dogs had found their civilian shelter. Their guns began to fire bullets in all directions as the Dogs spread throughout the room. Through the chaos and bullets flying everywhere, Trebass grabbed Deviree by the arm and took her through another door "Quick! We have to get out of here!" Trebass whispered. "No, we should go this way. I've explored this place when Braeburn was on missions." Deviree explained, as she pulled Trebass behind a kitchen counter. She opened a hatch on the floor and descended into darkness. Trebass was unsure about her decision, but soon followed her after some bullets had hit the frying pans hanging above him. Or rather, the loud clanging caused him to lose balance and fall into the hatch. Deviree light up a torch she took off the wall and saw Trebass on the floor. She helped him up, then giggled. The two proceeded down the black corridor. The dripping of water from the ceiling annoyed Trebass. He pulled out his revolver and checked the cylinder, there were five (5) bullets left in it. He would have to preserve them, and only use them in case of emergency. Trebass' eyes wandered towards Deviree, he realized just how beautiful she was through the fire of the torch she was carrying. The only sounds, besides their hoofsteps and the dripping waters, were the screams of ponies behind them being shot to death. Many civilians had fallen at the hands of the Diamond Dogs. "How did they find out where our shelter was?" Deviree asked herself out loud. Trebass thought back to the plane crash, there were three Diamond Dogs that threatened that mare's life. Braeburn had shot one Diamond Dog, and Trebass had shot the leader. Perhaps the third Dog had escaped and followed them somehow, but they couldn't be absolutely sure of the fact. "Um... Who knows?" Trebass decided to hide the incident with the mare and the plane crash. The finally came to a dead end, Deviree looked up to find a hatch on the ceiling. Trebass opened it, and peeked outside. The sun blinded him, he needed time to adjust his eyes since he had spent so much time in the dark. Desert sands blew up in his face as he climbed out. He turned around to help Deviree up, but a gun was immediately put to his head. "Hooves up partner." A familiar voice spoke from behind him. Trebass quickly reached for his revolver and pointed it at his assaulter, "Your arm is shaking, and your sight isn't calibrated. Nice try, but I've had more experience with guns than you. Even if you ARE a corporal." Trebass didn't need to face his enemy to realize that it was Braeburn that pointed the gun at him. The gun was lowered and Braeburn spoke up, "What's happened to Deviree?" "She's right under our noses. Oh, and the safety on your gun is still on." Trebass replied with a smug look on his face. Braeburn stepped off the hatch, and put his rifle on his back. Trebass lifted the hatch up, and helped Deviree up. "Braeburn! How did you escape?" Deviree hugged her mate. "There was a secret exit in the briefing room. But we all went outside when we heard the explosion, but the most of us didn't make it past the door... Me and the Captain managed to get into the secret exit. But the Captain fell in battle, he detonated the exit to keep the Dogs from leaving..." Braeburn explained. "It doesn't look like the captain did a very good job, look!" Trebass pointed behind him, a large tank slowly approached them. "Well then, We're in for a fight." Deviree pulled two pistols from her coat. "We'll avenge the fallen." Braeburn loaded a new magazine into his machine gun. "Let's send them to hell." Trebass loaded a sixth (6th) bullet into his revolver.
Chapter 7: Flashing Before the NightA single tank rolled in from the distance. The plating was blue and covered with gems. A cannon was mounted on the top that stretched about five meters past the tank itself. Diamond Dogs were marching in front, behind, and to the sides of the tank. Braeburn counted about three Diamond Dogs on each side of the tank. The three ponies hid behind a large boulder in the middle of the desert. Trebass saw multiple smaller boulders that littered the battlefield that they could hide behind. "So whats the plan?" Trebass asked, pulling the hammer back on his revolver. "We take out the infantry first, then we use this on the tank." Braeburn pulled out a grenade from his vest. "He only has three, so we can afford to lose two (2). But the third (3rd) needs to be detonated in the tank." Deviree added. Trebass peeked from the left side of the boulder. The tank was getting closer, it was about a football field away from them. "I'll distract them with my rifle. Meanwhile, Deviree will take out some of the infantry with her two (2) revolvers." Braeburn peeked out from the top of the boulder. "Wait, then what do I do?" Trebass asked. Deviree grabbed a grenade from Braeburn's vest and tossed it to Trebass. "Of course I get the hard job." Trebass sighed. The tank was about fifty (50) meteres away from them. If their plan was going to work, they had to execute it immediately. Braeburn hopped out from behind boulder and began to fire bullets at the tank and infantry. Deviree grabbed Trebass and led him to one of the smaller boulders next to them. They both hid quietly, as the bullets flew between Braeburn and the tank. Deviree began to shoot at the infantry with her revolvers. She took out the units on the right side and in front of the tank. The rest of the units hid behind the tank. The cannon turned towards Deviree, her eyes widened. "Watch out!" Trebass tackled Deviree out of the way as a shell flew by her mane. The explosion knocked them both into the battlefield. The infantry behind the tank began to fire at Trebass and Deviree, they had nothing to take cover behind. A large explosion sent Diamond Dogs flying from behind the tank. "Nows your chance! Go!" Braeburn shouted, still firing bullets at the tank. Trebass began to run towards the tank, but fell face first into the sand. He screamed in agony, as a piece of debris stuck out of his leg. He looked back at Deviree, she was unconscious on the ground. It was up to him to take down the tank. He crawled towards the tank, with the grenade in his hoof. The tank was about ten (10) meters away from him. Luckily, he was so low that the tank driver wasn't able to see him. "Anytime now Trebass!" Braeburn loaded another magazine into his machine gun. Trebass finally came right next to the tank. He placed the grenade in his mouth, and tried to pull himself up onto the moving tank with his hooves. The pain of the debris that stuck out of his leg was unbearable. He lifted himself up onto the side of the tank and spit out the grenade into his hoof. The tank sped up suddenly, Trebass lost his balance and fell onto the top hatch. The hatch snapped open, and out popped a burly Diamond Dog. The Diamond Dog reached out and grabbed Trebass by the neck. Trebass quickly placed the grenade in vest pocket. The Diamond Dog shook Trebass back and forth, his paws wrapped around his neck. The white unicorn gasped for air, as he clawed at his own throat for breath. Through the struggling and the flailing, Trebass caught a glimpse of the M.A.S.T. It read "Forty-Eight (48) Hours" "Great... Just great." Is what Trebass would have been thinking if he wasn't being strangled at the time. Trebass felt his life flashing before his eyes. The sound of a shell being fired at his friends crushed his eardrums. The shell exploded on the boulder that Braeburn was hiding behind. Trebass couldn't see anything past the smoke and dust that the shell had created, but he couldn't think about his friends now. The Diamond Dog's grip tightened, Trebass' gasped for air as his lungs felt like they were about to explode. Everything began to fade for Trebass. His hearing was muffled, his body began to numb, and all the figures around him began to blurr. *BANG* The loud gunshot whizzed past Trebass' mane. The Diamond Dog who was suffocating him fell over, with a bullet sized hole through his head. Trebass fell with him, but he grabbed the side of the tank as his enemy drifted further away from the moving vehicle. The white unicorn's hooves were just barely dragging on the dusty dunes, as he was face to face with the tank's treads. Trebass pulled himself up onto the side of the tank. He opened the hatch that led into the interior of the tank. A brown Diamond Dog was pulling levers and pushing buttons inside. The Dog looked behind him, eyes wide open to find a pony had breached their defences. "Just dropping a package off, no need to sign." Trebass pulled the pin and tossed it to the scrawny Diamond Dog in the tank. Without hesitation, Trebass jumped from the tank onto the sandy desert floor. The debris was still stuck in his back leg. "Damnit. I didn't think I would go out like this..." Trebass closed his eyes, but felt something pulling him up. He eyes shot open, and saw Braeburn below him. The earth pony was carrying Trebass on his shoulders. The two walked about four (4) steps before the grenade detonated inside the tank. *KABOOM* The explosion caused Braeburn to fall over on his face, and Trebass to fall on his side. Braeburn looked over to the tank, there was nothing left of it except a metal skeleton of an army vehicle. "I can't leave you alone for five (5) minutes can I?" Braeburn said smugly, as he lifted himself off the ground. Trebass smiled, then rested himself on a nearby boulder. He looked behind him. Deviree was still laying there, unconcious. "We better set up camp, before it gets dark again. You grab Deviree over to that large palm tree over there. I'll go see if we can grab some supplies from the dead soldiers." Braeburn picked up his gun, and trotted off towards the metal skeleton that was originally a tank. "What happened to don't lay a hoof on her?" Trebass asked, jokingly. Braeburn turned his head, "Just. This. Once." He began to walk towards the tank again. Trebass sighed, as he crawled over to Deviree. He stood up on one of his back legs. He picked her up, and began to hop towards the palm tree in the distance. He stared up at the sky, the sun was already setting. The sky looked like a giant rainbow as the colour transitioned from dark blue to yellow then to red. The red sky surounded the sun as it set behind a large dusty hill. He finally reached the palm tree, and by the time he had placed Deviree down, she was already asleep. "From unconcious to slumber... What a strange mare..." Trebass whispered to himself. He took off his vest and placed it around Deviree, who was now curled up in a ball. He thought he could hear her whisper "Thank you..." But his hearing was still a bit nullified, so he wasn't too sure. Trebass took the lighter that Braeburn had given him earlier, and broke off some branches from the nearby bushes. He started a fire some distance away from the palm tree so that it wouldn't burst up in flames. Trebass had enough of things going up in flames, including his love life. About half an hour passed, Braeburn finally returned. "I found some rations on the dead soldier. Enough for all of us." Braeburn noticed Deviree, with Trebass' vest on her sleeping body, the light of the fire flickering on and off her face. "You're a kind fellow. If I were to leave her with anypony, it would be you." Braeburn smiled, and tossed a ration tin at Trebass. He caught it, and opened it. There wasn't much in it, some baked beans and rice, but that was it. He saw Braeburn place down three flasks down next to the fire. "What do we do now? Since the shelter is lost..." Trebass asked, he was wondering if anypony else made it out alive. He prayed that the little foal he had helped was alive. Surely the Diamond Dogs wouldn't have been so cruel as to kill a child. Would they? He thought of the mare back at the Equestrian Cloud, how he couldn't do anything to save her. All these burdens weighed heavily on him. Braeburn interrupted Trebass train of thought, "We should find the nearest military base. It's the safest place for you and Deviree." "What about you?" Trebass asked. "I'll continue to fight for my princess, and for my ponies. If I fall in battle, I want you to protect Deviree. Understand?" Braeburn handed a flask to Trebass. Trebass took the flask, "You have my word."
Chapter 8: The Morning Brings Bad NewsTrebass awoke, the sun was just rising over the hill. Braeburn was still laying down next to Deviree. The fire that burned last night was now turned to black ash. The cool desert breeze rustled the palm tree leaves. The white unicorn stood up and stretched. The pain in his back leg had began to ease. He remembered that Braeburn had removed the debris and wrapped a bandage around his leg last night. The pain eased enough for Trebass to walk around with all four of his legs. He glanced back at the sleeping couple. The fact that they were both sleeping under his own vest bothered Trebass, but not very much. He decided to exercise his leg, to get used to the feeling. He walked over to a bush that was about fifteen (15) metres away from the palm tree. The cool morning air refreshed him in a strange way. Trebass was about to touch the bush, but he stopped. He heard hoofsteps, quiet ones. His hearing had been restored enough to realize that he wasn't alone. He looked all around him. The only possible hiding places he could see were behind the broken boulders from the day before and the tank that was now reduced to scrap metal. He pulled out his revolver from it's holster and pulled back the hammer. He extended it from his face so that he could look down the sights. He walked slowly towards the broken boulders. He pressed his back against the largest one. He slowly looked around the corner. He saw nothing. He continued around the corner, then suddenly. *THUD* Trebass felt a large blunt object on the back of his head. He fell to the ground and caught a glimpse of a mysteriously hooded character. Based on the hooves and tail that were sticking out of it's cloak, it was obvious that it was pony. Trebass quickly aimed his revolver at the hooded figure. But the figure used his back leg to kick the gun out of his hooves. Trebass tried to get up, but the figure kicked him down. "You'll wish you never crossed my path." The mysterious figure said, as he pulled out a knife from his cloak. Trebass rolled off to the side, as the figure thrusted the knife into the ground where he was originally laying. Trebass got up quickly but his leg was still sore, but it wasn't anything that could stop him. He glanced to the side where his gun was laying. The figure was approaching him slowly, the knife still in his hooves. Trebass dove for his gun, and aimed it at the figure. He pulled the trigger. *BANG* The gunshot echoed throughout the barren wastelands, past the tanks, and to the snoring Braeburn who was still lying next to Deviree. The bullet had just missed the figure. "Seriously?" Trebass thought to himself, as he stood up to back away from the figure. "You're really bad at aiming huh? I'll make this quick." The figure spoke with a familiar voice. Trebass couldn't quite put his hoof on it, but he felt like he knew this pony's name. His eyes widened, but he needed to confirm his suspicions. He threw himself at the hooded figure. Trebass ripped the hood off of his enemy. The sight shocked him. The pony had a greyish black coat, with a blue and silver mane. It was Thunderlane. "Why?" Was all that Trebass could ask. "Because the Diamond Dogs want you dead, thats why!" Thunderlane shouted. "You're being very vague. There's more to this story isn't there?" Trebass knew something was amiss, but decided to let Thunderlane explain it himself. "They've got my marefriend and her sister. If I don't kill the corporal, they'll die..." Thunderlane sighed with a saddened look on his face. "But why Braeburn?" Trebass asked. "Braeburn has nothing to do with this! It's you they're after." Thunderlane said, with a strange look on his face. "W-What?!" Trebass was even more confused than ever. For one thing, he wasn't a corporal. Second of all, why would the Diamond Dogs even know him? After all, he wasn't from this time or place. "They never gave me your name, but they described you as a white unicorn with a black mane. They only referred to you as The Corporal. I assumed you were part of the army, even thought I've never seen you around her before." Thunderlane added. "Wait... Fleur De Lis knew who I was, even thought she had never seen me before! Maybe these two events are connected..." Trebass thought to himself. But while he was lost in thought, Trebass had been pinned down Thunderlane. "I'm sorry, but I have to finish the job." Thunderlane raised his knife. "So has it come to this? I will perish, without finding out who Bable is? Without finding true love? Without besting my rival in the game of love?" Trebass closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate.
Chapter 8: (ALTERNATE ENDING)Thunderlane plunged the knife into Trebass' heart. Everything went quiet for the longest time. The grey pegasus removed the knife from his prey's body. "What have I done...." He whispered to himself. The white unicorn just lay there, his eyes closed. Thunderlane turned around, and headed towards the civilian shelter. Which was about half a days trip. For the entire trip, he never looked back. Not once out of shame, not once to mourn the death of his companion. The blood that dripped from his hooves merged with the sweat that the heat of the sun had created. He finally saw multiple figures patrolling around an area. Thunderlane walked a bit further and realized that they were Diamond Dogs. The Dogs recognized him, and allowed him to pass. The pegasus looked around, and saw the bodies of dead civilians. The ragged and tattered clothing made it very hard to realize they were deceased. The sight made Thunderlane sick, but he held it in as he stepped down the staircase that led into the civilian shelter. He was at the bottom of the stairs, and he found a Diamond Dog that towered above all the others. He wore a vest made of colourful gems. It was clear that this was the leader of the Diamond Dogs. "Have you completed your mission?" The leader asked with a booming voice. The other Diamond Dogs toasted wine and messily ate the rations that were stored in the ration vault. Thunderlane ignored them and replied, "Yes sir. The Corporal is dead." "Very good. As promised, I will return your loved ones to you." The leader snapped his fingers, and two more Diamond Dogs came out of a room. Following them were two blue pegasi that had gags around their mouths. The guards removed the gags. "Thunderlane!" One of the pegasi called out. "Shut up!" One of the more vile looking Diamond Dogs pushed her to the ground. Thunderlane was about to attack the Diamond Dog, but he was held back by two more guards behind him. "Let me go! You promised their safety!" Thunderlane shouted. "I promised I would return them to you. And I have. But now..." The leader took out two pistols from his coat. "No... Please no!" Thunderlane was about to break down in tears, as he watched the two pegasi cry. "P..Please Help us...." The pegasi were drenched in tears. "No one can help you now. But I'll leave you with this. The pegasus you see standing in front of you has murdered an innocent pony. That cannot be forgiven. Do you really want to live with somepony a filthy as he?" The leader put one pistol to each of the pegasi's head. The smaller pegasus looked up at Thunderlane, "Is... This true?" Thunderlane stuttered, "N-No! I.. I mean.. I did... But..." Both pegasi turned away from Thunderlane. "How does it feel? Do be rejected by those you love. And you achieved all of this, by murdering an innocent unicorn. You're pathetic." The leader pulled the hammer back on each of his guns. Thunderlane didn't dare to appose the leader of the Diamond Dogs, other wise he would have gotten a bullet in his head. "Say good-bye to your precious Flitter and Cloudchaser." The leader pulled the triggers on both the guns.
Chapter 9: Sacrifice and Sacrilege*BANG* Another gunshot echoed past Trebass' ears. Thunderlane fell on top of Trebass, a patch of blood began to leak onto his white coat. Trebass pushed Thunderlane off of his body. He got up to face his saviour. Braeburn stood there, smoke emanating from his machine gun's barrel. "Pathetic, may Princess Celestia herself damn you to hell." Braeburn cursed the now dead body of Thunderlane. "They had his family Braeburn!" Trebass shouted. "It doesn't matter. He betrayed his nation. So he betrayed his own family." Braeburn turned his back to Trebass. Trebass simply sighed, as he followe Braeburn back to the palm tree. By the time the two stallions arrived, Deviree had just awoken. It seemed that she had slept through the entire fight, which would have been for the best. "Good morning you two!" Deviree greeted them with cheeriness. Her voice was like a refreshing splash of water to Trebass' face, since he had been confronted with so much hatred and despair recently. Braeburn handed Deviree on of the six (6) ration tins that he had found the other night, he also handed her one of the three (3) flasks of water." Trebass reached for one of the tins and opened it. He slowly ate the beans and rice, then washed it down with a flask of water. Braeburn simply sat there, motionless. Deviree and Trebass finished their rations. Braeburn decided to save his rations for later. The three of them set off to the north. They walked for about an hour, Trebass could see a large archway in the distance. The archway connected two large large desert walls. "That's Nightmare's Gorge, a railroad track runs over the archway. The train should be coming around right about now." Braeburn explained. Trebass stopped, and turned around. He could hear a loud rumbling behind him. The ground beneath him began to vibrate, the pebbles shook violently. Five (5) tanks rolled in from behind the hills. They approached the three ponies quickly. "How did they find us again?!" Trebass began to run towards Nightmare's Gorge with Braeburn and Deviree. "They must have heard the gunshots from earlier!" Braeburn galloped faster and faster as the tanks were speeding up to them. "What gunshots?!" Deviree asked. "We ran into... an old friend earlier this morning." Trebass looked back at the tanks. The tanks began to fire shells at the three of them. Braeburn arrived underneath the archway. He heard the sound of a train traveling towards the archway quickly. Trebass and Deviree caught up with Braeburn. "There are too many take down with two grenades! What are we gonna do?" Trebass asked. Braeburn looked up at the archway above him. A thought crossed his mind. He didn't like the idea he was getting, but it was the only way. He pulled Trebass to one side, away from Deviree, and lowered his voice "I'm going to blow up the archway." Trebass backed away, "But... Won't tha-" He was cut off. "I know what will happen to me. But you have to take Deviree and get out of here. I'll take down the archway and you get her to the nearest military base north of here." Braeburn looked at Deviree, she was keeping an eye on the tanks that were approaching. Deviree turned to them, "What's the plan guys?" Trebass and Braeburn both looked at her with saddened faces. "What's the matter? They're getting closer!" Deviree trotted over to Braeburn. Trebass grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her away. "Hey! What are you doing?!" She tried to release herself from Trebass' grip, but he didn't give in. "Braeburn help!" She called out to her partner, but he simply turned away and started walking towards the archway. Braeburn began to scale the inside of the archway, he reached the top and rested on a ledge that stuck out from the cliff. He could see Deviree, still crying out to him. "Are you crazy?! You'll kill yourself!" Deviree panicked, Trebass was still restraining her. "We have to go. Now." Trebass pulled her away from the archway. "No! I won't leave him!" Deviree pulled out her revolver from it's hollister, Trebass smacked it out of her hoof. "Why are you doing this?!" Deviree looked at Trebass with teary eyes. The white unicorn said nothing, and resumed pulling her away. Braeburn placed a grenade on the ledge he was sitting on, then grabbed onto a stalactite that hung from the bottom of the archway. The entire bottom of the archway from littered with stalactites. He leaped from stalactite to stalactite all the way to the other side of the archway. By the time he had reached the other side, the tank were just beneath him and Deviree was out of sight. "Now I have no regrets." Braeburn pulled out his rifle and aimed at the grenade the he had placed on the other side of the archway. He pulled the trigger, and a bullet was sent flying. A large explosion caused half of the archway to collapse. He took out his second (2nd) grenade, then pulled the pin. The detonation obliterated the rest of the archway, along with Braeburn. Trebass and Deviree watched from a distance. Deviree broke down in tears, as Trebass saluted his friend that had sacrificed himself so that they could fight another day. Debris and rubble completely blocked the tanks from proceeding any further. "We need to hurry, they'll send infantry to climb over that rubble soon." Trebass rested a hoof on Deviree's shoulder. They began to trek north. For hours, they said nothing. Complete silence filled the air as the two looked at the sandy road. They made their way out of Nightmare's Gorge, and out into the open. Trebass could see something small in the distance, it was shaped like a cube and black. It looked like they had found the military base Braeburn had instructed Trebass to take Deviree to. The base was too far, it looked like they would have to rest the night. It had taken them the entire afternoon to escape Nightmare's Gorge, and it looked like the sun was already setting. They decided to make a fire for the night, then continue in the morning. Trebass glanced at his M.A.S.T. It read, "Twenty-Four (24) Hours Remain" He sighed, then realized something. The Eyeglass was still at the crash site! It was clear that the sight was too far back for him to make it in a day. Plus, the Diamond Dogs were still back there, what was he going to do? The two collected branches from dead bushes to create a small fire that would last them the night. The sun had already set, and the moon was just about to rise. For the longest time, neither of them spoke a word. But Deviree spoke up. "Why did you agree to his plan? And why did you pull me away from him?" She asked, quietly. The wolves howled in the night, but Trebass ignored them. "I guess I just don't like seeing mares getting hurt. And his plan was the only way we could escape." "But there could have been another wa-" Deviree never finished her sentence, as Trebass leaned in for a kiss. Their lips collided, and the crackle of the fire was the only sound in the middle of the desert. Even the wolves paused their howling for the two lovers underneath the moon. The stars themselves began to twinkle in applaud for them. With their eyes both closed Trebass climbed on top of Deviree. His horn glowed, then the fire perished into ash. No pony could see the acts the two were comitting. For Trebass, it felt like the night had lasted forever.
Chapter 10: No More Chains to Hold us BackThe morning came again. Deviree was asleep in Trebass' arms. The sun was no where to be found. The sky was empty of clouds. Trebass opened his eyes. The pile of ash from last night was still there, the dusty wind blew swirls of sand around, and Deviree was still in his arms asleep. He glanced towards her flank, it was only then that he noticed the Dove that was imprinted across it. "What an interesting Cutie Mark..." Trebass thought to himself. He quietly removed himself from Deviree, trying his best not to wake her up. He stood up and stretched again. He decided not to wander off this time, the last time he did had almost killed him. He was cheerful for a moment, then he had remembered the events of the day before. Even though Braeburn was gone, he couldn't help feeling guilty for falling in love with his soul mate. He took out another ration tin. There was an extra two (2) tins that Deviree and Trebass could share. "He'll have plenty to eat where he is now." Trebass opened the tin. He sat beside Deviree, who was sleeping under Trebass' vest again. The white unicorn was careful not to wake her with his eating. He scarfed down the beans and rice, then took a large gulp of the water flask. He wiped his mouth, then tossed the tin to the side. The sound of the tin hitting the ground woke Deviree up. "Oops, crap." Trebass was hoping not to awaken her. "Mm... What was that?" Deviree asked as she rubbed her eyes. "Um... Nothing. We should probably get going soon." Trebass tried to cover up his mistake, but he knew that Deviree could see through it. "Don't lie to me, I can read you like a book." She said, wrapping her arms around him. Trebass kissed her lightly on the cheek, "We really should get going..." "C'mon sweetie... Just a few more minutes?" Deviree pleaded, running her hoof down his chest. Trebass carefully removed her hoof. Deviree sighed, "What's the matter now?" Trebass glanced at the black building in the distance, "I've... Got to be somewhere in less than twenty-four (24) hours." Deviree paused for a moment, then stepped back a bit. "There's somepony else... Isn't there?" "No, of course not... It's just... My family is far away from here." Trebass tried to make up an excuse, not wanting to tell her about the mares he had fallen in love with. He felt terrible for his act of lust, but he attempted to block it out. "I see... I'm sure we could find a way to get there. Maybe the military base over there has a transport carrier heading to your home?" Deviree stood up, so did Trebass. Trebass began to collect his possessions, as did Deviree. Their guns, rations, and clothes were laying around where the fire was the night before. They began to walk towards the military base in the distance. It took them nearly an hour to make it half way when suddenly, something caused them to stop. A loud throttling noise came from behind them. Trebass turned around, numerous Diamond Dogs on motorbikes were riding towards them. The Dogs were twirling around chains and shooting guns off their bikes. "Run!" Trebass grabbed Deviree and began to gallop towards the military base. The Dog's motorbikes caught up to the two ponies. They began to ride circles around them. Trebass felt a cold metal chain wrapping around his back legs. One of the chains tripped him as he fell on his face. They began to drag him around in a circle. The wheel of another motorbike was just inches away from Trebass' face and kicked up sand and dust in his face. Deviree reached for her revolvers, but the sound of a something else in the distance stopped her. A black helicopter emitted a loud whirring noise as it flew towards her. She smiled, as she saw a familiar face in the cockpit. "Sergeant Iron Will. It's been a while." She smiled, then began shooting at the circling Dogs. Trebass mouth filled up with dirt as he was dragged around circles by the chain wrapped around his leg. He managed to pull his revolver out of it's holster. He began shooting at the bike that the chain was attached to. The chain snapped, and Trebass rolled out of the path of the other bikes. He limped over to Deviree as she was still shooting at the motorbikes. The Dogs were too quick, and they easily dodged each of her shots. It wasn't too long until she had run out of rounds. "I'm out, but it's not over yet." She said, looking up. Trebass looked up with her, but then covered his eyes with his hoof. The spinning propeller of a helicopter swirled dust up in his face. He could see a recognizable face in the windshield. A minotaur smiled at him, then took a step back. The door on the side opened, and a large mini-gun emerged. Iron Will took hold of it, and began firing at the Dogs. One by one, the Diamond Dogs flipped off their bikes. Soon, only Deviree and Trebass were left standing. The helicopter lowered and landed then Sergeant Iron Will hopped down from it. "Hello Sergeant!" Deviree saluted. Trebass saluted as well, but didn't say anything. He hoped the Sergeant wouldn't recognize him from the Equestrian Cloud. "Equestrian Cloud.... Equestrian Cloud.... Wait a minute!" Trebass remembered that the Eyeglass was still at the Equestrian Cloud wreckage. "Iron Will! I need a ride back to the crash site of the Equestrian Cloud!" Trebass blurted out. Iron will snapped his head towards Trebass. He gave him a glare that sent a shiver up Trebass' spine. "Trebass! You can't address the Sergeant like that!" Deviree whispered loudly. "I would be furious if I was still a Sergeant." Iron Will looked at the ground with a saddened look on his face. "What do you mean if you were still a Sergeant?" Deviree asked. "I have resigned as of today. I just handed in my papers an hour ago. Then I saw something in the distance, two ponies who were very familiar." The retired sergeant replied. "But... Why?!" Deviree asked again. "I have let my princess down. I failed to save my own soldiers. There was one parachute, and I took it for myself. I fought through squadrons of Diamond Dogs to get here. But it wasn't enough to atone for me abandoning my soldiers." Iron Will clenched his fist tightly. All three of them had a moment of silence for their dead comrades. Braeburn, the civilians, even Thunderlane. The more Trebass thought about them, the more rage filled his body. "None of us are soldiers. Not anymore. We have the freedom to do what we please, so let's avenge our fallen brethren! Nothing can stop us anymore! No more superiors, no more emotions, no more fallen ponies, not even Celestia herself can slow us down!" Trebass raised his hoof in the air inspirationally. Iron Will and Deviree nodded, then they all climbed into the helicopter. It flew off the ground and into the direction of the Equestrian Cloud.
END CHAPTERTrebass could see the smoke rising in the distance, they were approaching what was left of the Equestrian Cloud. The spinning blades on top of the helicopter whirred just inches above his head. The side door was open, Deviree was sitting behind a gatling gun that was attached to the helicopter. Iron Will sat in the cockpit piloting the heli itself. "We're getting closer. If the heli gets too close then it'll be shot down in seconds. Trebass, you'll parachute and take the Eyeglass out of here!" Iron Will shouted over the whirring of the helicopter blades. "H-How did you-" Trebass asked, but was interrupted by a bag thrown onto his chest. Deviree sat there, "You better come back to me. Or else I'll shoot you down myself." She hugged Trebass. Trebass kissed her then came up for breath, "I'll come back, I promise." Iron Will glanced over his shoulder, then smiled and returned his eyes to the smoke in the distance. It took them almost all morning to get to their destination. "When you two love birds are done, I think Trebass stop is coming up." Iron Will pointed forward. The metal skeleton of the Equestrian Cloud rose out from behind the hills. But this time, something was different. A tall flag was planted at the very top of the wreckage. The flag had a gemstone on it with the face of a hound inside it. The sight below the flag was horrible. Ponies hung by ropes from the sides of the wreckage. The image disgusted Trebass, he felt like vomiting. Iron Will didn't seem fazed, but Deviree was in the back puking in the corner. They were just above the metal skeleton now. Trebass turned to face Deviree, after she had wiped the puke from her mouth. He kissed her on the lips. "O-Oh, I'm sorry... The vomit..." Deviree blushed, as she flustered embarrassingly. "Oh, I barely noticed. I got lost in your eyes for a bit." Trebass jokingly said. An awkward silence lasted a few seconds, until the two of them began to giggle loudly. "Now you're making me blow chunks! Get ready to jump kid!" Iron Will gagged. Trebass stuck his head out of the open side door. He looked down, it seemed like he was about a mile above the ground. "Can't you lower the helicopter a bit-" Trebass asked, but was cut off. "NOPE!" Iron Will kicked Trebass out of the helicopter. Trebass shouted something angrily at the minotaur, but the sound of the helicopter blades drowned it out. Iron Will smiled, then closed the side door. "I'm gonna get you back one of these days!" Trebass shouted in his mind. He faced the ground as he descended towards the wreckage site. He pulled the ring on his parachute and the sail cloth came out of the bag on his back. Trebass began to descend onto the surface of the Equestrian Cloud quickly. Suddenly, the sound of bursting guns echoed from below. He was being shot at! The bullets pierced his sail cloth, he began to descend even faster. It wasn't long until his body slammed onto the side of the grounded aircraft. He managed to grab onto a piece of loose metal sticking out from the side. The shouts of his enemies below caused him to look down. The Dogs that were shooting at him looked like little ants to him, little ants with guns. He glanced at his M.A.S.T. It read "Fifteen (15) Minutes Until Departure." He was running out of time. He took out his pistol, and aimed it at a nearby window. The window shattered, as Trebass jumped from the piece of metal he was holding onto. He landed on top of one of the passenger seats. But it wasn't the area where the Eyeglass was, he had to keep looking. He decided to search the upper area of the plane. Trebass climbed from seat to seat until he reached the door to the next room of the plane. The carrier was buried in the ground on a slant, which made the task even harder. He opened the door, but immediately jumped back into one of the seats behind him. Suitcases and all sorts of luggages fell from the next room and onto the bottom of the plane. He resumed climbing and searching, but to no avail. He finally reached the very top of the wreckage. A hatch was above him, he opened it. He emerged to find a helicopter in the distance shooting at the ground. "That's the distraction, time to find the Eyeglass." Trebass climbed out of the hatch, but was stopped by a large paw wrapping around his neck. "You're not going anywhere!" A Diamond Dog had ambushed him. Trebass had a sense of "De Ja Vu" as he had been in this situation before. But this time, he didn't have anypony to help him. Pulled out his pistol, and shot the Dog right in the knee. The Diamond Dog shouted in pain, as Trebass pushed off of his captor with his back legs. The Dog fell back into the hatch, the hatch door slammed shut and locked it self. Meanwhile, Trebass found himself sliding down the steep incline of the Equestrian Cloud. He was approaching the bottom speedily, until suddenly... "Aha! Gotcha this time!" A Diamond Dog had popped out of another hatch in front of him. Trebass' back legs collided with the Dog's face, as they both were knocked into the hatch. The two fell onto the inside of the aircraft as Trebass grabbed onto a nearby seat. It was much steeper inside the Equestrian Cloud than on the outside. The Diamond Dog held onto Trebass' back left leg crying for help. "I don't think so pal." Trebass shoved his right back leg into the Dog's face. The impact sent the dog falling. Trebass closed his eyes, as he heard the sound of the Dog hitting the bottom. He opened his eyes and looked up. He saw the hatch above him had not locked itself yet. He reached up and opened the hatch. He climbed out, and began to slide down again, this time more slowly. About halfway down the plane's outer body, his M.A.S.T. began to beep loudly. It read, "Dimensional Transport Unit Detected in Nearby Radius." "What the hell does that mean?!" Trebass yelled out frustratingly. His loud tone of voice attracted the attention of more Diamond Dogs on the ground. "Uh oh." Trebass said to himself. He had to find cover quickly, the Dogs had already begun shooting at him. He opened a nearby hatch and jumped down into it. The first thing that caught his eye was the massive hole in the side of the plane. "That's it!" He blurted out. He remembered that the Eyeglass flew out of the plane when it was shot down by the Diamond Dogs. He took another look at the M.A.S.T. There was an arrow that pointed west of the giant hole. The timer was also counting down from "Five (5) Minutes" He stuck his head outside, he could see the helicopter above him being shot down. A massive explosion knocked it into the side of the aircraft. It was close enough for Trebass to jump into. "Here we go again..." Trebass sighed, as he leaped from the hole towards the helicopter. He managed to grab hold of the pontoons on the bottom of the helicopter. A helping hoof reached out to him and pulled him up, it was Deviree's. "No luck?" Deviree asked. "I think it's somewhere down there!" Trebass pointed to the sandy ground. "I'll try to land this thing, but you have to shoot down any anti-aircraft units on the ground!" Iron Will shouted. Trebass nodded, but an explosion knocked him and Deviree back. Deviree was knocked unconscious as she hit the back of the helicopter. "Looks like it's up to me." Trebass grabbed the handles of the outside minigun. He began firing at the ground as Iron Will descended. They landed in a clear space surrounded by walls of debris. "This is as far as I go." Iron Will said, as he ripped the minigun from the helicopter. "I'll protect Deviree, you just focus on getting whatever you came here for. Oh, and take this. You're gonna need it later on." He tossed a Dove-Shaped key to Trebass. He caught it, then placed it in his vest pocket. "Thanks. For everything sarge." Trebass said as he ran towards the direction that his M.A.S.T. pointed. "For the last time, I'm not sergeant. Not anymore." Iron Will ran towards a group of Diamond Dogs with his minigun in hand. Trebass followed the arrow on his M.A.S.T. Finally, he saw the Eyeglass in the distance. But his joy was interrupted by an explosion near his hooves. He was sent flying into a piece of broken metal. "Ouch... Mines?!" He pulled out his pistol, just in case he ran into any more Dogs. Luckily, the explosion didn't injure him that much. He carefully slipped by the mines that were visible, and hoped he wouldn't trigger any that weren't visible. He finally made it to the Eyeglass. It was covered in rubble, but it looked like it would function properly. He found the metal helmet lying next to it, he placed it on his head. He looked at this M.A.S.T. The timer was counting down from ten (10) seconds. But, out of nowhere, a Diamond Dog leaped at him. He froze in place, he thought he was done for. Until suddenly... *BANG* The Diamond Dog was pushed to the side by a bullet placed in his head. Trebass could see the shooter in the distance, it was Deviree. She stood on top of the helicopter and waved to her love. Trebass chuckled, then waved back. But by then, the Eyeglass had already activated and everything around him began to fade away. The vision of Deviree was replaced by a black and red pegasus in a lab coat sitting at a table, sipping his tea away. "Ah, you're back. That was quick." Alexander placed his cup of tea down. "Quick? How long was I gone?" Trebass asked, as he removed the metal helmet from his head. "About Twenty (20) minutes." Alexander replied. "T-Twenty (20) minutes?! I was in there for days!" Trebass exclaimed. "I guess time passes differently when your in different dimensions. Anyways, did you find out anything about Bable yet?" Alexander asked. "No, I was too busy fighting off hordes of canine terrorists!" Trebass exited the Eyeglass. "Interesting, I'd like to hear more of your adventure. How about over dinner?" Alexander walked with Trebass towards the vault door. "How about over a drink? I'm practically taken in two (2) dimensions you know?" Trebass chuckled. Alexander nodded, and they both exchanged laughter. "Wait a minute... Two?"
