FiMTech - The Clan Civil War - EDITED (BattleTech Crossover)

by Dead_Mares

Rating: mature
Tags: Fluttershy, Violence, Princess Celestia, Crossover, Tragedy, Profanity, Discord, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, BattleTech, Death, Romance, Princess Luna, Original Character, Science Fiction, Suicide / Self Harm
Length: 85317

Sundance, a young MechWarrior recruit, must fight in a war he has no part in. When push comes to shove, will he follow orders and pray for survival? Or will he do what he knows is right at the almost certain risk of death?

Fair warning, I'm going to start rewriting this story soon, so I wouldn't suggest investing too much time or effort into it. I'll post a link to that story once I start writing it. Honestly this story is rather poorly written (it was my first completed story, to be fair), so it will definitely be worth waiting for the rewrite. It's gonna have a new plotline, new scenes, new characters; the whole nine yards.

A young colt named Sundance is cruelly stolen from his home by the military while the rest of his town is slaughtered, and is raised with many other foals to fight in the Clan Civil War. Upon reaching twelve years of age he is moved to the Sibko with the other freeborn cadets from his home town where they train to become MechWarriors. However; things are changing in Clan Draconequus, and these young soldiers will soon see the worst ponykind has to offer.

Meanwhile, tension is brewing in Equestria, hundreds of light years away. Discord’s anger at the loss of his friend to the Clan Invasion has reached its breaking point, but his weakening powers leave him unable to seek out the revenge he desires. Fueled by half a century of boiling hatred and a stinging betrayal, Discord will stop at nothing to sate his now twisted thirst for justice.

Published 2019-02-14 21:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-04-19 20:54:38 UTC

Prologue

In the early morning on the small planet of Dike, while the sky was still dull grey, soldiers filed silently into the town of Styx. The only sounds to be heard were the muffled clanking of rifles, the dull thuds of the soldiers’ boots hitting the cobblestone, and the wheels of carts being pulled.

The grizzled Star Commander of the forces, a well respected and greatly feared unicorn, halted upon reaching the town square, signaling for the soldiers behind him to do the same. He gazed out at the silent buildings, searching for movement while taking in the calm, early-morning scene for a few moments. One of the Point Commanders walked up to the Star Commander.

“Commander Bolt? What is the reason for the delay?” the Point Commander said.

Commander Thunder Bolt stood still and inhaled deeply, his nostrils flaring. A devilish smile spread slowly across his face. “I just wanted to absorb the scenery of this wretched slum before it becomes overwhelmed by smoke and the stench blood,” he said, with a flick of his tail. “Let us proceed.”

At Thunder’s command, the soldiers charged into the city, their battle cries breaking the silence. Doors crashed across the town as they were ripped off of their hinges and soldiers rushed inside. Screams could be heard echoing down every street, with gun fire here and there. A mare was thrown out into the street, only to be shot by a soldier inside. Moments later another soldier came out carrying a young crying colt. The colt was shackled and thrown into a cart, along with many other foals.

Thunder walked down the street, savoring the pain all around him. Nothing got him going more than a good purging. Maybe he would even participate himself if he felt particularly lively.

A soldier ran up to Thunder and saluted. “Commander Bolt, Sir!” he said.

Thunder regarded him coldly. The soldiers knew their role, and this one had interrupted him while he was in a particularly good mood. “What is it,” he said, more demanding than asking.

“The carts are full, Commander. We can’t carry any more foals. What should we do with the rest, Sir?”

Thunder glanced at the carts in the town square, surprised. Sure enough, all four of the uncomfortable transport carts had their full thirty foals chained to the rails, with no room to cram in more of the detestable vermin. He hadn’t expected there to be this many young ponies in such a small town. “Aff. We will have to do something to sort out this dilemma.” He thought for a moment before looking back at the soldier. “Kill the rest. We have appropriated enough freeborn filth.”

The soldier was startled for a second, before snapping back to attention. “I’m sorry Sir, but kill the young ones? Isn’t that too barbaric, even for us?”

Thunder regarded him for a second. “That is what I said, correct?” He advanced on the soldier menacingly, and the soldier started backwards. His rear hooves hit the edge of a fountain and he stopped, nowhere else to go. He looked around for escape, panic-stricken, but it was too late.

Thunder brought his face inches from the soldier’s. “You overstep, soldier.” He grabbed the soldier by the back of the helm and threw him to the ground, then wrenched the rifle from his grasp. He planted one hoof on the soldiers chest, pinning him to the cobblestones, and jammed the gun barrel up underneath the soldier’s chin. “Never challenge my commands.”

The muzzle of the rifle flashed as Thunder fired the rifle straight into the soldier’s head, killing him instantly. Blood immediately began pooling underneath the body, flowing freely into the storm drains situated around the fountain. Thunder stepped off the soldier, wiped a bit of blood off of his uniform, and tossed the rifle onto the body. He looked up, realizing he had an audience. The soldiers in the vicinity had stopped and were staring at the scene before them.

Thunder looked back out at the soldiers, challenging them with his stare. “Any other queries?” he shouted, spitting out the word queries like a bad taste in his mouth. A few ponies shook their heads, and the rest remained silent, not wanting to anger the Commander further. “Good. Now go! Kill the rest! I want this town to run red with their blood!”

“Aff, Commander!” The soldiers shouted. The sound of gunfire picked up as the soldiers gunned down any ponies they came across. The screams resumed, new terror behind them. Thunder reveled in the death of the trash around him, each pony’s terrified scream being cut short as a bullet was put through their head, or maybe their heart. The pain of other ponies always made Thunder feel exhilarated, like a young foal on Hearth's Warming morning.

Thunder turned towards the rising sun, red streaks of light pouring out from the mountains like rivers. “Don’t leave a single one alive!” he yelled as the soldiers continued running through the buildings, killing anyone in their way.

Movement from the corner of his eye caught Thunder’s attention. A white mare hiding in the shadows, gazing out at the horrifying sights around her. A teenage pegasus, ripe for the picking. She suddenly noticed Thunder watching her, pure glee plastered all over his face, and she let out a high pitched shriek. Her wings unfolded in an adorable helpless manner, and she pressed her back against the wall behind her. Thunder sauntered over to her, considering his options. This was his favorite part of every invasion. Seeing the terror in the eyes of his victims, basking in their screams, and feeling the life leave their helpless bodies. But how to do it? Dismemberment? Asphyxiation? Blunt trauma? Oh, the possibilities were endless!

Thunder reached the poor mare, mere inches from her face. He breathed in her scent, hardly containing his excitement. A perfectly wonderful idea popped into his head, and seconds after his horn began glowing, he saw realization hit the mare immediately. An instant later, the screams began.

The sounds of bones snapping and flesh tearing permeated the defiled morning air. For minutes, the mare screamed in pure agony, pleading for death as her body twisted and contorted in horrible, unnatural ways, manipulated by Thunder's magic. However, her pleas fell on deaf ears, and Thunder continued mutilating her in his trance-like state. The mare’s struggles grew weaker, her screams less urgent. As her eyes fluttered closed and the life mercifully left her body at last, the sun finally crested the mountains, shedding light on the terrible sight of the town. Bodies of families lined the street, and the ground was slick with the blood of the innocent. There wasn't even a single bird chirping.

Thunder let the body of the mare flop pitifully to the ground, and turned towards the sun that was peeking timidly over the horizon, as if the Great Spirit himself was terrified. A feeling of corrupt joy overwhelmed Thunder from head to hoof. “Today,” he said, almost to himself, “begins a new era.”

Chapter 1

Sundance was woken by the drill instructor shouting. Again.

“Out of bed you freebirths! Only dregs like you could still be asleep at a time like this! O-four-hundred is no time to be lazing about! Up now, or you’ll run fifty laps!”

The drill instructor always yelled at the cadets. That’s just what drill instructors do. The freeborn Sibkos always got the worst of it, though. In addition to the even more malignant insults compared to the trueborn Sibkos, the drill instructors treated the freeborn like literal trash and pushed them much harder. They actually tried to kill the freeborn recruits, and succeeded quite often.

Sundance had only been in his Sibko for two weeks after the new cycle of training began, but it felt like two years. Sleep was a myth, and if your entire being didn’t ache every time you moved, it’s probably because you’re dead. Training actually felt like hell, and Sundance had found himself wanting to collapse in the mud on more than one occasion.

Sundance groaned internally and hopped out of bed. He quickly made the sheets of his bed, threw on his cadet jacket, and ran over to stand in line. The last one ready when the drill instructor came in was in charge of cleaning the entire mess hall top to bottom after each meal that day, earning the “creative” nickname of Janitor for the rest of the day. It’s a punishment created by the Sibko, not the drill instructor, and the Janitor was still expected to make it to drill on time. They never do.

“You there! In the back!” the drill instructor shouted. Sundance risked a glance towards who the drill instructor was referring to. A blue earth pony with darker blue long, stringy hair and eyes the color of the ocean was struggling to his hooves after falling out of bed. “What do you think you’re doing?! You’re the only cadet not in line!” The colt looked around him, realization dawning on him. The poor guy probably slept right through the drill instructor’s shouting, until somepony nudged him out of bed.

“Boulder,” Sundance thought with pity. “Janitor again.” Boulder was the Janitor more often than any other pony. Boulder isn’t his actual name, but everypony calls him that. He sure as hell sleeps like one.

“Sorry sir,” Boulder mumbled in his whiny voice. He quickly made his bed and ambled to his spot in line, not at trace of haste in his step.

“Maybe your special talent should be pissing me off, cadet! You’re not fit to be a MechWarrior, and now you’re wasting my time!” The drill instructor walked down the line of recruits. “Thanks to your friend Boulder here, everypony is going to run the fifty laps I promised. Carrying full gear. Get a move on, scum!”

“Aff!” all the cadets shouted. They filed out of the door towards the field house where the gear was kept, Boulder bringing up the rear of the line. A light green earth pony with a silver and pink mane stepped out from the front of the group to unlock the field house and pass out the packs.

“Bittersweet. The drill instructor’s favorite tool, and everypony’s least favorite cadet.” Sundance thought. The only reason nobody shunned Bittersweet was because he was the best and oldest cadet in the Sibko. If there’s one ideal the drill instructor had indoctrinated into them, it’s that the strong have the right to do whatever they want, and the weak can only sit back and watch.

Bittersweet started pulling packs out of the field house and handed them to the cadets as they walked by. As soon as they had the packs fastened to their sides, they took off running through the uneven grass. Sundance risked a glance at Bittersweet as the packs were roughly pushed towards him. Bittersweet was fuming, and he was eying Boulder with pure hatred. Sundance felt sorry for Boulder. Making Bittersweet this angry never seemed to end well, and he got angry a lot.

Sundance walked out towards the field, coaxing the straps into place. “Why is this always so goddamn impossible?” he thought. “Warp Drive technology was invented two thousand years ago, yet they can’t come up with a way to easily fasten packs to a pony?” Sundance snorted.

Behind him, the end of the line of cadets finally reached Bittersweet. He angrily hefted a pair of bulging packs out of the field house and dropped them at Boulder’s hooves. “Get a move on, Janitor.” Bittersweet said to Boulder. “Maybe that’s your only destiny. Cleaning mess halls. What an aspirational future.” Bittersweet grabbed another pair of packs for himself and pushed past Boulder. The other cadets who hadn’t begun running yet snickered at him before following behind Bittersweet.

Boulder looked down at the packs and sighed. He reached one foreleg underneath the front strap and tried to lift the packs over his head, but instead he found himself falling head first into the muddy ground in front of the field house.

“What’s wrong with you, freebirth? Get out there!” the drill instructor shouted at him, marching towards the colt as he picked himself up and rubbed the mud off of his face. The drill instructor grabbed the packs, threw them onto Boulder’s back, and shoved him forward. He nearly lost his balance and catapulted himself into the ground again, but he managed to right himself, his legs shaking.

“GO! Do you want to be the next lifeless corpse to be thrown into the incinerator?!” the drill instructor hollered, advancing on the terrified colt. Boulder let out a yelp and scrambled towards the field.

Sundance finally managed to fasten the straps around himself and jogged out behind the other cadets. Boulder ran up behind him, already panting heavily. It looked like Bittersweet had shoved extra weights into the pack. No wonder he was having so much trouble.

Sundance looked over his shoulder at the colt. “Y’know, Janitor,” he began, “it would make your life, along with the rest of ours, ten times easier if you didn’t piss off the drill instructor constantly.”

Boulder shot him a look. “It’s not my fault I’m here... or that the stupid casket born drill instructor... is so damn rude.” he said in between breaths

“That’s true,” Sundance thought. “None of us chose to be here, but we are. The only two ways out are the Trial of Position and death. Pick which you want, and leave the rest of us out of it.” Sundance sped up. “Maybe other ponies would actually like you if you weren’t so useless,” he said bitterly, half to himself. Boulder shot something back, but Sundance didn’t bother to hear it.

“Stop being such a hypocritical prick, Sundance. You're no better than he is,” he thought. “I’m just another stupid, useless basket case. Freeborn filth that nopony else cares about. I can’t do anything right, so why try? Why am I still alive? Why can’t I just let myself die in this miserable place? Celestia have mercy on me, please…” He started running faster, not paying attention to anything else around him. He was so absorbed in his thoughts, he didn’t notice the cadets stopped in front of him, or the massive sinkhole that had opened up overnight and halted their morning exercise.

Sundance crashed headlong into the cadets stopped in front of him. They shouted in surprise, the entire group being shoved forward a couple of steps. There was a series of yells, followed by the sound of struggling and muffled thuds as the ponies in the front fell into the hole. After a stunned silence, a lone voice in the group called out, “It was him! He done it!”

Every pair of eyes present turned towards the pony who broke the silence, who was pointing at Sundance. He shook his head, dazed from the impact, and noticed the angry faces all turned towards him. The group parted as Bittersweet shouldered his way through towards Sundance. He stopped directly in front of him and glowered at him. “What was that about, dumbass? Are you trying to kill somepony?” Sundance stared up at the larger pony, too stunned to answer.

Bittersweet shoved him to the ground and stood over top of him. “I asked you a question, scum! What the fuck was that about?” Sundance still didn’t answer, so Bittersweet shoved his face into the ground, bringing his own face inches away from Sundance’s ear. “You have five seconds to answer me before I leave you convulsing on the ground like an infantile retard for the drill instructor to finish off. What. Is. Wrong. With. You?”

Sundance looked around, terrified into silence. The ponies who had fallen were crawling out of the hole, but they would be more than willing to side with Bittersweet, especially in this situation. Sundance turned his head in the other direction, hoping to find somepony willing to help. He managed to catch Boudler’s eye, pleading for help. Boulder just shrugged and turned his head, taking Sundance’s advice and keeping to himself. Sundance could feel himself tearing up. “Of course he’s not going to help me. Nopony would defend somepony as low-down and worthless as me. Some MechWarrior cadet I am, too cowardly to fight back. Please let my death be quick and painless,” he thought.

Bittersweet tensed up. “Have it your way, then,” he said through gritted teeth. He grabbed Sundance by the mane and dragged him towards the hole, the mud clotting his fur and the sharp rocks slicing into his skin. The other cadets hurried out of Bittersweet’s path, not wanting to redirect any of his anger towards themselves. Sundance whimpered pitifully as Bittersweet came to a stop at the edge of the hole and pulled him to his hooves by his mane. Sundance screamed in pain, his head feeling like it was on fire. “A weak pony like you could never become a true MechWarrior. At least you’ll make a good meat shield on the battlefield.” Bittersweet shoved Sundance down the hole, and he let out a terrified scream. The wind was knocked from his lungs as he hit the bottom, and he swore he heard bones snap. An excruciating pain shot through his entire body, and he laid in the mud gasping for breath, tears streaming down his face.

Bittersweet glared at Sundance from the top of the hole, and the rest of the cadets moved up around him to peer down at Sundance. “You can be the Janitor with Boulder today. Assuming you can still move, that is.” He chuckled and spat into the hole. “The drill instructor still expects fifty laps from you,” he said, walking around the hole. The rest of the cadets followed suit, resuming their exhausting morning run.

Boulder glanced at Sundance as he walked past the hole. “Take your own advice, Janitor. Stop pissing ponies off.” He started his slow jog, the increased weight making it impossible for him to run. “Maybe you’ll die down there before the drill instructor gets over here if you’re lucky,” he said, glancing over his shoulder as he picked up his pace marginally and moved out of Sundance’s view.

Sundance groaned as he heard hoofsteps approaching the hole. Somepony yelling at him about how inferior and weak he is was not what he needed. Perfectly on cue, a few pebbles tumbled down into the hole as the drill instructor reached the edge. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, cadet? Get up here and run, you worthless scum!” he shouted. Cursing his life internally, Sundance wiped his eyes and tried to drag himself to his hooves. He fell back to the ground the first time as his legs buckled beneath him. “Let’s go, freebirth You’re wasting my time!” the drill instructor continued as Sundance tried feebly to stand up. Finally, he managed to stand upright, his battered body screaming with the effort. “Now out of the hole. Hurry up!”

“Yes, because I thought I’d just run my laps in the damn hole,” Sundance thought. He trudged over to the edge of the hole, limping, and began pulling himself up. Luckily the slope wasn’t all that steep, and he was able to make it to the top before long. He stood at the top of the hole, breathless from the effort and pain.

The drill instructor regarded him coldly. “Well, what are you waiting for, fuckbag? Start running!” He kicked Sundance in the ass, propelling him forward. He tumbled to the ground face first and got a mouthful of mud and grass. “If you want breakfast, I suggest you get moving,” the drill instructor said before turning to leave. “I’ll hang you from the flagpole by your tail if you even so much as think about not running your full fifty laps.”

Sundance struggled back to his hooves and spat out the mud. Being a cadet just got worse and worse every day, and this certainly wasn’t even close to an improvement. He glanced out at the other ponies at the opposite end of the field, with Boulder about halfway between them. “I’d sacrifice every last one of them to escape this hell,” he muttered to himself, a strange feeling overwhelming him as he began trudging along the path. What was it…? Ah, it was determination. Sundance couldn’t remember the last time he felt this, but he was determined to survive. Maybe it was just out of spite, but he didn’t want to die. He wanted to survive. He wanted to live.

~~

Sundance collapsed against the field house after throwing off his packs, completely and utterly exhausted. His muscles ached, his bones screamed in protest whenever he moved, his lungs felt like they were collapsing, and he was covered in mud, blood, sweat, and tears, but he had completed his fifty laps. He had managed to pass Boulder at some point near the end, so he was still out there struggling along, but the others had finished a good hour before Sundance had. They had already hit the showers and gone to the mess hall, so it was unlikely any of the tolerable food would be left when he got there. He would have sighed if he wasn’t already hyperventilating.

As Sundance laid on the ground recovering, Boulder lumbered over towards him, having already dropped his packs after finishing his last lap. He flopped onto the ground next to Sundance, breathing heavily. “Ah… I think… after all that we should… avoid pissing off the drill instructor or Bittersweet,” he said, barely able to form sentences between his gasps.

Sundance shot him a glare. “What are you playing at?”

Boulder weakly lifted his shoulders into a shrug. “I’m not... trying to be rude. In fact… that was pretty damn cool. I wouldn’t have been able to continue… after all of that. I would have just… rolled over and died. On the spot.”

Sundance pushed himself up into a sitting position, wincing. “You really think that was cool?” Boulder nodded, still sucking wind. “Thanks, I guess.” Sundance laid back onto the dirt. Falling asleep right there would be great, but he didn’t think he could survive another fifty laps, courtesy of the drill instructor. Besides, the other cadets would kill the two of them if they didn’t clean the mess hall.

After a few minutes of silence, Boulder rolled over onto his stomach, groaning, and pulled himself to his hooves. “I don’t know about you, but I’m gonna shower and head to the mess hall,” he said, finally having caught his breath. “We might be able to eat something as we’re cleaning. I certainly can’t train on an empty stomach.”

Sundance pushed himself back up and glanced at Boulder. “Why don’t we just skip the showers? We might make it to the next training session on time if we do, with the two of us cleaning.”

Boulder gave him an amused look. “You should see yourself. If you walked into the mess hall like that, we’d have a lot more than just food to clean off of the floors.” Sundance turned his head to look at his flank. Boulder was right; there was barely a strand of white to be seen between the mud and blood covering him.

Sundance sighed. “Fine, you win. But it has to be quick.” Boulder smiled at him and led the way back to the barracks. The sun had crested the tree line a while ago, and light was streaming across the open field. Sundance had never noticed before, but it was actually quite beautiful in their camp, separated from the big cities.

The door to the barracks slammed shut as it closed behind the two colts. The drill instructor was sitting behind his desk, reading through a report. He looked up as the two entered. “Finally finished your laps? Good. Get yourselves cleaned up and head to the dining hall. If you’re late to the next training session, the Commander will have your heads mounted on the wall.”

“Aff, sir,” the colts said, saluting. As they turned to go, the drill instructor spoke up again.

“Hold it, you two. That was quite impressive, actually being able to complete your laps after what Bittersweet did to the two of you. You’ve both got the makings of fine MechWarriors,” he said.

Sundance and Boulder stared at him, too shocked to speak. They’d never heard the drill instructor speak that kindly to anyone before. “Th-thank you, sir,” Boulder managed to stutter.

The drill instructor chuckled a little. “I’m not actually as cruel as you think. It’s just how us drill instructors are forced to act, though most of the others actually are as horrible as they act. Clan Draconequus has a really aggressive reputation, so that’s how we’re told to treat you lot. Personally, I’d rather be in just about any other Clan, but this is where I as born, and I’ll stay loyal to my home.” He looked the colts over. “Don’t tell anyone about this discussion though, or I will treat you harshly, without feeling bad about it. And don’t you dare let that door slam behind you again, or I’ll rip off your manes and use them to dampen the door.”

“Aff, sir!” they said, saluting again.

The drill instructor nodded. “Now go. It’s the first day of Mech training for newbies, don’t forget. No live ammunition yet of course, but you’ll be real MechWarrior cadets after today.”

Sundance and Boulder grinned at each other and hurried towards the showers through the door at the end of the barracks. After the door closed quietly behind them, Boulder turned to Sundance. “What the fuck?” he whispered.

“I have no idea,” Sundance replied, still smiling.

“Well, he probably isn’t going to treat us any differently around the others, but at least we know he isn’t actually brutish, like we thought,” Boulder said. “Anyway, let’s hurry up and get cleaned. Piloting a Mech for the first time! I can’t wait!”

“Yeah. It’s gonna be awesome,” Sundance said, throwing off his jacket into the laundry bin. It was pretty much ruined, so he’d have to wear his other jacket while this one got cleaned. Luckily he shouldn’t need a new one, at least. It was highly unlikely he would get a jacket that fit properly since the Quartermaster despised freeborns so much.

The two of them stepped into separate showers. Sundance winced as the steaming water hit his aching body and stinging cuts, but as his body adjusted to the temperature, all of his stress melted away. Boulder continued rambling on and on about how excited he was to learn about piloting Mechs, but Sundance was barely listening. After the events of the day so far, as terrible as they were, he somehow felt elated. Maybe it was the drill instructor’s compliments, maybe it was his first friend, or maybe it was his will to live returning. Whatever it was, Sundance didn’t feel so bad anymore. As the mixture of blood and mud washed out of his coat and mane, Sundance felt like an entirely new pony, as if all of his negative feelings were being washed down the drain as well.

Sundance was roused from his thoughts by the squeak of a shower knob. “Sundance are you listening? We need to leave now if we want to finish cleaning the mess hall in time!” Boulder said. He stepped out of the shower and hurried over to his towel. Sundance blinked a few times, remembering what they were supposed to be doing. He shut off the water to his own shower and stepped out. “Wow, you’re even more banged up that I thought. Should we be concerned? Do you need to go to the infirmary?” Boulder said in the middle of drying his mane.

Sundance looked at himself in the mirror, his purple eyes staring back at himself. His white coat was covered in small nicks and scratches, with a few large wounds still oozing blood. He shrugged nonchalantly. “Nah, I’ll be fine,” he said, walking over to the metal lockers by the door. “Like you said, we need to get to the mess hall quickly.” Sundance pulled some bandages and gauze out of one of the lockers, and a towel out of the other. He dried off quickly, slapped the bandages onto the wounds, and hastily wrapped the gauze around himself. He winced a few times as he brushed his probably-broken ribs. When he finished, he tied the ends off and threw the remaining gauze back into the locker before closing the door. “There, all better.” He finished drying his long, black mane and threw the towel into the laundry bin as Boulder finished putting on his jacket.

“If you say so,” Boulder said, eying his hastily applied bandage. “I guess if it works, it's not stupid. Let’s get going.” he said, leading the way out of the door. He walked past the bunks towards the exit. The drill instructor had already left, but he’d be back before their next training session after lunch.

“Hang on, Boulder. I gotta grab my other jacket from my bunk,” Sundance said, hurrying to his bed.

Boulder paused and glanced back at him, slightly embarrassed. “My real name isn’t actually Boulder. You know that, right?”

Sundance grabbed his other jacket, unfolded it, and threw it on. He walked over towards not-Boulder. “Sorry. Everyone calls you that and I guess I just sort of caught on. What do you want to be called?” he asked.

“My name is Azure Mist, but nobody calls me that. You can just call me Boulder,” he said, winking. “Not really. It’s just a joke. Mist is fine.”

Sundance chuckled. “Mist it is, then. So, Mist, you ready to head to the mess hall yet? You’re gonna make us late.”

Mist looked back at him as he led the way out of the barracks, a hurt expression on his face. “Me? You are the one holding us up, mister fell in a ditch and got covered in mud, then refused to leave the shower.”

The two of them laughed, then continued onto the path that lead towards the mess hall. They told jokes and talked about what happened to them before they were moved to the Sibko. They were from the same town, obviously; their entire Sibko was. They weren’t all raised together though, and only met when they became old enough enter formal training.

The mess hall slowly became visible through the trees. It was a boxy building that barely managed fit all sixty-some cadets, and the food was sub par, but edible. It’s not like the cadets were there to learn how to become chefs. They saw a small group of the other cadets walk out of the mess hall, talking to each other.

“It looks like breakfast is almost over, Sundance. We should hurry!” Mist said, picking up the pace. Sundance followed close behind him.

“I can’t believe I managed to make a friend. From such unlikely conditions, no less. Maybe it won’t be so bad here.” Sundance thought to himself. “I can make it to the Trial of Position now. I don’t have to go through hell alone.” He picked up his pace to match Mist’s as they neared the small building.

Mist grinned at him as they entered the mess hall. There were still a couple of groups of ponies eating. They might just make it to training on time. “Just in time. Let’s hurry; I’ll grab us some food, you go get the cleaning shit from the closet.” Mist hurried over to the serving window, while Sundance got a spray bottle, rag, and broom from the coset. He leaned the broom up against the wall and started wiping down the tables.

Mist hurried back towards Sundance, balancing two plates of toast, coffee cake, and slices of strange fruit native to the planet of Dike. He also had a muffin shoved into his mouth. “Eh, Unance! Urr uh an-” he started before he began choking on the muffin in his mouth. He dropped the plates onto a table and coughed, sending the muffin flying across the room.

Sundance let out a small cry and pressed himself against the table he was wiping down as the muffin went sailing past his head and landed on the floor, earning his injured rib cage a twinge of pain.

The two of them looked at each other and burst out laughing. “Mist, you’re supposed to chew your food.” Sundance said, doubled over.

“I know, I was trying to hurry. Speaking of hurrying, who said you could stop wiping the tables?” Mist said, stuffing a slice of toast from one of the plates into his mouth and grabbing the broom. He breathed in to start talking again, before Sundance cut him off.

“Maybe don’t start talking with food in your mouth again. Come on, let’s hurry up and do our job.” Sundance grabbed the coffee cake from his own plate and started eating it while wiping down the tables. The two of them continued cleaning the mess hall, having a disturbing amount of fun while doing it. Before long, the remaining cadets had left the mess hall, heading for their own training sessions. Sundance and Mist had almost completely finished cleaning, and it looked like they were going to make it on time.

“It’s amazing how much better life is once you have a friend,” Sundance thought as he closed up the supply closet. They had both finished eating and cleaning, with hopefully enough time to make it to the Mech piloting class.

“Come on, Sundance! I want to get there before it starts!” Mist said, charging out the door. Sundance ran out after him just in time to see him running down a pathway. “Hurry up!” he shouted over his shoulder.

Sundance smiled and started to run after Mist, having completely forgotten his injuries from earlier. This earned him another twinge of excruciating pain, and he gasped. He stood still for a moment, breathing deeply, which also happened to hurt.

“Sundance, what’s wrong?” Mist called.

“Oww... I fell, remember? My ribs are killing me,” he yelled back. Mist ran back over to Sundance.

“Do you need to go to the infirmary? I know you said you were fine, but this could be serious,” Mist said, sounding genuinely concerned.

Sundance shook his head. “Maybe if it gets worse. For now, let’s just get to the training session.”

Mist looked at him. “If you’re sure. At a reduced pace, of course. Can’t have you collapse on the pathway,” he said. “Let’s go!” He let the way towards the Mech Bays at a fast walk, but not so fast Sundance couldn’t keep up. After going down the path for a while, they could see giant steel doors stuck in the side of a mountain at the end of the path.

“The Mech Bays! Come on, we’re almost there!” Mist cried excitedly. They sped up a bit, and before long, they were standing in front of the forty-foot tall steel doors, the other first year cadets already gathered outside. “We made it on time, Sundance! The first Janitors to ever make it to training on time.”

Sundance smiled at him and opened his mouth to speak, but the abrupt wail of a siren cut him off. The cadets looked up at the doors, above which a flashing light had activated. They heard metal groaning, and the massive doors began to open. Mist had his eyes open wide and was staring at the doors as a gigantic bipedal robot stepped out, shaking the ground as it walked.

Mist let out a cry of excitement and grabbed onto Sundance. “Ow! Mist, that hurt,” he said, but Mist talked over him.

“Sundance, can you believe this? That’s a Mad Dog, a sixty ton OmniMech! I never thought I’d be able to see one from this close!” he said, beginning to bounce up and down. “A configuration C at that! Look at the gauss rifles mounted to each arm! It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen!”

The Mad Dog came to a halt in front of the cadets and a voice came out from a speaker, presumably attached somewhere on the Mech. “Welcome to the Mech Bays. This is a BattleMech, and it’s my job to teach you to pilot one of your very own. It’s not as simple as pushing the throttle control forward, so get that notion out of your head. It’s highly unlikely any of you will even be able to step out of the Bay today. It takes time to develop a bond with your Mech, and nothing can replace that bond. However, even a bad Mech pilot is still a pilot. Today, maggots-” the voice cut off as the cockpit swung open. An older stallion stepped out and placed one hoof on the edge of his Mech, a wicked looking helmet held in his other foreleg. The sun reflected off of his aviators, and his greying orange mane shone in the light, contrasting his black coat.

“Today you become MechWarriors.”

Chapter 2

Sundance and Mist were standing in line next to the other cadets inside the Mech Bay. They were on a catwalk situated around Commander Charcoal’s Mad Dog, and he was standing half-in a room, talking to a pony they couldn’t see. Everypony had already received a helmet, called a neurohelmet, and was waiting to be fitted for their cooling suits. Why this was happening, though, had yet to be explained.

Sundance glanced over at Mist. “You’re the expert. What’s a neurohelmet do? And why do we need cooling suits?”

Mist stared at the distant ceiling for a moment, thinking. “I’m not actually sure. I know that the neurohelmets let us interface mentally with our Mech to a certain extent, but I don’t know to what extent. As for the cooling suits… yeah, I’ve no fucking clue.” He grinned at Sundance. “But hey, it’s cool.”

Sundance glared at Mist and let out a sigh. “Don’t you start with puns. Getting beat up by Bittersweet was enough torture for one day.”

Mist opened his mouth to reply, but Commander Charcoal’s booming voice cut him off. “So, recruits. I bet you’re all wondering what these helmets do, exactly. Well, I’m not gonna to tell you,” he said, chuckling. “I believe in practice in the field and learning from experience. As useful as learning in a classroom is, you’ve all learned about the cockpit layout, heat management, the various weapon systems, yada yada. Now that you have the knowledge, it’s time to put it to good use.”

Commander Charcoal began walking down the line of cadets, and a dark blue unicorn followed him out of the room he was standing in front of. The pony wore a dishevelled lab coat, crooked glasses, and his long hair was a mess. He was carrying a scanner of some sort using his magic.

“Speaking of heat management, Cadmium here is going to fit you all for your cooling gear. Don’t mind his appearance; he’s been up all night worrying about his science crap. Theory and all that. You’ll learn about all that next year, though it probably won’t be relevant to any of you. You’re all here to learn to pilot mechs, not the inner workings of one. Whether or not you want to be here doesn’t matter. It’s what you’ve been tasked to do by your leaders. Following orders is the first rule of a MechWarrior in Clan Draconequus, and the sooner you learn that, the better,” Commander Charcoal said. “That being said, are there any questions before I throw you to the wolves?”

“Um… Commander Charcoal, sir?” a voice called out from the opposite end of the line.

Sundance looked down the line towards where the voice came from. A small grey pegasus with a bright yellow green mane and lime colored eyes stood at the opposite end of the line. “Yes, cadet?” Commander Charcoal answered.

“Why do we need cooling suits, sir? Shouldn’t there be air conditioning in the cockpit?” the cadet asked, her silvery voice barely carrying to the end of the line.

“Excellent question, recruit. The cockpit is cooled, yes, but only enough to keep your ass from frying to the seat and the controls from melting. What’s your name?” he asked the pegasus.

“I’m Chartreuse, sir,” she said.

“Well, Chartreuse, Cadmium here can answer your question better than I can. I’m going to go get the trial Mech ready while he does that. When he’s finished, we’ll head down the line and let everypony try to pilot a Mech for the first time. Starting with you.” Commander Charcoal nodded at Cadmium and stepped through a door in the opposite wall that seemed like it lead to another Mech Bay like the one they were currently in. Chartreuse looked around herself, obviously nervous.

“Dammit. I wish we could’ve started at our end. Now we have to wait for all of the others to finish before we get to go,” Mist said, looking at Sundance with exaggerated dejected expression.

Cadmium grabbed Mist’s jaw and pulled his head to face forward. “Hold still so I can scan you,” he said in a tired voice, before pushing a button on the device he was levitating in front of him. A series of lasers enveloped Mist before the device turned back off. A short sequence of beeps came out of the device, and Cadmium stepped in front of Sundance.

“Like Commander Charcoal said, the life support system in a Mech cockpit isn’t designed for comfort. It’s incredibly inefficient to cool the entire cockpit to a temperature that low, so we just closely regulate the temperature of your body more directly.” Cadmium pressed the button on the device again, and it began scanning Sundance. “Assuming any of you actually paid any attention in your classes, you’ll remember that during battle, the cockpit of an uncooled Mech can reach over four hundred Kelvin on certain planets. Without the cooling suits, you would boil to death before you ever got to do anything useful.” Cadmium finished scanning Sundance and moved down the line. “You’ll survive for today without one. The average temperature on Dike is rather low and you won’t be firing any weapons, so you won’t even break a sweat.”

As Cadmium continued scanning the line of cadets, they heard a loud scraping noise from the other side of the wall, where the Commander went. The ground started rumbling, and a bright orange mech peeked around the wall. It stopped underneath the catwalk the cadets were on, facing outwards and standing in front of the Commander’s Mad Dog.

The cockpit swung open and Commander Charcoal pulled himself on top of the Mech. Mist nudged Sundancer with his shoulder. “That’s a Shadow Cat, a forty five ton OmniMech. One of the best medium Mechs to be produced by the Clans. I guess the hideous orange color is to designate it as a training unit.”

The Commander stepped onto the catwalk and walked towards the cadets. “You’re up, Chartreuse. Cadmium can scan you after you finish,” he said. “Do you remember the start up procedure?”

Chartreuse nodded. “Yes sir.”

“Good. go on, then. We’ve got a lot of cadets to get through before lunch.” Chartreuse saluted and walked out onto the Shadow Cat. She hopped down into the cockpit and strapped herself in nervously. She stared out at the other cadets, briefly catching Sundance’s eye, before putting her neurohelmet on. The cockpit swung closed with a slight hissing sound.

Mist nudged Sundance again. “She’s lovely, don’t you think? Pretty sure she likes you.”

Sundance frowned at Mist. “Why? You’re not one of those ponies who over analyzes every little detail, are you?” he asked.

Mist shrugged. “Maybe, but not in this case, I think. She’s been staring at you pretty much every day since we got here. Haven’t you noticed by now?”

Sundance glanced back at the Mech where Chartreuse disappeared. “Has she been? That’s odd,” he said.

“Right? You’d think a gem like her would fall for a strong, brave, smart pony like me.” Mist flexed his muscles in a dramatic pose. “Not somepony like you. You know, all weak and helpless.”

Sundance gave Mist a light shove. “Hey. This weak and helpless pony is all you’ve got, so don’t go getting all narcissistic on me.” The two of them smiled at each other.

A god awful noise came from the Shadow Cat as it powered up and immediately fell onto its back. The cadets all moved to the railing of the catwalk to look down at the fallen Mech. Cadmium let out a cry of annoyance as the pony he was scanning ran past him.

“Not to worry, cadets. The chassis of this particular Mech was built specially for training. It’s lighter than its fully decked out counterpart, and the cockpit is separated in such a way that you won’t get a concussion from falling over constantly.” Commander Charcoal said. He eyed his Mad Dog. “Maybe I shouldn’t have left my poor Mad Dog so close.”

He looked over the edge of the catwalk at Chartreuse in the Mech. “Don’t worry about falling. It happens to everypony their first time. The DI Computer in training Mechs isn’t as extensive as the ones in full BattleMechs, and they lack a Battle Computer entirely. If you can do this now, piloting a true BattleMech will be a breeze,” he called down to her. The Mech lied on its back, its legs flailing slowly. “Twist your torso to push yourself back upright. Use the arms to your advantage. They won’t snap off, don’t worry.”

The torso of the Shadow Cat turned slowly in an arc and leveraged itself up slightly on one of its arms. The arm swung out, bringing itself up off of the ground high enough to swing the legs around. The Mech got its legs underneath the torso, stood back up, and promptly fell over onto its side. The cadets all laughed.

Commander Charcoal looked at the other cadets. “You laugh now, but just wait until you’re behind the controls,” he said with a chuckle. This process went on for a few minutes, the Mech standing back up, just to fall over again. Sundance noticed that Chartreuse managed to keep the Mech on its feet longer each time, though.

After a few more tries, Chartreuse managed to keep her balance after standing back up. “That’s it, cadet! Keep your balance for a full thirty seconds, and we’ll move on.” The Commander held up one of his forelegs, a retro style analog watch strapped to it. “Halfway there.”

The Shadow Cat stood relatively still, swaying to and fro occasionally. Excited murmuring began in the other cadets as Chartreuse neared the thirty second mark. Suddenly, the Mech pitched forwards and face planted again, seconds away from finishing. The cadets let out a collective groan.

“Too bad. Try again, cadet. You’ll get it this time,” the Commander called down. Chartreuse stood back up, balancing even better than last time. The Commander’s watch kept ticking, and the excited murmuring picked back up as she neared thirty seconds again. This time however, Chartreuse passed the thirty second mark without a hitch, and the other cadets cheered.

“Very good! Hop on out, and let’s continue down the line.” Commander Charcoal nodded at the next cadet in line, and he walked up to the Commander. Cadmium let out another frustrated noise, having been in the middle of scanning the cadet when he moved away.

The cockpit opened again, and Chartreuse stretched up towards the catwalk. Commander Charcoal reached down and grabbed her hoof, pulling her up to stand next to him. “How does it feel to be a MechWarrior?” he asked, patting her on the back heartily.

Chartreuse pulled off her neurohelmet, her hair tousled. She grinned up at him. “Amazing, sir,” she said.

The Commander nodded. “Wonderful. Head on back over so Cadmium can scan you.”

Chartreuse nodded and walked back over to her spot in line. She shot another quick glance at Sundance before turning so Cadmium could scan her.

Mist sidled close to Sundance. “I’m telling you. She totally likes you.”

Sundance pushed Mist away playfully. “Shut up. Even if she did, I’m not going to worry about it. I’m not really looking for a relationship right now. I’m twelve.”

Mist shot Sundance a grin. “Does that mean you don’t care if I woo her? She’ll definitely fall in love with me when she sees my superior Mech piloting skills.” Mist flexed his muscles again.

Sundance laughed. “Who says ‘woo’ anymore? I’m pretty sure that word died thousands of years ago, back in Equestria.”

“I couldn’t think of any other word. Anyway, let’s watch. The next cadet is about to start.”

Sundance and Mist looked back over the railing. The cadet had already gotten in the Mech, and it was powering up. For a second nothing happened, and Sundance thought the cadet was actually balancing, but then it propelled itself into the ground faster than a simple fall. The cadets all burst out laughing again.

“Hey, hey, hey! Cadet, don’t try to break the Mech. I know I said it was modified for training, but that doesn’t mean it’s invincible,” Commander Charcoal said. “If you damage something, Cadmium is gonna have to fix it.”

Cadmium snorted as he finished scanning Chartreuse. “Yeah. Thanks a lot.”

The rest of the cadets went like this, receiving praise and input from the Commander as things went along. None of the cadets were exceptionally good, but some were much better than others. A couple of the cadets impressed Commander Charcoal like Chartreuse had. One cadet somehow managed to stumble forward and knock into Commander Charcoal’s Mad Dog, earning himself a slap on the back of the head from the Commander.

Before too long, it was Mist’s turn to go out and try his skills. “Wish me luck, Sundance. I’m sure to win over Chartreuse with my amazing talent at Mech piloting. That’s what my cutie mark is going to be, I feel it,” he said, walking towards the end of the catwalk.

Sundance rolled his eyes. “Mist probably is gonna impress the Commander more than any other cadet so far. There’s no way he can’t do well with his extensive knowledge of Mechs.”

Sundance couldn’t have been more wrong. Mist fell over as soon as the Shadow Cat powered up, and flailed around pitifully. He continued the cycle of standing up and falling over longer than any other cadet, but after a while, he managed to shakily stay upright for thirty seconds. The Commander called him out, and he clambered out of the Shadow Cat shamefully. “Don’t worry about that, MechWarrior. It doesn’t come naturally for everypony. You can only get better from here,” the Commander said sympathetically, patting him on the back like had the other cadets.

Mist slunk back towards his spot in line while Sundance walked towards the Mech. “Don’t say anything,” Mist said as he passed Sundance. He giggled and continued towards the end of the catwalk.

As Sundance passed by Chartreuse, he caught her staring at him, and he flashed her a friendly smile. She looked away, embarrassed. “Maybe Mist is right. She does seem really nice, and I wouldn’t mind being friends, but… I don’t know. That’s not something I’ve ever really bothered thinking about,” Sundance thought. He climbed down into the Mech cockpit and strapped himself to the seat. He put his neuro helmet on and it linked automatically to the Shadow Cat. The cockpit swung closed under its own volition, and Sundance flipped the activation switch, shut his eyes, and waited for his inevitable loss of balance.

After a few seconds he cracked one eye open, and found himself staring just below the catwalk, barely even swaying. “Huh. Did I miss something? I should be in the dirt by now. Is there a button I forgot to press or something?”

He looked out of the cockpit and found the Commander staring at him in awe. “By the Khan…”

Sundance glanced out at the other cadets, who had similar expressions. “Am I actually balancing?” he thought. Nopony said anything for a while, so Sundance pressed the button to activate the external speaker. “Um… did I forget something, sir? Shouldn’t I be on my ass?”

The Commander nodded. “You should, but… Dear Celestia. I haven’t seen anything like this in years.” He scratched the back of his head. “Try going for a walk around the Bay”

Sundance looked down at the controls. “Ah, man. I forgot which one does what. There’s so many buttons,” he thought. As his concentration faltered, he felt his balance leaning backwards. Panicking, he grabbed what looked the most like the throttle and threw it backwards. The Mech immediately started pedaling backwards, nearly throwing itself onto the ground. “No, don’t fall!” he shouted in his head, throwing the throttle back into the neutral position. The Mech obediently stopped and regained its balance.

Sundance sat there for a moment, regaining his composure, when he felt something reaching out into his mind. He couldn’t tell what, but it was foreign. He’d never felt it before. “H-hello? Is somepony there?” he asked. There wasn’t an intelligible answer, but he felt something like a warm hum in the back of his mind, almost like it was reassuring him. It wasn’t an obtrusive feeling, strangely. It actually was comforting.

“Are you... the Shadow Cat?” he asked. The hum picked up in intensity briefly, as if it was acknowledging him. “Wow… so the neurohelmet is like a way to communicate with Mechs? I wonder why none of the other cadets were able to keep their balance so easily.” The hum switched to a strange frequency that Sundance couldn’t decode. “I guess understanding your Mech comes with time. For now, let’s just do as the Commander said, I guess.” The Shadow Cat hummed in a happy way.

Sundance pressed the throttle slightly forward, imagining the Shadow Cat moving forward with even, balanced strides. The Mech happily obliged, moving exactly as Sundance wanted. “This is what it feels like to be a MechWarrior, huh?” Sundance thought, feeling exhilarated. His whole body felt warm as he completed a lap around the Bay, never losing balance. He wasn’t sure, but it felt like a lot more was going on than just elation. “Wow… this is amazing!” he thought. The Shadow Cat hummed in a way that came across as excited, as if it was as excited as Sundance.

Sundance pulled the Mech to a halt in front of the catwalk. “I’ve never felt anything like this.” He looked out at the Commander, who was beckoning to him excitedly. “I guess I should probably join him.” The Shadow Cat whined in a way that almost sounded sad. Sundance pressed one hoof reassuringly on the cockpit. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back tomorrow. There’s no way I could stay away,” he thought, grinning. The Shadow Cat hummed in reply, but Sundance couldn’t quite decipher it this time, either. “See you later.” The Shadow Cat beeped what Sundance assumed was a farewell and powered down. The cockpit opened, and Sundance stepped out, removing his neurohelmet.

“That was incredible! I’ve never seen a performance like that in all of my years training new cadets!” Commander Charcoal said, pulling Sundance up onto the catwalk. His aching ribs hurt sharply at this. “It normally takes months for a MechWarrior to develop that level of skill. How did you do it?”

Sundance scratched the back of his head. “I don’t know, it just sort of came to me. It felt like I was communicating with her. The Shadow Cat, I mean. It seemed like she had emotions and everything.”

The Commander opened his mouth to speak, confused, but Cadmium pushed past him excitedly. “You mean you actually interfaced with the Mech? What did it say?” he asked excitedly. Commander Charcoal shot him a glare, but didn’t say anything for now. He must have been just as curious as the scientist.

“Well, she didn’t say anything, but I could sort of hear a buzzing in the back of my head. The buzzing changed when I asked questions, and it kind of felt like emotions, but I couldn’t make out words or anything.”

“Fascinating… How strangely fascinating,” Cadmium said.

“She?” Commander Charcoal inquired.

Sundance looked back at the Mech, slightly embarrassed. “Yeah, I think. It was hard to tell, but that’s what it seemed like, and I would have felt kind of bad calling her an it.”

Commander Charcoal looked thoughtful for a second. “I’ve never heard of a MechWarrior communicating with a their Mech to such an extent before, let alone a training Mech.” The Commander patted Sundance on the back like had the other cadets. “You’ve got an amazing talent, Mechwarrior. We’ll have to see how well your piloting skills translate into combat.”

Commander Charcoal looked out at the other cadets. “That’s what it looks like when you learn to listen to your Mech instead of trying to control it. By the end of the month, every single one of you should be at that level. Once everypony has gotten used to communicating with his or her Mech, we’ll move on to full BattleMechs and start working with the weapon systems. You all are dismissed. Leave your neurohelmets in your locker on your way out.”

“Aff, Commander!” the cadets called, saluting. They filed out down the stairs and out of the Mech Bay, Sundance bringing up the rear. Mist waited by the top of the stairs for Sundance. He looked at his friend excitedly as he walked closer.

“That was so cool! I can’t believe you were able to do that!” he said animatedly. He leaned in close to Sundance’s ear. “I wish I could have done that well. There’s no way Chartreuse would ever like me over you now.” He nodded towards Chartreuse, who was walking down the stair in front of them.

Sundance rolled his eyes. “Mist, I don’t really want something like that. I’m worried about the Trial of Position, not a relationship. Maybe later.”

“You might not have a later. Do you know what the mortality rate for new MechWarriors is in this war? Twenty percent per year. That’s including all of the light skirmishes that haven’t lead to a MechWarrior’s death. It’s now or never, and I vote now,” Mist said.

“You’re unusually relaxed about dying in your first battle. That’d be sure to impress her,” Sundance said jokingly, trying to direct Mist’s attention away from the subject.

“Well, I kind of accepted the fact that I’m going to die years ago. I remember everything about the day they stole us from Styx.” Mist shuddered. “I still have nightmares about that. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forget.”

Sundance gave his friend a quick hug. He was lucky enough to only have very vague memories of what happened. He was pretty sure he had been asleep when he was grabbed, because he only remembered being in a cart with other foals and hearing gun fire around him. “Might as well try. You’ve got a friend now, so it won’t be all bad from now on.”

Mist smiled slightly at Sundance. “Yeah, you’re right.” He straightened his shoulders. “I can’t just give up on Chartreuse so easily, either. If you’re not gonna go after her, I will.”

Sundance laughed. He wasn’t entirely convinced he comforted Mist all that much, but getting him motivated seemed like a good way to distract him. “Try all you want. If you think you’d be happy together, go for it.” He nudged Mist lightly. “Now come on, let’s eat lunch quickly so that we can clean the Mess Hall in time for the drill instructor’s next training session.”

Mist grinned at him. “Yes sir!” he said, mock saluting. “I’m actually looking forward to it, now that we know he’s actually a good pony on the inside.”

Sundance nodded. “Me too.” The two of them walked towards the Mess Hall, Mist going on and on about his favorite Mechs. Sundance looked up at the treeline. “I wish things could stay like this forever,” he thought, “without me having to worry about the Trial of Position, dying in my first battle, or Bittersweet and his shitty personality.” He sighed. Even if things didn’t get much better, he had a feeling he was going to enjoy most of the next few years.

~~

Mist collapsed onto the ground as the drill instructor released them, the sun already having dipped below the mountains. The sky was dark blue and was rapidly shifting towards black. A few of the brighter stars had begun poking through, and the two moons were visible in the sky. “I can’t go on, Sundance. My body is dying. Carry on my memory with you when you ride off into battle,” he said melodramatically, before faking his own death in a theatrical pose.

Sundance poked Mist’s motionless body with his hoof. “Get up, you. I’m not going to clean the Mess Hall alone after dinner.” Mist just moaned pitifully in response. Sundance sighed. He was pretty sure Mist was only trying to make Chartreuse laugh, who was conveniently standing only about ten feet away. He couldn’t see her since she was behind him but he doubted Mist’s plan was working.

Sundance leaned down next to Mist’s ear. “If you’re trying to be funny for Chartreuse, I don’t think it’s working,” he whispered. Mist cracked open an eye and glanced over at where she was standing. Mist sighed and rolled over onto his front before pushing himself to his hooves.

“I know, I know. I guess that’s not going to work.” Mist thought for a moment. “Maybe if I got a cragadile…”

Sundance shoved Mist lightly, laughing. “What? No, that’s a terrible idea. Come on, let’s go. I’m starving.” He moved to walk towards the Mess Hall and winced with pain.

Mist looked at him as they started walking, concerned. “Does it hurt any more than earlier?” he asked. Sundance nodded. “You should go to the infirmary after we finish eating. We don’t have any more training today, so I can clean up by myself.”

Sundance glanced at Mist. “Are you sure? It’s a lot of work to do yourself.”

Mist nodded. “Of course. I’m used to it by now, and it’s really important that you get yourself looked at. Rib injuries aren’t a joke, as proficient as I am with those.”

Sundance smiled at his friend. “Thanks. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious. I doubt the drill instructor would take it easy on me even if he knew I was injured.”

Mist smiled back and nodded. “Yeah. I can’t lose my only friend before our first battle together,” he said jokingly.

The sky had darkened by the time the two of them made it to the Mess Hall. The food at dinner was usually more edible than the breakfast, but nothing special. Mist noticed that Chartreuse wasn’t anywhere in the Mess Hall when they finished eating, even though she was coming from the same place as them.

“Maybe she left without you noticing?” Sundance suggested.

Mist shook his head. “I guess so. Oh well. I’m gonna stick around here until everypony is done eating. You should head on over to the infirmary.”

“Are you sure you’ll be alright on your own for that long? No choking on muffins while I’m gone?” Sundance asked.

Mist laughed. “I’ll live. It’ll take more than some stale bread to kill me.”

Sundance shook his head. “If you say so. See you in the barracks later,” he said as he walked out. Mist waved to him happily as he left. Sundance stepped out into the night air, thinking. “The infirmary… I think it’s this way,” he thought, heading down the path to the left of the one that lead to the barracks.

After heading down the path for a minute or so, he saw a small building poking through the trees, light spilling out of the windows and open door. As he got closer, he noticed the red cross over top of the doorway. “Definitely the infirmary. Glad I remembered correctly.”

He walked through the opening, looking around. The only other time he had been here was when he first got to the Sibko, when they checked to make sure the cadets didn’t have some horrible disease. There were beds lined up along the opposite wall with curtains separating them, cabinets lining the adjacent walls, and sinks near the door. He glanced around the room, looking for the nurse. He couldn’t see anypony, but he heard voices coming from behind one of the curtains at the end of the room. He walked towards the voices, one of which he recognized as the nurse. He couldn’t quite remember who the other voice belonged to, though he thought he should.

Sundance remembered whose voice it was right before he walked around the curtain. Chartreuse was sitting on one of the beds with the nurse, an ancient beige unicorn with a grey mane and orange eyes, poking her stomach gently. The nurse glanced up as Sundance walked over.

“Ah, another sick cadet. Neurohelmet fry your brain, too?” the nurse asked. Chartreuse glanced over her shoulder at Sundance and nearly fell off the bed in surprise. “Easy! Don’t add to your list of problems.”

“No, I actually fell into a hole this morning and my ribs have been hurting ever since. My friend said I should come here,” he said, giving Chartreuse a mildly concerned look as she regained her posture.

“This morning? Why didn’t you come to me then?” the nurse asked, shaking her head. “Have a seat on the bed behind me. I’ll get to you in a bit.” Sundance walked over to the bed across from the one Chartreuse was on and sat down. It wasn’t as thin as the ones in the barracks, but it still wasn’t extraordinarily comfortable to sit on.

Chartreuse spent the next minute awkwardly trying to avoid making eye contact with Sundance as the nurse prodded her. She occasionally let out a squeak of pain and the nurse jotted something down on a clipboard.

After a few more seconds of this, the nurse stood back up, looking at her clipboard. “Yep, it looks to me like the neurohelmet scrambled your brain a bit. It happens to most cadets the first few times they get in a Mech. You’re going to get migraines and pain in some very strange places for a while, but it’s part of the game.” The nurse nodded to one of the cabinets next to them. “Grab one of the small green bottles from a cabinet. Take one pill after breakfast every day until it’s empty, then throw it away. You should get two weeks out of it.” Chartreuse nodded and walked over towards the cabinets. She began searching through them for the bottles the nurse described.

“Now, your turn,” the nurse said, walking over to Sundance. She motioned for him to hop off the bed and he obliged. “You’re lucky you didn’t collapse from blood loss. Even if you can’t see it, internal bleeding is serious.” She began lightly feeling Sundance’s flank, and he winced occasionally. “There probably isn’t any if you’re still here, but it doesn’t hurt to check.” She made a tsk-ing noise with her tongue. “I can’t do anything with these shoddy bandages in the way. You put these on yourself?” She asked, beginning to unwrap the bandages Sundance had hastily applied earlier in the day.

Sundance heard Chartreuse gasp, and he glanced over at her. She was staring at his flank, a shocked expression on her face. “I wasn’t hurt that badly. Surely she’s overreacting,” Sundance thought. However, when he looked back at his flank, he saw what had surprised her so much.

Sundance’s cutie mark had appeared, and it was a BattleMech.

Chapter 3

"Are you serious? Your cutie mark is a Timber Wolf?!" Mist exclaimed. He fell back onto his bed exasperatedly. "I mean, everything makes sense now, but why you? First Chartreuse starts to like you, then you run laps around the hangar your first time piloting a Mech, and now this?"

Sundance scratched his head. "Just luck, I guess. Celestia knows why, but it's what I'm good at." The nurse had let him go for the night, giving him a bottle of pain reliever and instructions to take it every morning with breakfast until the bottle was empty. He hadn't broken anything, thankfully, but his ribs were pretty badly bruised.

"I know, but..." Mist sighed. "Even before I got stolen from my home, it was always my dream to be a MechWarrior and charge into battle, blasting holes in enemy Mechs with PPCs. That's why I know so much about them. I became obsessed with them. But it's not going to be me; it's your destiny. I'm the worst pilot in the Sibko."

Sundance placed a hoof reassuringly on Mist's shoulder. "You'll get better, don't worry. You know more about Mechs than any other cadet here. If anyone has the potential to be a great MechWarrior, it's you." He looked around nervously. "Besides, I'm sure you've noticed how much of a coward I am. I couldn't even defend myself against Bittersweet this morning. Even if I'm a good pilot, that doesn't mean I'll be a good soldier."

Mist looked up at Sundance. "You really think I can be a good MechWarrior?"

Sundance nodded. "Of course. Situational awareness and knowing the enemy are big parts of piloting a Mech. I don't know any other pony who has both of those things."

Mist smiled slightly at Sundance. "Thanks. The two of us would probably make quite the team on the battlefield." He sat up in his bed. "We should probably head to bed now. The drill instructor will have my ass on the wall if I'm the last out of bed again." Sundance nodded.

"Yeah. Goodnight, Mist."

"'Night," Mist replied. He lied down in his bed and pulled the thin sheet up over him. Sundance turned to walk to his own bed, lost in thought. He and Chartreuse had talked a bit on the way back before she went to the female barracks, but not much. Sundance didn't think he liked her that much, but she was cool to be around. Maybe if he could introduce Mist to her...

Sundance didn't notice the pony who was standing in front of his bed until he was inches from them. He looked up, startled, to find Bittersweet staring at him. "Heard you impressed the Commander today."

Sundance stood still for a second, remembering their encounter from earlier that day. "Umm... Y-yeah, I guess," he said nervously.

Bittersweet snorted. "Don't let it get to your head. You're still not MechWarrior material." He pushed past Sundance on his way to his own bed, bumping into him roughly. Sundance stared after the larger pony, his bruised ribs aching.

"He isn't wrong. I'd probably be about the most useless pony to be beside in battle." Sundance crawled carefully into bed. The scratchy sheet and thin mattress suddenly felt almost too rough and uncomfortable. "What if I don't end up being a good MechWarrior? Will the other cadets laugh at me? Is Commander Charcoal going to get angry? What if I don't pass my Trial of Position?"

The lights turned out as the last cadet got into bed, and the barracks descended into silence. He had never thought about it too much before today, but he definitely wasn't cut out to be a MechWarrior. This cutie mark was basically just a slap in the face. "I wish someone else had gotten this cursed cutie mark. What can I do with it? There's nothing heroic or brave about me." He pulled his sheet up close around him. "I wish I could just wake up back in Styx. I won't make it through my first battle, assuming I make it past my Trial."

These negative thoughts continued swirling around Sundance's head for hours, adding to his self-doubt. Sleep was a long time coming for him.

~~

The time had finally come for the cadets to pilot a real BattleMech for the first time, and Sundance had never felt such a conflicting combination of emotions. He couldn't wait to hop into a real cockpit, but he still had doubts about being able to fight in one, and he was nervous about piloting a new Mech. He had formed quite a strong bond with the Shadow Cat in the month he had piloted her. Sundance shook his head. He needed to keep these negative thoughts out of his head or he'd be sure to disappoint the Commander.

Commander Charcoal walked down the line of cadets. They were standing shoulder to shoulder just outside of the hangar, their black and blue cooling suits fitted snugly to their body and their matching neurohelmets in their left hooves. It had taken some time for the cadets to get their suits, but they had had enough time to make any minor adjustments before the next stage of their training. The suits were designed with their growth in mind, and could be modified without too much trouble as the cadets got older.

"Alright, MechWarriors. While you are going to be piloting BattleMechs with real weapon systems, the ammunition has been replaced with blanks and the energy weapons have been deactivated. You won't be firing at anything today, just getting used to the added strain of extensive DI and battle computers. Most of you have been assigned to a medium mech, but a select few of you will be piloting heavies today. It's similar to riding a hover bike with an extra fifty kilos strapped to your back. It takes some getting used to, but you'll manage." The Commander looked expectantly at Sundance, Chartreuse, and another earth pony whose name Sundance didn't know. This cadet had orange eyes, a blue mane, and a dark red coat. It was an odd match of colors. "It's a big jump to go from a dumbed-down medium to a fully decked-out heavy, but I know the three of you can do it."

He turned back towards the rest of the cadets. "Now, while you're not guaranteed to take these Mechs with you into battle, the choice is there for you. We have a number of extra Mechs standing by if anyone want's to try something in a different weight class tomorrow. However, for today at least, everypony will use what they were assigned." The Commander lifted up his neurohelmet. "Everypony meet me at the training field northwest of here in ten minutes. Don't be late."

"Aff, Commander!" the cadets all said, saluting in unison. The Commander nodded before fitting his neurohelmet to his head and turning towards his Mad Dog. As the rest of the cadets began walking towards their own Mechs, Mist caught up to Sundance, Chartreuse, and the other cadet.

"I wish I could pilot a heavy Mech. You guys are so lucky. Well, guys and girl I guess," Mist said, smiling at his own bad joke. "I got stuck with a Standard Black Hawk 2." He sighed. "It's not exactly the pinnacle of medium Mechs. I'm one of the few cadets who wasn't assigned an OmniMech."

"That sucks. Maybe you can switch tomorrow?" Chartreuse suggested. Sundance had managed to get the two of them to converse at one point, but it was a strange experience. The two of them acted so strangely towards each other, and Sundance still had no idea what she thought of Mist.

"I doubt Commander Charcoal would have kept me out of an OmniMech if there were any left." He perked up after a moment. "But... that's only all of the medium OmniMechs. Maybe there will be a heavy, or even an assault!" he said excitedly.

The other cadet shook his head. "The assaults are only for the third years and above who manage to impress Charcoal. Being a freeborn Sibko, we're not very high on the priority list for assault Mechs compared to the casket borns."

Mist sighed in response. "Oh well. A heavy is still cool. Maybe they have an Ebon Jaguar or something."

Sundance raised an eyebrow. "You're brave to refer to the Commander as just 'Charcoal.'"

The other cadet shrugged. "I don't have any respect for a pony born in a machine. They all think they're so much better than us just because they're stronger." He glanced back at the Mad Dog that was leaving the hangar, a dark look on his face. "He's not as nice as he wants you to think. The freeborn units always go into battle first under his command. He's just buttering us up so that we follow him blindly like sheep to our deaths."

Sundance, Mist, and Chartreuse glanced at each other. "Are you sure? But he seems like such a good pony. He certainly treats us better than the drill instructor does," Chartreuse said.

Sundance and Mist looked at each other behind the other cadets, and Sundance shook his head. They had promised to keep the drill instructor's secret, and he could get in serious trouble if anypony else found out.

The cadet nodded. "It happened to my brother. Just last year, his freeborn unit was on the frontlines acting as cannon fodder for the casket born. Half of them died, including him."

The three of them thought about that for a moment. It was possible, and even though it was hard to believe, Sundance could actually see it happening. Mist shook his head. "Well, let's get off this dark topic. Even if that's true, it's not like we can do anything about it. I want to see what Mechs you guys are piloting!" he said excitedly.

"I'm in the Summoner on the end," Chartreuse said, motioning towards the Mech in the opposite back corner of the hangar. It was situated next to Mist's Black Hawk. "I think Commander Charcoal said it's a configuration C."

"The Timber Wolf's mine, Prime config," the cadet said, nodding towards the Mech they were about to reach. "I guess Charcoal thought it would be funny to give me the Mech Sundance here has on his flank."

Sundance looked up at the massive machine. He hadn't realized just how big it was from his cutie mark, even though Mist had told him it was a seventy-five ton Mech. He looked down at the last Mech in the hangar. "I guess that one's mine. I think the Commander said it's called a Hellbringer, but I don't remember which configuration."

Mist stopped for a moment. "Really? He gave you the Hellbringer? But you're the best pilot in the Sibko, why would he give you a failure of a-" he caught himself mid-sentence. "No, it's not a failure. It's actually got really good offensive potential, but it barely has any more armor than a medium." He glanced at Sundance. "That Mech usually pairs well with aggressive pilots. Do you think you should switch?"

Sundance shook his head. "That's actually something I've been meaning to work on, so I think it'll be a good match for me." He thought for a second. "Was it a coincidence that the Commander gave me this Mech? Or did he do it intentionally?" He glanced at the other cadet. "Either way, I guess this is something I needed. The Commander seems to know what he's doing, whether it's for our good or his."

"Well, me and Chartreuse should head to our BattleMechs. We'll follow you two out of the hangar," Mist said, waving at the other two cadets. Chartreuse cast a quick glance at Sundance before following Mist over to their Mechs.

Sundance and the other cadet stood in front of the Timber Wolf for a moment in silence. After a few seconds, the cadet broke the silence. "Well, I'm getting in my Mech." He turned to walk up the stairs, but stopped. "My name's Vermilion, by the way. The comms are almost certainly tapped, even the private ones. Don't mention what I said to you earlier over them," he said, turning back to head up the stairs to his Mech.

Sundance nodded before turning towards his own Mech. He had a strong feeling of apprehension, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. "You'll never be the pilot you need to be if you can't get over your cowardice. It's time to do what's expected of you," he thought. He hurried up the stairs and climbed into the open cockpit, which swung closed behind him. The controls definitely seemed a lot more complicated than the ones in the training Mech.

Sundance strapped himself to the seat and put on his neurohelmet. He pressed the power-up button and was wholly unprepared for the Mech, which violently invaded his mind as soon as the Fusion Reactor powered up. He could feel nothing but anger and bloodlust coming from it, which wasn't anything like the gentle, reassuring hum of the Shadow Cat. No; this Mech felt hostile.

Sundance was roused from his thoughts by various beeps from the DI computer as it checked to make sure all of the Mech's systems were working as they should. This went on for a couple more seconds before Sundance heard the DI computer's female voice confirming a successful startup.

Reactor - Online. Sensors - Online. Weapons - Online. All Systems Nominal.

Sundance shook his head. The Hellbringer's aggressive harsh whine certainly matched how it was supposed to be used, but it was too much to hit him all at once.

Vermilion pulled forward into Sundance's view and turned the torso of his Timber Wolf towards Sundance. "Something wrong? We should go before we get left behind," he said over the open comms. Chartreuse and Mist had already climbed into their Mechs and were in the process of powering them up.

Sundance shook his head. "I'll be fine. I just wasn't expecting this Mech to have such a violent personality."

"If we're quick about it we can switch Mechs. I think Commander Charcoal would understand."

Sundance shook his head again. "I'll push through. Let's go."

Vermilion led the way out of the hangar with the other three close behind them. They could just see the last Mech heading down the road through the trees as they exited the doors. "Come on, we need to catch up." Vermilion started after the other cadets, his Timber Wolf taking slow, massive strides down the road.

Sundance followed close behind Vermilion, the hostile Mech fighting him every step of the way. "This really is a cursed cutie mark. I could probably move just fine if I didn't have this 'talent' for communicating with Mechs," he thought. Mist pulled up beside him.

"Are you alright? You seem like you're having trouble," he asked.

"I'm fine. There's something up with this Mech, though. There's a lot of anger in it. My cutie mark isn't really doing any good in this situation; it's only making things worse." Sundance looked back out towards Vermilion, who was quite a ways ahead of them. He pushed the throttle forward a bit.

"If you're sure. Maybe you should ask the Commander if you can switch to a different Mech tomorrow," Mist suggested. "I don't know what it feels like for your Mech to communicate like that, but it sounds rough."

Sundance winced as he felt a migraine coming on. "Sure, I guess I'll do that. I just hope the other Mechs aren't like this."

The four of them continued on towards the training field, crashing through tree branches that had strayed too far over the road. Before long, the training field became visible through the trees. It was a huge open field situated in the shadow of the mountains, allowing them to use the field for target practice without worrying about stray fire going near the camp. Much of the grass had been chewed up by Mechs over a period of years, leaving the field mostly dirt.

The other cadets were already gathered around the Commander's Mad Dog. Vermilion went up to join the others, and the other three followed him. Sundance checked the time on the cockpit's digital clock. "Nine minutes. We barely made it," he thought. There wasn't much of a reaction from the Hellbringer, just a slight distortion of it's frequency.

Sundance wasn't getting much from the Mech, mostly just vague emotions. He had grown used to the various comforting noises of the Shadow Cat, so this was a difficult change. "I guess this is what using a new Mech is like. It's entirely different to try and understand. Hopefully whatever Mech I switch to tomorrow isn't so aggressive." This earned Sundance a violent pickup in the constant droning from the Hellbringer, and he clutched his head in pain. Chartreuse shot him a worried glance as she pulled up beside him. She was about to say something, but Commander Charcoal cut in on the open comms.

"Alright, MechWarriors. Since all of you made it here, I'm assuming you're getting used to the added mental load of these Mechs. It takes a while to fully adapt though, so we're going to start by running laps around the clearing. Let's start with ten laps and go from there. Begin!" the Commander said.

The cadets turned almost in unison and began tromping towards the tree line. The lighter Mechs shot ahead of the others, being geared more towards mobility rather than combat strength. This left Sundance alone in the middle of the field, still clutching his head. The Commander walked over towards him. "Is something wrong, cadet? You should be with the others." There was a slight edge to his voice, but Sundance was too distracted to notice.

"Sorry, Sir. I'm just having a bit of trouble," Sundance said, wincing. The Hellbringer certainly wasn't letting up at all with its mental attacks.

"Push through it, cadet. We're at the stage of training where we can't wait for anypony, so you're going to need to grit your teeth and continue. The enemy won't wait patiently while you sit idle."

"Aff, Sir," Sundance said. He turned the Hellbringer to follow the other cadets, his headache making it hard for him to focus. He stumbled a bit as he started moving and the Commander shook his head. "Damnit, Sundance. Keep it together," he thought to himself as he struggled along behind the other cadets. He managed to match pace with Vermilion and Chartreuse, but it was extremely difficult to focus with the Hellbringer raging through his mind.

Chartreuse slowed slightly until she was running next to Sundance and opened a private comm channel. "Are you ok? You haven't seemed like yourself today."

Sundance shook his head, mildly annoyed that everypony was asking him the same question. "I don't know. This Mech is giving me a headache. It feels like razor blades floating through my head."

Chartreuse shivered. "Lovely image. Is it because of your cutie mark? I know you said it lets you communicate with your Mech better than anypony else."

"Yeah. I know it sounds weird to say, but this Mech almost feels evil, like all it wants to do is hurt ponies." The Hellbringer buzzed angrily, worsening Sundancer's migraine. He flinched.

"Can you just ignore the Mech?" Chartreuse asked.

Sundance shook his head. "It isn't that easy. Think of it like a speaker constantly broadcasting the Mech's emotions. It might help somewhat, but that's just avoiding the problem."

Chartreuse brought her hoof to her chin and thought for a moment. "Would it be possible to switch the DI computer from the training Mech to that one? Mist knows a lot more about Mechs so he might be the one to ask, but if you're set on using the Hellbringer, maybe it could work."

Sundance considered her idea for a moment. The cadets ahead of them turned left to follow a sharp bend in the trees, and the two of them did the same. "That might work. I hadn't thought of that. I should ask Mist before suggesting it to the Commander, though," he said.

Chartreuse smiled at him. "Let's just make it through today, then. Even if it isn't possible, I'm sure the Commander would let you switch to a different Mech."

Sundance nodded. "Yeah. It would be great to have the Shadow Cat's DI computer back." The Hellbringer buzzed at him again, but this time he tried just ignoring it, like Chartreuse suggested. Obviously he couldn't just stop listening, but he could try focusing less on the Hellbringer and more on what he wanted it to do. Surprisingly, this made the pain bearable, at least for the time being. Chartreuse sped up a bit to catch up to the other cadets, and Sundance followed suit behind her.

The rest of that day's training session with the Commander progressed like this, with Sundance trudging behind the others at a barely acceptable pace. Commander Charcoal had them do things like climbing over rough terrain, changing direction quickly, and other maneuvering drills.

Sundance had asked Mist during one of the drills if it was possible to switch the DI computer in a Mech. He wasn't sure it would work since the DI computer is generally tuned for the specific Mech it's installed into, the lower power training computer is weaker than a full DI computer, and the Mech's so-called conscience might not even be in the DI computer, but he thought it was worth a shot.

The cadets all halted their Mechs in the hangar before powering them down and climbing out. As much as Sundance loved piloting Mechs, that was a stressful training session, and he had never been happier to shut down his Mech. The Hellbringer gave him a final blast of what felt like pure hatred before it got cut off by the DI computer's feminine voice.

Shutting Down.

Sundance tore off his neurohelmet and leaned back into his seat, breathing heavily. "Dear Celestia I hope the Commander doesn't make me use this Mech anymore." After a few moments of him recovering, Vermilion appeared on the catwalk next to his cockpit and tapped on the glass. Sundance undid the straps to his seat and opened the cockpit.

"Rough day, huh? You hardly seemed like the same pilot out there," he said wryly. "I'm glad I don't have to worry about an angry Mech screaming at me constantly."

Sundance chuckled. "Yeah, you're lucky. I don't suppose you'd be willing to trade?" he said, half joking.

"Nah, I've already got a good bond going with my Timber Wolf." Vermilion leaned in close to Sundance. "I named it Reggie, but don't tell anyone. I'll stuff your neurohelmet with dead slugs if you do."

Sundance grimaced. "Gross. I'll keep my neurohelmet clean, thank you." Vermilion grabbed onto Sundance as he climbed out of the Hellbringer and helped him onto the catwalk. "Thanks."

Vermilion nodded at him. "No problem." He glanced at the ground below them. "What might be a problem though is Charcoal. I'll let you handle this one." Sundance followed his gaze and saw the Commander walking up the stairs towards them. Vermilion patted him on the shoulder and walked away.

"Cadet Sundance," Commander Charcoal began as he walked up to Sundance. "What happened on the training field today? It was like you had forgotten how to be a MechWarrior."

Sundance snapped to attention and glanced up at the Commander nervously. "W-well, Sir, you know how I can communicate with Mechs in a way that nopony else can?"

The Commander nodded. "Yes, what of it?"

"This one was really hostile. It felt like a thousand needles stabbing into my brain the entire time it was powered up. I-I was actually going to ask you if it was possible to switch the DI computer from the training Shadow Cat to my Hellbringer. Uh, Sir," he added awkwardly.

Commander Charcoal opened his mouth to reply, but stopped for a moment, a thoughtful look on his face. "So that's how it works? I didn't realize your cutie mark worked like that." He thought for a second. "Follow me," he said, walking past Sundance. He followed the Commander down the catwalk nervously, walking past the other cadets' Mechs. They eventually came to a room, which Sundance recognized as the one Cadmium came out of on their first day training under Commander Charcoal.

The Commander opened the door and walked into the room, Sundance close behind him. Cadmium was in the back corner of the room, tinkering with something small Sundance didn't recognize. He turned when he heard the door and set the item down, noticing Commander Charcoal. "Is this something that can wait? I'm about to make a breakthrough in my research, I can feel it," Cadmium said, his glasses slightly askew.

The Commander shook his head. "We have quite an unusual request, assuming it can be done. Sundance wants the DI computer from the training unit he's been using transferred to the Hellbringer, today preferably."

Cadmium stared at Sundance, aghast. "Why in Luna's name would you want to do that? The DI computers in the training Mechs are horribly underpowered compared to that of a full BattleMech's. You might as well substitute in a pocket calculator."

"W-well, the Hellbringer has a really harsh personality that makes it impossible to pilot, and since I had formed a pretty close bond with the Shadow Cat, Chartreuse suggested I ask to have their DI computers swapped," Sundance said.

Cadmium straightened his glasses. "Hmm... it should be possible, in theory at least. Whether or not it actually works, I guess we'll see. I can tune the DI computer in the Shadow Cat for the Hellbringer no problem, but you'll notice the systems on the Mech functioning well below their potential." He scratched his head. "Well, actually, the battle computer should pick up most of the slack. That is one of the functions of the battle computer, to act as a backup for the DI computer. How can you be sure that the Mech will respond differently with a different DI computer, though?"

"I actually have bee thinking about that quite a bit. I can feel the emotions of both the Shadow Cat and the Hellbringer, but the Shadow Cat doesn't even have a battle computer. Unless there's another component of BattleMechs that can do that, it's probably the DI computer since that's the only thing they have in common."

Cadmium opened his mouth, then closed it and frowned. "Yes, I suppose you're right." He turned back to the object he was messing with earlier. "I'll have it done in time for training tomorrow. Now please leave; I know this is going to work." He said, bending over the table and peering closely at the object.

Sundance followed Commander Charcoal out of the room and shut the door behind him. He turned towards the Commander curiously. "Commander, how come Cadmium doesn't have to refer to you using an honorific?"

The Commander glanced at Sundance, surprised. "Cadmium's rank as a scientist puts him at the equivalent rank of a Point Commander, which is what I am. We're effectively the same rank, so we refer to each other as equals. Much to my distaste."

"That makes sense. Thank you, Sir."

Commander Charcoal nodded. "That's all for today, so head on to lunch. Like Cadmium said, the DI computer will be transferred in time for tomorrow, so don't worry about that. If this doesn't work, we'll see about getting you a different Mech. You're dismissed."

Sundance saluted. "Aff, Commander." The Commander nodded again, and Sundance turned to walk down the stairs. He looked at the ground below and noticed Mist, Chartreuse, and Vermilion standing by the doors of the hangar, having already stripped from their cooling suits in favor of their cadet jackets. Vermilion nodded to him as he approached.

"Charcoal give you a piece of his mind?" he asked.

Sundance shook his head. "He was actually really understanding. Cadmium said he can switch the DI computers, so now we just have to hope it works."

Chartreuse glanced up towards the Commander, who was walking along the catwalk inspecting the Mechs. "Are you sure he's really as bad as you think, Vermilion? It's hard to believe he's as bad as you say."

Vermilion nodded. "I am. He's a con. He acts nice to get you on his side, then uses you. There are plenty of ponies like him in this cursed Clan."

Mist sighed melodramatically. "Can we not get on this topic again? I'm starving. Sundance hurry up and get out of that cooling suit so we can go to lunch," he whined. Sundance got the feeling they had been arguing about this while they were waiting for him to finish talking with Commander Charcoal.

"Alright, don't get your panties in a bunch, Mist," Sundance said. He walked over to the lockers and quickly changed into his cadet jacket before hanging up the suit and placing his neurohelmet on the shelf. He locked the door and walked back over to his friends.

"Finally. Let's go, guys," Mist said. He turned and started walking down the path towards the mess hall, not waiting for the others. Vermilion and Chartreuse glanced at each other, obviously still at odds, before following Mist.

Sundance brought up the rear of the group, lost in thought. "I sure hope this works," he thought. "If it does, I'll get to be with the Shadow Cat again. I actually miss her quite a bit..." He glanced at the sky, slightly embarrassed. "I guess I should name her if this plan works, like Vermilion did. I have to think of something good. I've got all day to come up with the perfect name," he thought, following close behind his friends but not really engaging in conversation. It had certainly been a stressful day and there was no guarantee of what tomorrow held, but Sundance couldn't wait to find out nonetheless.

~~

Sundance hopped eagerly into his Hellbringer, anticipating what would happen when the Mech started up. He strapped himself in and was about to put his neurohelmet on when he heard somepony call his name. He turned to see Vermilion standing on the catwalk next to his Mech.

"You think this plan worked?" he asked.

"I sure hope so," Sundance replied nervously. "I have the perfect name picked out for her, assuming the transfer went well."

Vermilion smiled. "Got that from me, did you? Just don't tell anyone who you got the idea from. Don't forget my threat."

Sundance threw up his hooves innocently. "I won't, I won't. Your secret is safe with me."

Vermilion gave him a searching glance, then sighed. "I guess I'll have to trust you on that." He turned to walk away, but stopped for a moment. "I'm just over here, so scream if the Mech starts to fry your brain or something."

"Will do," Sundance said. He put his neurohelmet on and swung the cockpit closed. His hoof hovered over the power switch nervously. "Well, there's only one way to find out if this worked, I guess. Here goes nothing," he thought. He clenched his eyes shut, flipped the switch, and waited for something to happen.

The Mech hummed into life, beeps sounding seemingly at random. This went on for a few seconds, and Sundance opened his eyes, relieved but worried. The Hellbringer hadn't immediately assaulted his mind, but he couldn't feel anything coming from the Mech. "Please work," he thought anxiously as the startup sequence came to a close. However, nothing happened, and the computer's voice ended the start up sequence.

Reactor - Online. Sensors - Online. Weapons - Online. All Systems Nominal.

Sundance sighed. "Fuck. Now what?" He sat in silence for a few moments, hoping for something, anything, to pop into his head. But nothing did.

He was about to give up, when suddenly, he felt a faint humming in the back of his mind, and he immediately sat up straight. "Is that.. Yes! That's definitely you! It worked!" he called out excitedly.

The hum picked up in her usual encouraging way. She was weaker than she was in the training Mech, but Sundance could tell that was due to her unfamiliar surroundings. She would adjust to the increased workload over time. Sundance smiled, feeling elated. He had the perfect nickname picked out for her, and he knew she would love it.

"Welcome back, Solis. It's good to see you again."

Chapter 4

Sundance sped towards the exit of the Mech Bay, nearly keeping pace with the medium and light Mechs. Many of the cadets had switched to a different Mech today, and they looked almost like a real army rushing out of the Bay to follow the Commander. The Commander had abandoned his usual Mad Dog for a Solitaire and was leading the way back to the training field. "Look alive, cadets. We're starting live fire training today, so this isn't a time to be asleep at the controls. And if any of you fire before I say so, you'll be cleaning the Mech Bay, along with every Mech in it, for the rest of the month."

"Come on, guys! You heard what the Commander said, we get to fire our weapons today!" Sundance called over a private comms channel to his friends. He glanced at the rear camera and saw his friends ambling not far behind him. "It's so good to have you back, Solis. Having a companion like the one I had to deal with yesterday would have been unbearable," he thought.

Solis purred cheerfully, just as excited to be in a full BattleMech as Sundance was. It hadn't even been a full minute yet, but she was already adjusting well to the expansive systems of the Hellbringer, nearly functioning at her normal speed thanks to the help from the battle computer.

"Is it just me, or does Sundance suddenly seem unusually happy? Like, it's kind of creeping me out a bit," Mist said. Chartreuse had switched from her Summoner today, and he had jumped on the chance for a heavy OmniMech.

Chartreuse laughed in her usual, kind way. "I'm guessing the DI computer swap worked?" she asked. Surprisingly, when she asked what other BattleMechs were available, the Commander offered to let her try out an assault Mech. She agreed, obviously.

"Yep! Solis is just fine in here as far as I can tell. No problems at all, just a bit of lag as she adjusts." Sundance patted the controls gently, and Solis hummed happily. "The Hellbringer's original DI computer is safely stored in the Shadow Cat, where it hopefully won't be able to hurt anypony."

"Solis? You named your Mech?" Chartreuse asked, intrigued.

"Yeah. Solis is a misspelling of Solace. I uh... I would have felt bad if I gave her a name that was just a word, so I changed the spelling around a bit," Sundance said, catching the glare from Vermilion. He had almost told Chartreuse and Mist where he got the idea from. "Oops. Good thing Vermilion reminded me. I completely forgot in my excitement." Sundance shielded his eyes as he and Solis stepped out of the Bay. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun had risen well above the mountains. It was a beautiful day, perfectly reflecting how Sundance felt.

Solis beeped encouragingly. She was happy that Sundance had given her a name, considering none of her past pilots had even bothered thinking of her as more than a machine. It was a wonderful change of pace.

"I still can't believe the Commander let you pilot an assault Mech. A Clan Marauder, of all things! I thought you said they were only for the older cadets, Vermilion?" Mist said. He had been moping nonstop ever since Chartreuse had excitedly told them she got an assault Mech.

"They're supposed to be. I guess Commander Charcoal decided to make an exception." Vermilion had opted to keep Reggie, his Timber Wolf Prime. Vermilion was almost as good at piloting Mechs as Sundance was, so it made sense he wouldn't want to give up a Mech he had almost immediately formed a bond with. While he couldn't understand a Mech's emotions, like the other cadets, he was very good at making his Mech understand him and what he wanted the Mech to do.

"Maybe Commander Charcoal isn't as mean as you say he is. I think he genuinely cares about all of us, and he wants what's best for the Sibko," Chartreuse said, folding her forelegs.

"Hmph." Vermilion pressed the throttle forward to pass Sundance and catch up with the other cadets, leaving the comm channel.

Chartreuse giggled and pulled up beside Sundance, her massive Marauder struggling to keep up with the much lighter Mechs. "I guess he couldn't handle being proved wrong. By a mare, no less," she said jokingly. "I hope I didn't hurt his masculine pride too much."

Sundance laughed. He was pretty sure Solis was laughing too, but it wasn't something he had felt from her before. "I guess not. So what exactly is on that thing? I know Mist said it's eighty-five tons, but that doesn't tell me much, other than it's fucking huge."

Chartreuse thought for a second. "Hmm... Let's see... If I remember correctly, it's got two medium pulse lasers, four ER small lasers, and..."

"Three Clan Extended Range Particle Projector Cannons, or ER PPC's for short. Those are its main weapons," Mist cut in, gladly using his knowledge of BattleMechs. "The Clan Marauder is really good at sustained fire, providing you use its weapons properly." Sundance rolled his eyes. This was one of those times when he was obviously just trying to show off for Chartreuse.

"Yeah, those. The Commander said he thought I'd like this Mech, so I decided to give it a shot. Figuratively speaking," she said dismissively.

"How do you like it? I heard it's supposed to be a real workhorse," Mist said, winking.

Chartreuse sighed. "It's a bit slow compared to the others, but hopefully it makes up for that today. Speaking of which, we're almost at the training field, so enough of your bad puns." The cadets all began slowing down as they neared where the Commander had stopped, and Chartreuse went to stand next to Vermilion.

Mist pulled up next to Sundance, feeling dejected. "It wasn't that bad of a joke. Was it?" he asked.

Sundance shook his head at his friend and went to stand next to Chartreuse and Vermilion, leaving Mist to seriously reconsider his humor.

Over in the distance, Sundance could see massive steel targets in the shapes of different BattleMechs situated in front of the mountain. It was hard to see from a distance, but they didn't look like full Mechs, just cheap models. The different parts of the Mechs were painted in different colors, presumably so the cadets could identify them easily.

"Okay, Cadets. As I said earlier, you're going to be firing your weapons for the first time. It's critical that you pay attention to everything I say. We don't need another accident like what happened last year," Commander Charcoal began.

"What happened last year? Did someone die?" Mist asked jokingly over the private comm channel.

"Yes, actually," Vermilion cut in. "My brother told me about it before he got sent off and killed. One of the idiot cadets was messing around and fired while aiming at another cadet's cockpit. He died instantly. I'd assume the cadet responsible was executed, but nobody knows for sure."

Mist leaned back in his seat and scratched the back of his head. "Oh. Shit. I uh, I didn't mean to-"

"Yeah, we all know what you're trying to do. You're not impressing anyone with your jokes about fellow cadets dying." The other cadets all suddenly ran off down the field in the direction of the targets Sundance had noticed earlier. Vermilion turned to follow them. "Try thinking about what you say before you open your mouth next time." Vermilion ran off after the other cadets, throwing up dust clouds behind him.

Chartreuse turned the torso of her Marauder towards Mist and Sundance. "Let's go. Commander Charcoal told us to line up by weight, so the four of us are on the end. And keep your weapons lock on so you don't blast a hole in somepony." Mist opened his mouth to speak, but Chartreuse lumbered away in her Mech before he could say anything. He turned towards Sundance, dispirited.

"They'll forgive you, Mist. Just make sure you apologize before the day is up, especially to Vermilion. Remember what happened to his brother," Sundance said comfortingly. "Come on, let's not get the Commander after us, too." Sundance headed after the other cadets, Mist trudging along behind him through the dirt.

The four of them lined up at the end of the line of Mechs facing the targets, with Chartreuse in her Marauder on the very end. She was followed by Vermilion in his Timber Wolf, Mist in his Summoner, and finally, Sundance and Solis. The only other heavy Mech being used by the first year cadets was on Sundance's right, and if he remembered what Mist said correctly earlier that day, it was a Clan Rifleman.

Commander Charcoal stepped out in front of the cadets in his Solitaire, starting next to Chartreuse. The top of his tiny Mech barely reached the height of the Marauder's hip actuators, and it was strangely comical. "You see those targets? They're about one hundred and fifty meters out from the firing line, so it's a bit closer of an engagement distance than some of your Mechs are designed for," he said, motioning towards a red line painted onto the ground a short distance from the cadets. "You'll all be split into groups based on where your Mech is best suited later this week, but for now just deal with it."

He started walking down the line of cadets. "What we're going to do is have one cadet at a time step up to the firing line. They're going to fire for a full minute as often as possible without automatically shutting down from the heat. You will get three scores; effectiveness, heat tolerance, and overheats. The latter two should be low scores while effectiveness should be high. Given it's everypony's first day, I'd imagine those scores would be flipped for most of you."

The Commander stopped at the end of the line next to the other light Mechs and turned back around. "If any of you override the shutdown sequence and burn out your Mech, you'll be the one to explain to Cadmium exactly why a perfectly good Mech now needs an overhaul. Assuming you survive, of course." He turned back towards the light Mech at the end of the line. "We'll start with you. Don't turn off your weapons lock until I say so, and turn it back on as soon as I tell you."

The cadet walked up to the firing line nervously. It was a strange Mech Sundance hadn't recalled ever seeing before. Both of its arms were mounted high above its torso, giving it a unique silhouette. "That's a Fire Moth, one of the fastest light Mechs in the Clans," Mist explained. "It's really unusual to see one in a training camp. I wonder why it's here?" he wondered aloud.

"Oh, and the targets move, so be aware of that," the Commander said, almost as an afterthought. "Weapons lock off, and begin!" Almost immediately, the Fire Moth began firing all of its weapons, being lasers and missiles as far as Sundance could tell. Most of the missiles from the first volley completely missed the target as it suddenly shot sideways, but the cadet in the Fire Moth managed to rake one of the lasers over the target. After a brief lull while the weapons cooled and reloaded, the Fire Moth continued firing. This cycle continued for about half a minute, by which point the cadet seemed to get his aim dialed in and was landing almost half of his shots.

Mist shook his head. "He's firing too much. That config of the Fire Moth has ten double heat sinks, but it can't fire indefinitely." He eyed the smoke coming out of the Mech. "That's a bad sign. He has to be close to-"

Mist cut off as the Fire Moth automatically shut down, its arms drooping as it venting smoke out into the air. Surprisingly, Sundance actually remembered when all the cadets were taught about automatic shut downs. Mechs are designed to shut down before their internal temperature reaches the point where they can cause damage to themselves, like by melting their electronics or synthetic muscles.

"There it is. That's what happens when you don't watch your heat. If that happens in battle, you'll be a sitting duck," Mist explained. "It's actually still possible to damage your Mech even if it shuts down by itself depending on the Mech's loadout and the pilot's carelessness. Neither of us really have to worry about that, though. Chartreuse, however... Every single weapon on her Mech is an energy weapon." Mist glanced over at her. "With a loadout like that, it wouldn't be hard for a new MechWarrior fry their Mech despite all of its safety protocols. I hope she's as good at heat management as she is at piloting."

"Don't worry about her, Mist. Chartreuse is one of the best pilots in the Sibko. Commander Charcoal wouldn't have given her that Mech if he didn't think she could handle it. You should trust her, too. I know you like her and you're worried about her, but she isn't a damsel in distress," Sundance said to his friend.

"I know, and I do trust her, but... it's hard not to worry about her. I don't know, maybe her being so much stronger and better than me at nearly everything just makes me feel helpless. It's like those superhero comics I used to read as a colt. I had always imagined myself as the hero, facing extreme danger and always coming out on top despite the odds. But I never thought about it from the point of view of the hero's friends and family, all of whom must have been worried sick because they wanted the hero to be safe, but there was nothing they could do to help. I guess I kind of understand them now.

"And I know she isn't going to make a stupid mistake like that. It's like you said, she's an amazing MechWarrior. I'm just worried about what's going to happen to her after her Trial of Position. Ever since Vermilion told us about Comman - uh... about what war is really like, I've been thinking about it a lot. Even if she's an amazing MechWarrior, what if she gets into a situation even she couldn't handle? There's nopony who could survive something like a swarm of Dire Wolves, no matter how good of a MechWarrior they are or what Mech they're piloting." Mist sighed. "I don't know. All I know is that I shouldn't be worried about her, but I still am. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but it's terrifying."

Sundance stared at his friend, surprised. "Wow. That was uncharacteristically mature for you." He thought for a moment. "I think you should just worry about what's here in front of you. We have years until they put us into battle. Remember when you told me it's now or never? Well, try to focus on the now, because who knows how long it's going to last."

Mist sighed again. "I know, you're right. I'm still going to worry, though. I've always just tried ignoring my problems, which obviously hasn't taught me anything. I probably wouldn't be such a worry-wart if I actually faced anything seriously." Neither of them said anything for a long moment. While they had been talking, all of the cadets in light Mechs had already taken their turn, and they were halfway down the line of mediums. There was a Stormcrow on the firing line currently, blazing away with it's array of lasers. Many of the lasers completely missed the target, but the cadet managed to get a few good hits in before her turn was up.

After a while, Mist finally broke the silence. "It hardly even feels like we're twelve. I don't know about you, but the past five years have felt like an eternity for me." Mist rested his head on his seat and stared out of the Summoner's cockpit. "Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if the soldiers had never invaded Styx. I guess I'd probably be in school right now, reading a comic behind my textbook or doodling Mechs in the margins of my notes," he said, chuckling a bit. "But here I am instead, talking about life and worrying about war. Childhood is great."

Sundance nodded. "Yeah, I get what you mean. I'd look up at the stallions around town, waiting to finally grow up and be one. I guess I got what I wanted. We're definitely not colts anymore."

Mist looked over at Sundance. "If we make it through this somehow, what are you going to do afterwards?"

Sundance though about that for a few moments. "I don't really know. I've never thought ahead that far." He scratched his neck. "I guess the first thing I'd do is sleep until lunchtime and eat at a decent restaurant. After that, who knows? Maybe I'd get a job as a BattleMech mechanic, or become an arena pilot. As much as I love piloting Mechs, I don't want to be a soldier for very long."

Solis whined in a sad way, and Sundance patted the controls reassuringly. "Don't worry, I didn't forget about you. If they don't let me take you with me, I'll probably just steal your DI computer. I won't give you up that easily a second time." Solis hummed happily. She really didn't want anypony else to pilot her after meeting Sundance. Even if she no longer existed in a BattleMech and was only a computer sitting on a desk somewhere, it would be worth it just to be near somepony who appreciated her.

"That sounds like you. As amazing as you are, you've never been one to plan ahead," Mist said, grinning at Sundance. "Ideally, I'd want to settle down somewhere quiet with Chartreuse and never set hoof in another battlefield. After seeing how bad of a pilot I am, I doubt I'd last very long in war, so the sooner I get out, the better. My dreams of grandeur will have to go to someone else. Vermilion, probably. He seems like the type of guy who would keep fighting, even when he's allowed to leave."

The last medium stepped away from the firing line, having spent most of it's time shut down. Sundance didn't recognize what Mech it was, but it he had seen a lot of laser fire out of the corner of his eye. The Clan Rifleman next to Sundance stepped forward, and he noticed the Mech swayed quite a bit. "I guess he's not used to the extra weight. It does take quite a bit to get used to, I guess," Sundance thought, eyeing the Mech as it overshot the firing line. It turned around slowly before trudging back across it.

"Let's go, cadet! We don't have all day to wait while you lumber around. I know the weight of a heavy takes work to get used to, but we can't wait around anymore," Commander Charcoal said over the comms. The cadet nodded and turned back around to face the target. "Now begin!"

The Rifleman began firing all of its lasers immediately, missing with every single one. Mist shook his head again. "He has the same problem as the Fire Moth pilot. The Clan Rifleman has nineteen double heatsinks, but even that isn't enough to cool four large pulse lasers firing continuously." He glanced down the line of cadets. "I wasn't really paying attention to how the other cadets were doing, but the Commander doesn't look happy. If most of the others are having the same problems, we have a lot of work to do."

Almost as soon as Mist stopped talking, the Rifleman shut down, blasting waves of heat out of it's exhaust vents. Sundance looked at the target. If he had to guess, maybe a third of the cadet's lasers had actually hit, and there was barely any damage to the critical components on the target. "I'm sure everyone's aim is going to get better eventually, but I agree their heat management shouldn't be this bad. It's like nopony actually paid attention during our classes about heat management," he said.

"Damn, Sundance. You don't hold back," Mist said, laughing out of shock.

"It's not like I was trying to be mean about it, I just don't like when ponies don't do something as simple as pay attention, then wonder why they're struggling. It should be a basic concept," Sundance said. "Common sense isn't very common, ironically."

Mist laughed again. "Well, I guess we're about to see how much you listened in class." He nodded towards the Rifleman, which had turned and was trudging back towards the line of cadets.

"More than him, I'm assuming." Sundance walked up to the firing line and placed his hooves over the firing controls. He glanced over at the weapons display. "One LB 20-X autocannon with cluster rounds in group one, two ER medium lasers and a single ER small laser in group two, an ER large laser in group three, and an ATM 6 with high explosive missiles in group four. This shouldn't be too bad," he thought.

"Weapons lock off, begin!"

Sundance fired the small and medium lasers first, getting a feel for the weapons systems. The controls were a bit different than the ones they had seen in class, but the basic idea was the same. The lasers shot over the target, completely missing. Sundance adjusted his aim down slightly, struggling to follow the moving target. "This is a lot harder than I thought it'd be," he thought. Solis hummed encouragingly, trying to help him keep his focus. He brought the crosshairs over the target and fired the large laser, hitting the left torso of the fake Mech. The laser moved all over the target as he followed it, but he managed to keep it on target for most of its duration.

"I think I'm getting the hang of it. Let's give the autocannon a try." Sundance fired the small and medium lasers again, using them as a guide for the autocannon. When the lasers glanced past the center torso of the Mech, he fired the autocannon. Disappointingly, the spread of cluster shot only glanced the right torso, the rest flying past the target. "Damn." Sundance glanced at the heat indicator. "Forty-seven percent. Still plenty of room left," he thought. He fired the large laser again, then the autocannon, using the large laser like he had the small and mediums. This shot was much closer to where he had intended, with about half of the cluster shot landing on the center torso. Solis beeped excitedly.

"Now we're getting somewhere. Maybe I should try out the ATM's," he thought, glancing back at the controls. "I wonder if I can lock on to the target. I don't know what the point of target practice would be if half of the Mechs here couldn't use their missiles." Sundance pressed the targeting button, and the Hellbringer beeped as the target was highlighted on his heads-up display and the target's information popped up on one of the screens. "Huh. I guess that answers that question," he thought. He brought the crosshairs over the target again and waited while the missiles locked on to the target. After a brief delay, Sundance heard a long, harsh beep, and he fired the ATM. Its six missiles fired out of the Hellbringer's missile rack, and all of them turned as they flew through the air to hit the target.

"Not bad. Let's keep going." Sundance fired the lasers and autocannon again, managing to keep almost all of his shots on target. He smiled, pleased with himself. "This isn't all that bad. Maybe I will be an arena pilot after I get out of the military," he thought excitedly. The Mech's voice brought him out of his focus, notifying him of the heat levels.

Heat Level Critical.

Sundance glanced at the heat indicator again. "Eighty-six percent? I guess I got a bit carried away. Let's fire a bit less often," he though. Solis beeped agreeably, struggling slightly with the elevated heat. She didn't have to deal with much heat as a training Mech, so this was a strange situation for her to be in. Even with only two single heat sinks as a training Mech, she never had trouble with heat getting this high.

Sundance kept firing the weapons for the rest of his time at the firing line, hitting most of his shots and keeping the heat level around sixty percent. The Hellbringer almost shut down from the heat a couple of times, but Sundance managed to keep the heat below the shut down threshold.

"That's enough. Weapons lock on, and head back. Nicely done, cadet Sundance," Commander Charcoal said. Sundance sighed and leaned back into his seat.

"Phew. That was more stressful than I expected it to be," Sundance thought. Solis buzzed happily, glad that Sundance was proud of himself. She didn't think he knew yet, but she could hear all of his thoughts, and she could tell confidence was something he needed. As Sundance turned back towards the line of cadets, Mist cut in on their private comm channel.

"That was really good. I was expecting you to do well with heat management, but you actually managed to hit the target, which surprised me. I was expecting you to whiff every single shot." Mist winked at him. "Let a real MechWarrior show you how it's done. I'll probably have the best heat management and accuracy out of anypony here."

Sundance grinned at his friend as they walked towards each other. "I'll never let you hear the end of it if you overheat," he said.

Mist stuck his tongue out at Sundance before stepping up towards the firing line. His Summoner stomped to a halt and waited. At the Commander's order, Mist began firing at the target he had selected. A couple of lasers shout out of his Mech, followed by an autocannon barrage and a missile salvo. Sundance couldn't recall the specifics of what was on the Summoner C, but he remembered Mist bragging about the Ultra Autocannon/20 on it. The UAC/20 is one of the best close range weapons that can be mounted on a Mech, and from the looks of the target Mist shot at, it certainly did a good job of tearing up armor.

Over the course of the next minute, Mist continued his assault on the target, and Sundance was impressed with how many shots he managed to hit. Mist wasn't as accurate as Sundance, he noted, but still noticeably better than the other cadets they had watched. By the time Commander Charcoal called him back, the target was barely recognizable. "Shit, that autocannon really did a number on the target," Sundance thought. Solis beeped in agreement. Being a training Mech, she had never seen what the BattleMechs could do, so it was equally as surprising for her.

Mist sauntered back over to the line of cadets. "How was that? Never reached above seventy percent heat," he said proudly over the private comm channel.

"That was actually really good. You weren't as accurate as me, of course, but I have to give you credit for your heat management," Sundance replied, leaning back in his seat.

Mist pressed a hoof to his chest in an exaggeratedly conceited way. "Well, of course I did well. It would've taken a miracle for me to do worse than the other cadets." The two of them laughed at this, the painful truth of it only making the joke funnier. "Anyway, let's watch Vermilion. I want to see what he can do with that Timber Wolf," Mist said, turning around to watch. Vermilion had already walked up to the starting line, his Timber Wolf gazing out at the targets. "I hope he won't stay mad at me for long."

Sundance looked at his friend sympathetically. "I'm sure he won't, as long as you give him a heartfelt apology. I know he looks tough on the outside, but I think he's a lot nicer than he lets on," he said.

"I sure hope so. I don't want to lose any of the friends I've made here. I don't think I could go back to the way things were when I was alone now that I have all of you with me," Mist said, sighing. "I wish-"

Mist cut off as Vermilion began firing, an excessive amount of missiles firing from the Timber Wolf's shoulder-mounted missile racks. The missiles struggled to all hit the target, but a decent percentage of them managed to connect. Shortly afterwards, the Mech's array of lasers and machine guns began blasting at the target.

"God damn. I had a feeling that was going to be amazing to watch, but I didn't quite expect that," Mist said, in awe. "The Timber Wolf Prime carries two Long Range Missile-20 launchers. LRM's are really hard to hit at close range, so I'm surprised he managed to hit as many as he did," he explained to Sundance. "I've never seen that many missiles fired at the same time. I can't imagine how terrifying it would be to get hit by that."

Sundance nodded. The missile salvo had blasted pretty much all of the paint off of the target, and the Timber Wolf's lasers were making quick work of tearing what was left apart. Sundance turned towards Mist. "What were you going to say?"

Mist shook his head. "It's not important." He glanced towards his friend. "You know, I think Vermilion might even be about as accurate as you are. He's certainly hitting most of his shots," he said, grinning. Sundance shot him a wry look. "Although, he doesn't seem to be watching his heat quite as closely. He's going to overheat if he isn't careful."

Mist was wholly unsurprised when the Timber Wolf shut down a few moments later. Sundance wasn't as good at noticing when a Mech was overheating as Mist was, but he had noticed Vermilion was firing the lasers quite a bit. "That was bound to happen. He was firing the ER large lasers way too much. He probably would have been fine otherwise," Mist said.

After a brief delay, the Mech powered back up and resumed it's onslaught against the target. Before long, his time was up and the Commander called him back. Vermilion turned around towards the line of cadets and walked over to stand in his place next to Mist.

"I can't get over how graceful the Timber Wolf is when it walks," Mist said, nodding towards Chartreuse, who was lumbering slowly towards the firing line in her Mech, "especially compared to massive Mechs like the Clan Marauder."

Sundance giggled. "You're right. I guess all of the weapons on the Marauder make up for that, though."

Mist nodded. "Yeah, none of the Mechs here would stand much of a change up against that beast, even if Chartreuse was as bad of a MechWarrior as them." Chartreuse finally reached the firing line, and the Commander gave her the OK to begin.

Sundance and Mist were both taken aback when Chartreuse began firing. The three ER PPC's nearly blasted a hole all the way through the target, and the lasers made short work of tearing apart what was left. There was a brief delay while the Marauder vented its heat before it continued firing salvo after devastating salvo. What impressed Sundance the most though was the number of shots Chartreuse missed, or rather, the lack thereof. By the time her minute was up, he had counted four missed PPC shots and only a hoofful of lasers missed.

She turned back around and trudged towards her spot in line. Mist stared at the target with his mouth agape. Chartreuse's target had been blasted to pieces, chunks of armor littering the ground. Many of these pieces of armor were still glowing from the heat of the energy weapons.

"How the hell did she do that without overheating? You made it sound like she was going to overheat constantly with how much you were stressing about the energy weapons on her Mech," Sundance said to Mist.

Mist shook his head. "The Clan Marauder has twenty-one double heat sinks, so it excels at dispelling heat. Even so, it was really impressive that she didn't overheat with how much she was firing. She must have been really close to the heat threshold," he said.

Commander Charcoal walked down the line of cadets again, silencing them before cutting in on the comms. "That was an acceptable training session, I suppose. Accuracy will come with practice, but I expect all of you to review heat management before our next session. Some of you were particularly disappointing in this regard." He stopped at the end of the line next to Chartreuse. "Others, however, did exceptionally well. Including cadet Mist, which was unexpected." Mist huffed with outrage, but luckily he wasn't connected to the comms.

"We're done for the day. Now that all of you know how to fire your weapons, we're going to streamline target practice tomorrow. You will all be split into groups the next day based on skill level and the optimal engagement distance of your Mechs, so I suggest you make any final Mech switches before then. You are all dismissed," the Commander said before walking towards the exit of the field.

Mist glanced over at Sundance, who nodded to him. The sooner Mist apologized, the better.

Mist turned towards Vermilion and was about to open a private comm channel, but the Timber Wolf wasn't standing where Mist had expected it to be. In fact, it wasn't anywhere close to Mist. He kept turning, and found that Vermilion had already charged past him, and was halfway down the field before he could react. He looked back at Sundance, feeling discouraged.

"Don't worry, you can still talk to him before lunch if you hurry. Come on, let's try to catch up," Sundance said. Mist nodded, and the two of them charged off down the field. Most of the lights and mediums had already made it off the field, so it was pretty much empty by the time Mist and Sundance reached the exit, save for Chartreuse who was trudging along well behind them, and the Rifleman which was even further behind.

"I don't think we'll be able to catch up to him. He isn't any slower than we are. In fact, all three of our Mechs have the exact same top speed," Mist said as they raced down the path towards the hangar. They had lost Vermilion through the trees, but Sundance was fairly sure he could hear the Timber Wolf's heavy footsteps close ahead.

"We're not far behind him. You can apologize outside of your Mech if you're quick, which might be better anyway. The hangar is right here, so we should hurry," Sundance said, nodding towards the hangar, which had just become visible through the trees. He thought he caught a glance of Vermilion's Mech going into the hangar, which meant Mist could still make it in time.

"You're probably right. Wish me luck, I guess," Mist said before speeding ahead of Sundance. He disappeared past the hangar doors, not too far behind Vermilion.

Sundance sighed. "I hope everything goes well with Mist's apology. I don't think I was wrong about Vermilion, but you know how Mist is with words," he said to Solis. She hummed comfortingly. She had gotten a decent grasp of Mist's personality through the comms, and while she agreed he wasn't the most careful with his words, she was fairly confident his apology would get through if he truly meant it.

Sundance walked through the hangar, being careful not to step on anypony. While most of the cadets were smart enough to not walk in the middle of the floor where a Mech could easily crush them, it never hurt to be careful. He stepped carefully into Solis's Mech Bay and turned back around to face the open hangar.

"I guess that's it for today, Solis. Firing your weapons sure was fun, huh?" Solis beeped in agreement. She had never gotten to fire weapons before, and it was certainly an exciting experience she never thought she would be able to have. "I'll see you tomorrow, then. Hopefully we get to shoot a bunch more. Bye, Solis," Sundance though. Solis chimed a farewell, and he powered down the Hellbringer.

"I wonder how Mist's apology is going?" Sundance had noticed Mist racing across the catwalk as he neared the end of the hangar, presumably trying to get to the lockers before Vermilion did. Sundance got out of the Mech and took off his neurohelmet, blinking at the light. He caught Vermilion walking into the locker room, but he didn't see Mist anywhere, so he assumed he was already in there waiting for Vermilion. He turned as Chartreuse lumbered into the hangar, her Marauder shaking the ground as it walked. He walked around the catwalk to her Mech Bay and waited.

After Chartreuse walked her Mech into her Bay and shut it down, her cockpit opened and she climbed out, her neurohelmet already tucked under one foreleg. Sundance walked up to where she was standing. "You were amazing out there. I didn't realize you were so good at target practice," Sundance said.

"I didn't either. I have a knack for it, I guess," she replied. She gave him a strange look. "The two of you left the training field quickly. Where'd you get to in such a hurry?"

Sundance nodded towards the locker rooms. "Mist wanted to apologize to Vermilion. He feels pretty bad about the joke he made and how Vermilion reacted."

Chartreuse nodded. "Mist didn't really think that joke through, did he? I kind of want to hear how it goes, so let's head over there." She led the way over to the locker rooms, with Sundance close behind her. As they reached the locker rooms, Chartreuse nodded towards Sundance. "Let me know how it went. I can't exactly go into the boy's locker room," she said jokingly.

Sundance smiled. "Sure thing." They went into the separate locker rooms, and Sundance walked in just in time to hear the end of Mist's apology. He moved over to his locker, which was situated near Mist's, and began changing out of his cooling suit as he listened in on his friend's apology.

"...so I hope you don't hold it against me. I really didn't mean anything bad with my joke, and I admit it was pretty insensitive. I'm sorry I joked about death so lightheartedly, and I had completely forgotten about your brother. I didn't mean to bring up any painful memories. I hope you can forgive me," Mist said. He was standing next to Vermilion, who was busy stripping from his cooling suit.

"Yeah, I know you weren't trying to be mean, but that wasn't exactly a funny joke you made." He dropped the cooling suit on top of his neuro helmet and threw his cadet jacket on before slamming the locker shut. "I'll forgive you, but you had better not make pull any more stunts like that. I don't know if you're blind or stupid, but Chartreuse isn't going to like you for bad humor."

Mist scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I know. I'll figure something else out. Sorry, again," Mist said. He finished changing into his own cadet jacket and closed his locker.

"Stop apologizing, damn. Once is enough. Now let's go eat lunch. You coming, Sundance?" Vermilion said walking towards the door.

"Yeah, give me a moment," Sundance said as he put on his jacket. He hung up his cooling suit and was about to close the door when he heard a squeal coming from somewhere else in the hangar. He turned to his friends. "Did you hear that?"

Vermilion and Mist nodded. "Yeah. Who was that?" Mist asked.

"No idea. Let's just go," Vermilion said, walking out the door. Sundance closed his locker, and he and Mist followed Vermilion out.

Just as Mist and Sundance walked out of the boys' locker room, the door to the girls' locker room crashed open and Chartreuse charged out excitedly, already having changed into her cadet jacket. "Guys, guys, look! Look at what happened!" She said, animatedly turning in a circle. "I finally got my cutie mark!"

Chapter 5

Sundance, Mist, and Vermilion were walking towards the mess hall, with Chartreuse skipping along happily ahead. All of the other first year cadets had left for the mess hall long ago, with the exception of the cadet who piloted the Rifleman, who had just lumbered into the hangar. Sundance looked over his shoulder and saw Commander Charcoal shaking his head. “I guess the Commander wasn’t too happy with that cadet’s performance. I wouldn’t be either, honestly. He should probably stick to a lighter Mech,” Sundance thought.

Mist leaned over towards Sundance as they kept walking. “I know getting your cutie mark is exciting and all, but don’t you think Chartreuse is too enthusiastic? I mean, I’m happy for her, but still. It seems a bit unusual.”

Sundance turned back towards Mist and opened his mouth to reply, but Vermilion cut in on their conversation from Sundance’s other side. “I think she’s more happy about what her cutie mark is. You’ve noticed how she’s always fawning over Sundance, right?” Sundance scratched the back of his head awkwardly while Mist made a face and looked away. “With that in mind, why do you think she’s so happy?”

“Well, if you put it that way, it does make a bit more sense I guess,” Mist said.

Sundance shook his head. “I’m not following you.”

“Think about it. You got your cutie mark for piloting Mechs, Chartreuse got her cutie mark for shooting Mechs... Get it yet?” Vermilion said, tapping Sundance on the forehead.

“Ow. No, not really.”

Vermilion sighed, visibly annoyed. “You’re a dense motherfucker, aren’t you? The two of you have related cutie marks and similar talents. Both of you are good at the same things. Of course she would be happy about that. You hadn’t even realized she liked you until I told you, had you?”

Sundance opened his mouth to protest, but Mist cut him off. “No, he did. Only because I told him, though. He probably would have been completely surprised just now if I hadn’t,” he said, shouldering Sundance playfully.

Sundance scowled at Mist as he regained his balance. “You don’t know that. I might have realized before now.” He glanced at Chartreuse. “Or maybe not.” Vermilion shook his head.

“I wonder what my cutie mark is going to be,” Mist wondered aloud. “You got a Timber Wolf, which I’m still jealous about, by the way. Chartreuse got a crosshair, which is cool I guess, but that kind of thing doesn’t fit me, you know? Maybe it’ll be blueprints, and my talent is designing new Mechs?”

Sundance rolled his eyes. “Leave that to Cadmium and whatever weird shit he works on in his free time. I don’t think you want to end up like him.”

Mist smiled sadly. “Yeah, that’s a good point. Constantly adjusting glasses, grumbling at everything, just being a pain the ass in general. I wouldn’t want to be like that.”

Vermilion frowned at Mist. “Sure, like you’re not already a pain in the ass.”

“Hey. I take pride in my ability to antagonize people. It’s an art form, more than just annoying everypony else, like Cadmium does.” Mist thought for a moment. “Maybe that’s what my cutie mark is going to be...”

Vermilion reached over Sundance to try and shove Mist, but he jumped sideways just in time to avoid being pushed to the dirt. Sundance laughed, and Mist shot him a smile. “See what I mean? If I were Cadmium, nopony here would be happy.” Vermilion glared at Mist, and he only grinned wider. “On the subject of being happy, you never seem happy, Vermilion. When was the last time you smiled?”

Vermilion sighed and looked at the ground. “Probably not since I lost Carnelian, my brother.”

“I wish I had an older brother. Seven years is kind of a big difference, though. The two of you must have been close?” Mist asked.

Vermilion nodded. “Obviously. He isn’t... wasn’t that much older than me, though.”

Mist looked at him, confused. “But didn’t you say he died in his first battle last year? Shouldn’t that put him seven years ahead of you, since you’re twelve? Unless you’re not...”

Vermilion shook his head. “I’m fifteen. They didn’t move me to a Sibko until this year because... well, for reasons.”

“Ah, everything makes a lot more sense now. I thought you acted strangely for somepony our age.”

Sundance glanced back at where Vermilion’s cutie mark should have been. “How come you don’t have a cutie mark if you’re that old?”

Vermilion shook his head again. “I-I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s just eat lunch. The mess hall is right here,” he said, speeding ahead of the others.

Sundance looked towards where he was heading and realized they were already at the mess hall, like Vermilion had said. It hadn’t felt like they walked that long, but they did, evidently. Chartreuse slowed down as they got closer to the gray building to walk next to Sundance. “It seems like he’s hiding something, don’t you think?”

Mist looked at her, startled. “You could hear us the whole time?”

“Of course,” Chartreuse said. Mist’s face fell in despair, and she laughed at him. “I’m kidding! I only heard the last bit. I didn’t listen in on whatever deep, private conversation the three of you were having.”

Mist sighed and chuckled. “I think I know how everypony else feels around me now. But yeah, it seems like he’s not telling us something.”

“I don’t know, guys. It seemed like he didn’t want to talk about whatever it was,” Sundance said, looking at the doors where Vermilion had disappeared.

Chartreuse shook her head. “He’s obviously keeping in his emotions, which isn’t healthy. You noticed him stutter, right?” Sundance thought about that for a moment. He actually didn’t realize Vermilion had stuttered. Maybe Sundance was as dense as Vermilion had said.

“I know, right? I didn’t think I would have ever seen Vermilion be that nervous, so it was kind of surprising. It’s gotta be something that’s really bothering him. Probably something to do with Carnelian,” Mist said.

Chartreuse nodded. “That’s what I was thinking. I don’t know if we’ll get anything out of him today, though.”

“Yeah, I don’t think he’s quite ready to open up that much. Maybe soon.” Mist walked over to the doors of the mess hall and held them open for Chartreuse and Sundance. Chartreuse walked through with barely a glance in Mist’s direction, and Sundance gave him a sympathetic look. That was the kind of nice thing Mist should be doing to get somepony to like him, but maybe that just wasn’t her thing.

Sundance was too busy exchanging glances with his friend to notice that he had walked into the path of a particularly ill-tempered green pony carrying a food tray. Mist’s eyebrows shot up with alarm right before Sundance rammed into Bittersweet, and the two of them crashed to the floor, the clattering of his food tray hushing the mess hall and drawing everypony’s attention. Sundance shook his head, dazed, while Bittersweet angrily pulled himself to his hooves and dusted himself off before storming over to Sundance.

“What the fuck is your problem?” he bellowed, slamming a hoof down inches from Sundance’s face. He flinched backwards and stared up at the older pony, trembling.

“I-I-ah...” Sundance stammered, too scared to formulate a sentence. He glanced around wildly at the other ponies in the room. Some of them looked excited by the confrontation, others seemed sympathetic, and the rest were all showing wide ranges of emotions. Although, even with this large amount of different reactions, Sundance didn’t see a single pony who looked like they wanted to help. He looked back at Bittersweet, quivering harder. “Please don’t let this happen again. I can’t handle ending up as a bloody mess for the second time. Celestia, please help me!” he though, squeezing his eyes tightly closed.

Bittersweet scowled down at Sundance and snorted. He planted a hoof on Sundance’s neck, pinning him to the ground. Sundance’s eyes shot open, terror building up in his mind. “You have a bad habit of pissing me off,” he snarled through his teeth. Sundance opened and closed his mouth, unable to breath past the pressure on his throat. He brought his hooves up in an attempt to remove the much stronger pony’s death grip, but to no avail. Bittersweet brought his face close to Sundance’s and opened his mouth, but stopped when a shadow moved over top of him. Sundance looked up and saw Chartreuse standing next to them.

“Leave him alone,” Chartreuse said, glaring dangerously at Bittersweet.

Bittersweet turned his head towards her. “Or what? What’s a pitiful pony like you going to do?” He stood up tall, his muscles rippling, and stared back at her with just as much fire in his eyes. “I’d like to see you try and stop me.”

Chartreuse took a step backwards, her confidence wavering. She opened her mouth nervously to reply, but Mist stepped forward and stopped her. “He didn’t mean to run into you, Bittersweet. I distracted him, and that’s what caused this. It was just an accident, so please let him go.”

Bittersweet sneered. “Of course the most useless and lazy pony in the Sibko would be the cause of our problems. Why don’t you just crawl into a corner and off yourself? The rest of our lives would become incredibly easier.”

Mist recoiled as if Bittersweet had struck him. His mouth opened and closed his mouth a few times, his lower jaw trembling, before he looked down at the floor and sniffed.

“That’s enough,” a voice said. Sundance turned his head towards the sound and saw Vermilion standing a few yards away. He was staring defiantly at Bittersweet, his nostrils flaring.

Bittersweet turned towards him and laughed scornfully. “I’m not afraid of you, Vermilion.”

Vermillion walked up to Bittersweet steadily and stopped right in front of him. Vermillion was barely taller than Bittersweet’s shoulders and had to look up to him, but he remained undaunted nonetheless.

Bittersweet glowered at him. “Do you want to join your brother? I can make arrangements if that’s what you’re looking for.”

Vermillion tensed his jaw muscles. “I said that’s enough.”

Bittersweet shoved his face into Vermillion’s hotly. “I’m seconds away from bashing your face in. Stay out of this, or I’ll kick your teeth out through your ass.”

“That’s. Enough,” Vermillion growled, holding his ground. Sundance stared up at the two of them, still struggling. He could feel Bittersweet’s muscles flexing, and he was worried that the two ponies were about to fight. Vermilion was strong and fast, but Bittersweet was much bigger and had more combat training. Sundance wasn’t sure who would come out on top if they came to blows.

The two ponies continued glaring at each other for many long moments, which seemed to stretch on for eternity. Nopony in the mess hall said anything, and Sundance was sure the loudest thing in the room was his heart beating, which felt like it was trying to force its way out through his rib cage.

Suddenly, Sundance felt the pressure release from his throat, and he rolled over, coughing. Chartreuse rushed over to him and rested a hoof on his shoulder comfortingly.

Bittersweet snorted in Vermillion’s face. “Fine. Have it your way.” He turned away from Vermillion and began walking back towards the serving window. “You’ll never be your brother,” he threw over his shoulder. Vermillion glowered after him, but said nothing. Instead, he turned towards his friends.

“Are you guys alright?” he asked. Sundance and Chartreuse nodded, but Mist remained still. He had barely moved since Bittersweet’s remark towards him, and was still staring at the floor. Vermillion walked over to him and rested a hoof on his shoulder. “Ignore what he said. He was wrong.”

Mist didn’t reply, so Vermillion gently lifted his head with his other foreleg to force Mist to look at him. “Hey. Don’t listen to what Bittersweet said. You’re our friend, and careless jokes aside, we care about you a lot. You’re not worthless to any of us.”

Mist stared at Vermillion, his eyes watering. After a moment, he sighed and nodded his head. Vermillion patted his shoulder softly. “Now let’s eat. I already grabbed food for all of us.”

Chartreuse helped Sundance to his hooves and the four of them walked over to the table Vermillion had selected. They sat at the end, with Chartreuse and Sundance on one side, and Mist and Vermillion on the other. They ate in silence, the clatter of silverware being the only noises they made. Mist mostly just pushed around the vegetables on his plate, rarely taking a bite. “Poor Mist. I wish I could make him feel better, but I’m not exactly an empathetic pony,” Sundance thought, glancing at his friend out of the corner of his eye.

After a few moments, Chartreuse broke the silence at their table. “Thank you for standing up for us,” she said to Vermillion.

“Somepony had to. Bittersweet is a cunt,” Vermillion replied. He scratched the back of his head, slightly embarrassed. “I couldn’t just let him have his way with you guys.”

Sundance smiled at him. “Yeah, he definitely is. Thanks.”

Mist nodded, but remained silent.

“Umm...” Chartreuse began. “Did Bittersweet know Carnelian? He seemed to be familiar with your situation.”

Vermillion put down his fork and nodded solemnly. “Yeah, he did. Carnelian used to be the best cadet here. Everypony looked up to him. Including Bittersweet.” Vermillion sighed. “Bittersweet idolized my brother. He wanted to be just like him, and my brother tried to help him along. He always had a hard personality, but he wasn’t cruel back then. I think losing Carnelian hit him harder than most other ponies.”

Sundance leaned back, shocked. “So Bittersweet isn’t just a total prick for no reason?”

Vermillion shook his head. “His reasoning doesn’t justify his actions, but no, he’s not.”

“So what was Carnelian like? He sounded like a great pony,” Chartreuse said, trying to see how much she could pull from Vermillion without hurting him. She wanted to help him feel better, but she needed to know the full story to do that.

Vermillion nodded. “He was. Carnelian was the best big brother I could have asked for. He always knew what to say, he never intentionally hurt me, he stood up for me, he was kind, caring, selfless... Sometimes I feel like I’m living in his shadow. I didn’t mind when he was here, but now that he’s gone...” he said, his voice breaking. He coughed awkwardly. “I’ll never be able to live up to Carnelian’s reputation, just like Bittersweet said. He was an amazing pony, the best I’ve ever known. I just wish I had said so while he was still alive.”

“Didn’t you ever tell him what he meant to you? Just once?” Chartreuse asked.

Vermillion shook his head. “I did, but not wholeheartedly. I never realized just how important he was to me until he was gone. Do you know what the last thing I said to him was? The last thing he heard me say before he marched off to his death?” Vermillion ran a hoof over his face.

“I told him I hated him, and that I never wanted to see him again. We were fighting before he left, and I was just so angry. I couldn’t think straight, and I said so many terrible things. Even through that, though, he never once raised his voice at me. Even with me shouting horrible things at him, he remained kind right up until the end. He-” Vermillion continued, his voice rising slightly in pitch. He swallowed. “He hugged me. He told me he loved me. He said, that even if things were hard, he knew I could find a way through. And I still said that as he walked out the door.” Vermillion buried his head in his forelegs, his shoulders beginning to shake. “I’m such a fucking idiot. I should be the one who’s dead, not him.”

Sundance stared at Vermillion, surprised. He hadn’t seemed like the type of pony to get angry like that, especially from how he had acted when he defended Sundance and the others. Chartreuse made a sympathetic face and reached over the table to comfort Vermillion, but Mist was closer.

“I doubt Carnelian actually believed you hated him,” Mist said softly, placing one of his forelegs across Vermillion’s back. “He was your brother, after all. I’m sure he knew how you really felt, even if you never said anything, and I can almost guarantee his last thoughts were about you.”

Vermillion looked up at Mist and sniffed. “Do you really think that?” he asked.

Mist nodded. “From what he sounded like, I can’t imagine anything else.”

Vermillion smiled and pulled him in for a hug. “Thanks, Mist,” he said. He let go and leaned back in his seat. “Well, I think I’ve put enough of a gloomy air on today’s lunch. Are you guys ready to go?”

The other three nodded, and they all got up, food trays in hoof. Chartreuse shot Sundance a strange look. “That was an eventful lunch,” she said.

Sundance nodded. “Yeah. It was a lot more than I would have preferred to be shoved into twenty minutes.”

Chartreuse smiled. “At least we got Vermillion to talk about his past a bit.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Maybe he and Mist aren’t as incompatible as they looked. I wonder if Mist will be able to help him out more than we could.”

Sundance shrugged. “Hopefully. Either way, I’m glad he opened up a bit. It must be hard for him.”

Chartreuse nodded. “Losing ponies you’re close to can be debilitating. Vermillion isn’t too far gone, though, so I think the three of us can help him out.”

Sundance glanced at Vermillion as they dropped their food trays off at the window and turned to walk out of the building. “I sure hope so. I hate so see him or Mist so sad.”

“I guess we’ll see what happens.” Chartreuse smiled at Sundance. “We certainly are a strange group, aren’t we? There’s nothing remotely normal about any of us.”

Sundance chuckled. “Yeah. I wouldn’t give any of you up for anything, not even if I could be Khan of the Clan,” he said as they walked through the doors into the open air.

Chartreuse beamed at him and nudged him playfully. “That’s good to hear. The three of you are great friends to me, too.” She looked up at the mountains in the distance, their jagged peaks catching the sunlight like diamonds. “I hope we can all stay together for the rest of our lives.”

~~

Sundance woke to the shaking of his bed. He cracked an eye open to find Mist standing closely in front of him, and he recoiled sluggishly in surprise. “Come on, Sundance!” Mist exclaimed, taking a few steps back. “We’re starting combat training today!”

Sundance rubbed his eyes and sat up. “I’m up, I’m up.” He pushed himself drowsily onto the cold floor and made his bed. “No drill instructor today?” he asked, looking around the room. Most of the other cadets had already woken up, with the last few being shaken awake by the others.

Mist shook his head. “They needed his help for our training session today, so we’re on our own. No morning training session, either,” he said, grinning at Sundance. “We get to eat breakfast and then go straight to the hangar.”

Sundance glanced at the door to the barracks and saw the grey light of morning streaming in through the window. He yawned. “Cool.” Sundance grabbed his jacket from the shelf under his bed, threw it on, and walked over to Mist.

“Let’s go, come on! Vermillion is already on his way to the mess hall,” Mist said, trotting over to the door excitedly.

Sundance rubbed his eyes again and followed his friend. He glanced around the barracks as he walked down the aisle of beds. “No Bittersweet. Good,” he thought. He glanced at Mist, who was holding the door open and beckoning to him eagerly. Sundance sighed and walked through into the frigid air, his hooves sinking into the soft snow that had fallen the night before. He pulled his jacket tight around himself and squinted at the sun, which had barely started poking over the tops of the snowcapped mountains. It had been over a year since he had gotten his cutie mark, and he had never felt so unsure of himself. “What’s the point of being able to pilot a Mech if I won’t be able to fight in one?” he thought. “I’m just going to get humiliated today.”

Mist bounced out ahead of Sundance, his hooves leaving trails in the barely touched snow. Sundance sighed and reluctantly trudged behind him. The two of them made their way to the mess hall, following the tracks of the cadets who had already left for breakfast. The forest the training camp was placed in was barely recognizable now that all the leaves were gone and the ground was covered in snow. It almost seemed uninviting. Sundance shivered. He and Vermillion had been talking about what was going on in the Clan recently, with freeborn ponies being treated like herds of cattle. He wasn’t sure if Vermillion had just made him paranoid, but he had begun to notice a lot of things that certainly painted ponies like the drill instructor and Commander Charcoal as the bad guys. Sundance scratched the back of his neck. “Is Vermillion right about all of them? Are they just luring us into a false sense of trust? But they seem so genuine. It’s not like they were the ones who kidnapped us and forced us here.”

Sundance shook his head and looked at Mist, who was still bounding ahead of him. “I know Mist is probably on Chartreuse’s side in all of this, but I wonder what he thinks. I’ve never heard him talk much about us being here. I guess he did say he has a tendency to just ignore his problems. Maybe I should try to get him to think about them instead.” Sundance sped up until he was walking beside his friend, whose excited jumping through the snow showered Sundance with the cold powder. He shielded his face. “Hey Mist, can I ask you a question?”

Mist calmed his excited outburst a bit and turned towards Sundance. “Of course, whatever you want.”

“If we could somehow escape from here, and take Vermillion and Chartreuse with us, would you do it?”

Mist glanced at him, surprised. “Escape? I’ve never thought about doing that. I guess I just kind of accepted our fate a long time ago.” He looked ahead and thought for a moment. “We’d probably be hunted down and killed if we did try to run away, just so they could make an example out of us.”

Sundance shook his head. “Hypothetically, what would happen if we did and they didn’t come after us? Just pretend.”

Mist scratched underneath his chin. “If it were possible, I guess. I have no idea where we’d go, but I wouldn’t mind getting away from all of this. Dying isn’t really my thing, you know? Why the sudden curiosity?”

“Don’t you feel at least a little angry about the whole taken from our home thing? I mean, they pretty much stole our entire lives from us,” Sundance said.

Mist frowned. “Well... I guess they did, but it’s not like there’s anything we can do about it. Isn’t it just simpler to go with it and accept our situation? The only thing fighting back will get you is a bumpy ride in the trunk of a car, tied up with a bag over your head, and a bullet through your skull.” Mist shook his head. “Trust me, we’re better off just riding this war out. At least then we have a chance at surviving.” He peered at Sundance. “You’ve been talking to Vermillion a lot lately, haven’t you?”

Sundance sighed. “Yes, I have been. He has really valid arguments, though. Why can’t we stand up for ourselves?”

“Because it’s safer not to.” Mist sighed and stopped walking. “Listen. Vermillion is a great guy, and he’s one of the best friends I’ve ever had. But he has a dangerous way of thinking, and I worry constantly that his lack of caution is going to get him killed.” Mist placed a hoof on Sundance’s shoulder. “I get how you feel. It’s frustrating, and it would be great if we were still back at our homes in Styx. But we’re not, and there’s nothing we can do to change that. Please don’t talk about this kind of thing anymore. I don’t want to have to worry about losing you, too.”

“I can’t change how I feel about this. Vermillion makes a lot of sense when he talks about our being here and what they did to us and our families.” Sundance sighed heavily. “But I guess I can stop talking about it so much.”

Mist smiled and patted his shoulder. “Good. Trust me, the four of us are going to make it through this war together. We’ll do whatever it takes, and we’ll get out alive. Now come on, let’s make it to breakfast before Vermillion eats our food.”

Sundance nodded, and the two of them continued towards the mess hall. The building became visible quickly through the trees, which seemed more like twigs sticking up out of the ground without their leaves. The two of them went inside and walked towards their usual table, Vermillion and Chartreuse having beaten them there. As usual, Vermillion had already gotten all of their food for them. Sundance smiled. “I know he said he’ll never be like Carnelian, but I don’t think he needs to be. He’s an amazing pony the way he is,” he thought happily as he sat down next to Mist.

Chartreuse looked at the two of them as they sat down, while Vermillion nodded at them. “Hey guys,” she said. “You ready for today?”

Mist nodded enthusiastically. “Definitely! I’ve been waiting for this day for ages,” he said, shoveling his breakfast into his mouth. “I ‘an’t wait to fi’ally ‘oot at other Me’hs!”

Sundance shook his head. “Mist, nopony can understand you with food in your mouth. Do you want a repeat of what happened last time?”

Mist glanced at Sundance, hurriedly chewed his food, and swallowed. “Sorry, I’m just so excited. I’ve been looking forward to today for a long time.”

Chartreus laughed and looked at Sundance. “What about you?”

Sundance sighed and rested his chin on one of his hooves. “It’s cool, I guess.”

She looked at him, slightly worried. “Is something wrong? You don’t seem like yourself today.”

“I don’t know. I guess I’m just worried about what’s going to happen in training.”

“How come? You’re the best pilot in the Sibko. Nothing could go wrong,” Chartreuse said.

“Don’t jinx it.” Sundance leaned back in his seat and sighed again. “You remember all those times Bittersweet pushed me around in the past year, and I was always too scared to do anything about it? What if the same thing happens today?”

Chartreuse made a sympathetic face. “You’ll be alright. We were there for you every time, weren’t we? We can’t fight for you in training, but you’ll be fine if you just remember we’re not far away.”

Vermillion nodded. “Don’t think about your fear too much. It might work for you.”

Sundance smiled slightly. “I’ll try that. Thanks.” Truthfully, he was still terrified about combat training. He wasn’t sure either of them were much help, but he didn’t want to make them worry any more than they already were. It’s not like they could truly understand what he was feeling, after all. They didn’t have the same problem he did, so how could they?

“If everypony is done talking, let’s hurry up and eat! I want to be there before anypony else!” Mist exclaimed, still stuffing his cheeks. Sundance shook his head at his friend.

The four of them finished eating quickly, left their trays by the serving window with the other dirty dishes, and stepped out into the cold air. Chartreuse shivered and pulled her jacket tight around herself. “Why couldn’t they give us winter jackets, too? It’s freezing out here.”

“Because they’re too busy sending all of the good shit to the trueborn Sibkos. We just get whatever’s left, which isn’t very good, obviously,” Mist said, pulling on his tattered cadet jacket. “Honestly, getting only one new jacket every year sucks. We have to wear these things constantly, and we can’t exactly be gentle with them.”

Vermillion shook his head. “That’s just how they treat us. We probably would have been better off dying in Styx.”

Mist shot Sundance a glance and raised an eyebrow. Sundance sighed and turned away. He almost agreed with Vermillion. As much as he wanted to believe what Mist said about them all making it through the war, Sundance wasn’t too sure they could. The Clan had been pushing freeborn cadets out with worse and worse training and equipment recently, at least according to Vermillion. “I have no idea how all the other cadets can remain so optimistic. It’s almost like they’re brainwashing everypony.” A theory popped into his head, but Mist’s excited outburst cut him off before he could think about it any further.

“Come on, guys! The hangar is right here!” Mist called, charging ahead of them as the massive steel doors became visible through the trees.

Vermillion shook his head and turned towards Chartreuse. “He said you were too excited about getting your cutie mark last year, and look at him now.”

Chartreuse giggled. “So that’s what you three were talking about after training that day? Mist’s reaction makes a lot more sense now.”

Sundance glanced up at Commander Charcoal’s Mech Bay as they passed through the hangar’s entrance, and he noticed it was empty. “I guess the Commander already left for the training field.” Sundance scratched the back of his head. “I hope he doesn’t expect too much of me today.”

Mist rushed past them as he ran out of the locker room, his cooling suit already on and his neurohelmet in one foreleg. He grinned at them and ran towards his Mech Bay. Sundance sighed. “He really doesn’t know when to calm down, does he?”

The three of them got into their cooling suits and headed over to their Mechs. Some of the cadets had begun to trickle into the hangar, none of whom seemed remotely as ecstatic as Mist. Vermillion nodded to Sundance as they reached the top of the stairs, and they climbed into their Mechs. Sundance put his neurohelmet on as the cockpit swung closed and turned on the Hellbringer. The usual beeps accompanied the start up procedure, and he heard Solis hum to life. "Good morning, Solis," he thought.

Good Morning

Sundance smiled. He had gotten to the point with Solis where he could understand her basic emotions as words. He wasn't anywhere close to being able to have a full conversation with her, but he could at least understand greetings and ask yes or no questions. The Hellbringer stepped out of its Mech Bay and followed Mist out of the hangar, Vermillion and Chartreuse not far behind. By the time Sundance had cleared the doors of the hangar, Mist had already almost sprinted out of view, moving quickly between the trees.

"He certainly is lively," Vermillion said as he followed Sundance.

Sundance nodded and glanced after the disappearing Mech. "He's almost like an entirely different pony when he's this excited," he thought as the three of them walked towards the training field. From this high up, it was a bit easier to see where the path used to be through the snow. Before long, the three of them reached the training field, where Mist was already waiting. Sundance saw the Commander's Mad Dog near the end of the field, along with another Mech he didn't recognize. They walked up to their friend.

"God damn, Mist. You got here fast," Vermillion said.

"Of course. I did say I was excited."

Vermillion shook his head. They stood there, not really saying much, as the other cadets slowly began filing onto the field. Before long, the last straggler made it onto the field, and the Commander walked over to them with the other Mech trailing behind.

"I think that's a Gyrfalcon," Mist said over their private comm channel. "I don't know much about it, though. They're produced exclusively by Clan Jade Falcon if I remember correctly, so I have no idea how we got one." He scratched the back of his head. "They haven't joined the war officially, so the only reason I can think of is they're supporting our side while staying out of the fighting, which is strange for them." He frowned. "I'll have to think about this more."

Sundance nodded, not really listening. He was too busy worrying about humiliating himself when the mock battles started.

The Commander halted in front of the cadets, the Gyrfalcon stopping not far behind. "It's time for combat training, cadets. I hope you all came prepared. We're just going to get right into it today so that we can finish this in as few days as possible. All Mechs fifty-five tons and above, follow me. The rest of you, stay here with Commander Juniper. She will be evaluating you instead," he said, motioning towards the Gyrfalcon.

Commander Charcoal turned around and walked back to the other end of the field, with about half of the cadets following him. He stopped when they reached the far side of the field and turned back towards them. "As you've probably already guessed, I'm not going to have you guys use live ammunition. That would be stupid. We put all of your Mechs in training mode yesterday and replaced the ammo with training ammunition. While your Mechs won't take physical damage, they will act as if they did when being shot, which makes this an excellent way to train for real world situations. For now, though, an open field will do.

"The way this works is I will select two cadets who will fight once I give the signal. The winner is whoever is left standing at the end, and they get a point. The loser gets nothing. It will be a tournament-style system, with a winners' bracket and a losers' bracket. In addition to this, you will get a certain score based off of your performance. The tonnage difference is accounted for in this score, so if you, say, lose to a Mech that has twenty tons on you but you still manage to inflict substantial damage, your score gain will likely be similar to that of your opponent's. Keep your heat in mind, since that's a factor too. Your Mech is going to keep track of the estimated heat you would have with real weapons without actually accumulating heat, but you'll still shut down if it reaches the threshold.

"So let's get started, shall we? Heaviest Mechs first. Cadets Chartreuse and Mist, you're up."

Chartreuse giggled and stepped forward from the group, while Mist turned towards Sundance with a defeated expression. Sundance smiled and shook his head at him. "I'd say good luck, but I don't think it would be enough."

Mist sighed and walked out to stand across from Chartreuse. The two of them looked at each other, both knowing fully who was going to win.

"He should have put me up against her. I would have had a chance," Vermillion said to Sundance over a private comm channel.

"Maybe it's personal? Mist can be quite irritating when he wants to be, so it wouldn't be surprising."

Vermillion barked a laugh. "Yeah, that makes sense."

"Start!" the Commander said over the open comms. Chartreuse immediately began firing, bright flashes coming from her Marauder's PPCs. It looked strange, since there weren't actually any projectiles coming out of the weapons, but Mist's Summoner still recoiled as if it had been hit.

"I guess the training mode makes the Mechs move as if it's been hit, too," Sundance thought. He targeted Mist and pulled up his Mech's data on the targeting screen. "Mist isn't doing too good. Barely ten seconds in and he's already lost a quarter of the armor on his center torso."

Chartreuse kept up her constant barrage, keeping the Summoner's torso rocking and making it almost impossible for Mist to aim. He managed to hit her with a few glancing shots, but he couldn't get in any meaningful damage with how much his Mech was twisting. Sundance watched his targeting screen as Mist's armor was depleted, leaving only the internal structure left. A couple more well placed shots from Chartreuse took care of that, and Mist's mech shut down.

"Punched straight through the CT. I guess Chartreuse didn't get her cutie mark for nothing," Sundance thought as the targeting screen flickered off. A Mech could be taken out by destroying the head or center torso, and if this had been a real battle, Mist would have a gaping hole in the middle of his Mech.

"Very good performance, cadet Chartreuse," Commander Charcoal said. "Better luck next time, Mist. Hit the reset button and your damage will reset. Vermillion and Sundance, you're up next."

Sundance sucked in a breath and glanced over at Vermillion's Timber Wolf as they stepped out in front of the other cadets, feeling even more anxious than he had before. "I guess I should have expected that," he thought. Solis hummed reassuringly.

They stopped and faced each other, Sundance's heart pounding. "It's no big deal. I'll do fine. Right?" he thought to himself. He pulled up Vermillion's Mech on his targeting computer and waited anxiously. His heart began pounding harder as the seconds dragged out into what felt like hours, before he heard the Commander's call to start the skirmish.

"Start!"

Chapter 6

Sundance tore off his neurohelmet and threw himself forward in his seat, gasping for breath. His head felt like it was being stuffed with cotton, his heart was hammering in his chest so hard he swore he could feel it through his rib cage, and his entire body hurt sharply all over. The muffled sound of machine guns abruptly cut off, and he put a hoof to his temple. "What the hell was that?" he thought, flinching at the now receding headache. He looked around the dark cockpit, realizing he was shut down in a field. "What..." He sat there for a moment, recollecting what had just happened.

The only thing Sundance remembered after the Commander's call was the flash of gunfire and lasers, followed immediately by horrible pain coursing through his whole body, possibly the worst he had ever experienced. He brought his hoof to his still-pounding heart. He was sure he could remember something else, but... it was more like a distant memory, not an event that had just taken place. Sundance wasn't sure what it was, but it felt important. He winced and placed his hoof back on his head as the migraine kicked back up slightly.

Sundance glanced up as Vermilion walked over to him in his Timber Wolf. "Sundance? Are you alright in there?" he asked over his external speaker, the noise dully reverberating in the cockpit. Sundance nodded and restarted his Hellbringer, the cockpit relighting and coming to life.

Sundance gingerly placed the neurohelmet back on his head, Solis's worried humming soothing the headache slightly. "I'm alright, Solis. I just need a moment," he thought. He leaned back into his seat and winced, the contact making his pain flare up again. After a moment, he saw movement from the corner of his eye, and he turned his head to see Commander Charcoal in his Mad Dog walk into view.

"What was that about, cadet Sundance? You didn't even fight back!" the Commander said, obviously more than a little displeased.

"I-I was just, um..." Sundance struggled. He wasn't exactly sure how to explain what happened to the Commander, especially considering even he didn't know what happened. His pain certainly didn't do anything to help.

"I think there was something wrong, Sir," Vermilion cut in. "He had his neurohelmet off and he looked like he was in pain."

Commander Charcoal looked at Sundance in the cockpit. "Is that so? Are you well enough to continue, or do you need to go to the infirmary?"

Sundance shook his head and gritted his teeth. "I'll be alright, Sir. I can continue." Truthfully, Sundance wasn't alright, and he'd love to go to the infirmary and skip the rest of training, but there was no way he could slink away and use his pain as an excuse for his poor performance.

The Commander frowned and stared at him for a few more seconds. "No, you can't. I won't have one of my most promising cadets ruin himself." He turned towards the Mechs at the other end of the field just as two light Mechs finished their skirmish.

"Cadet Tangelo, come over here for a minute," Commander Charcoal called over the open comms as the shut down light Mech powered back up. The tiny Mech turned around and ran over to stand in front of the Commander.

"You called for me, Sir?" a singsong voice said over the comms. Sundance saw the cadet inside, presumably Tangelo, salute to the Commander.

"Yes. Take cadet Sundance here to the infirmary. And be quick about it."

"Of course, Sir," Tangelo said.

"Cadets Lilac and Chrome, you're up," Sundance heard the Commander say as he turned around. He watched two other heavy Mechs step out in front of the other cadets before they stopped and faced each other.

Sundance heard a polite cough on a private comm channel. He turned around to find Tangelo waiting a short distance down the field in her Mech. "We shouldn't keep the Commander waiting. Unless, of course, you don't want to go to the infirmary?"

Sundance sighed and shook his head. "I'm coming." He cast a quick glance back at the other cadets as they started their skirmish, before lumbering behind Tangelo down the training field. They walked past the tree line and into the forest, the sounds of weapon fire fading behind them. After a while, Tangelo broke the silence.

"You heavy Mechs are all so slow. How can you handle dragging your hooves everywhere?"

Sundance looked down at her and scratched the back of his head. "I don't know. I guess I never really thought of heavies being slow, just lights being really fast. The Commander always said lights are like annoying gnats that never go away," he said, almost immediately realizing his mistake. "Though, umm... I'm sure he meant the Mechs themselves, and not the, uh, ponies piloting them." Solis buzzed in a way that almost sounded amused. "I know, I know. Not a great way to start a conversation with a pony I've never met," Sundance thought.

Tangelo giggled lightly. "He wasn't wrong about that. I think whoever named most light Mechs kept that in mind, considering mine is called a Locust. So what do you need to go to the infirmary for? We weren't using live ammunition, so I wasn't expecting to have to take anypony to the infirmary today."

Sundance winced as the headache flared up slightly. "I'm not sure. As soon as the skirmish started, my body started hurting all over," he said, rubbing the back of his head gingerly. "And what do you mean by that? You knew the Commander would tell you if somepony got hurt?"

"Of course. My cutie mark is a first aid kit, after all," Tangelo said, slowing slightly as they went around a turn in the path. "Hmm... I've never heard of that happening to anypony before. That's very strange."

They continued along the path in silence, before the path narrowed drastically. Tangelo stopped quickly, and Sundance scrambled to not trample her as he stumbled to a halt. "Sorry. I forgot you guys can't just stop when you're running at seventy kph," she said, stepping away from Sundance. "So anyway, you can't really get to the infirmary in that Mech, as you've no doubt already realized. We'll have to continue on hoof."

Sundance glanced at the low-hanging branches. "Can't we just push through them? It's not like the branches are going to hurt our Mechs."

"I'd rather not spend my lunchtime dragging branches off of the path instead of eating, thank you." She powered down her Locust and swung the cramped cockpit open, her neurohelmet resting on the seat. The first things Sundance noticed about her was her extraordinarily bright orange mane and her almost-as-bright yellow eyes. It was almost difficult to see the duller shade of orange that made up her coat past all of the more intense colors. She motioned to Sundance to follow her and hopped off of the short Mech.

Sundance stared after her for a moment, slightly distracted, before Solis beeped and got his attention. "What? I know, I'm going," he thought. Solis hummed, confused. Sundance certainly seemed out of sorts, though she wasn't sure why. "No, it's nothing. I'll be back soon. Don't go anywhere."

Sundance shut down the Hellbringer and removed his neurohelmet, his heart beating noticeably faster than normal. "Huh, that's weird. I hope this all isn't being caused by some horrible heart condition," he thought. He swung the cockpit open and looked down at the distant ground. Even with the Hellbringer crouching slightly because it was shut down, Sundance would probably break something if he jumped from this height. He looked at Tangelo, who was already a ways down the road, waiting for him. "Hey, how do I get down? We're not in the hangar," he called.

"You seriously don't remember?" Tangelo shook her head at him. "Grab the handle hanging from a chain at the back of the cockpit, then jump."

"Jump? Just like that?" Sundance asked, startled. He glanced at the handle Tangelo was talking about. He certainly didn't remember learning anything about that from Commander Charcoal. He knew the Commander believed in learning from experience, but he felt like being taught how to exit a Mech on the battlefield would have been a helpful thing to learn.

"Yes, you'll slow down automatically as you near the ground. Just don't let go."

Sundance sighed. "Alright, whatever you say." He reached behind him and grabbed the handle. He gave it a light tug, but nothing happened. Frowning, he grabbed it with both hooves and pulled harder, but still nothing happened. "Is it supposed to be stuck like that?" he thought, placing his rear hooves on the seat and hanging his full weight back on the chain, but even with that, the chain didn't budge. He turned to Tangelo. "Nothing's happening. Is it supposed to-"

Sundance cut off as he felt the chain lurch, suddenly coming free. His eyes went wide as he fell backwards, over the edge of the cockpit, and into empty air. He flailed his hooves as he fell through the air and let out a terrified scream. "Fuck! I don't want to die like this," he thought out of fear. He continued falling, the wind whipping past him as he caught a glance of the ground rushing towards him. He whimpered, clenched his eyes shut, and clung to the handle.

Abruptly, Sundance felt something catch on the chain, and he was flung downward, one of his hooves being thrown off the handle. He held on tightly with his other hoof, and risked a glance at the ground below him. While he was still moving towards the ground, it wasn't at a remotely threatening speed, and he felt himself slowing more as he got lower. He released the tension in his body just as the chain slammed to a halt, and he was dropped to the ground, letting out a soft "oof" as he landed on his side.

He laid on the ground for a few moments, staring at the sky as the world spun around him. Tangelo walked up to him and looked down at him, seemingly entertained by his trouble. "Are you alright?"

Sundance shook his head to clear his vision and pulled himself quickly to his hooves. "Yeah, I'm fine. Never better," he said, brushing the snow off of his cooling suit.

Tangelo eyed him amusedly. "At least you followed my advice. Dragging your body to the infirmary would have been annoying." She shook her head and smiled. "Come on, let's not keep the Commander waiting."

Sundance paused as she walked past him, then turned to follow, their hooves leaving trails through the snow.

The two cadets walked through the quiet forest, with Tangelo leading the way. A light breeze swept through the trees, and Sundance shivered. The cooling suits were designed to make the wearer feel colder, so it understandably didn't have much in the way of insulation.

Before long, they made it to the infirmary, the doors shut against the cold. Tangelo pushed one of the doors open and stepped inside. "Cornsilk? Are you in here?" she called.

The nurse's head popped out from behind a curtain halfway down the room, and she smiled. "Tangelo, my favorite cadet," she said, stepping towards the two cadets. Sundance could see the faint outline of a pony lying on the bed behind the curtain, and saw dark green hooves sticking out on the end of the bed. She scowled when she saw Sundance, and he smiled awkwardly and waved. "Along with Sundance." She shook her head. "I know my personality is charming and it's warm in the infirmary, but you can't keep coming here. It's been, what, two weeks since I last saw you?"

Sundance shrugged. Bittersweet had been pushing him around almost constantly for the past year, but he hadn't told his friends about it. He knew they would get involved and probably get hurt, especially Vermilion. "I get hurt a lot."

Cornsilk shook her head again. "You need to be more careful. You'll have joints like mine by age thirty if you keep this up." She sighed. "So what's the problem this time? Broken leg? Lacerations covering your chest? Crabs?" Tangelo giggled.

Sundance opened his mouth and stopped. He frowned. "What? No, eww. That's disgusting. Why would you even think that?"

"You've come to me with nearly every injury and ailment I know about over the past year, and that just came to mind as one you haven't complained about. Yet, anyway. You don't have to be embarrassed about it."

"Of course I don't have crabs. I'm thirteen," Sundance said, making a face.

"That's too bad. They just sent me an entire case of ointment for the nasty buggers, and I have no idea what to do with all of it." Cornsilk sighed, walking over to a cabinet and opening it. "They must have mixed up my order again. Command always does shit like this." She rummaged through the cabinet, before shutting it, frustrated. "If they could actually send over the medicine I ordered, then I could do my job. I'm sure you two know about the horrible viruses that plague Dike in the winter. They're not lethal, thank Celestia, but it's dreadful business without medicine. Poor Fern over there is getting the worst of it right now," she said, nodding over towards the green hooves Sundance noticed earlier. A pitiful cough sounded in response from the sick cadet.

She turned back to Sundance, looking him over. "So what exactly's the matter with you this time? I can't see blood pooling on my clean floor, so you must be better off than usual."

Sundance sighed. "I'm not sure, actually. We were starting skirmishes in training today, and as soon as my turn started, my body started hurting all over."

Cornsilk frowned. "That's odd. Either you're the victim of a strange coincidence or there's something terribly wrong with you." She nodded towards one of the beds. "Have a seat."

Sundance walked over to the bed and sat down nervously. "I sure hope it's nothing serious," he thought. Cornsilk walked up to him and immediately tapped him roughly on one knee. Sundance flinched and grabbed his knee. "Ow! Did you have to do it that hard?"

"No, but I wanted to. Now hold still, you." Cornsilk prodded him in the stomach a few times before peering into his ears, eyes, and down his throat. "Hmm... Tangelo, can you bring me the tray on that cart over there, darling?" she said, nodding towards a cart at the end of the room. She turned back towards Sundance. "I need you to strip out of that cooling suit. The Commander would have my ass if I stabbed you through that thing. It's probably worth as many bits as I make in a month."

"Of course." Tangelo walked towards the end of the room, her hips swaying slightly. Sundance stared after her for a moment, and Cornilk waved a hoof in front of his eyes to get his attention.

"Hey. Stop mooning and get out of that cooling suit."

Sundance blinked a few times. "Oh, sorry. I've been really distracted recently for some reason," he said, sliding off the bed and unhooking the collar of the cooling suit.

Cornsilk raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? I hadn't noticed. That reason wouldn't happen to be an eye-piercing shade of orange, would it?"

Sundance shook his head as he pulled his forelegs out of the sleeves. "No, of course not. I think it had something to do with why my body started hurting. I got a really weird headache at the same time, and I felt like I almost remembered something I had forgotten, too." Sundance frowned. "I sure hope that isn't the reason, anyway," he thought.

"Uh-huh. Whatever you say," she said. Tangelo walked back over to them with a metal tray in one hoof, and Cornsilk grabbed a stethoscope from it. She turned back towards Sundance and placed it on his chest, listening intently. Every once in a while she moved it to a different location, before doing the same thing on his back.

After a minute or so, she sighed and shook her head, removing the stethoscope from her ears. "I can't find anything immediately wrong with you. We'll have to do this the fun way."

Sundance furrowed his brow, confused. "The fun way? What does that involve?" he asked just as Cornsilk took a massive needle from the tray Tangelo had brought her. She turned her head to face Sundance, smiling crookedly.

"With needles, how else? I did say I was going to stab you. Unless, of course, you were too distracted to hear."

Sundance backed up against the bed in alarm. "That? But it's huge! What are you going to do with it?"

"Sample your blood, of course. I need to run some tests to make sure you're not diseased." Cornsilk took a step towards him.

"But do you really need to? Isn't there an easier way to draw blood?" he asked anxiously. Needles certainly weren't his favorite thing, especially ones the size of a drinking straw.

"There certainly are, but this is the most fun way for me. Now hold still or I'll stab you over and over again until I hit a vein." She grabbed his left foreleg none too gently and looked it over. "If you relax your muscles, this won't hurt as much."

Sundance shot her a look. "Relax? Easy for you to say. You're not the one - Fuck!" he yelled as Cornsilk abruptly jabbed the needle into his foreleg. "Ow! Why didn't you warn me?"

"Because you were going to tense up if I did. You'll thank me later," she said, winking. Sundance gritted his teeth and held on tightly to the edge of the bed. He sat there for a few moments, watching the syringe fill with his blood. It was a bit unsettling.

When the syringe was about half full, Cornsilk nodded to herself. "That's enough." She suddenly yanked the needle back out of Sundance's foreleg, and he gasped and clutched the wound. He shot her a glare, and she just stared back innocently. "What? Remember what I said about tensing your muscles?" She turned to Tangelo and nodded towards Sundance. "Take care of him for me. I'll be in the back room, running exciting tests like sitting around for two hours waiting for something to happen."

"Sure thing, Cornsilk." Cornsilk nodded and walked down to a metal door at the end of the room. She used the key around her neck to unlock the door, and disappeared inside. Tangelo walked over to Sundance, who was still clutching his bleeding foreleg. She set the metal tray down and grabbed a disinfectant wipe and a paper towel from it, before turning to Sundance and motioning for him to remove his hoof. He obliged, and she began wiping down his foreleg with the towel. "So, you said something about a distant memory or whatever when you were in your Mech?" she asked.

Sundance nodded. "Yeah, but I can't remember what it was about." He went to scratch the back of his head, but stopped when he remembered the blood on his hoof. He set his hoof back down on his lap.

"I kind of gathered that much. Why don't you try harder to remember it? Put yourself back in your Mech and try to remember everything." Tangelo raised an eyebrow at him. "I meant that figuratively, by the way. In case you were actually about to walk back outside and climb into your Mech."

Sundance laughed. "I'm not that stupid. Alright, I'll try that." He closed his eyes as Tangelo switched from the towel to the disinfectant wipe. He imagined he was back in the cockpit of his Hellbringer, facing Vermillion's Timber Wolf, waiting for the Commander to give them the signal to start. He frowned. He didn't think this was helping, but he went along with it anyway. He remembered the Commander's call, laser fire, and... And...

~~

Nine years ago, a group of soldiers were invading the small town of Styx. Gunfire was echoing across the whole town, and every single pony was awake and panicking. Innocent blood was flowing unrestricted down the streets, and frightened screams could be heard from nearly every building. All but one.

Eggshell, who was the mother of a four year old foal at the old age of eighteen, dragged her young foal out of bed, who cried in protest. "Come on, we have to run! The soldiers are here!"

The foal rubbed its eyes. "But mommy, I'm tired. Can't we go back to bed?"

Eggshell shuffled her wings, frustrated and terrified at the same time. "No, we need to go. Now!" She grabbed the foal's foreleg and pulled it along behind her. The foal let out a sharp cry of pain.

"Ow! Mommy, that hurt!" it whined. It stumbled, struggling to keep up with the older pony.

"I'm sorry young one, but we can't slow down. I need to keep you safe." She went up to the front door and hovered her hoof over the handle. "No, they'll see us," she thought. "We need to get out a different way." She dragged her foal to the rear door and silently swung the door open. She peeked her head out carefully, praying to Celestia that nopony would see them.

Luckily for them, fate was smiling on Eggshell and her foal, at least for the moment. She led the foal out into the open air, the gunshots much louder outside.

The foal covered its ears. "What's that noise? Why is it so loud?"

"That's gunfire. The soldiers are attacking our town," she growled. If she had known this was going to happen, she would have taken her foal and left to live in the countryside, instead of letting that good-for-nothing, manipulating stallion walk out on her. She stamped her hoof, her nostrils flaring. "No time for loathing," she said quietly to herself. She pulled her foal into the dark alleyway between buildings to think for a moment. She pushed her foal underneath a cart and scratched her head.

"We need to leave town, but how? They'll see us if we try to run." She glanced out at the main square, and was wholly unprepared for the terrible scene before her. There were pools of blood everywhere, seeping from the countless dead bodies lining the streets. Among those faces were many ponies she had grew up around, and even a couple of friends she could recognize, their dull eyes staring lifelessly at nothing.

"Dear Celestia, no..." she whispered, her voice cracking. She planted a hoof over her mouth, willing herself not to scream out. She knew ponies were dying, but seeing their corpses piled on top of each other like yesterday's garbage was too much for her. Her jaw began trembling, and she could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She continued gazing out at the terrible scene, unable to tear her eyes away, when she saw a stallion standing in the middle of the square.

Staring right at her.

She shrieked and backed up against the wall, her wings unfolding but refusing to carry her anywhere. Even if she could fly away fast enough to avoid being shot down, there was no way she was going to leave her foal behind. The best she could do was not draw any attention to it and hope she died quickly and painlessly.

The stallion sauntered up to Eggshell, his face twisted in an expression of corrupt pleasure. She trembled as he breathed in deeply, unable to will her body to do anything but cower. His horn began to glow, and she felt herself lifted off the ground, followed by the most intense pain she could imagine.

Eggshell screamed in agony as every single one of her joints were ripped from their sockets. She could feel her teeth being torn from her jaw and her skin shredding as her bones snapped and slashed through her flesh. What was only about twenty seconds dragged out into what felt like hours of excruciating torture, and she continued screaming.

"AAAAHH! FUCK! Please! Please just kill me already! she cried, just wanting the unbearable pain to end. Her torturer, however, had different plans for her. He contorted her body into unnatural shapes with his magic, the sharp bones shredding her body into an unrecognizable mess. Her cries slowly became fainter and weaker, until the blood pooling in her throat silenced them completely. Her mind slowed and her pain ebbed as her body mercifully began shutting down. As the last of her life flowed onto the cobblestones and her eyes began to flutter shut, she risked a glance at her foal.

The young colt was cowering under the cart, just where she had left him. She stared at him in her last moments, wanting to take the memory of him to whatever afterlife awaited her. His perfect coat the color of lamb's wool, his black mane as slick as oil, his beautiful purple eyes always looking at the world as if there was something he could see in it that she couldn't. "Please, Sundance... make it out alive..." she thought as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

~~

"Sundance! Hey, just breathe, alright? Calm down and breathe. Deep breaths. You're alright, I've got you."

Sundance blinked rapidly, his eyes slowly readjusting on the world around him. He could feel his weight leaning forward on something soft, and there was a hoof on his chest trying to calm his ragged breathing. "That's it. Nothing here is going to hurt you. Just keep taking deep breaths."

As his eyes refocused, Sundance glanced around the room, trying to remember where he was. "Oh yeah, I'm in the infirmary. Cornsilk assaulted me and stole a bunch of my blood, then left Tangelo to do the rest of her job."

He shook his head and turned to Tangelo, who was staring at him with a worried expression. "Are you okay? You blacked out for a minute."

Tangelo helped Sundance back into a sitting position, and he rubbed his forehead with one of his hooves. "I think so. I just... I remembered something from when the soldiers invaded our home town. Not everything, just a few pieces."

Tangelo frowned slightly at him, concerned. "Really? That can't have been an easy memory," she said, noting his wet eyes. "Here, let me get that for you." Before Sundance could react, she reached towards the tray behind her, grabbed a clean paper towel, and started gently wiping the tears from his face.

Sundance froze, unsure how to react. He hadn't even realized he had been crying, and he certainly hadn't expected Tangelo to bring her face so close to his. He could faintly smell citrus, probably from her shampoo, and each of her breaths lightly caressed his cheek. Sundance felt his face growing hot and he held his breath.

Tangelo finished drying his face and stepped back, making eye contact with him. Her face flushed as she realized what she had done, and the two of them looked away from each other awkwardly. "Sorry, I was just, umm... I got a bit caught up in the moment." She put the towel back on the tray and picked it up. "You should probably get back into your cooling suit so we can get our Mechs to the hangar."

"Shouldn't we wait for Cornsilk to tell me I can go?" Sundance asked. He looked down at his foreleg, which had apparently been bandaged while he was blacked out.

Tangelo carried the tray back over to the cart and began dropping the used supplies into the trash. "She'll call for you if she finds something. Besides, I don't actually think there's anything wrong with you."

Sundance tilted his head at her, struggling to pull the cooling suit onto his body. "Why not? Do you think it was just a coincidence?"

Tangelo turned back towards him and shook her head. "Your cutie mark helps you interface with your Mech, right? It isn't unheard of for a MechWarrior to feel pain when their Mech is damaged, so it would make sense if you felt it to a much greater degree than any other pilot."

"Are you sure? We weren't using live ammunition, so how could I feel anything if my Mech wasn't actually being hit?" Sundance asked, getting the last of his legs into the cooling suit.

Tangelo shrugged. "I'm not sure, it's just a theory. Though, the training program in the Mechs is designed to simulate damage, so it still could have caused some sort of pain."

Sundance zipped up the front of the cooling suit and hooked the collar. "I guess that makes sense."

Tangelo walked over to the door to the infirmary and pulled it open, letting the cold air flow inside. "Ready to go? We took so much time the others might already be on their way to the hangar," she said.

Sundance nodded. "Sure. Let's go." He followed Tangelo out into the open air, the wind whipping around them. The sun was reflecting brightly off of the snow, and Sundance had to squint his eyes to see. "That certainly was an eventful morning," he thought to himself. He glanced at Tangelo. "I know I told Mist I wasn't interested in a relationship, but..." Sundance shook his head. "I don't know. I'll just have to see what happens. Even if things don't quite work out, I wouldn't mind having more friends."

~~

Meanwhile on Terra, two hundred light years from Clan space...

"But why can't we just attack them? They're weakened with all the fighting going on. This would be the perfect time to take revenge for everything they've done! With the three of us and the entire Inner System, we could easily wipe them out now," Discord said, frustrated. His colleagues were quite vexing to work with sometimes.

Celestia shook her head. "We mustn't attack unprovoked. I know you're still angry about their invasion all those years ago, but we can't hang on to the past."

"They killed billions of our ponies! Five hundred years later and we're still recovering from the damage they inflicted. They even almost killed you!" he argued.

"That was in ritualistic combat. I survived, they honored their laws and agreement to leave, and now we must honor our laws. I will not attack unless it is absolutely necessary. That is the end of it, Discord," Celestia said, stamping her hoof.

"They will attack again. You know how ruthless and bloodthirsty the Clans are-"

"Discord! That is the end of the discussion," Luna said angrily, cutting him off. "We are not attacking and that is final. Come, sister. We must tend to the needs of our citizens."

The two princesses turned and left the dark council room, leaving Discord to stew in it by himself. He glowered after them as they left and rapped his claws once on the oak wood table. "We'll see about that." Discord stood up and walked over to one of the tall windows. He parted the heavy red curtains and looked out at the bustling city below, the automated traffic systems keeping everything running flawlessly. A terrifically terrible plan began forming in his head, and he grinned devilishly. "The two of you ancient ponies have been in power for far too long. Perhaps it's time for a certain Draconequus to take your place."

Chapter 7

Snow began lightly falling while Sundance and Tangelo were walking back to their Mechs. Sundance glanced up at the sky and noticed dark clouds off in the distance, their imposing shapes scraping past the tips of the mountains. "That doesn't look good."

Tangelo followed his gaze to the oncoming blizzard and sucked in a breath. "Yeah, that's really bad. I doubt we'll do much more training today out in that." The two of them picked up the pace, not wanting to be stuck outside their Mechs when the storm hit.

"Can I ask you something a little strange?" Sundance asked after a while. Their Mechs had become visible through the trees by now, but the clouds had almost reached the camp.

"Sure." Tangelo looked nervously up at the clouds.

"Have you... ever thought about running away? About escaping from here?"

Tangelo's eyes went wide and she planted a hoof over his mouth. "Are you crazy? You can't just bring that up!" She hissed. She glanced at the trees around them uneasily and brought her voice to a whisper. "You never know who might be listening. You've noticed how other cadets disappear occasionally, right? This Clan isn't exactly forgiving towards dissenters."

Sundance nodded. He had only noticed because Vermilion had mentioned that at some point, but he had completely forgotten about it. Nopony knew where those cadets went, but if they were still alive, he'd imagine they'd wish they were dead. "I guess I forgot my promise to Mist, too. Sorry about that," he thought nervously.

Tangelo sighed and put her hoof back on the ground. "Be careful about who you trust. Most of the other cadets would turn you in the second you mention something like that." She started walking towards their Mechs again, and Sundance followed. "I'm a bit of an odd case. The soldiers actually saved my life when they took me. I owe them that much."

Sundance tilted his head at her. "Saved your life? How?"

She sighed heavily and glanced at the sky again. "Back in Styx, I had a hard life. I hated every second of it. The cold nights without a bed, living off of the scraps my parents threw me, the beatings… There wasn't a single day where I didn't want to die." She shivered. "I woke up to our door crashing open. When I saw the soldiers rush in and put a bullet through both of my parents' heads, it felt like the best day of my life. I was finally free from all of the things they put me through."

They finally reached their Mechs just as the first of the snow began to fall. The wind and snow had picked up, and the trees were making ominous creaking sounds. Tangelo stopped and put a hoof on her Locust. "It's paradise here compared to back home. I'm probably the only one who feels that way, but it's my honest feelings." She turned towards Sundance. "I know you want to get away from all this, but there's no way out of it. We're soldiers now. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can be safe."

Sundance shielded his face from the increasingly violent blizzard that had pushed over the tops of the mountains. It was getting hard to see or hear anything from a distance. He knew blizzards had a bad habit of appearing out of nowhere on Dike, but he had never been unlucky enough to be out in one. He thought for a moment, then sighed. "You're the second pony to tell me that."

Tangelo giggled lightly. "Well, it must be good advice if I'm not the only one who's said it."

Sundance nodded reluctantly. "Fine, you win. I'll go along with it, but I won't be happy about it."

"That's good enough for me." Tangelo climbed up onto one of the legs of her Locust and reached up towards the cockpit. She stopped and turned towards Sundance's Hellbringer. "Oh, about getting back in your Mech. Yank on the chain and it'll pull you back up. Just don't let go," she said, winking. She pulled herself into her Mech and swung the cockpit shut.

Sundance sighed again and walked over towards his Mech. "Can I really just accept being a soldier? After everything they did to us?" He grabbed the handle attached to the chain and gave it a tug. After a brief pause, the chain started moving upwards, and it lifted him towards the cockpit. "I probably wouldn't be able to escape, anyway. It's just wishful thinking on my part. It's not like I actually have the courage to sneak away, then live on my own for the rest of my life, or hide on a ship heading to a different planet and live in a different Clan."

Sundance grabbed the edge of the cockpit as he got closer and pulled himself into it, a light dusting of snow covering the interior. He brushed the thin coating of snow off the seat and swung the cockpit closed behind him, shutting out the blizzard. The handle snapped back into place as the chain was pulled fully firmly into it's housing, waiting for the next time it was needed. Sundance lifted his neurohelmet from the floor and gazed at his reflection in the visor. "This probably is the best option for me. Just go with the flow and accept whatever comes." He snorted and placed the neurohelmet over his head. "At least I'm not alone."

~~

By the time Sundance and Tangelo made it back to the hangar, the blizzard was in full swing. To avoid stepping on anypony, they had switched to thermal view, allowing them to see other cadets struggling through the heavy snow. Most of them knew to get out of the way when they heard a Mech walking down the path, but Tangelo had to blare her Mech's war horn once or twice when a cadet didn't seem to notice them.

Sundance saw a group of three ponies standing near the hangar doors, and he switched thermal view off when he got close enough to see them without it. He immediately recognized his friends, who were huddled close to each other and staring out into the blizzard.

Mist waved to Sundance as he emerged from the snow. "There you are! We've been worried sick about you."

"Sorry. We got caught up in the infirmary," he said awkwardly over the speaker. He glanced at Tangelo as she stepped into her Mech Bay and powered down.

"Well, hurry up and get out so we can make it to the barracks before they're buried under all this snow! It's too dangerous to be out in the blizzard for long. It's almost negative forty degrees with wind chill!" Mist said, shivering. Chartreuse shuffled a bit and looked away from Sundance.

"Shit. Why don't they just keep us in the hangar?" Sundance said, lumbering over to his Mech Bay.

"Because they want us to die," Vermilion grumbled. Chartreuse smacked him with one of her wings, and he glared back at her. Sundance got the feeling they had been arguing about that for a while now.

Mist glanced at Vermilion. "No, because the hangar isn't heated. We'd still freeze to death in here before long. We could sit in our Mechs, but I don't want to wait in a cockpit for the rest of the day."

Sundance scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, that's a good point." Solis whined, hurt, and Sundance rubbed the controls comfortingly. "Sorry, but this seat isn't very comfortable. You might be able to survive sitting in one spot for that long, but I certainly can't. I'll see you tomorrow. Hopefully, anyway." Solis hummed resignedly, and Sundance powered down the Hellbringer.

Chartreuse shivered violently and stamped her hooves against the cold. "I don't know about you guys, but I can't wait for another second." With that, she turned and raced off into the blizzard, her bright tail flapping behind her, before disappearing into the snow.

"Wait! We shouldn't go off by ourselves!" Mist called, reaching one hoof out towards her disappearing figure.

Vermilion nudged him. "Make sure she gets there. I'll wait for Sundance and Tangelo."

Mist nodded to him and charged after Chartreuse, the merciless storm swallowing him, too. Sundance rushed down the stairs from the catwalk and darted over to Vermilion, his neurohelmet tucked under his right foreleg. "What's happening? Why did they run off like that?"

Vermilion shook his head. "Chartreuse left by herself, and Mist is making sure she's safe. This isn't the time for her jealousy," he growled, obviously worried about their safety. Sundance frowned, confused, but Vermilion continued before he could ask what he meant. "Get out of that cooling suit. The sooner we're in the barracks, the better."

"Alright. I'll be back in a minute." Sundance ran into the locker room and quickly stripped from his cooling suit. "I hope Mist and Chartreuse are alright. We really should have left as a group, instead of splitting up like that," he thought, slamming the locker shut and throwing on his cadet jacket. "I have a really bad feeling about this."

He ran out of the locker room and over to Vermilion and Tangelo, who had also changed back into her cadet jacket. "Ready to go?" she asked as he approached.

Sundance nodded "Let's just get out of this cold."

The three of them charged out into the blizzard, and Sundance was hit by the piercing wind so hard he immediately lost his balance. The wind bit harshly through the thin fabric of his jacket and tore at his mane. "Fuck, this blizzard isn't joking around!" He quickly righted himself and followed behind Vermilion and Tangelo, the snow violently whipping into his eyes and making it almost impossible to see. The thick clouds blocking out the sun certainly didn't help, but at least Tangelo's bright orange mane was easy to follow.

They fought their way through the snow for a long time, following the faint trails from the ponies who had left before them. The fresh, soft snow on top of the previous night's ice-covered snow made it extremely difficult to move carefully. More than once, they tripped on a hidden tree root or fell through the thin layer of unseen ice, slowing their progress further.

"This is terrible. I know the winters on Dike are bad, but this is just too much," Sundance thought, spitting out a mouthful of the cold white powder after he had tripped over yet another obscured object. "How much farther? I can't even see if we're going the right direction!" he shouted, struggling to make himself heard over the howling of the wind.

"We're almost there. We just passed the fork in the path. I think." Vermilion stopped and peered through the white haze around them. He frowned. "What the..?" He took off suddenly, and Sundance and Tangelo followed after him. Sundance wasn't sure what Vermilion was chasing at first, but after a moment, he saw a blue pony, frantically searching through the snow around them.

Vermilion grabbed the pony's shoulder and shook them. "Mist! What's going on? Where's Chartreuse?"

Mist shook his head as Sundance and Tangelo came up behind Vermilion. "I don't know! I tripped while I was following her, and when I stood back up, she was gone! She's not in the barracks, and I her trail just suddenly stopped!"

Vermillion hissed. "Shit!" He glanced around them for a moment. "You need to get to the barracks. We'll search for her."

Mist shook his head wildly. "No! I have to find her!"

"Mist, you've been out here for far longer than we have. You're going to freeze to death."

Mist shook his head again. "I feel fine! I'm not that cold. I can keep searching!"

Tangelo walked up to Mist and placed a hoof on his shoulder. "That's just it. Once you don't feel cold anymore, that's when the problems start." She sighed. "A friend taught me an old saying a while back. 'First you're cold, then you're not. Then you're hot, then you're dead.'" She grimaced. "It's not the best, but it gets the point across. You will die if you stay out here for much longer. You can't do any good that way, so just get where it's warm and make sure you survive."

She turned to Vermilion and Sundance. "I'll take him back to the barracks. I recognized where we are, so we'll be fine. You two keep searching for your friend. Just don't stay out here too long, okay?" she said, giving Sundance a significant look.

"We won't. Thanks for the help," Vermilion said

Tangelo nodded. "Take her to the infirmary if you find her. It's not much further than the barracks, and she'll need urgent care if she's collapsed somewhere." She turned back down the path and forced Mist ahead of her, who protested the whole way.

"Come on. We need to find her soon," Vermilion said grimly. "Make sure you say within line of sight of me."

Sundance nodded, and the two of them spread out across the path, sifting through the snow. The snow bit coldly against Sundance's hooves even harsher than before, and he winced. "Please be okay, Chartreuse," he thought, running his forehooves through any snow bank she might be under.

The two of them searched for what felt like forever without luck. Sundance's hooves had become numb, and his face almost felt like a block of ice. His muscles stiffened, and he started to have doubts. He shook his head. "We can't give up on her. She has to be here somewhere."

He felt a hoof on his shoulder and turned to find Vermilion behind him. "I don't think she's around here." He sighed heavily and looked out into the blizzard. "You head back. I'll keep searching for her."

Sundance stared at him in disbelief. "You can't stay out here alone! You'll freeze to death in this cold! You heard what Tangelo said."

Vermilion shook his head. "Just go. I need to keep searching. I... I know it's what my brother would do. No matter what, he never gave up on his friends."

"But he wouldn't want you searching out here all alone. I'm not leaving until you do." Vermilion opened his mouth to speak, but Sundance shushed him. "I'm sure she's somewhere out here. We just aren't looking in the right area." Sundance pressed a hoof to his temple and grimaced. "Think, Sundance! Where would she be? She can't be closer to the barracks. Mist said her trail ended somewhere around here." He frowned. "She can't be far. So where..."

Sundance's eyes flew open. When he had tripped earlier by the fork in the path... he hadn't tripped on a tree root! Whatever it was, it hadn't been hard enough to be wood, but he hadn't stopped to think about it at the time. He was too busy focusing on where he was going. Sundance grabbed Vermilion's shoulder. "I think I know where she is! Follow me!" he said before turning around and tearing through the snow. He glanced behind him to make sure Vermilion was following, and raced back to the fork in the path.

Sundance stopped where the two paths met and turned to Vermilion. "She's around here somewhere. She has to be. Start searching," he ran around the path, running his hooves around where he thought he had been when he tripped. He could barely feel the ground anymore, but he could at least tell whenever his hooves hit something solid, and all he could find was rocks and roots. He felt his panic mounting as his hopes plummeted. "I know she's around here. Please... I can't lose anypony else!"

Sundance was struck by a sudden headache, and he stumbled, a hoof pressed to his head. He caught a quick glimpse of a broken white pegasus with a purple mane, and felt a strong terror similar to what he was already feeling. "No! Not now! I can't stop!" he growled, pushing himself back up. "I have to find her!" He glanced around him and shoved his hooves into a particularly large snowdrift, and flinched when his hooves hit something firm. "Is that..."

He started clearing the snow off of the mound, his forelegs feeling more like planks of wood strapped to his shoulders than legs. He didn't feel all that cold at this point, and Tangelo's words hung anxiously over his head. "I can't go back without her. I refuse to," he thought.

The soft snow cleared away quickly, and Sundance saw a tuft of bright yellow sticking out of the snow. "Vermilion! She's over here!" he shouted, frantically shoveling the snow away. He uncovered her head first and saw her frozen face, her mouth hanging open slightly, her lips a pale shade of blue, and her eyelashes crusted over with ice. "Chartreuse..." Sundance felt a pony shove themself in next to him, and he saw Vermilion's dark red hooves thrust into the snowdrift.

"Out of the way!" he yelled. Sundance backed away quickly, and Vermilion yanked Charteuse's stiff body from the snow. He placed an ear over her still chest and shook his head. "I don't think she's breathing. Help me pick her up." Sundance reached over and helped Vermilion maneuver Chartreuse onto his back, balancing her carefully across his shoulders. He nodded. "Now let's go! I think I know the way."

Vermilion raced across the snow, being careful to not drop Chartreuse. Sundance caught up to him and helped keep her from tumbling into the snow. The blizzard only kept getting worse, and it had become difficult to see more than a few feet ahead of them.

They wandered for an uncomfortably long amount of time, and Sundance began to worry. "Are you sure we're going the right way? How can you tell where we're going in this?" he asked Vermilion. His entire body had started to feel warm by this point, and his head felt like it was wading through mud.

"Because we're here," Vermilion said, nodding towards the trees that had come to a stop behind them. "I've got a good sense of direction. It's just ahead." He lead the way across the clearing, and Sundance saw a light in the distance. Feeling invigorated, the two of them picked up their pace.

A building loomed above them out of the snow, and Sundance recognized the red cross above the doors. "We made it!" he said. He went ahead of Vermilion and tried to swing the door open, only to find it shut tightly against the storm. He rattled the door handles. "No..."

"What is it?" Vermilion asked, stopping next to him.

"It's locked." Sundance knocked anxiously on the doors, hoping somepony was paying attention. "Cornsilk? Fern? Anypony in there?" Nopony answered, so he began pounding on the doors, becoming desperate. "Please! We need help!"

The door swung open suddenly underneath Sundance's hoof, and he fell forward, nearly smacking Cornsilk in the face. She jumped back, startled. "Sundance? What are you doing here in this mess? Didn't anypony tell you..." she cut off when she saw Chartreuse's pale body across Vermilion's back. "Oh my... Quick. Get her inside," she said urgently, stepping aside and beckoning. Vermillion rushed inside and carefully laid Chartreuse on a bed, Cornsilk following closely behind. Sundance shut the door to the infirmary and ran over to them.

"How long has she been like this?" Cornsilk asked, removing Chartreuse's jacket.

"Roughly half an hour, I think," Vermilion said.

Cornsilk shook her head. "That's not good. Sundance, remember where the heated blankets are? Grab me one."

Sundance nodded and rushed over to one of the cabinets on the far wall. He flung open the door and grabbed one of the blankets, before running over and handing it to Cornsilk. She took it from him and put it on Chartreuse, turning it to its lowest setting. She turned back to Sundance. "Turn the temperature up slightly every minute. I'm going to get her breathing again."

Sundance nodded again and glanced anxiously at the clock on the wall while the nurse started CPR. "I hope we weren't too late," he thought. "I wish I could have stopped her from going off on her own." He turned the blanket's temperature up and waited. It was stressful, not being able to do anything, other than turn a dial every so often.

Cornsilk kept trying to resuscitate Chartreuse, pumping on her chest and breathing air into her lungs. Sundance glanced nervously at the clock again. "Two minutes. Not good." He turned the dial again and fidgeted with the zipper on his jacket. He always felt to helpless in situations like this. He watched as the nurse vainly blew air into Chartreuse's lungs. "Please wake up."

This went on for three, five, ten minutes with no success. Chartreuse's body remained cold, and her only movements were from Cornsilk trying to revive her. Sundance bowed his head. "This can't be happening," he thought, staring at the ground. Tears welled up in his eyes, blurring his vision. He was about to give up entirely when he felt a hoof around his shoulder.

"It's going to be okay, Sundance. Chartreuse will be fine," Vermilion said, giving him a firm hug.

Sundance buried his head into Vermilion's shoulder. "I wish I could believe that," he said, beginning to sob. "This wasn't supposed to happen. We should have all gone back together. No, we should all be back in Styx, warm and safe. Why'd they have to take that from us? Why are we here, training to fight in a war we have no part in? Eggshell wouldn't have let this happen. Why..." He began to sob uncontrollably, wrapping his forelegs tightly around Vermilion.

Vermilion said something in response, but Sundance couldn't hear what he said. The telltale throb of another migraine started coming on, and he didn't bother fighting it this time. "Fine. Do what you want. Show me more of what I lost. It's not like there's anything I could do to stop you. I can't even save a single friend. Show me whatever the hell you want," he thought, collapsing against Vermilion and slipping from consciousness for the third time that day.

~~

Sundance stared at his mother's broken body from underneath the cart, trembling uncontrollably. "Why? Why is this happening?" he thought, his eyes watering. He glanced up at the unicorn standing above Eggshell's corpse and saw him take a few slow steps away, staring out into the distance.

With the unicorn lost in his thoughts and standing a few feet away with his back turned, Sundance darted over to his mother's side and nuzzled her flank. "Mommy? Mom, please wake up!" he cried hopelessly in his head. He knew there was nothing he could do to save her; surviving much longer with her injuries would be impossible. He threw his hooves around her neck and sobbed. "We didn't do anything wrong! Why did he hurt her?" Sundance buried his head into his mother's long mane, his shoulders shaking violently.

"Go..." Sundance heard in one ear. It was a barely audible whisper, but he knew he had heard something. He leaned back to find one of Eggshell's eyes cracked open, staring at him helplessly. A single tear formed in her open eye, mixing with the blood on her face. "Go..." she mouthed weakly.

Sundance shook his head. "No. I won't leave you," he whispered. He gently grabbed one of her hooves and pressed his forehead against hers. "I want to stay."

Eggshell nuzzled him tenderly. "Go," she breathed, blood leaking from her mouth. She weakly pushed his head away from hers with her own. "Live." She gazed at him sternly with her one open eye. Sundance had always been a stubborn colt. She often saw some of Sundance's father in him at times like this, but every time she looked at him, she knew he wouldn't grow up to be the same terrible pony who had fathered him. That was all she needed to die peacefully.

Sundance sniffled and nuzzled his mother one last time. "Okay." She smiled faintly as he stepped away from her and made eye contact. They stared at each other for a long moment, the world stopping around them for a split second. Sundance backed away slowly, tears streaming down his cheeks. He glanced at the unicorn, who still hadn't turned around, and back to his mother. "I love you," he whispered, before turning and fleeing silently.

Eggshell stared after him and felt her muscles relax. "Stubborn little fool," she thought, smiling to herself. "At least you won't... end up dead... like me..." Her head rested against the cold cobblestone street, flopping lifelessly to the ground. She hadn't been a perfect mother; she knew that. But knowing that she tried her hardest to make Sundance happy, even until the end, was enough for her to be at peace.

Sundance sprinted across the open street and dove into the bushes in front of their home. He covered his head with his hooves and buried his face in the dirt. "Everything is wrong! What am I supposed to do without Mommy?" he thought. He clenched his hooves and slammed them on the ground. "Why does it hurt so much?"

A pebble crashing through the bush grabbed Sundance's attention. His head shot up and he stared at it. "What..?" Movement past the pebble caught his eye, a soldier on the other side of the square. He was pushing his hooves through something, and it took Sundance a moment to realize the soldier was searching through another bush. Looking for survivors.

"No..." he said, backing out of the bush. "They're going to find me. I'm going to die!" he thought, quivering. "I don't want to die!" He shook his head and looked around him frantically. There had to be a better place to hide. The cart he had just left wasn't a good enough hiding spot. Back in the house?

Sundance flinched as a soldier threw an object through the window of another building. It immediately went up in flames, fire licking hungrily at the walls. "Not there." He glanced around again. The fountain? No, he'd be seen long before he ever made it to the center of the square. He'd play dead, but he didn't think he could make it convincing enough.

Motion from the corner of Sundance's eye drew his attention. A large metal cart not too far away, filled with foals, all huddled together. "What about there? Those foals aren't getting hurt," Sundance thought. He quickly scanned the square again, but there was no other place to hide. It was his only choice if he wanted to survive.

He glanced around him quickly, checking for soldiers. Luckily, the few soldiers remaining in the square were busy doing other things, and not a single one of them was watching the foals. Sundance dashed across the street and dove into the cart, scaring the other foals. A few of them whimpered, before they realized he wasn't a soldier.

"Quick, don't let them see you don't have cuffs!" a high pitched voice said. Sundance saw a grey hoof reach out through the crowd of foals and grab him by the shoulder. He was pulled into the group and shoved to the center, where he could be easily hidden from view.

Sundance stumbled to the center of the cart. He glanced at the filly who had helped him, a grey pegasus with bright hair that glowed golden in the morning sun. "Thanks," he mumbled gloomily. The filly nodded and turned away. Sundance sat down and wrapped his forelegs around himself, shivering. "Maybe I would have been better off staying in the bush and dying. I can't live on my own."

He buried his head in his forelegs and began crying again. "I wish I could forget any of this ever happened. I wish I could just forget it all," Sundance thought as the gunfire picked back up briefly. The pain he was feeling was as if one of those bullets was meant for his heart, and he kept sobbing, even as the cart began to move and they headed north, deep into the mountains of Dike.

~~

Sundance blinked his eyes open wearily. The harsh incandescent lights of the infirmary clashed horribly with the soft natural light coming in through the windows, and he shielded his eyes with a hoof. "Urgh. My head hurts," he thought, wincing. The old memory was still vivid in his mind, and he almost felt like it had happened only yesterday. He rubbed his head. "That was strange. Why did I have to remember that now? And why was Chartreuse there?" His eyes shot open and he sat up suddenly as he remembered why he was in the infirmary in the first place. "Chartreuse."

He turned his head towards her bed, expecting to see her sleeping peacefully, only to find it empty. Her cadet jacket was still in a jumbled heap on the floor, and neither the heated blanket nor Chartreuse were present. Sundance sighed and his shoulders fell. "Oh. She didn't make it."

Sundance slumped back against his bed and laid a foreleg across his eyes. "God damn it. It happened again. I lost somepony close to me, and all I could do was sit there and watch." It was hard to feel attached to Eggshell, considering the only memory he had of her was her death, but the emotions he felt were very real.

"Sundance? Are you alright?"

Sundance's body tensed at the familiar voice. "Was that..?" He lifted his foreleg and turned his head to see the one pony he had been hoping for, alive and well. Chartreuse was walking slowly towards him, from the opposite side of the bed. She had the heated blanket wrapped around her and she had a concerned expression on her face. Sundance's muscles relaxed and he smiled at her, relieved. "You're alive," he said.

Chartreuse smiled back and scratched the side of her neck. "Yeah, thanks to you and Vermilion." She turned her head away and looked at the ground awkwardly. "I'm sorry I just ran off like that on you guys. I don't know why I thought it was a good idea."

Sundance pushed himself carefully into a sitting position and brushed his mane from his eyes. He was a little upset with her about that, but it was hard for him to feel anything other than relief at the moment. "At least you're safe now. That's the important part," he said, smiling at her. "But why did you go off on your own?"

Chartreuse glanced at Sundance then turned to look out one of the windows, pulling the blanket tight around herself. "Well, it's a little embarrassing to say out loud, but..." She shuffled her hooves, her face reddening. "I think... I think I'm in love with you," she said, looking at him sideways. "Not like as a friend or a brother. More than that. Whenever I'm around you, I feel happier, and my heart feels so much lighter. You're all I can think about every second of every day.

"That's why when you went off with Tangelo during training today, I felt jealous. I was worried about you, of course, but still jealous. I couldn't stop thinking about the two of you and how I felt during the rest of training, and when the two of you came back together..." Chartreuse sighed. "I don't know. I guess I just let my emotions control me."

Sundance stared at her, unsure how to respond. He had already known how she felt, obviously, but it was different hearing her say it instead of Mist or Vermilion speculating, and he hadn't thought she cared for him that deeply. "What do I say here? I do love her, but not that way. She's like family to me." Sundance's face flushed slightly as his mind went to Tangelo. "If that's what love is supposed to feel like, I don't think it would have worked out between me and her. I just didn't feel an immediate connection with her like I did with Tangelo. I wouldn't be happy in a relationship with Chartreuse, and that would make her feel unhappy, too."

Sundance scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I get how you feel, and I love you too, just... not in the same way you love me. Besides, there are other ponies here who would make you much happier than I ever could." Chartreuse's face fell and she nodded slightly. Sundance could practically hear her heart breaking as she stared at the ground. "Think, Sundance. You can't just leave it at that. That's horrible."

"You, Mist, and Vermilion are all like family to me. The three of you have made the past year and a half bearable, enjoyable, even. I've felt so happy being with you, even through all the shit we've had to endure here. I wouldn't have wanted to spend that time with anypony else." Sundance gently placed a hoof underneath Chartreuse's chin and lifted her head so that she was looking at him again. "I'm sorry I can't love you like you want me to, but even though we can't be together in the way you hoped, you still mean the world to me."

Chartreuse smiled forlornly and nodded, her eyes watering slightly. "Okay."

Sundance and Chartreuse both jumped as the door to the infirmary burst open and a blue pony dashed in, trailing snow behind him. Sundance barely recognized Mist at first, his mane a horrid mess and his eyes bloodshot. Mist glanced around frantically for a few moments before his face lit up with relief when he found Chartreuse. He rushed over to her and threw his hooves around her. "Chartreuse! You're okay!" he cried.

Chartreuse wrapped her hooves around him awkwardly and patted him on the back comfortingly. "Yeah, I'm alright."

Vermilion walked through the door and stamped the snow off of his hooves. Sundance could see the dying blizzard through the open door, with only a light flurry remaining in the dull sunset. The previous night's few inches of snow had multiplied in the time Sundance was out, to about two to three feet. Vermilion shut the door behind him, trying to remove as much of the snow Mist dragged in as possible. There was still a sizeable pile left inside the infirmary, but he didn't really feel like opening the door again, so he just left it and walked over to Sundance's bed.

"Hey. You doing alright?" Vermilion asked, eying Mist and Chartreuse.

Sundance nodded. "Yeah, I'm not bad. When did you leave?"

"About twenty minutes ago. I wanted to tell Mist Chartreuse was alive." Vermilion looked Sundance over. "What happened to you earlier? You just collapsed. It's been almost six hours."

Sundance shrugged. "I'm not really sure. It happened a few times today. I just blacked out and relived part of my past I thought I had forgotten. I'm not really sure why."

Vermilion frowned. "That's strange. Do you think it will happen again?"

Sundance shook his head. "I think that was the last time. That was the end of the memory, as far as I can tell."

Vermilion nodded. "That's good." He glanced at Chartreuse again. "What were you two talking about earlier?"

"Oh, uh..." Sundance leaned in close to Vermilion so Mist and Chartreuse wouldn't hear. "She confessed to me, and I turned her down. I told her she felt more like family to me. Her, Mist, and you. We're all like a family."

Vermilion smiled and ruffled Sundance's hair. "Aw, you big sap. I guess that makes me the older brother," he said, grinning. Sundance smiled. He was glad to see Vermilion smile for once, considering his sad history.

"Are you sure Tangelo wasn't another reason, though? I saw the two of you earlier today," Vermilion said, placing his hoof back on the floor.

Sundance's face flushed and he straightened his hair. "Well, yes, she was another reason. But I obviously didn't tell Chartreuse that. I didn't want to make her feel worse."

Vermilion nodded. "Makes sense." He frowned, suddenly remembering something.

"There's something you missed while you were out, though. Something important." Vermilion sighed and shut his eyes. This was something he was having a hard time accepting himself, even though he should have expected something like this would happen eventually. When he opened his eyes again, his expression was dire. "You're not going to like it."

Chapter 8

Sundance shivered as he stepped out of the infirmary. The night air was freezing, more than cold enough to turn his breath into a visible cloud, and the snow almost up to his stomach certainly didn't do him any favors. At least the last of the blizzard had passed, and two of Dike's three moons were shining high in the sky unobstructed.

"So that's it? They're just sending away most of the cadets?" Chartreuse said, shocked. She had left the blanket folded up on the bed in the infirmary and now had her cadet jacket wrapped tightly around her against the cold air. They had left for the barracks as soon as she thought she was feeling well enough to move on her own.

Vermilion nodded. "The cadets who don't show promise as a MechWarrior are leaving in two days. They're cannon fodder."

"But why? Is there a shortage of Mechs or something? They can't be doing this for no reason."

Vermilion shook his head and sighed. "They only accept a certain number of MechWarriors from freeborn Sibkos anyway, regardless of how many pass. They want more soldiers quick, so they're splitting us up. They can push out a tank crew after three years, and infantry in only two."

"So they're gonna throw us into the war sooner, and we can die when we're fourteen instead of eighteen. Wonderful," Sundance said, rubbing a hoof over his face. "Why don't they just shoot us now and get it over with?"

"In the hopes that we take out an enemy soldier before biting the dust." Vermilion sighed again.

"This is ridiculous," Mist said, kicking a hoof through the snow and unintentionally showering Sundance in the cold powder, who flinched and glared at him. "They should have done this from the beginning. What if we get separated?"

"We won't. They take eight cadets from every year. I'm thinking it'll be us four, two mediums, and two lights," Vermilion said, glancing at the moons overhead. "They're certain to take Chartreuse, and I'm sure you've noticed how bad the other heavy pilots are. We don't have much competition. They've probably already picked who they're keeping, so we won't have to worry about the Trial anymore, at least."

Chartreuse nodded. "That's comforting for us, at least. But the rest of the cadets can't have taken that information well."

"They didn't. When the Commander told us in the barracks earlier, some of the cadets almost started a fight with him. A bunch of soldiers rushed in through the door before anything could happen, so they were probably expecting something like that," Mist said. He frowned, the deep creases in his forehead making him look even more exhausted. "It isn't all good new for us, though. You want to tell them, Vermilion?"

Sundance glanced at Vermilion, whose expression immediately darkened. Whatever it was, it must be serious. "They're not giving us worse Mechs, are they?"

Vermilion shook his head. "No. This is worse. Much worse." He sighed heavily and glanced out into the dark forest. "They're speeding up our training. Instead of six years, we're only getting four. You three will be sixteen when we're sent off."

Sundance stared at Vermilion, his mouth agape. "What? Are you serious?"

"What the hell are they thinking? Six years isn't long enough, so why would they think four is?" Chartreuse exclaimed.

Mist glanced off in the distance at the lights of the barracks, which had just become visible through the trees. "Clan Draconequus is losing ground. We're not the massive, terrifying Clan we were back during The Great War with the Inner System. When the six original Clans split after that war, five of the eighteen new Clans broke off from us alone. That left us weakened and the smallest of all the Clans, and now that we're in a massive war of attrition against Clans may times larger than us and our allies, we can't hold off for much longer.

"This is Clan Draconequus's final push. They're hoping to end the war in the next ten years, no matter what it takes. If winning the war leaves their population, economy, and military in shambles, so be it. They don't care if they have to go into debt to secure more Mechs. They just need more pilots to fill them, hence our current situation." Mist's frown deepened. "I'm assuming most of the trueborn cadets become MechWarriors, which is why they only take some of us and use the rest as infantry. We're just rats to them."

Sundance sighed and rubbed his forehead, squeezing his eyes shut. "And I thought our situation couldn't get any worse."

"Shit." Chartreuse shook her head and sighed, unsure of what else to say.

"Well, at least we get to spend whatever time we have left together. I wouldn't have it any other way," Vermilion said, stopping on front of the barracks.

"There's that soft side of yours. You should let that guy out more often. You're not so bad when you're scowling at everything and everypony," Mist said jokingly, walking over to Vermilion and punching him lightly in the shoulder. This earned him a lighthearted glare. "I agree. Early mornings and terrible food aside, I've loved spending time with you three. Especially Sundance." Mist wrapped a hoof around Sundance's shoulders. "Who knows what would have happened to us if he hadn't pissed off Bittersweet and gotten himself thrown into a hole."

Sundance laughed uneasily with the rest of his friends. He still hadn't told them what was still going on between him and Bittersweet, with the older pony abusing him seemingly every chance he got. "I wonder what's going to happen to him. He's been here for almost seven years now, and there's no way somepony with his skill set wouldn't become a MechWarrior. Is he going to get sent off to war immediately, or stick around a bit longer?" Sundance wondered.

"Vermilion would be constantly glaring at everypony, I'd be alone and quite bored, and you'd probably still be cleaning the mess hall," Chartreuse said, still giggling.

The four of them laughed again, forgetting for a moment about the freezing night air and the bloody war they were going to be thrown into very soon. Sundance loved moments like this, when he could just be with his friends and not worry about their impending doom. He felt as if all of his problems just dissolved whenever they were together. He almost felt grateful that the soldiers had taken them here and brought them together in a way that probably wouldn't have happened naturally. Almost.

Mist smiled and sighed, his breath frosting in the cold air. "We should probably all get to bed. It's freezing out here, and it's been a long day for all of us. I don't imagine the Commander is going to take it easy on any of us tomorrow just because of the blizzard."

Chartreuse nodded. "Yeah, we probably should." She accidently made eye contact with Sundance and looked away awkwardly. "Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow." She turned and headed towards the female barracks, which were only a short walk away.

"Goodnight," Mist called. He turned back towards Sundance and Vermilion and yawned. "I don't know about you guys, but I could sleep for a week."

Vermilion nodded in agreement. "Me too. Let's go."

The three of them filed into the barracks, ready to put an end to the eventful day. Despite having just slept for the entire evening, Sundance still felt tired, and he fell asleep almost the instant his head hit his pillow. He slept soundly that night, feeling as if all of his fears had disappeared, at least for the time being.

~~

Sundance leaned back in his seat and winced as the lights in his cockpit flickered off for the third time that day. "Damn. At least I did some damage this time," he thought, clutching a hoof to his chest. Tangelo's theory about him being able to feel the damage his Mech takes turned out to be correct, though Sundance wondered if the simulated damage felt any different than actually being shot. The training program in the Mechs was fairly simplistic, so he wouldn't be surprised if it did.

Sundance reached over and powered his Mech back up, the reactor humming to life. His mind went back to the cryptic letter that he had found on top of his cadet jacket that morning, which made it hard to focus on much else. He still wasn't entirely sure what to think of it, and neither were his friends. Sundance sighed. It was really worrying, but he wasn't sure what he could do about it.

"Not too bad this time, cadet Sundance," Commander Charcoal said. "With your piloting skills, you should be able to run circles around him, though. Don't just sit there face-tanking his shots. Work on that for next time."

Sundance nodded. "Yes Sir." After the announcement that most of the cadets would be leaving, the Commander had to change his plans for their training. All of the other cadets were preparing to leave, so the training field was mostly barren. Other than the Commanders, the only Mechs on the field were Sundance and his friends, a Stormcrow, an Ice Ferret, an Adder, and surprisingly, Tangelo. Apparently she was the best scout they had, so her and the Ice Ferret would be taking that role on the battlefield. For now, though, those two were still stuck doing combat training with Commander Juniper and the other two.

"Cadet Vermilion, you're up." Vermilion stepped up to face Mist, his hooves placed on the controls. He wasn't going to hold back, and he didn't expect Mist to, either. He kind of enjoyed combat training, actually. He wasn't sure why, but he always felt more alive behind the controls of a seventy-five ton war machine.

Sundance walked over to stand next to Chartreuse in her Clan Marauder. It had only been one day since the blizzard and her near death experience, but she didn't seem to have any lasting injuries. He glanced up at her massive Mech as he turned around. He always felt tiny standing next to it, even in his Hellbringer. He had to fight her earlier that day, and he obviously hadn't fared well.

"Begin!"

As usual, Vermilion started off by firing everything at once. Even if it wasn't the most heat efficient tactic, it certainly was terrifying to be against, even without real ammunition. Mist proceeded to whiff all of his first shots, which pretty much sealed his fate for that fight.

Chartreuse opened a private comm channel with Sundance. "Can you read that note for me again? I want to make sure I remembered it right."

Sundance nodded and pulled the note out from the bag attached to the back of his seat. He unfolded the paper and read it aloud. "'Meet me behind the mess hall during lunch today, before the other cadets leave. I have something important to talk to you about. Come alone. -C' That's all it says." Solis hummed, a little confused. As little as she understood ponies and how they interacted with each other, it certainly seemed like a strange message to receive, even to her.

Chartreuse shook her head. "I still don't like how they worded it. You're not thinking about actually going, are you? 'Come alone?' That's about as shady as somepony can get. Edgy, but still shady."

Sundance sighed. "I might. I'm really curious about it, but I'm a little worried, too. The only thing they signed was C, so I have no idea who it wrote it." He shot Chartreuse a joking look. "It wasn't you, was it?"

She giggled and shook her head. "Of course not. Even if I could sneak into your barracks without being seen, I wouldn't give you a mysterious note if I wanted to talk to you about something. Besides, there isn't really anything left I'd need to talk to you about in private that I haven't already," she said awkwardly.

"I guess not." Sundance folded the note back up and placed it in its bag. He leaned back in his seat and sighed. "I'm gonna see what they want. I doubt anything bad is going to happen so close to so many other ponies. Besides, if it's somepony who's leaving today, this is the only chance they'll get to talk to me. Shouldn't I give them that chance?"

"Well, it's your decision," Chartreuse said, glancing at Mist and Vermilion. Mist was just about finished, with his left torso, arm, and leg having been disabled by the simulated damage in the training program. "We'll be just on the other side of the wall, so scream if you're in trouble. We'll come running."

Sundance smiled. "Thanks. I'll count on you three to bail me out if something happens."

Mist's Mech shut down, the center torso having finally been taken out. "You need to work on your aim, cadet Mist. You're the same tonnage as Vermilion, and you're geared towards close combat. It should have been an easy win for you," Commander Charcoal said as Mist's Summoner powered back up, shaking his head.

"Sorry, Sir. I'll try to work on that." Mist and Vermilion walked back over towards Sundance and Chartreuse, their Mechs throwing up clouds of snow.

Commander Charcoal sighed. "That's enough combat training for today. Go get some lunch, then be back here by thirteen hundred hours. We'll start working on each of your individual roles on the battlefield then. Dismissed," he said over the open comms.

"Yes Sir!" the cadets all said before turning and charging towards the exit of the field.

Vermilion pulled up next to Sundance, his Timber Wolf's machine guns still smoking from the fight. "Not a bad training session. For me and Chartreuse, anyway."

Sundance made a face at him. "Hey, I'm getting better. I'm not sure about Mist, but I definitely am."

"I heard that, asshole. Remind me who won our fight earlier?" Mist said playfully.

"Good point," Sundance said, laughing. "I didn't do too badly though. All things considered."

Tangelo slowed down as she neared Sundance, and the Ice Ferret sprinted past her, almost at full speed. It was surprising to Sundance just how fast the lighter Mechs could move. The two of them had crossed almost two times the distance he had in the same amount of time.

"How are you doing? Feeling alright after yesterday?" Tangelo asked over a private comm channel.

"Yeah, I'm good. Turns out your theory about me feeling the damage my Mech takes was correct," Sundance said, rubbing a sore spot on his shoulder.

"That's interesting. It doesn't affect your concentration too much, does it? It seems like it would be distracting to feel pain every time you get shot."

Sundance shook his head. "It was the first time, and it's also a little annoying, but I'm starting to get used to it. It's actually kind of helpful to know where I'm getting hit without having to look at my damage indicator. I don't have to look away from what I'm shooting at to know what's happening to my Mech."

Tangelo nodded. "That makes sense. I guess it would be kind of a useful thing, for somepony like you, anyway. I won't really be taking too much damage, as a scout and all," she said, giggling. "On that note, they've got a few other scout Mechs for me and Fern to try out later. There's a really fast light I want to try out. Commander Juniper said it can sprint up to one hundred and fifty kph."

"Damn, that's quick. Eighty-five is pushing it for me, and Chartreuse can barely hit sixty-five," Sundance said, shaking his head. He frowned. "Fern? The pony who was still in the infirmary yesterday? How did he get better that quickly?"

"He didn't. Commander Charcoal told Cornsilk to just give him painkillers and send him out anyway, since he isn't contagious or anything. Poor guy's barely conscious," she said, glancing after the Mech disappearing through the trees. "He really shouldn't be going that fast in his condition."

Sundance shook his head. "Normally I'd be upset about that, but seeing as how they cut our training time by two years, I can understand why the Commander doesn't want anypony taking time off if possible."

Tangelo nodded. "Yeah. This whole situation is a mess, isn't it? Ethics aside, it makes more sense this way when you think about it, though. If they're gonna split us up at some point, they might as well do it sooner and save time and resources."

"I guess so. I'm still not happy about it, but it's not like there's anything we can do about it. I wonder if the other freeborn Sibkos in the Clan are in similar situations?" Sundance wondered.

"I'd imagine so. The Commanders aren't happy about having less time to train us, so it can't have been their choice, and they're the highest authority here. The Khan probably was the one who made the decision. He needs more soldiers now, unless he wants to lose the war."

Sundance nodded, reluctantly agreeing. He'd probably choose losing the war over throwing foals into it and destroying the economy it if he were Khan, but he can at least see why the decision was made, even if he thought the reasoning was cruel.

"Anyway, are you going to talk to the cadet who left you the letter?" Tangelo asked.

Sundance nodded again. "Yeah, I think I'll do that before I eat. If you hear somepony scream like a little filly, assume it's me yelling for help."

Tangelo giggled again. "Will do. Just be careful, alright? I still think it could be a trick. Their wording was pretty suspicious."

"I will. I'll be right next to the mess hall though, so I don't think anything is gonna go wrong. We're just cadets. What's the worst that could happen?"

~~

Vermilion set his tray on the table and sat down in the uncomfortable plastic seat. He glanced at Sundance's empty spot at the table across from him. "I still don't think he should have gone. I think it's a trap."

"You worry too much, Vermilion. Why would somepony try to trick Sundance?" Mist said, falling into his usual seat. He shoved a forkful of broccoli into his mouth. "We're all on the same side here. And if the Clan wanted him hurt, dead, or blackmailed, they wouldn't do it this way. He'll be just fine."

Chartreuse thwacked the top of Mist's head with her spoon as she walked by, then sat down across from him. Mist let out a cry of pain and placed his hooves on top of his head. "If Sundance hadn't gone, I'm sure he would have told you to chew with your mouth closed for the thousandth time," she said, smiling. "I think he probably should have stayed, but I agree there probably isn't anything to worry about. Not anything serious, anyway."

"I don't know. Some of the other ponies here can be pretty terrible, and Sundance comes into the infirmary a bunch," Tangelo said, walking over to their table. "Is it okay if I sit here with you guys?"

"Yeah, that's fine." Chartreuse stabbed her fork into her salad as Tangelo placed her tray down next to her. "Just not there. That's where Sundance sits."

"Oh, okay. I'll just sit here then." Tangelo slid her tray over one spot and sat down before tucking into her lunch.

The four of them sat in silence for the next few minutes, all of them worrying about Sundance to some degree. All of them except for Mist, who was too busy focusing on his lasagna to pay much attention to the others.

"It's been almost ten minutes. I wonder what's taking Sundance so long?" Vermilion thought, listlessly twirling his fork in his spaghetti. He glanced at the doors of the mess hall. "Something still doesn't feel right."

A tray slammed down in Sundance's spot, jarring everypony at the table back into reality. "Can I sit here?" a gravelly voice asked. Without waiting for an answer, a dark pink earth pony with a long, blue and white mane and dark purple eyes sat down. "My friends weren't feeling hungry, so they left early. I can't say I blame them. Never having to eat here again is scary, but exciting all the same," she said, shoving the rest of a half eaten brownie into her mouth.

Chartreuse opened her mouth to say something, but stopped as the pony sat down and just kept talking. Either she enjoyed the sound of her own voice, or she was just oblivious of others. Chartreuse sighed and stabbed her fork into her salad again. "Sure. Whatever," she said when the pony finally shut up.

"Good. I wasn't planning on getting up, anyway," she said, grinning. "My name's Carmine, by the way. Carmine Rose."

"Nice to meet you," Tangelo said. Vermilion and Mist nodded to Carmine. Mist normally would have said something, but his mouth was full of food again.

Chartreuse sighed internally. "This pony's manners are almost as bad as Mist's," she thought.

Carmine swallowed the rest of her brownie and looked around at the others at the table. "So what year are you guys? I haven't seen you around very often."

"We're all second years. You?" Vermilion said. He had remembered Sundance's note was signed by somepony with the initial 'C,' so was it her? He wasn't sure, but considering she was here and he wasn't, it probably wasn't Carmine. Either that, or he was lying unconscious in the snow.

"This is my fifth year. Lucky me, I'm past the fourth year cut-off point, so I'm getting sent off to war today. Hopefully I can take out some fuckers before my inevitable death." She narrowed her eyes at Vermilion. "Really? You look older than thirteen. You look familiar, too. Are you related to Carnelian?"

"I started training a few years late." Vermilion frowned and nodded. "You knew my brother?"

Carmine shook her head. "Hardly. I saw him around a bit before he left, but I've mostly just heard about him from Chalk. He said Carnelian was something of a prodigy before he, y'know. It's a shame he died so young. From his reputation, he probably could have become a Point Commander, or even a Star Commander, even as a freeborn. A damn good one, at that."

Vermilion nodded. "He would have been." His frown deepened. "Who's Chalk?" He couldn't remember any cadets with the word 'chalk' in their name, so he was curios, especially considering Sundance's letter. They might be the pony who wrote it.

"Oh, that's not his actual name. Chalk is our nickname for Bittersweet. In war, MechWarriors add a chalk mark to the outside of their Mech for every kill they got after each battle. None of us have ever managed to beat him in a fight, so we decided that would be a fitting nickname."

Vermilion glanced at Carmine, his mind racing. "Bittersweet's nickname is Chalk? What if he wrote the letter?" He glanced at his friends, but none of them seemed to catch on. "Tangelo said Sundance goes to the infirmary often, and I don't think it's to help out. Is Bittersweet still beating him up? Why hasn't he told me? I could have put a stop to it."

Vermilion stood up quickly, his chair sliding back and crashing into the table behind him. He turned and raced towards the exit. "Hey, where are you going?" Mist called.

"Don't worry about it," he yelled, throwing the doors open. "I'm certain Bittersweet wrote that letter for Sundance. I was right to be suspicious." He shook his head as he ran through the snow toward the back of the mess hall. "Please don't be too late. I don't want to lose another brother."

Ten Minutes Prior

Sundance crept around the corner of the mess hall and looked around. "Hello? Anypony here?" he asked. He didn't see anypony around, so he stepped out further and turned to look behind him. He didn't see anypony anywhere. "Maybe they changed their mind?" he thought, before a familiar voice behind him proved that hope wrong.

"There you are. It took you long enough." Bittersweet stepped out from between the dumpsters, an annoyed look on his face.

Sundance winced and turned to face the bigger pony. "What did you want to talk about?" he asked, trying to sound as calm as he could.

"Just some things. Maybe amend some wrongs."

Sundance's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really? You want to do that?"

Bittersweet smirked and stalked towards him. "Of course not. I'm not a pussy like you." He grabbed Sundance by the mane, eliciting a yelp of pain. "I just wanted to fuck you up one last time before I get sent to my death. I'm quite pissed about our whole situation and being thrown out a year early, so I've got some tension I need to let out." He wrenched Sundance to the ground and swung a hoof into his stomach. Hard.

Sundance clasped his forelegs around his stomach in pain. His stomach collapsed from the impact, and he vomited a small amount of bitter dark yellow liquid. "I'm glad I didn't eat lunch yet," he thought wryly as Bittersweet hit him again.

"Have I ever told you how much I enjoy these little meetings of ours? I'm glad you were retarded enough to come to this one." He slammed his hoof down onto Sundance's face and pushed his head into the deep snow. "You probably would have stayed safely in the dining hall if I had used my real name or initial. I couldn't have that, now could I?" He brought his face down next to Sundance's ear. "And don't even think about fighting back or calling for help. If anypony comes around that corner I'll slice them up, and once I'm done with them, I'll cut out that annoying little tongue of yours," he said, flashing a knife from his pocket.

Sundance nodded feebly. "Fuck. Why does he have a knife?" He shut his eyes tightly. "This is bad. Really bad."

Bittersweet stood back up. "Good. Now where was I? Oh yeah, beating you senseless," he growled, slamming his hoof onto Sundance's head again. "Thanks for being my personal punching bag for so long. I never realized just how much stress I had built up over the past five years."

The edges of Sundance's vision started going black as he was hit in the head a third time, and he tasted blood in his mouth. "Fuck... I can hardly even think straight." He felt himself being lifted off the ground and slammed into the wall. "Vermilion's probably gonna be angry with me."

Bittersweet hit him over and over again, to the point where Sundance could barely feel it since almost his entire body was in mind-numbing pain. "Can't... keep going," he thought, retching for the fourth or fifth time. Sundance wasn't sure since he lost count a while ago. He blinked sluggishly, the back of his throat burning from all the bile passing through it. "Maybe death wouldn't be so bad."

Bittersweet's hoof crashed into the side of Sundance's face so hard he felt the blow reverberate through his whole body, and he tumbled to the ground. Sundance ran his tongue over a loosened tooth and cringed when it popped out of his gums. He groaned in pain and spat out the bloody object. "Gross."

Sundance felt a hoof plant itself on his throat, a familiar feeling, and he gasped for breath. "I wish I could spend all day doing this, but the WarShip is leaving in half an hour," Bittersweet said, breathing heavily from exertion. He pressed his hoof harder against Sundance's throat, cutting off his air entirely. "Now be a good boy and go to sleep. I'll probably be planets away by the time you wake up, so don't bother telling anypony."

Sundance clenched his hooves weakly around Bittersweet's foreleg. "Not again... I'm gonna... miss training today..." Sundance's eyes rolled to the back of his head and his forelegs flopped to the ground as his mind slipped from consciousness.

Bittersweet sighed and stepped off of Sundance's motionless body. He rolled his shoulders. "I really needed that." He thought for a moment and glanced back at Sundance. "I think I might be able to stick around for a little longer. I have plenty of time to get on the DropShip." He took the knife out of his pocket and twirled it around his hoof. "I guess I could have a bit of fun with this. But what to do?" Bittersweet tapped the blade against his chin. "I think a massive scar across his face would suit him just fine. Something to remember me by every time he looks in a mirror." He grinned and brought the knife slowly to Sundance's face, but stopped when he heard a pony skid to a stop in the snow behind him. He spun around, hiding the knife in the snow.

Vermilion glanced at Sundance's unconscious body and back to Bittersweet, his face contorted with rage. "What did you do?" he growled.

"Oh, nothing. We were just having a bit of fun." Bittersweet smirked. "Sorry to leave you out of it. Care to join in?"

Vermilion roared and charged at Bittersweet. Vermilion lunged at him, and he scrambled out of the way. "Shit, somepony's angry," Bittersweet said smugly, pulling himself to his hooves. The two of them circled for a moment, with Bittersweet's knife still concealed.

Vermilion growled deep in his throat and lunged again, his hooves outstretched. Having expected this, Bittersweet sidestepped and smashed his hoof into Vermilion's face as he flew past. He tumbled into the ground, but quickly pushed himself back up, unfazed.

This time Bittersweet went on the offensive, rushing forward and swinging the knife at Vermilion. He reeled back, surprised, just in time to avoid losing an eye. He felt the blade slice neatly through the flesh on his cheek, and he winced.

Bittersweet grinned and spun the blade around before quickly jabbing it at Vermilion. He jumped away, fearing for his life. He hadn't thought Bittersweet would take it this far, but now he was fighting for survival. "So be it," he thought, turning to face his opponent.

Vermilion sidestepped as the knife jabbed towards him again, and he grabbed Bittersweet's foreleg. He jabbed his own hoof towards his opponent's face, and felt it connect with an eye. Bittersweet howled in pain, and Vermilion jumped back to avoid the knife that sliced through the air where he was moments before.

Not giving him time to recover, Vermilion lunged at Bittersweet and quickly landed two blows on his head before jumping away again. He roared, the knife swinging around him wildly. "I'm going to slice you open!" he shouted, swinging the knife in a wide arc at Vermilion's throat.

Vermilion ducked under the knife and hissed as he felt it slice through one of his ears. He planted his hooves on the ground and slammed his shoulder into Bittersweet's chest. He heard a satisfying grunt and swung his hind legs around, sweeping Bittersweet's hooves out from under him. Bittersweet let out a breath as he crashed onto the ground, and Vermilion clambered on top of him, grabbing the knife by the handle and wrestling it away. He tossed the knife out into the trees, far out of reach.

"You cunt!" Bittersweet slammed a hoof into the side of Vermilion's head, knocking him flat on the ground. Bittersweet clambered to his hooves and turned to face Vermilion.

Vermilion shook the stars from his vision and glanced at Sundance, who was still lying motionless. "I can't lose. Who knows what he'll do to Sundance if I do." He stood back up and glared at Bittersweet. He clenched his hooves. "I'd rather die than fail here. I won't lose another brother."

"I've always hated how you look down on everypony," Bittersweet spat, gasping for breath. "That's why I'm going to enjoy turning you into a drooling mess."

"You can certainly try." Vermilion rushed forward and swung a hoof at Bittersweet's face, then ducked to avoid the return strike. He jabbed quickly at his opponent's chest then dashed away, before charging back in to slam his shoulder into Bittersweet. He kept doing this, hitting with quick, successive blows, while avoiding the slower, but more powerful, return attacks.

"Stand still, you motherfucker!" Bittersweet shouted shakily, swinging a hoof downwards toward Vermilion's skull.

Vermilion dodged the sluggish attack and slammed a hoof across Bittersweet's head. He dug his forehooves into the ground and spun around on them, before smashing his rear hooves directly into Bittersweet's face with all of his might. This sent him flying a few feet before he crashed into the snow, his tongue lolling from his mouth as he briefly blacked out.

Bittersweet planted a hoof on the ground and tried to pull himself up, only to fall to the ground, completely incapacitated. "Piece of shit," he growled. He struggled to his hooves and shot Vermilion a look of pure hatred, blood trailing down his face from a cut on his forehead. "You can't protect everypony. You're naïve nobility is going to get you or somepony you care about killed one day. I look forward to when that happens." He spat blood out of his mouth and turned to trudge down the path, drops of blood falling from his face as he went.

Vermilion sighed and took a step towards Sundance, but stopped when he felt a tingling in his flank. "What..?" he thought, glancing back at his side. He turned his head just in time to see a glowing sphere appear over his hind legs, before shifting into a shape and changing colors. "It's my cutie mark. It's finally appearing."

He frowned as the shape stopped changing. It was a black and white heater shield enveloped by bright orange flames. "A shield? But... that's what Carnelian had." He shook his head and took a deep breath, before turning towards Sundance. "Now's not the time. I can think about that later."

"Vermilion! What happened here?" he heard a voice call. He turned to see Tangelo standing at the corner of the mess hall, a hoof over her mouth as she glanced back and forth between Vermilion and Sundance. Chartreuse and Mist charged around the corner behind her, and stopped when they saw the two of them. Carmine followed behind at a slower pace and eyed Vermilion's bloody state.

"It was Bittersweet. He wrote the letter for Sundance," he panted, still breathing heavily from the encounter. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, he was starting to feel the aches from the fight.

"Really?" Mist glanced at the green pony slinking off through the trees. "I guess it makes a bit more sense now, knowing his nickname. I'm surprised you figured it out before me, though."

Tangelo rushed over to Sundance and shook him gently. She turned back to the others. "We need to get him to the infirmary. Bittersweet went way too far."

Vermilion walked over to Sundance and Tangelo. "I'll carry him."

"Can you in your condition? You look almost as beat up as him," Tangelo said, looking him over.

Vermilion nodded. "I'll be fine. Just help him onto my back."

"Okay." Tangelo helped wrestle Sundance's unconscious body onto Vermilion's back, and he started walking carefully towards the infirmary.

Chartreuse walked over to help keep Sundance balanced. "Is he going to be okay?" she asked.

Tangelo nodded. "He'll live, at least. Hopefully there's no permanent damage."

Mist glanced at Vermilion's new cutie mark and shook his head. "It's a good thing you were so paranoid. Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't ran out here when you did. I guess your cutie mark fits."

"I'm not so sure. It's really similar to what my brother had. I don't know if I can live up to that."

"Don't worry about living up to your brother's legacy. We don't want your brother, we want you. You protected Sundance and fought off Bittersweet, not Carnelian. You're our older brother, so just be yourself instead of trying to imitate somepony else," Mist said, grinning. Vermilion smiled and nodded to him.

"Welp, I'm gonna go. The DropShip is taking off soon, and they'd kick my ass if I missed it. There's no other way up to the WarShip, and sending the DropShip back down would be a huge pain. Maybe I'll see you guys in a few years if I manage to survive." Carmine waved to them and turned to follow Bittersweet. "I'll try to talk some sense into Bittersweet. Maybe he'll be all fixed up next time you see him. Cheers!"

Mist waved at Carmine, being the only pony who wasn't busy trying to handle an unconscious pony. "See you!" He turned around and trotted to catch up to the others. "So I'm guessing we're going to be late for training?"

~~

Meanwhile in Chaosville…

Discord groaned and fell back onto his couch. "This is all so tedious. Why can't I just do whatever I want anymore? I haven't seen some good old fashioned chaos in half a millennia,"

"Because your powers aren't what they used to be," Fluttershy said, phasing through one of the walls. She had been busy counting the number of bricks that make up Discord's home for the hundredth time. Being stuck in the realm of chaos for over five hundred years got old real fast, and not being able to leave or see what was going on in the world of the living was torture.

"Spare me your pity. I could snap you back to the afterlife as easily as breathing," Discord said, rubbing his thumb and middle finger together.

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. "Please do. I love being here, but I miss my friends. I haven't seen them in so long."

Discord sighed and snapped his fingers, and Fluttershy's ghost was enveloped in a bright flash of light. Nothing else happened.

Fluttershy shrugged. "It was worth a try." Discord had brought her spirit from the afterlife at some point after her natural death, too distraught to continue without his closest friend. Being the kind pony she is, or was, rather, Fluttershy agreed to move between the afterlife and Chaosville, seeing as how the two were connected in a strange way, and she could travel back and forth with a little help from Discord's magic. Now that his powers weren't nearly as strong as they used to be, however, she was stuck in Chaosville.

"Anything new happen today? Did you make a new friend?" she asked.

"Of course I didn't. None of these ponies are worth being friends with," Discord said bitterly.

"Spring Bud was."

"Spring is dead now, all thanks to those stupid Clans and their bloodthirsty nature. There isn't another pony out there like you or him," he spat. "It's a bit ironic that the Clans formed from the House of Loyalty. You'd think that out of all the Great Houses that made up the Inner System, they'd have been the last ones to betray us and leave."

Fluttershy rubbed her hooves together. "I remember that. Rainbow wasn't very happy when it happened. She wanted to go down there and knock some sense into them." She glanced out the window. "You should find another pony to keep you company. A living pony. I shouldn't even be here."

"But you are, and you can't leave."

Fluttershy sighed. "I know. It would still do you good to talk to a living pony every once in a while, though. I'm sure Princess Celestia could point you to somepony you would like."

Discord frowned. "Yes, well, about Celestia..."

Fluttershy gasped after hearing him explain his plan to overthrow Celestia and Luna. Seeing as he couldn't use his magic to do it, he would have to resort to more traditional means, which would probably end with Celestia and Luna's deaths.

"Discord, that's going too far! I know you're angry about the Clans' invasion and how the war killed Spring, but taking over the Inner System and using the military for your own personal revenge is wrong. Spring wasn't killed in cold blood, he died fighting a war that the Inner System started when they chased out the Clans. They're not the bad guys here," Fluttershy said firmly. She rarely ever raised her voice, but this was a serious matter that she couldn't back down on.

"So what, you're saying we should have allowed those bloodthirsty savages to live on our doorstep, waiting for them to inevitably attack us?" he challenged.

"Yes! They didn't do anything wrong, and now you're just continuing the chain of revenge. Wiping out the Clans won't solve anything or make you feel better, Discord. It's time to let go." Fluttershy shook her head. "This isn't like you. What happened to that kind, chaos-loving draconequus from a thousand years ago?

Discord snorted. "He died along with Spring Bud." He snapped his fingers and a zipper appeared across Fluttershy's mouth, sealing it shut. "Hah! How's that for weakening powers? Now stay here. I have to go put this long plan into motion."

Discord teleported himself to the Canterlot portal and stepped through. He found it almost impossible to teleport between dimensions nowadays, so he had to do it the simple way. "Your final years as rulers have begun, Princesses. Once this plan is finished and the two of you are gone in five year's time, there will be a new leader at the head of this alliance. And his name is Discord."

Chapter 9

Sundance blinked an eye open and groaned in pain. His body ached from head to hoof, and his mouth and throat felt like they'd been rubbed with sandpaper. "Fuck... everything hurts." He felt a hoof rest over one of his own and he squinted up at the orange shape above him, slowly adjusting his eyes.

"Welcome back to the world of the living," Tangelo said, beaming at him. "Don't try to move or you'll just make it worse."

"What... what happened?" Sundance croaked, struggling to form words around the cotton stuffed into the bleeding hole in his gums.

"Bittersweet beat the shit out of you, and you've been out for a couple of hours," Tangelo replied bluntly. "Vermilion got him back though, and chased him off." She shook her head. "You should have told Vermilion about Bittersweet from the start. He could have stopped this from ever happening."

Sundance shook his head feebly. "Didn't want to involve anypony. Is he okay?"

Tangelo nodded. "He'll be fine. Bittersweet sliced the tip off one of his ears and he's probably going to have a scar under one eye, but nothing too serious."

Sundance sighed. "I knew he'd get hurt."

"He got involved because he cares about you. You have to stick with your family and trust them to take care of you. That's what they're for." Tangelo tapped him lightly on the nose. "You can't handle everything yourself, you know. We're all here for you."

Sundance shook his head again. "I don't want to be a burden."

"You're not a burden, not to any of us. Just because we might have to do work to help each other, that doesn't make it unpleasant. Vermilion even got his cutie mark because he protected you."

"Really?" Sundance said, his eyes brightening slightly.

Tangelo nodded. "Yeah, it's a really cool flaming shield. You'll have to see it next time he comes in here."

Sundance smiled to himself. "That's great." He was happy that at least something good came from today, even if it cost Vermilion a bit of pain. While he hated being indirectly responsible for Vermilion's injuries, helping him earn something as important as his cutie mark was worth it in his eyes.

Tangelo stood up and rubbed one of Sundance's shoulders gently. "Well, now that I know you're okay, I should be heading to training. The others will want to know you're awake, and I can't imagine the Commanders are very happy with me at the moment," she said, smiling at him. "You look like you could use some more rest anyway. Cornsilk is around here somewhere if you need her. Just rip off your heartbeat monitor or something if she's not in the room. That would be sure to get her attention."

Sundance smiled back. "Sure thing."

Tangelo walked over to the doors and pulled one open, letting in a gust of cold air. The sun had started to go down, but sunset was still a few hours off. "See you later, Sundance. I'll stop by again after dinner," she said, glancing back at him one last time.

"See you," Sundance said, waving weakly to her as she shut the door behind her. He placed his hoof back down on the bed and sighed happily. He wasn't sure why, but even though he'd only known Tangelo for barely more than a day, he found himself thinking about her quite often. Maybe it was her affectionate, almost motherly nature, her easygoing yet firm personality, her contagious smile, her deep, beautiful eyes that spoke of passion and gentleness, or maybe it was something else entirely.

Sundance leaned back against his pillow and closed his eyes. "Alright, I admit it. I guess I might have a crush on Tangelo," he thought to himself, his face flushing slightly. "I never thought I'd bother with romance, but I guess these things kind of sneak up on you."

Sundance sighed again, letting his thoughts wander as he felt his eyes growing heavy. Tangelo was right; he was exhausted, and sleeping was the only thing he felt he could do right now. As much as his mind wanted to focus on the events of the day and what it meant for his future, his heart kept dragging it back to Tangelo. He just couldn't stop thinking about her. Even when his mind began slowing, the thought of her was still there.

As he slipped from consciousness, drooling slightly from his open mouth, Sundance drifted off into a deep sleep. After having accepted his feelings and knowing his most immediate worry was taken care of, his dreams were undisturbed by dark thoughts, and he slept peacefully, truly peacefully, for the first time in years.

~~

"Okay, cadets. This should be a fairly quick training exercise. You might even make it to the mess hall before it closes if you're lucky. To win, you have to either destroy all the enemy Mechs, or destroy the enemy base and make it back to your DropShip without letting your own base fall. If you get taken out, stay powered down until the exercise is over. You'll power back up automatically when that happens. Simple, right? Any questions?" Commander Charcoal asked. His Mad Dog and Commander Juniper's Gyrfalcon almost looked like they were made of gold in the setting sun, especially next to the cadets' Mechs, which were all painted to match the dark greens and dull browns of the forest.

They were standing in the southeast training field today, which was really more of a small clearing with numerous pathways leading from it. The cadets were separated into two mostly even groups, ready for their first real combat training exercise. The training programs were still installed on the Mechs, but it was as real of a battle as they were going to see until they were sent off. The cadets of previous years would have continued their training with live ammunition instead of going straight to real battle simulations, but with the recent changes to their schedule, the Commander decided to omit live ammunition from exercises like this one to save time. Teaching specialized combat such as this in four years time just wasn't possible to do the right way.

None of the cadets said anything, so Commander Charcoal nodded. "Right, then. Follow your Nav Points and wait at the base when you get there. Once I've confirmed all of you are where you should be, I'll give the signal to start."

"Aff, Sir," the cadets said before turning to leave. Everypony in each group had the same Navigation Points, so they walked as units to their bases. The paths ended after a while, and they had to continue deep into the forest, with only the navigation systems of their DI Computers to guide them.

Sundance glanced at the top of his HUD to make sure they were following the Nav Points. The massive trees in this part of the forest were spaced far apart, making it relatively easy for the larger Mechs to navigate their way through. He glanced at a particularly large tree as he stepped around it. It was nearly as wide as his Mech was. "That's a huge fucking tree."

"I've seen bigger," Tangelo said, sprinting past him. "All the trees in this part of Dike are large. It's really not that impressive." She had switched into a Piranha 3 a while back, the fast Mech she had told Sundance about. She couldn't use it to its fullest potential in a forest like this where she had to be careful to not smack into a tree, but the Mech was still more than nimble enough to slip between cover with ease. "There's one a bit further out that's as big around as the mess hall."

"Bullshit," said the cadet in the Stormcrow, one of the other Mechs in Sundance's unit. He was a little ways ahead of the others, and he turned the torso of his Mech to look back at them. "Trees can't get that big."

"It's true. It's over near the waterfall. Go take a look later if you don't believe me."

"Fine, I think I will," the cadet said, turning to face forward again. He slowed down until he was walking between Sundance and Chartreuse. "I'm Bistre, by the way. Best medium pilot in the Sibko."

"Only medium pilot in the Sibko. Fern is running a scout Mech, so he barely counts," Tangelo remarked, stepping over a fallen tree.

Bistre pulled his shoulders back proudly. "Exactly. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't the best."

Sundance raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. "Wow, he's really taken what we've been taught to heart," he thought. "Does he actually want to be here?"

Tangelo sighed and shook her head. "Way to feel sorry for everypony else in our Sibko who didn't make the cut. How many of them do you think are already dead?"

Bistre shrugged. "Not saying I don't feel sorry for them, but there's no point dwelling on that. We're here to train so we can kick some Clan Ghost Bear ass. We can't be stuck in the past."

"And you think you could actually take on a seasoned Ghost Bear MechWarrior?" Chartreuse asked dubiously.

"Of course. I did say I was the best."

Tangelo sighed again and sped ahead of them, disappearing through the trees. "Come on, we're almost there."

Sundance glanced at Bistre's Mech as they hurried after Tangelo. "Either that pony has an inflated ego, or he's hugely underestimating what other Clans' MechWarriors are capable of," he thought.

Probably both, Solis said. Not that she knew much about other Clans' MechWarriors, but their skill level couldn't be too far off from the ones in Clan Draconequus.

Sundance nodded and glanced at the rickety structure that was meant to be their base, which had begun to appear through the trees. He could understand most of what Solis said by this point, having been her pilot for nearly four years. It almost seemed weird to him now, imagining not being able to talk to your Mech like another pony. "I wonder how the others do it, not being able to communicate fully with their Mechs?"

Solis hummed in a way that Sundance generally took to be a sort of mental shrug. After so long, she had forgotten what it was like to have a pilot who couldn't understand her as well as Sundance could, so she could understand what he was feeling.

As they neared the fake base, the cadets all slowed down to a halt. The base was a jumbled mess of wood, seeming like any holes knocked in it during training were just sloppily boarded up. Bistre shook his head at the abomination.

"Commander called this a base? It's more of a shack if you ask me. Is there even a way in?" Bistre said, stretching in his seat to try and look around it.

"If there was, it was boarded over a long time ago." Chartreuse adjusted her neurohelmet slightly. "I guess they don't really want to put in the effort for something as insignificant as that for a freeborn Sibko."

"At least we're still alive," Bistre said.

"For now." Sundance scratched his neck underneath the neurohelmet. "I'm kind of doubting we're going to last long at this point. Our four years are nearly up, and we're only just now starting combat simulations."

Vermilion and Chartreuse will protect you, Solis said reassuringly.

Sundance just shrugged and glanced at the sky through the trees. After a few moments, he heard a light crackling as Commander Charcoal cut in on the comms.

"Okay, cadets. It seems like everypony's in position, so we're going to begin. As soon as your Nav points change, that's your cue to start. The Mechs on the opposing unit are keyed in as hostile on your IFF Transponders, so there's no excuse for friendly fire. You will be reprimanded for damaging a friendly. Good luck, cadets." The Commander's voice cut out along with the static, and a few seconds later, the cadets' DI Computers beeped as their Nav points were updated.

"So what's the plan here? Who's going to defend, who's going to attack?" Tangelo asked, turning to face the others.

Bistre scoffed. "Plan? Just go out there and shoot them. It's not much harder than that." He immediately charged off into the forest, shaking the ground as he ran.

"Don't just run off alone, hothead!" Tangelo hissed and shook her head. "That unicorn drives me crazy." She turned to face the direction Bistre ran off in and rotated her torso back to face Sundance. "I'm the only one fast enough to keep up with him. You two stay behind and defend. I'll come back and warn you if we run into trouble we can't handle. I've got an ECM and speed, so I should be able to get away if anything happens."

Sundance frowned. "ECM? What's that?"

"Electronic Countermeasure. I don't have time to explain fully, but think of it as a signal jammer that only affects hostile Mechs. It makes it harder to target and track my Mech," Tangelo said hastily. She pushed the throttle forward, breaking into a run to catch up to the Stormcrow. "Fern has an ECM in his Ice Ferret too, so keep a sharp eye out for him."

Sundance and Chartreuse glanced at each other as Tangelo disappeared rapidly through the trees. It made sense for Chartreuse to defend, given her large size and slow speed, but having their two weakest Mechs on the offensive didn't seem like a great plan. "Do you think this will work?" Sundance asked.

Chartreuse shrugged. "I guess we'll see. It would have been nice to actually talk through a plan instead of just going for it."

Sundance nodded in agreement. He remembered the Commander telling them before that a good plan was usually the key to winning a battle. However, he also seemed to recall the Commander telling them plans almost always fell apart, and a good soldier should be able to act on instinct. Either way, a plan would have at least made him feel more confident.

Many minutes went by in silence, with Sundance and Chartreuse turning slowly back and forth to watch for hostile Mechs. Sundance kept thinking he saw a Mech moving out of his peripheral vision, but whenever he looked, it was always just a branch swaying in the wind or an animal scurrying up a tree. Nothing seemed to be happening at the moment, and the comms were still dark.

Suddenly Sundance heard gunfire in the distance, followed by the faint sound of missiles. "I guess they found somepony," he said, shifting in his seat.

"Or somepony found them." Chartreuse glanced in the direction the noises were coming from. "Vermilion or Mist could easily tear both of them apart in close range like this, especially if they're together."

Sundance nodded nervously as the weapon fire abruptly cut off. Judging by the sound of the guns, he thought Vermilion and Mist were together. He knew he heard the machine guns in Vermilion's Timber Wolf firing constantly, and he was fairly confident he heard a few shots from the UAC/20 in Mist's Summoner, too. "I never thought about how scary of a combination their Mechs make. Vermilion can soften up an enemy Mech from range, then Mist can dash in and finish them off."

Chartreuse nodded. "That's why the Commander split us up this way. Vermilion and I are good at range, You and Mist are strong up close, and each unit has a scout and a support fighter. The teams are evenly balanced. Or at least they were, until Bistre ran off like that."

Sundance's ears perked up as he heard heavy footsteps running towards them from the direction of the weapon fire. He turned towards the sound and tightened his hooves around the controls anxiously.

It's Tangelo, not a hostile, Solis said. Look at the T&T.

Sundance glanced at the radar screen, and sure enough, there was a friendly signal moving towards them. He relaxed back into his seat as Tangelo's Piranha dashed into view. Her targeting data pulled up on Sundance's HUD, and he was surprised to see how much damage she had taken. Almost all the armor on the left side of her Mech was stripped off, and the right arm was destroyed. They certainly didn't take it easy on her. "Shit, what happened to you?"

"Vermilion and Mist ambushed us. I managed to get away, but Bistre's down. I think both of them are coming here, and Fern is out there somewhere," Tangelo said, slowing to stop in front of them.

"Who's defending their base, then?" Chartreuse asked, looking out into the forest.

"Mint in her Adder. I didn't see her out there anywhere." Tangelo sighed. "I can't fight Mint, especially not in my state. Her Mech carries two ER PPCs. It would only take one or two shots to finish me off."

Sundance raised an eyebrow. "Two ER PPCs on a light Mech? That can't be very heat efficient."

"It's not, but that doesn't mean it's weak." Tangelo glanced behind her. "I don't know how useful I'll be in this condition. I'll try to spot them for you, but I'm going to have to hang back a bit."

"Please tell me there's a plan this time. We're already at a disadvantage as it is," Chartreuse said.

Tangelo nodded. "I've got something, but it's risky." She glanced behind her again before turning back and moving closer to them. "Here's what I was thinking..."

~~

Sundance moved into position behind a rock outcropping overlooking a ledge. "Are you sure this is going to work?" he asked. He glanced at his weapons loadout again. "One LB 20-X autocannon with cluster rounds, one ATM-6 with short range missiles, and the lasers. This should be good for close combat."

"No, but it's the only plan we've got," Tangelo said, moving swiftly between the trees. She was patrolling the area around their base, trying to spot any hostile Mechs. Either they were waiting in ambush, or they were taking the long way around, because she wasn't finding anything.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Chartreuse glanced around her, still guarding the base. "We need to know all of their locations for this to work. It's a big problem if you can't find any of them."

"I'll find them, don't worry. They're just not here yet." A few moments went by, none of them saying anything. Sundance held his breath, waiting for something to happen. He hated waiting around like this.

Suddenly he heard a beep from the radar, and saw a red dot pop up on it. "There. A Timber Wolf by itself. It's Vermilion," Tangelo said over the comms. "He's heading your way, Sundance."

"You got eyes on Mist yet?" he asked.

"No, he isn't here. They must have split up. Keep an eye out behind you, Chartreuse," Tangelo said.

Sundance ran his tongue over the gap in his teeth apprehensively. "This is it. Our first real battle. Sort of," he thought. "It's just a training exercise, but it's scarier than I had expected."

We'll be fine. Focus on breathing, Solis hummed. They had worked on a system of breathing that got Sundance to feel a bit calmer and focus whenever he felt his anxiety getting out of hoof. It wasn't perfect, but it helped.

Sundance nodded, slowing his breathing and counting each exhale. He certainly needed to stay calm in a situation like this.

One... Two... Three...

"He'll be underneath you in a few seconds, Sundance. Get ready," Tangelo said.

Four... Five... Six...

Sundance wrapped his hooves around the controls, keeping his muscles relaxed to mirror his breathing.

Seven... Eight... Nine...

"Almost there..."

Ten.

"Now!" Tangelo shouted.

Sundance's eyes shot open and he flung the throttle as far forward as it could go, quickly bringing his Hellbringer up to a sprint. "Here we go, Solis!" he shouted in his head as he leapt over the tall ledge, about twenty meters above the ground below. He saw Vermilion's Timber Wolf off slightly to his left, which had just begun to turn around at the noise. Sundance brought the torso of his Mech around to face the heavier Mech and fired everything in midair as the targeting data pulled up on one of his screens.

Half of his lasers hit the left torso, with only the ER Medium lasers missing their mark. All the missiles from the ATM-6 landed on the torso, slightly weakening the Timber Wolf's armor further. This was followed by an LB 20-X shot, which damaged both the left and center torsos.

Sundance winced as the Hellbringer hit the ground, the legs bending at the knees to take up as much of the force form the drop as possible. It felt almost exactly like Sundance had been the one to jump off the ledge, not the Mech. "Ow. I guess different types of damage are supposed to feel different," he thought. He straightened back up and bolted forward, moving to get into cover while he cooled down and reloaded. He heard the Timber Wolf's inordinate amount of missiles whiff past as he ducked behind a tree, but hissed through his teeth as he felt a sharp pain in his left foreleg, right above the elbow.

Moderate damage, left arm. Armor holding, Solis informed.

"Not too bad. He's starting off in worse shape than we are," Sundance thought, glancing at the heat gauge. He took a deep breath and tightened his hooves around the controls. "Let's do this."

Sundance charged out from behind the tree, aiming at where he thought Vermilion was going to be. However, the large Mech had just vanished, and was nowhere to be seen. He glanced around nervously. "Talk to me, Tangelo. Where'd he go?"

"He ran off into the trees somewhere. I'm trying to find him, just hold on," Tangelo replied. "He can't have gone far."

Sundance turned in a slow circle, scanning the forest around him. He thought he could hear the faint sound of footsteps, but he had no way of knowing whose they were, and it was nerve racking.

He glanced at the radar as it beeped, a red dot reappearing off to one side. "There he is. Coming up on your right," Tangelo said. "Alpha Strike him again when he pops out, then get back into cover. You have a chance here."

Sundance glanced at his heat indicator. "Sitting right around 25%. I need to be careful." He turned the torso of his Hellbringer to face the direction indicated on the radar and waited. "Could you give him a few shots in the back after I get into cover, then run away? I'll need time to cool off.

"You got it. He's almost in the open, so get ready."

Sundance narrowed his eyes as the footsteps got louder. Suddenly he saw the Timber Wolf run out into the open, the torso turning to search for his Hellbringer. Sundance aimed straight at the left torso again as Vermilion spotted him and locked on, just a second too slow.

Sundance fired everything again, having enough time to fully aim this time. All of the lasers hit dead on the left torso, while the missiles peppered the entire torso again. He followed up with an autocannon shot directly where the lasers had hit, before getting back behind cover. All of the return shots missed, harmlessly hitting the tree in front of him.

"LT is open. A couple more LBX shots should finish him off," Tangelo called as she hurtled off into the forest at top speed. "I didn't do much damage, but I got his attention. He should be distracted for a moment. I'll go looking for Mist. You've got this, Sundance."

Sundance nodded. "Thanks for the help." He glanced at the heat indicator again. "60% and falling. A few more seconds and we'll be good. You ready, Solis?"

Always ready, she replied, determined to win this fight.

"Then let's go." Sundance ran forward through the trees, ducking in and out of the cover of the trees. Vermilion fired his machine guns and lasers after him, managing to get a few small hits in, but unable to do any significant damage.

Light damage, all torsos. Armor holding. Heat at 30%.

"I need to get in closer. He could chew me up at this range if I'm not careful." Sundance scanned the forest ahead of him, noting a large rock he could use as cover. "There. We'll use that to close the distance. Get ready for some serious stress on your actuators."

Solis beeped, ready for his plan. It was a risk, but it was the only thing Sundance could think of at the moment.

Sundance eyed the rock as it got closer, placing one hoof on the throttle. "Just a little closer..." He slammed the throttle all the way back as he ducked behind the rock, digging the legs of the giant Mech into the dirt. He felt the joints in his legs strain as the actuators in the Mech struggled to keep its weight from flying forward. Once the Mech stopped behind the rock, he spun around and charged back out the same side he came from, and rushed forward towards his unsuspecting opponent.

The Timber Wolf turned it's torso hastily, noticing Sundance hadn't popped up in the spot he had thought. Too slow though, as Sundance fired the ER Large laser and LBX at the left torso, hitting with the laser but only glancing the left arm with the autocannon. He managed to damage the internals of the Timber Wolf, but he didn't destroy the torso, which was bad news since that meant all of its main weapons were intact. He followed up with an ER Medium laser, but that still wasn't enough to destroy the torso, leaving Sundance out in the open for longer than he should have been.

Vermilion fired all forty of his missiles, followed up by successive shots from the two ER Large lasers. All the while, the machine guns were blazing away, dealing low but consistent damage. Sundance sucked in a breath from the pain and ran forward, trying to close the gap between them.

Critical hit, left arm. Moderate damage, center and left torsos. Armor holding.

"Shit, I need to end this quick," Sundance though as he ran closer, firing his remaining medium and small laser. "He has a lot more armor than I do." He turned the torso of his Hellbringer, allowing the right arm and torso to soak up the damage from the medium lasers and machine guns. "Let's see how you like this."

Sundance rotated the torso back around and brought the left arm up as he got within spitting distance of the Timber Wolf, making absolutely certain this next shot wouldn't miss. He likely wouldn't survive if it did. He fired his autocannon directly into the left torso, destroying it and the left arm, along with their attached weapons.

"Nice, that's what we needed." Sundance sprinted past Vermilion, forcing him to pull the Mech around for any return shots. "I think we've got this," he thought, slowing to turn back around.

Don't get cocky, Solis said, concerned. Even in its damaged condition, the Timber Wolf was still a strong Mech.

"Don't worry, he's almost out of it. I've got this." Sundance dug the legs of his Mech into the ground and spun around to face the Timber Wolf, readying his weapons. Instead of being the first one to fire, however, he was immediately met with an Alpha Strike from Vermilion, and he gasped, clutching his left shoulder in excruciating pain.

Internal ammo explosion detected. Left torso destroyed. Weapon destroyed. Damage critical. Solis hummed, sighing mentally. I said 'don't get cocky.'

Sundance shook his head, clearing the pain. He took a deep breath to calm his mounting anxiety. "We still have a chance. He's in the same boat we are, and we've got more weapons left," he thought, glancing at the loadout on his HUD. The only weapons he had lost were the LB 20-X AC and the ER Small laser. It sucked that he lost his main weapon, but Vermilion was worse off.

"If we keep him on our right, he won't be able to hit our weak spot." Sundance pushed the throttle forward again and charged towards Vermilion, closing the distance between them. "Let's do this."

Sundance ran straight at Vermilion, firing the ATM-6 and medium lasers at the Timber Wolf's center torso. While he didn't manage to strip the remaining armor off, there wasn't much left. He suddenly dashed off to his left as Vermilion fired his remaining large laser again, taking most of the damage on the right torso and arm. Sundance raised the right arm of his Hellbringer and fired his own large laser directly at the Timber Wolf's center torso as he ran by, exposing the internals on that sector.

Critical hit, right torso. You need to end this, Solis said. He wasn't going to last much longer in this condition, and another ammo explosion would quickly put an end to his part in this training exercise.

"I'll think of something," Sundance thought, moving behind a tree in time to avoid the missiles that followed after him. An idea popped into his head and he peeked around the tree, ducking back as Vermilion fired at him. "I think I've got an idea, but Cadmium is going to hate me for it. We're not supposed to cause any actual damage to our Mechs."

You already did. The legs, remember? Solis remarked.

Sundance grimaced. "Good point. If he already has to repair one thing, we might as well just go all out." Sundance took a deep breath and ran his tongue over his missing tooth again. "Here we go."

Sundance pushed the throttle forward yet again and rushed out from behind the tree, slowly bringing his Hellbringer up to its top speed of eighty-seven kph. He turned the torso to the left again to absorb the lasers and machine guns in his remaining armor on his right side, before spinning the torso all the way around to the right. Vermilion had exhausted all of his main weapons, and his center torso had more than enough armor remaining to absorb the machine gun fire for another few seconds. "Bingo."

Sundance swung the torso back around and brought the right arm up, level with the Timber Wolf's center torso. He fired his large laser as he swung the fist of his Mech with all of its strength at the center torso of the larger Mech. He heard metal groan and glass crack as the lights in the cockpit flickered off and the Timber Wolf fell backwards, its reactor powering down. It plummeted slowly to the earth, almost in slow motion, and shook the ground with an almighty thud as it landed.

Sundance sighed and leaned back into his seat, breathing heavily. He shook his right hoof, trying to get the pain out of it. Punching a Mech ten tons heavier than your own certainly hurt. "Fuck. I can't believe that worked."

"You got him? Good job," Chartreuse said, more than a little impressed.

"Yeah, but I had to push Solis really hard, and I'm pretty sure Vermilion's Mech is going to need repairs, too," Sundance said, glancing at the Timber Wolf's cracked cockpit and dented armor guiltily. "Cadmium is not going to be happy."

"Hey, it's his job to repair the Mechs, so it's no big deal. Let's just get you back to base for now. How are you holding up?"

Sundance glanced at his armor indicator. "The only armor left is on my legs and rear torsos, I lost my left torso and arm, and my ER Large laser was destroyed in that last attack. I won't be of much use. It's pretty much just you left, Chartreuse." He grimaced. The large laser was probably actually destroyed, or at least severely damaged, and not just as part of the simulation. That was going to be an expensive fix.

"We can still win this," Tangelo said. "Just get back to Chartreuse. You shouldn't be out there alone in your condition." Sundance nodded and turned towards their base, but stopped when Tangelo cut in again. "Wait... hold on, there's something out here. It's Mist! He's coming your way!"

Sundance heard the radar beep as a red dot appeared on it, directly behind him, He spun around in time to see Mist's Summoner step out from behind a tree and turn towards him. Sundance fired his medium lasers, but there wasn't much he could do in this situation. The Summoner's left arm extended forward and fired a rapid volley of shot's from its UAC/20, and Sundance felt an intense pain in the center of his chest. The lights in his cockpit flickered off as the reactor powered off, and he felt the Mech lean forward, out of balance. It plummeted to the ground and slammed into the dirt, the crash echoing through the forest.

"Shit," Sundance thought, shaking his head. The impact of falling had dazed him, but luckily the cockpits were designed to keep the pilot from feeling too much pain from an impact like that. "I guess it's up to Chartreuse and Tangelo, now," he thought, gripping the straps around his shoulders. In his position, he was stuck in his seat staring at the ground, suspended by the shoulder and waist straps attached to the seat. This was going to be an uncomfortable wait.

~~

"Damn it. Sundance's down," Tangelo said, moving to head back to their base. "Mist is heading your way. I'm going to try to find Fern before he gets to you."

"No, stick with the plan. I can handle both of them. Just hurry up and destroy their base."

"Are you sure? His Ice Ferret is fast." Tangelo slowed slightly as she crested a hill and scanned the forest around her. "That Mech doesn't have a lot of weapons, but it doesn't matter against your rear armor."

"I'm positive. I'm not going to make it that easy for them," Chartreuse said.

Tangelo slowed to a halt and turned to face the other direction. "If you say so. We lose if you go down, though."

"Don't worry about me. I'll do my part, so make sure you do yours."

"I will. See you when this is over." Tangelo sped off through the trees, weaving through the thick trunks. She and Chartreuse knew they both had feelings for Sundance, which made their few interactions tense. "I guess we know which one of us matters more to him," she thought, smirking. She shook her head. "No, that was uncalled for. I shouldn't be rude. It's just hard to not be smug when she's such a bitch about everything."

Tangelo leapt over a small stream and continued running as her Piranha's legs slammed into the ground. "I wonder if I could talk to him before dinner. We should have time at this rate, and I think it'd be nice if we started officially dating," she thought, smiling and squirming slightly in her seat. Her heart always felt lighter whenever she thought about him, and she couldn't really imagine going off to war without him. "Does he feel the same way about me?"

Some sort of sixth sense went off in the back of Tangelo's mind, and she glanced up at where she was running. Her eyes went wide as she saw the tree hurtling towards her, and managed to scramble out of the way to avoid slamming face-first into it. She let out a nervous breath. "That was close." Even though Mechs were designed to lessen the force the pilot feels whenever it falls over or hits something, there's nothing her Mech would have been able to do if she had suddenly smashed into a solid object while going almost one hundred kph, and she probably would have died.

Tangelo shook her head and continued forward. "Focus, Tangelo. Training now, sappy stuff later." She glanced at the Nav points at the top of her HUD. She was almost to the enemy base. She wouldn't be able to destroy it that quickly, given her measly loadout of four ER Micro lasers and two micro pulse lasers. Normally a Piranha 3 would have eight ER Micro lasers instead of four, but hers had been modified to hold an ECM, which took the place of the missing weapons.

Tangelo heard the faint sound of gunfire in the distance behind her, assumingly from Mist's Summoner. "I guess he's at out base now. You'd better take care of him fast, Chartreuse," she thought. She glanced at her radar as it beeped, a small red dot appearing on it. She noticed a break in the trees at the same time, and saw Mint standing in front of the enemy base in her Adder, looking the other direction. The dot disappeared a few seconds after she moved out of line of sight, but she had a good enough idea of where to attack from now. The ECM should have kept her from being spotted by Mint, so with any luck, she'd be able to sneak up and start taking apart their base without being immediately noticed. Tangelo tightened her hooves around the controls. "I only get one shot at this. I have to make it count."

~~

The Summoner crashed to the dirt, shaking the ground as it fell on its back. Chartreuse sighed and lowered the arm of her Marauder. Mist had gotten better over the years, but he still wasn't much of a match for her. As brave as taking her head-on was, it wasn't a very smart move, considering their skill gap and her much heavier Mech. She glanced at the screens in her cockpit. "Armor on the left arm is gone and the left torso doesn't have much left, but there's nothing else concerning. 62% heat and falling. Mist almost had me worried there." Chartreuse reached a hoof over and flicked on the thermal imaging view. Now that she didn't have to worry about fighting so much, she just had to focus on making sure Fern didn't get anywhere close. "Almost."

"How are you doing out there? Mist is down, so there's not much to worry about on my end," Chartreuse said over the comms.

"I'm almost done. I can't destroy their base quickly with my weapon loadout, and Mint isn't making it easy for me." Chartreuse could hear weapon fire faintly through the comms. "Just give me a little more time."

Chartreuse sighed and leaned back in her seat. If Tangelo went down before she took out their base, there was no way they'd be able to win. Not with the mission conditions. She frowned as she heard a series of noises behind her. It almost sounded like footsteps, but they were too slow for that, weren't they?

Chartreuse turned her Mech around to investigate, and saw a small Mech inching towards their base. It stopped as Chartreuse turned around, before sprinting behind the rickety building. "Shit, it's Fern!" she said, firing after him. One of the PPCs managed to hit, but she wasn't entirely sure where since she couldn't target him fast enough.

"That's bad. He'll be able to destroy our base much faster than I can destroy theirs. You'll have to slow him down."

"I'm trying, but the bastard's too quick," Chartreuse said, walking around a corner of their base just as Fern disappeared around the other. "I can't catch up to him. What am I supposed to do?" She glanced at her damage indicator as it flashed, the left arm having been shot by Fern.

Critical hit, left arm. ER Particle Cannon destroyed.

"Fuck. How is he that fast?" She turned the torso of her Marauder to the left in time to see Fern slip behind her and run back around the base, firing at it. "There's nothing I can do. He's running circles around me."

"You have to stall him. I'm working- crap, I'm working as fast as I can. It's not simple with something like an Adder chasing me."

"Easier said than done." Chartreuse stepped back and glanced between the far corners of the base, waiting for Fern to pop around one of them. "Come on out, you little bugger."

The Ice Ferret charged around the corner on Chartreuse's left, and scrambled to a halt when it saw her aiming right at it. "Gotcha." She fired her remaining two PPCs at Fern's Mech, connecting with the center torso with both shots. She fired her lasers after it as it turned and ran back around the corner of the base. She hissed under her breath. "How am I supposed to target this thing? I have no idea how much damage I'm dealing. I've hit Fern with three PPC shots and he's still going."

"It takes a while to target a Mech with an ECM mounted. The Ice Ferret has almost as much armor as Sundance's Hellbringer, so it won't be that easy to destroy."

"Seriously? Why does it need that much armor?" She glanced back and forth again, waiting for Fern to come around another corner. It's entirely possible he'd just sit and wait, considering she isn't doing much moving herself. She'd have to move at some point, but what if she went around the wrong side and Fern just charged around behind her again? She groaned when she heard her DI Computer's voice chime in as Fern destroyed the base, almost mocking her.

Friendly base destroyed.

"Damn it!" Chartreuse yelled, throwing the throttle forward. She crashed through the weak wooden structure, collapsing the whole thing and revealing the tiny Mech hiding behind it. The Ice Ferret scrabbled backwards, trying to get away from the much larger Mech. Chartreuse fired her lasers after it, followed by successive shots from her PPCs. This time it was easy to tell where her shots landed, since the Mech stopped running and had to limp away through the forest. Even at a reduced pace though, Fern was moving faster than she could, so she gave up the chase. Chartreuse sighed and leaned back in her seat. "Fern got away, but I destroyed one of his legs. You almost done?"

"Just about. One more shot..." The computer's voice butted in again, a little less annoying this time, considering it was a message she actually wanted to hear.

Enemy base destroyed.

"Nice. Now hurry back. Fern's still quick with only one leg working," Chartreuse said, turning towards their DropShip. It was a pretty far distance away, but she could easily get there before Fern got to his own DropShip.

"I'm on my way. Just give me-" Tangelo cut out suddenly, the comms going to static.

"Hello? Stupid orange pony, are you there?" Chartreuse asked, getting no response. She shrugged. "I guess Mint got her. Oh well, she did her part, and now we're pretty much guaranteed to win." She pushed the throttle forward and headed towards the DropShip icon on her HUD, stepping through the rubble of the collapsed base as she moved through the forest. She raised an eyebrow at the pile of wood, not realizing the entire base had collapsed after she had crashed through it until now. "Oops. I hope we don't get points deducted for that."

~~

Sundance powered down his Hellbringer in the hangar and swung the cockpit open. While the Commanders had been impressed with their unit's performance, Cadmium was not. Commander Charcoal had cleared them of any punishment, saying they hadn't broken any rules. However, that didn't stop Cadmium's resentment. Sundance sighed. At least they were leaving in a few months and he wouldn't have to see the bad-tempered blue unicorn anymore.

Sundance climbed out onto the catwalk, his neurohelmet tucked underneath one hoof. "I wonder what Tangelo wanted to talk to me about?" he wondered, walking down the stairs to the floor below. She had asked him if he had time to talk on the way back from training, and of course he had said yes. Being around her always made him feel happier, as if nothing could possible go wrong. His mind went guiltily to Chartreuse. He still felt bad about rejecting her, but he just didn't feel the same way about her.

He made his way into the locker rooms and opened his locker, before pulling his cadet jacket out and placing his neurohelmet in its place. Bistre was already in the locker room, stripping from his cooling suit in an annoyed way. The Commanders certainly hadn't been impressed with his performance.

Sundance heard the door swing open and turned to see Mist walk through, followed by Vermilion and Fern. Mist waved at Sundance, a wide grin on his face. "Hey, Sundance! Good job out there."

"Thanks," Sundance said, smiling at his friend. "You guys did really goo, too."

"That was really clever back there," Vermilion said, nodding to Sundance. The long scar under his right eye and the missing tip of his matching ear almost made him look like a real MechWarrior, bred for battle. "I remember now that Charcoal mentioned melee attacks, but I had completely forgotten."

Sundance scratched the back of his head. "He did? I actually don't remember that. I just kind of acted out of desperation at the time. Sorry about damaging your Mech."

Vermilion shrugged. "It's no big deal. Cadmium said he'll have it fixed by tomorrow's training session."

Sundance hung his cooling suit up in his locker and shut it, before throwing on his cadet jacket. It was worn thin by this point, but luckily they would get actual uniforms before they left. At least they could die knowing they'd be buried in clothes that actually fit. Assuming freeborn soldiers in their Clan even got burials, of course.

"Well, I'm gonna get going. I'll meet you guys at the mess hall later," Sundance said, walking towards the door.

"You're heading to the mess hall already? Aren't you gonna wait for us?" Mist asked, turning his head towards Sundance as he placed his neurohelmet in his locker.

"No, I've actually, uh... I've got somewhere I need to be. I'll see you later." Sundance turned to leave, feeling his cheeks flush slightly. He had noticed Vermilion raise an eyebrow at him before he left, almost certainly knowing that Sundance wasn't telling the truth. "Mist is such a nice guy, and Vermilion doesn't miss a thing," He thought, smiling to himself. "I'm glad I have great friends like them."

Sundance walked over to the hangar doors and stared out at the forest, the green leaves fluttering in the breeze. "I can't believe we're leaving this place behind in just a few short months. I'll finally be rid of the terrible food and Mist's incessant snoring," he thought nostalgically. "I think I might actually miss this place. Despite what brought all of us here, I made some pretty damn good memories."

Sundance turned as he heard hoofsteps behind him, and turned to see Tangelo walking up behind him. She smiled at him in a way that meant so much more than a simple greeting. "Hey," she said.

Sundance grinned back at her. "Hey. What did you want to talk about?"

Tangelo shrugged and nudged him playfully with her shoulder. "I'll tell you in a bit. I want to show you something first. Come on, it won't take too long." She walked down the path to the mess hall, through the cool evening air and dimming light of the setting sun. Sundance followed off to her left, walking next to her.

The two of them talked while they went, just chatting about whatever things came to mind. It was relaxing, being able to enjoy themselves without the worry of a training exercise or their impending doom hanging over their heads. After a while, Tangelo led the way down a path that branched off of the main one, into a thicker part of the forest, where the trees cast heavy shadows and the air felt noticeably cooler.

Sundance gazed up at the dense canopy above them. "I never knew this part of the forest was here. It's pretty nice out here."

Tangelo nodded solemnly. "Yeah, it is."

Sundance glanced at her. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll tell you when we get there." Tangelo shook her head and her ears twitched. "Anyway, we're almost to the waterfall. The whole area around it pretty."

Sundance looked through the trees, now noticing the faint sound of a waterfall. It didn't sound particularly large, but he didn't think he'd ever seen one of any size, so it would still be cool to see. He glanced back at Tangelo. Normally he would have pressured her more, but she made it sound like she was going to tell him at some point, so he decided to give her the time to collect her thoughts. He'd ask her again later if he had to.

They came to a break in the trees, the dense forestry giving way to open air. Sundance sucked in a breath. Tangelo had said it was pretty, but that wasn't nearly doing it justice.

There was a large meadow in the middle of the forest, split down the middle by a lazy stream that began at a moderately sized waterfall at the far end of the clearing, off to their left. It was outlined by the setting sun, the light casting rainbows as the water crashed onto the rocks below. Cattails lined the stream, swaying in the breeze with the tall grass. The path continued through the meadow, and Sundance saw an old wooden bridge that arced over the stream.

"Wow..." Sundance said, gaping at the scene.

Tangelo smiled at him. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Sundance nodded. "Yeah. I had no idea something like this was so close to camp."

"It's not quite what I wanted to show you, though." Tangelo started walking down the path again. "Come on. As much as I'd love to stand here all day too, we need to get back in time for dinner."

Sundance followed her down the path. The wooden boards of the bridge creaked as they walked over it, but the aged structure still felt solid, as if it had been built only weeks ago. He glanced into the stream, noticing small golden fish swimming in it. "I can't believe this place survives so close to a military camp," he thought.

They continued past the treeline, back into the shadows of the trees. It was quiet here, with only the occasional rustle of a small animal in the undergrowth. They walked in silence for a few minutes, neither of them saying anything for a long while.

Sundance glanced at Tangelo out of the corner of his eye again. "I'm still worried about her. Maybe It's time to ask again," he thought. He steeled his courage and stepped out in front of her, putting a hoof on her shoulder and stopping her. "Something's bothering you. As dense as I am, I've known you long enough to be able to tell when something's wrong. What did you really take me out here to see?"

Tangelo turned her head away and shuffled her hooves. "Well, I originally was going to stop at the bridge. I wanted to ask if you wanted to start dating, but then I got to thinking that I should tell you about something else first." Sundance opened his mouth to say something, but Tangelo lifted a hoof and placed it over his mouth. "Before you give me your answer, though, you need to see what I brought you here for, and listen to what I have to say. Don't say anything, just listen."

Sundance nodded, and Tangelo placed her hoof back on the ground. "Good, because we're finally here." She motioned down the path, towards the biggest tree Sundance had ever seen. Tangelo hadn't lied when she said there was a tree out here as big around as the mess hall. The two of them walked over to it, and Tangelo sat down in one of the hollows created by the tree's massive roots. Sundance followed suit and sat next to her, their bodies separated by only a few inches.

Tangelo breathed in deeply and let out a long sigh. "I know I've told you a bit about my past, but I haven't told you everything." She glanced out deep into the forest. "Despite what I've told you, my foalhood actually started out without any trouble. My parents were happy, I had a baby sister, and life was just good in general. This went on until I was three, or maybe four. Then everything went wrong." Tangelo drew her forelegs around herself and shivered.

"My mother and sister died when somepony broke into our home. My mother was carrying her baby, feeding her dinner, when the intruder crashed in and just... shot them. He murdered a young filly and her mother, in cold blood. There was no provocation." Tangelo sniffed. "My father bashed his skull in, but there was nothing he could do to bring them back. They were gone.

"This drove my father to alcoholism. He met some dumb whore and brought her into my life, calling her my new mother." Tangelo snorted. "As if that cur could have ever replaced my real mother. She corrupted my father worse than the alcohol did, draining his money and what was left of his life dry. She broke his mind and turned him into an unrecognizable mess, a demon. Being the only other pony around, I became the target of any rage or aggression he ever felt like taking out. Being the bitch she was, she decided to join in pretty often."

Tangelo curled her hooves around the edge of her jacket, staring blankly into the trees. Her lower lip was trembling with the effort of not bursting into tears. "I wish I could forget all the things they did to me. You name it, they did it. Cruel insults, punches, slaps, switches, burns, suffocation, drowning, starvation, rape..." Her voice broke and she cleared her throat. "All the shit I've been through, yet I'm still somehow alive." She tapped her shoulder a few times, thinking, before she unzipped her cadet jacket and slowly pulled it off.

Sundance felt a lump forming in his throat. He had never seen her without either her cooling suit or her cadet jacket on, so he hadn't known what was underneath. There were countless matching scars up and down both of her forelegs, telling of years of unimaginable suffering and anguish. There were a few larger ones along her chest as well, their jagged lines defacing her soft orange fur.

Tangelo scratched the scars on one foreleg. "It became the only thing I could do to cope. My knife was the only thing I owned, and I kept it hidden away safely. When the soldiers took us away, the pain receded slightly, but the thought of becoming a soldier terrified me. To slow my training, I injured myself as often as I could to keep myself in the infirmary. I very nearly died once when I 'accidentally' impaled my chest on a branch when I fell from a tree. I remember clearly thinking it wouldn't be so bad if I died."

Tangelo shook her head. "They got tired of me after a few years and just shipped me off here, even though I hadn't finished that part of my training. The first time I ended up in the infirmary here, Cornsilk sat me down, and we had a long talk. It was the first time in years anypony had actually acted like they cared about me at all, and I started going back regularly. Not for injuries, just to chat with Cornsilk about life and stuff. We became close. One day when I was there, a cadet was rushed in with a serious injury, and Cornsilk needed all the help she could get. I helped her save his life, and that was when I realized I knew what I was meant to do, and I earned my cutie mark. It's kind of ironic, going into war wanting to save lives instead of take them," she said, snorting.

Tangelo sighed and turned her head towards Sundance, her watery eyes staring down at the ground. "I know I usually seem calm and carefree, but that's just an act. If you want me, you're also getting the mess that's inside. I understand if you don't want to deal with that. I don't even know if I would, honestly."

Sundance stared at her, unsure of what to say. He had a feeling she had been hiding a part of her past, but all of his friends were, so that wasn't surprising. He just hadn't expected hers to be so dark and heart wrenching. He sat there for a moment in silence, collecting his thoughts. Sundance could empathize to a degree, having watched his own mother being maimed to death, but he couldn't imagine the pain she had experienced afterwards.

Sundance leaned his head down and rested his forehead against Tangelo's. "We all have a past, but that's what makes us who we are. I'm truly sorry you had to go through all that. But you're free from it now, free to live your life." Sundance pulled his head back, and Tangelo lifted her own. He smiled kindly at her. "I do want you. Both the kind, happy pony on the outside," he lifted one hoof to wipe the tears that were forming in her eyes, "and the sad, hurt mare on the inside. Because I love you."

Tangelo smiled and lifted one of her own hooves, placing it over Sundance's "I knew there was another reason I loved you. I know you say you're nothing special, but to me, you're my hero."

They pressed their foreheads together, just enjoying each other's company for the moment. After a while, Tangelo broke the silence, giggling. "It's stupid to ask this, but I'm assuming that was a yes?"

Sundance laughed and opened his eyes to stare into hers. He wasn't sure why or how, but he felt like he knew exactly what he was supposed to do here, as if it was some deep down, hidden instinct. He smiled at her. "Is this enough of an answer?"

Sundance suddenly closed his eyes and pressed his lips to Tangelo's, surprising both her and himself. She froze for a moment, startled, before her own eyes fluttered shut and she melted into him. It just felt so right for both of them, being with the pony that meant more to them than life itself, and time seemed to freeze around them, their feelings locked together for the world to see.

After a moment Tangelo broke the kiss, her face flushed red. She leaned back to stare into Sundance's eyes, beaming at him. "It's more than enough." She leaned forward and rested her head against Sundance's chest, listening to his accelerated heartbeat.

Sundance rested his chin on top of her head, blissfully taking in the moment. He had never imagined happiness like this could come to a pony as ordinary and boring as him, but sitting here now with a mare who made him feel like his life truly had purpose, he had never been happier to be wrong.

~~

Further into the forest, a pony was backing away slowly from the couple. She sighed in a defeated manner, turning away from the scene. "That's all I needed to see," she thought, wiping her eyes with her wings. She frowned to herself. "What makes her so much better than me? What's so special about her that I don't have?" She let out an angry sigh. "'You're my hero, Sundance. Why don't we run off into the sunset and forget about the rest of your stupid friends?' The fucking cunt," the pony said mockingly. She smacked a branch in anger, only to have it spring back and slap stingingly against her face.

"Ow!" She shook her head and moved forward, only to have the branch get caught in her long mane and lock her in place. "Ugh, stupid fucking tree. Stupid fucking nature. I wish it would all just fucking burn down already," she said, tugging at her main angrily, to no avail. "Fucking cunt. Let go of me already, you useless son of a-" the pony cut off as most of her mane suddenly released from the branch, with a few chartreuse-colored strands being left behind. She fell backwards and smacked her head painfully against a rock. The pony gasped in pain and clutched her hooves around the back of her head.

"Oww..." She curled up on the ground, beginning to cry. "Why is this happening? What did I do to deserve any of this?" She tucked her hind legs up into her chest and pushed her head into them, her entire body racking with her sobs as the sun set, leaving the forest black. The remaining dim light from the moons barely carried through to the forest floor, and night fell, bringing more than just darkness with it.

Chapter 10

The cadets walked together down the airstrip, the cold air barely affecting them through their new uniforms. They were fairly simple; dark blue cotton jackets with black accents, black slacks with a single blue line running down each side, black leather boots that clicked sharply on the stone of the one paved area in all of camp, and dark blue berets with a single four pointed silver star in the middle. They had the same star stitched to the left sleeve of their jackets, and Tangelo also had red crosses on her jacket and beret beneath the stars, designating her as a medic.

"Ready to march off to our deaths?" Vermilion said jokingly, nudging Sundance with one shoulder.

Sundance laughed and pushed him back. "As ready as I'll ever be, I guess. It's a hell of a lot easier knowing I'm not alone." He glanced over his shoulder back at the forest, which held the camp that had been his home for the past four years. Four years that felt both long and short at the same time. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I don't want to go. We've made so many memories here, and it actually could have been enjoyable if it weren't for the fact that we were being raised for the sole purpose of fighting a pointless war."

Vermilion nodded. "I get what you mean." He glanced at the DropShips at the far end of the airstrip and sighed. "I wonder how long we'll survive out there."

"Me too. Do you think they're going to just throw us straight into battle, or have us wait around for a while?"

"I'm not sure. I guess that depends on whenever they need extra bodies to throw into the frontlines. I can't imagine they see us freeborns as valuable assets," Vermilion said, shrugging.

"I'm sure they recognize that the few of us left actually have some level of skill," Tangelo said from Sundance's right. "They're letting us keep the Mechs, after all."

"That's a good point." Vermilion sighed again as they neared the DropShips, their bay doors open and awaiting them. "We'll see you guys on the WarShip, I guess," he said to the light and medium Mech pilots, before walking towards the DropShip on the left. Mist and Chartreuse followed him over, walking up the ship's ramp. Bistre led Mint and Fern to the other DropShip, leaving Sundance and Tangelo alone on the airstrip.

Tangelo sighed and turned towards Sundance. "It's finally happening. We really might not be alive one week from now."

Sundance nodded. "Yeah. It's terrifying."

Tangelo pushed herself against Sundance and nestled her head underneath his. "Are we going to be alright? Can we actually survive long enough to be let free?"

Sundance nuzzled her hair and let out a sigh, gazing out into the forest. "I don't know." He really wanted to say something to make Tangelo feel better, but he didn't think there was a single thing he could tell her. Everything he thought of was either a blatant lie she wouldn't believe, or not the slightest bit comforting.

They sat there for a long moment, their bodies pressed together, comforting each other just with their presence. After a while, the engines of the DropShips firing up brought them back to the present. Sundance took a step away from Tangelo and gave her a sad smile. "See you in space?"

Tangelo smiled slightly. "Yeah. See you up there."

Sundance leaned down and gave her a quick kiss, stealing their last moment together on Dike. This was what he knew he was going to miss the most; all the happy and carefree time he got to spend with Tangelo, when it was just the two of them without a care in the world.

Sundance broke the kiss after a moment and smiled at her, before turning towards the DropShip and walking up to it. He stopped at the foot of the ramp, staring up at the massive steel doors that acted as the entrance to the Hell he was sure to be thrown into very soon. He shook his head, his heart catching in his throat. Even now, knowing escape was impossible, he had still dreamed about it constantly. It was an enticing fantasy, but one that he couldn't follow. "I've got no choice. I have to go." He glanced back at the other DropShip. "Besides, I can't let Tangelo go on alone. Wherever she goes, I go."

Sundance turned back to the DropShip in front of him, took a deep breath, and stepped onto the ramp. His boots clicked as he walked up it and through the steel doors, into the dim interior of the DropShip. He blinked as his eyes adjusted, and he looked around to take in his surroundings.

Vermilion's Timber Wolf was directly in front of him, facing out the door he just came through. His own Hellbringer was situated in front of the closed doors to his left, and Chartreuse's Marauder and Mist's Summoner were on the far side of the DropShip, facing the opposite direction. All of their cutie marks had been painted onto their Mechs, right below the insignia of Clan Draconequus on the left torso. Other than Mist's, who for some reason had yet to earn his cutie mark.

Sundance noticed an open door in the wall to his right, and went over to it. When he poked his head through and looked around, he saw what seemed to be a small common area for the crew. There were three square tables with four chairs seated around each of them, a few couches along the walls, and a bar along the wall to his left. The tables and couches all appeared to be bolted to the floor of the ship. Mist and Vermilion were sitting at one of the tables in the middle of the room, and Chartreuse was sitting along on one of the couches.

Mist waved to Sundance as he peeked his head into the room. "Hey, Sundance. We were starting to get worried the ship was gonna leave without you. Come on over, we were just about to get wasted!"

Vermilion smacked Mist in the back of the head. "We're too young to drink, idiot."

Mist yelped and rubbed the lump forming on his head. "Ow. So? The drink cabinets aren't under lock and key. They're just waiting for somepony to take a drink. Nopony's gonna know."

Sundance shook his head and walked over to them. "Tell you what, Mist. If we both manage to survive for another five years, we can get as drunk as you'd like."

Mist grinned at him. "Sounds like a plan."

Sundance pulled out one of the chairs and sat down in it, before glancing at Chartreuse and making eye contact with her. She frowned and turned away to stare at the far wall.

Vermilion leaned in over the table. "She's been in a bad mood for a while now, hasn't she?" he whispered.

Sundance nodded. She had started acting differently about two years ago, but she hadn't really gotten to be as bitter as she was now until just a few months prior. He wasn't really sure why.

"Do you have any idea why, Mist? The two of you are pretty close," Vermilion said quietly.

Mist scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Well, I do know why she's upset, but she asked me not to tell anypony else. Especially not either of you."

Vermilion glanced at Sundance. "It has something to do with him and Tangelo, doesn't it?"

Mist bit his bottom lip and leaned back in his seat. "You really gotta stop doing that. How do you figure everything out like that?"

"I'm not sure. I just notice a lot of things." Vermilion sighed. "Cue the typical brooding, silent pony stereotypes."

"You're not brooding, you're just, um..." Mist scratched the bottom of his chin for a few seconds, thinking, before throwing his hooves up in an exaggerated shrug. "Yeah, I got nothing. Sorry."

Vermilion shook his head. "Anyways, why don't you go talk to her? It shouldn't really be me, and no offense, Sundance, but you're probably one of the last ponies she would want to talk to about this."

Sundance shrugged. "None taken. I totally agree with you on that, actually."

Mist sighed. "I could, but I've already tried a few times. She doesn't seem like she wants to go too far into detail."

"You have to keep trying. Keeping her negative emotions to herself isn't good. Trust me, I know," Vermilion said.

Mist scratched the side of his neck and glanced over at Chartreuse. He sighed again after a moment. "Alright, fine. I'll go see what I can do. Don't blame me if I just make things worse, though," he said, getting up and walking over to her.

Vermilion leaned back in his seat and watched Mist go. He sat down next to Chartreuse and tried to get her attention, but to no avail. Vermilion shook his head and turned to Sundance. "So how are things with you and Tangelo?"

Sundance smiled shyly and rubbed his shoulder. "It's great. I've never felt better in my life than I do now, and she feels the same way. I'm just glad I could make her feel so happy again. She's an amazing pony, and she deserves to feel wanted."

Vermilion nodded. "That's good to hear. If only Chartreuse could feel the same way about it." He glanced over at the grey pegasus again. "Jealousy is a terrible thing. It's going to consume her if somepony isn't there to keep her from holding everything in. That's why I pushed Mist to talk to her."

Sundance sighed. "I still feel bad about rejecting her. I never meant to hurt her, I just thought she could be happier with somepony else." He rubbed his upper foreleg. "Not just her, either. I felt I could be happier with somepony else. That's why I turned her down."

"Don't feel guilty. You shouldn't feel obligated to dedicate your life to pleasing everypony else." Vermilion leaned over and rested a hoof on Sundance's shoulder. "It's your life, and you should be free to do what you want with it. Just don't forget about us, okay? We're still your family," he said, winking.

Sundance nodded and smiled. "Okay."

A siren suddenly went off, making the four of them jump. They heard metal groan as the ramp receded into the DropShip and the door slid shut. An animated, raspy voice sounded through the intercom, echoing jubilantly throughout the ship. "Welcome aboard the Leopard DropShip, 'Tub of Lard.' Lovingly named so because it handles like one. Soon we'll be departing for the Nightlord-class WarShip named 'Celestia's Left Tit.' You don't want to know why that ship got its name. This is going to be a bumpy ascent, so hold on tight to something, or better yet, grab those convenient straps next to you and cinch those bad boys around your waist. You don't want to be standing up when this baby takes off."

The voice chuckled. "Now, I know what you're thinking. 'Obsidian, what do you mean straps? There aren't any on this bloody ship.' Precisely! There used to be, but those trueborn fuckers don't give a blind rat's arse about us and wouldn't pay to replace them when they broke. Luckily we managed to steal some grade-A scotch and those comfy couches from them, though. So, grab your ankles and hope nothing in your fragile body breaks, because-"

The voice suddenly cut off and they heard scuffling and grunting through the speakers. The four of them exchanged confused glances with each other, not quite sure what was going on. This continued for a few seconds as the engines of the DropShip whined louder and louder. After a moment, the speakers went silent, and a different pony cleared his throat. His voice was deep and clear, ringing with authority. "My name is Commander Slate. Don't mind my brother. He was clearly dropped on his head as a colt."

The voice sighed, clearly defeated. "This DropShip is indeed named 'Tub of Lard.' The pilot has a strange sense of humor. However, there is no WarShip anywhere in all of the Clans with a daft name like that. The Nightlord you are about to board is the 'Constellation.' Feel free to hold on to anything that's bolted down. Or don't. The military doesn't care either way."

The four cadets all glanced at each other, confused. That certainly wasn't what they expected to hear when they boarded the ship. "So, should we hold on to something or not?" Mist asked, right before the DropShip shot forward like an arrow from a bow. Sundance and Vermilion's chairs fell over, taking the two ponies with them. Mist and Chartreuse were pressed violently into the soft cushions of the couch, but luckily had nothing hard to slam into. Unlike poor Vermilion and Sundance, who both smacked their heads painfully against the floor, followed by the wall behind them.

After a few moments, when the ship finished accelerating, Sundance and Vermilion stood back up, stretching their battered joints. Mist chuckled. "I guess we know now why the chairs were all on the floor when we got here."

Vermilion nodded and brushed off his jacket. "Yeah." He frowned. "I wonder why they were so open about how they feel about their higher-ups. Are they not worried about the consequences?"

Sundance shrugged and picked his beret up off the ground. "I'm not sure. If so, Clan Draconequus must be in worse shape than we thought." He turned towards the exit of the room and glanced out at their Mechs. He rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head. "I know one thing's for certain, though. Things are going to get a lot more complicated from here on out."

~~

Sundance woke to the racket of a pony bursting into the room, screaming everypony awake. "Get your knackered arses out of bed, freebirths! It's time to go to war, did you hear?"

Sundance shook his head and blinked drearily at the pony that had crashed into the room. It was a stallion with a black coat, a dark grey mane, and black eyes. Obsidian, one of the two brother Commanders. While by far the least strict Commander Sundance had ever met, he had a thing for theatrics. And he was so loud. He yelled all the time, which was probably why his voice was always raspy.

"Into those uniforms, out the door! To the mission briefing room! Are you soldiers, or what?"

"I think I might go with 'or what,' sir," Mist said rubbing his head and rolling back onto his stomach. He had fallen out of bed when the Commander had smashed the door open. "Is it really that urgent, or are you just yelling for the fun of it again?"

Obsidian waved a hoof at Mist. "Of course I'm yelling for the fun of it, brussel sprout. You should have learned that by now. That's be best part about being a Commander."

Mist frowned. "Brussel sprout?"

"Come on, let's go! The girls have been there for ages! You wouldn't want to keep the mares waiting, would you?" Obsidian said, turning to march back out the room. "Step to, lads! Shouldn't your last hours be lively?" After a moment of blissful silence, the black pony's head popped back in through the door. "Oh, before I forget, there are plenty of dark corners around this ship if you have anything you want to do before you die. Don't worry, none of the video cameras actually work," he said, winking before he disappeared again.

Sundance shook his head. "Weird fucking pony," he mumbled, groaning and rolling out of bed. Being a soldier wasn't anything he had expected. From the moment he heard Obsidian's voice on the intercom last week, he had a feeling things were going to get strange, and boy was he right. It almost seemed like the Clan hierarchy meant nothing to the crew of the freeborn WarShip, and the Commanders acted more like mentors and friends than leaders. Or at least they tried to. Sundance shook his head. He wasn't sure what to think of any of it yet, but at least it wasn't bad.

Sundance turned to Vermilion as he pulled his slacks over his hind legs. "I don't think I'll ever get used to this. Why do the Commanders act like that? Commander Charcoal would have a fit if he saw how they acted. They don't even make us call them by their ranks."

Vermilion shrugged. "I don't know, but why question it? If I don't have to suck up to some casket born, I don't care how strange our Commanders are."

"It's probably because everypony on this ship is freeborn," Mist said, walking over to them. He was fiddling with the zipper on his slacks, trying to coax it to move. "We've all been through the same situation. Everypony here woke up on a planet somewhere in Clan Draconequus space one morning, heard gunshots and watched our families get murdered, got thrown into a cart, were raised for war while being told we're inferior and useless, then sent off here to do the dirty work. Ah, finally," Mist said as the zipper moved into place. He grabbed the jacket that was draped over his back and pulled it on. "Nopony here actually cares about this war, not even the Commanders. None of us belong here."

Bistre ran a brown hoof through his golden mane. "Shouldn't there be at least one trueborn on board? They don't trust us with anything else, so why let us to run a million ton space ship?"

Mist shrugged. "I don't know. If there was one here, they stopped caring a long time ago. It's strange that they're just letting us operate on our own like this. The military might be stretched even thinner than I had thought."

"So what does that mean for us?" Fern asked, stamping his hooves into his boots.

"Not much, at least at the moment. For now, pretty much all we get is relaxed higher-ups. Maybe once the Clan finally overexerts its military, they'll give up and set us free, or better yet, we can set ourselves free." Mist shook his head. "Anyway, we shouldn't be talking about this right now. Lets get going. Obsidian made it sound like we're doing more than just mopping floors today. I don't know about you guys, but I don't exactly have a warm, fuzzy feeling in the pit of my stomach."

The five of them walked out of their dark room and into the brightly lit halls of the WarShip. Once sleek and beautiful, this aging ship no longer had the luster it used to have, though it was still taken good care of by its inhabitants. The cadets had had to adjust to a different time system, which was strange to get used to, but not impossible. Normally it just made Sundance feel like he was awake for far too long, and he tended to wake up early as well. Just not on days like today, when somepony decided to jolt all of them awake. Sundance scratched the back of his head. It had been a long week, but nonetheless, he had hoped this time of peace for the cadets would never end.

They made their way to the briefing room, its double doors propped wide open. Inside, Sundance saw Mint, Chartreuse, and Tangelo all seated around the long wooden table. A projector lit up the entirety of the opposite wall, its "no input" signal bouncing around aimlessly. Tangelo waved to Sundance as he walked through the doors, and he went over to sit next to her.

"Hey. Did you sleep well?" she asked, giving him a quick kiss as he sat down.

Sundance rubbed his eyes. "Not in the slightest."

Tangelo gave him an amused look. "Obsidian again?"

He nodded. "That pony has something seriously wrong with his head."

"Well, it could be worse. At least we haven't been treated like livestock." She reached up and straightened Sundance's mane. "And the food is good."

He nodded. "That's true. Despite our Commanders' quirks, it's not actually that bad here. Though, I don't know if I could get used to seeing nothing but steel walls all day. I miss the mountains." He glanced around the bland room around them. There wasn't really much nice about it. Just boring grey walls.

Sundance noticed Mist and Chartreuse sitting together, talking to each other. They had seemed like they had gotten closer over the past week, and Chartreuse had begun to seem like her old self again, though she still acted somewhat strange around Sundance. He smiled to himself. "It's good to see everypony smiling again."

The cadets all glanced at the entrance of the room as their four Commanders walked into the room. It was always easy to tell when they were coming, since half of them were anything but quiet. Obsidian and Slate were nearly yelling at each other, as usual, while Cotton was busy messing with her Noteputer, and Hazelnut had a grim expression on his face. The two brothers continued their argument in the far corner of the room, Obsidian gesturing wildly with his hooves. Sundance couldn't quite tell what they were arguing about. Whatever it was, it sounded bad.

Cotton walked up to the front of the room and placed her Noteputer down on the table, her bouncy white mane flopping over her baby blue eyes. She reached a pale hoof up to brush it out of her face, and tapped a few keys on the device. The projector suddenly flashed and switched to a top-down picture of a field, littered with small sections of sparse forestry and rippling hills. Cotton tapped another button, and the view panned out to include not only the edge of a mountain range, but also a few buildings that looked like the outskirts of a military base, with watchtowers, turrets, and a far-reaching barrier.

Hazelnut cleared his throat and stared at the bickering brothers, his mahogany eyes serious. The two of them quieted down, though they still shot each other the occasional glare. Normally Hazelnut was much lighter hearted than this, which worried Sundance. "So, as you should have already been told, the soldiers of the Constellation have been tasked with a new assignment." He sighed and turned towards the projected image, pointing to the visible buildings at the top of the picture with one of his dirt colored hooves. "These are the outskirts of a production facility under the control of Clan Wolf. It's our mission to destroy it and kill everypony there."

"Are you serious? We're just supposed to run in and shoot anything that moves? Even if they're trying to run or surrender?" Mint asked in disbelief. She scratched the top of her head with her pale hoof, ruffling her red and white mane. "And I thought our Clan couldn't sink any lower."

"Yes, but that's not all." Hazelnut sighed and frowned, the light from the projector accenting his furrowed brow. "This particular facility is on the planet of... Strana Mechty."

The cadets all stared at him in disbelief. Strana was somewhat of a sacred planet to all of the Clans. The Khans met there in the Hall of Khans whenever they needed to discuss something face to face, and while it wasn't under the control of any one Clan, it was the home to a number of military installations and production facilities. Whether they completed or failed this mission, it was suicide for Clan Draconequus.

Vermilion slammed his hooves on the table and shot up, his chair crashing into the wall behind him. "What?! What the hell is our Khan thinking? Invade Strana? Has he gone mad?"

Obsidian shook his head. "It's awful, isn't it?" He ran a hoof along the side of his neck, somber for once. "I say we leave. We should just jump straight into Clan Wolf or Ghost Bear territory and tell them what's going on. They're honorable, unlike this detestable Clan. They'll let us join them, either as soldiers or civilians."

"Is that what you were arguing about when you walked in?" Bistre piped in. "I think it's a great plan. I'd love to be the one to personally put a bullet through our Khan's head. Why wouldn't you agree with something like that, Slate?"

Slate sighed and shook his head, his short, black hair swinging back and forth above his dark grey coat. "I do agree. This Clan is full of corrupt scum who need to be purged. What we didn't agree about was what to do after we fled. I wanted to fight, while Obsidian wanted be cowardly and become a merchant."

"We can't just leave. It's too risky," Cotton said, looking up from her Noteputer. "They'd send another WarShip to intercept us, and they'd blow our DropShips to kingdom come days before we ever made it to any habitable planet."

Hazelnut nodded. "Besides, we can't leave the other freeborn cadets. If we're not here for them when they finish training, who knows what kind of terrible trueborn crew they'll get stuck with? We have to stay."

"Well, it's good to see at least some of you have a shred of loyalty," a steely voice said from the doorway. Sundance turned towards the voice and saw a unicorn standing in the doorway. And shit, was she massive. Her muscles strained against her violet coat and her uniform, which had a five pointed gold star with a black diamond over it stitched onto her uniform, the mark of a Clan Draconequus Captain. Her dark red eyes scanned the room, looking over every pony in it.

"C-Captain Sienna," Obsidian stuttered, backing against the wall. "What are you doing here?"

"Investigating. It had come to my attention that a few ponies here had begun to misbehave." Captain Sienna sighed. "Why couldn't you just accept your orders? The military can't spare any trueborns to run this blasted ship, so I'm indirectly in charge of two vessels. Whenever one of you freebirths act up, I'm the one who suffers, because I have to spend my precious time finding your replacements. It really is a hassle."

Slate narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but just then, an ear-ringingly loud BANG shook the walls of the room. His eyes grew wide and he froze in place, no sound coming out of his agape mouth. He slowly lowered his head to stare at the small hole that had appeared in his chest, leaking blood out onto the floor. "Son of a bitch." Slate collapsed to the ground, sputtering blood out of his mouth.

"No! Slate!" Obsidian shouted, leaping down to lift his brother's head with his hooves. "Stay with me! You can't die!"

Tangelo gasped and rushed over to the fallen Commander, pressing her hooves against the gunshot wound. "Quick, get me something to stop the bleeding with!" she said to Cotton frantically.

"Oh, it's far too late for that," Captain Sienna said, walking slowly towards them with her horn aglow. Her jacket opened slightly and a glowing pistol floated its way out, before pointing itself directly at Tangelo. "These two worthless brothers are going to die, as are you."

Sundance stared at the Captain, gritting his teeth. "I have to do something!" he thought. He willed his muscles to move, to jump up and tear the gun away from her, but they resisted, as stiff as if his veins were full of lead. He clenched his jaw harder, glaring at the back of the unicorn who had just walked past him. "Come on, you worthless pony! Get up and do something! You've always been one to sit by and watch like a coward, but now's not the time for that! MOVE!"

One of Sundance's forelegs twitched, but nothing else happened. It was as if his entire body was stone, completely rigid. He was frozen in place, his terror overwhelming his body. There was nothing he could do. He squeezed his eyes shut, blocking out the scene. "No..."

Suddenly, an object flew through the air and smacked into the gun, nudging the barrel so that the shot went wide and missed. It was a boot, hurled by one of the other cadets in the room. Captain Sienna spun around and glared around the room angrily, looking to punish whoever interfered. Luckily, however, the sound was all Sundance needed to snap out of his terrified trance.

Sundance leapt up out of his seat and jabbed one of his hooves into the unicorn's right eye, hoping to incapacitate her. However, being a trueborn and barely even a pony anymore, this only managed to elicit an angry grunt from the Captain. She grabbed him by the collar and slammed him onto the table, pressing the barrel of the gun underneath his chin. "You fucking little cunt. How many of you useless scum do I have to kill today?"

Sundance squeezed his eyes closed, waiting for the gunshot, followed by whatever afterlife awaited him. "I'm sorry, Tangelo. I guess this is it for me."

He flinched when he heard the gunshot, but was confused when he didn't feel any pain. All he felt was a warm liquid spray against his face. Sundance cracked one eye open and saw blood and brains spattered all over the ceiling, right above where the Captain had been moments ago. The room was infused with the smell of gunpowder, mixed with the warm, ironish scent of blood. The gun was still floating above Sundance's chest, only it was pointing away from him, and it was glowing brown now, not red.

Sundance turned his head and saw Bistre staring blankly at the mess on the walls, his horn glowing. He set the gun down gently on the table and plopped into his seat, trembling. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out, only a nervous breath. He shook his head and rested his forehead on the table.

Cotton rushed over to Slate and placed a med kit down next to Tangelo. "Here, we need to get him patched up."

Slate grabbed Cotton's hoof feebly as she went to open the small box. "Don't bother. I'm already dead," he coughed, a stream of blood running out of his mouth.

"No, I can still save you. The four of us have been together for nearly twenty years. We've survived countless battles and disasters. I'm not about to lose you now, after all we've been through," she said, struggling to open the med kit. Her eyes were tearing up, and her hooves weren't cooperating quite like they should have been.

Slate smiled at her. "It's too late. There's nothing you can do for me." He weakly raised a hoof and placed it against her cheek, wiping the tears from her face. "Don't cry for me. There are worse fates than dying for the ones you love-" he suddenly broke off into a coughing fit, curling up painfully.

"Slate!" Cotton cried, leaning down to try to help him.

He placed a hoof on Cotton's shoulder. "You know what needs to be done. You can't save me, but you can keep all of these young ponies alive," Slate whispered, weakly coughing up more blood. "Go. Do your duty... as their Commander..." His head flopped onto the floor and he let out a sigh, his life leaving his body. His dull black eyes stared out ahead of him, all of the light gone from them.

Cotton let out a sob and rested her forehead on his. She sat there for a moment, allowing herself just a few seconds to grieve, before she stood back up and stared back down at Slate. "Goodbye, old friend." She reached down to shut his eyelids with one hoof, before turning around to face Hazelnut, who had moved to comfort Bistre. Hazelnut nodded to her, and she rushed out the door, taking her Noteputer with her.

Sundance slipped off the table and walked over to Tangelo, stepping over the dead body of the Captain. She was sitting back on her hind legs, her head placed in her bloody hooves. Sundance sat down next to her and puller her close, wrapping his forelegs around her. He didn't say anything, he just let her cry on him, supporting her just by being there.

Vermilion, Mist, and Chartreuse all walked over to them solemnly, eyeing the bloody scene. Obsidian was sprawled over his brother's body, sobbing uncontrollably. They felt truly bad for him, and while they'd only known the late Commander for one week, it was still a hard blow. Slate was an amazing pony, whose strong sense of duty was an inspiration to all of them, even though it got him killed in the end.

Sundance glanced over at his friends, and noticed Chartreuse standing a little funny. When he glanced down, he saw one of her boots was missing. "Chartreuse threw that boot at the Captain? She risked her life to save Tangelo? Why? I thought she hated her," he thought, confused. He opened his mouth to say something to her, but Cotton's voice on the intercom stopped him.

"All essential crew is to head to the bridge immediately to prepare for Jump Zero. Everypony else, head to your designated DropShip and await further orders. Do not leave your DropShip. That is essential for your survival."

Vermilion frowned and turned to Hazelnut. "What's going on?"

Hazelnut sighed. "A trueborn Captain was murdered aboard the Constellation. We'd be very lucky if they let any of us go after that. Our only remaining chance at getting you lot out alive is to jump to to the nearest militarized planet, Strana Mechty in this case, and drop you all off. At least one of the other Clans there should be willing to accept any survivors as bondsmen. You'll not only be alive, but you'll be in an honorable Clan, with the choice to live out a peaceful life."

Mist shook his head. "Wait, wait, wait. You mean, the WarShip is going to jump to Strana and just 'drop us off?' Just like that? How close are we getting to the planet, exactly?"

Hazelnut scratched the back of his head. "About five hundred thousand kilometers from the surface of the planet, I think."

Mist's eyes went wide. "But that's suicide! The WarShip can't survive something like that! Even if the jump isn't miscalculated and we don't crash into a planet or end up fifty years in the future, that much gravity would destroy the ship. They're not meant to get within a hundred million kilometers of a planet at least, let alone five hundred thousand."

"That's what Jump Zero is. It's a suicide mission to save as many lives as possible, while ending only a small hoof full. Everypony on the DropShips can make it to safety, at the expense of the few ponies piloting the WarShip. We've planned for something like this. We don't just sit around on our asses up here, contrary to popular belief," Hazelnut said, smiling ruefully. "We had a feeling it might come to this one day. Let the big boys handle this stuff, and just worry about your own skins."

Hazelnut sighed deeply and gazed at the ceiling. "We've lost Slate today. Cotton won't live to see tomorrow, either. None of us might survive, in fact. If the trueborns on the ship Sienna came from are particularly pissed, they might just follow us and destroy their own WarShip just to end all of our lives. No, I'm almost certain that's what they're going to do."

He lowered his head back to level and looked at the cadets, his eyes ablaze with fury. "Get ready. Once we're on Strana, you'll be fighting for your lives."

Chapter 11

Cotton rested the back of her head against the wall and stared at the ceiling blankly. Deep down, she had always felt this day would come, but that didn't make it any easier to accept. She sighed. "I can't believe it's finally happening. Who knows how many of these poor sods are actually going to make it out alive." Cotton draped a foreleg over her eyes. "Dear Celestia, this is a disaster." She heard the doors to the bridge open as more of the crew filed in. She had expected most of them to bail and hide on a DropShip, so she was surprised every time another pony walked in.

"What will the crew think, seeing their leader cry in the back of the room like this? It doesn't exactly instill confidence," she heard a painfully familiar voice say.

Cotton moved her hoof to see Obsidian standing above her, flanked by Hazelnut. While Obsidian was smiling at her, she could easily tell all he wanted to do was break down in a corner somewhere. As much as losing Slate devastated her, she knew he would be much worse off.

"You know, you almost sound like him when you're not yelling or hoarse," she said, smiling back at Obsidian. "If only we could do something about that personality of yours."

Obsidian let out a small chuckle despite the situation. "You mean my charm? You and Hazelnut would be lost without it."

Cotton shook her head. "I'm sure we would." She glanced at the doors as another pony walked through and headed to their console. "What are you two doing here? You should be on your DropShip. We're about to jump."

"You didn't think we'd leave without saying goodbye, did you?" Obsidian said. He sighed. "It's nice to actually have time for something like this. There's so much I wish I could have said, before..."

Cotton nodded. "I know what you mean." Losing somepony that close to you in the blink of an eye was a horrible feeling. The four of them had been extremely close, and while she had expected Slate's sense of duty to get him killed before any of the others, she hadn't thought it would happen so soon. They weren't romantically attached; Cotton loved each of them equally. Though, she couldn't really call them family either, considering they'd each fucked her at least half a dozen times in their twenty-two years of living. She scratched the back of her head. "Probably not the best thing to remember your friends by," she thought awkwardly.

"Are you sure you're up for this? Obsidian or I could take your place if you want," Hazelnut said, glancing at the distant trueborn WarShip through the glass windows of the bridge. They probably would have begun to get suspicious with their Captain being silent for so long.

Cotton shook her head and pushed herself to her hooves. "If the others here saw me back out, they'd start to have their own doubts, too. Besides, my place is on the bridge, not the battlefield. It's my duty to go down with the Constellation. I'm ready, trust me."

Obsidian smiled sadly. "I guess we can't change your mind, then." He pulled her in for a hug, Hazelnut joining in soon after. "You always were as stubborn as a mule."

Cotton giggled softly but didn't say anything. As much as she wanted to sit there and talk with them for hours, she also felt like there wasn't much to be said. Just the final moments they were spending together was enough to convey each of their feelings, and the three of them stood there silently, embraced tightly.

After a long moment they untangled themselves and took a step back, sad but determined. "Good luck down there. Kick in a few cockpits for me," Cotton said.

Hazelnut nodded. "You got it. These casket born are going to get a nasty surprise when their DropShips land. We're not as weak as they think we are."

"Commander Cotton? The calculations for the jump are complete," a blue pegasus said, walking up to Cotton with a tablet in one hoof.

Cotton nodded to the pegasus and turned back to her friends. "I guess I'll see you guys again at some point in the future. Just try not to join me too soon, alright?"

Obsidian smiled sadly at her. "Some day. Tell Slate I love him, yeah? He probably already knew that, but I kind of regret never saying it out loud."

Cotton nodded. "Of course." Obsidian and Hazelnut gave her a quick last hug before walking out of the bridge, heading to their respective DropShips. Cotton took a deep breath and turned back to the pegasus, readying herself for the coming jump. "Good. Are they correct?"

The pegasus sighed. "I'm honestly not sure, Commander. The calculations were rushed, increasing the chance of a misjump, but I don't think that's our biggest problem. A WarShip isn't meant to jump that deep into a planet's gravitational field. Even if the Constellation isn't outright destroyed, we still might die before we can release the DropShips."

She walked over to a console and docked the tablet she was carrying, displaying a map of the system, nicknamed The Stars of the Protector. Strana was outlined and labeled, and there was a small red dot between the planet and the center of the system. "I tried to place us between Strana and it's star. I'm hoping the two opposing gravitational fields will cancel out enough to keep everypony alive." The pegasus shook her head. "It's risky, Commander. Are you sure we should go through with this?"

"You don't have to call me 'Commander.' I've told you this plenty of times," Cotton said, walking over to her. She sighed. "I don't like those odds, but it's our only option of survival." She walked over to the head of the bridge and looked out over the other ponies in the large room. It wasn't as full as it should have been for a complicated jump like this; over half the consoles had nopony seated behind them. That was all they needed though, so it would have to do.

Cotton cleared her throat. "Listen up. I know it's sudden to start Jump Zero like this, but we don't have any other choice." She closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "Slate is dead. He was murdered by Captain Sienna, who was in turn killed by a group of young soldiers." This elicited gasps from across the bridge. "That ship out there," she said nodding towards the other WarShip, "is not going to be happy when they find out a bunch of freeborns killed their Captain. We either make this jump now and hope for the survival of the rest of the ponies on board, or we sit here and wait for our deaths."

The bridge was silent. Nopony spoke for a long time, all of them too shocked to react. It was a lot to take in for them. Slate had been the one commanding the ship for over two years, so most of the ponies who worked on the bridge knew him well. Cotton sighed internally. "I guess this is the part where Slate would give a rallying speech. Too bad I'm nothing like him," she thought wryly. "I have to say something, though."

"I know it's hard to take in, but as the crew of this vessel, we're obligated to keep the other soldiers alive, no matter what. We may have lost our commander, but that doesn't mean we can neglect our duties. If we go down, we'll do it standing up to those trueborn motherfuckers, not sniveling like a wounded dog. Any questions? Good," Cotton said, without waiting for an answer. "Sorry guys, but that's about as good of a speech as I can give." She turned back to the blue pegasus. "Get those calculations into the KF drive, quickly. And try to cut down on the jump time if you can. We're going to alert that other ship as soon as the jump procedure starts, and they're going to start firing at us once they've figured out what's going on."

"Aff," the pegasus said, saluting hastily before rushing back over to her own console.

Cotton walked over to the large swiveling chair at the head of the bridge. She stopped in front of it and ran a hoof along one of the armrests, hesitating. "Slate's seat," she thought. "Is this all a mistake? Am I leading hundreds of ponies to painful deaths?"

Cotton shook her head. "It's too late to worry about that now. Either we die here, or we die at Strana. It doesn't matter where, so we might as well make a stand." Cotton pulled herself onto the seat and leaned back in it, placing her rear hooves on the railing in front of her like Slate would always do.

"Are you watching, Slate? You always feared it would come to this." Cotton glanced at the other WarShip as the KF field enveloped the Constellation, putting a light haze around the ship. With any luck, they'd be on their way to Strana before suffering any severe damage. She furrowed her brow, turning back to face forward. "You won't have died in vain. Once the DropShips make it onto Strana and alert the other Clans to the treachery of our own, this war will be over, and we can rest in peace."

~~

Hazelnut sat down in his seat and leaned back, thinking about the other ship he had seen from the bridge. "The Windigo," he thought. "A McKenna class WarShip with enough armor and weapons to take on the Constellation twice and live to tell about it, named after the evil spirits on Terra. And it's chock-full of angry trueborn soldiers who would just as soon put a bullet through each of our skulls as even glance in our direction."

With less than a minute left before the ship leapt into hyperspace, it was surprising that the other WarShip hadn't yet begun firing at them. Were they that disorganized without their Captain? Or had they just not considered the option that anything could go wrong, so nopony had bothered to check up on the situation? If that were the case, it could be possible for them to be halfway to Strana before the crew of the Windigo even noticed they were gone.

"Hazelnut? Shouldn't you be in your cooling suit? We'll be on Strana in a couple of hours," he heard a voice behind him say. He turned to see a bright green pony ease themselves into the pilot's seat of the DropShip.

Hazelnut shook his head. "I'll change into it before we land. Somepony has to tell whoever's close to where we're landing on Strana that we're not hostile, but the ones following us are. I figured Obsidian shouldn't be the one to do it, making me the only Star Commander left for the job."

The pilot nodded. "Good point."

Thirty seconds until jump.

They sat there in silence, gripping their seats tightly. Obsidian would have been on his own DropShip by now, probably taking the time to properly mourn his brother in private. They had loaded Slate's body onto the Tub of Lard, and had hoped to be able to bury him on Strana. Hazelnut smiled sadly to himself. "No better place to be buried than Strana Mechty, especially for a pony like him."

Akin to an ancestral home passed down through a family for generations, Strana was an important place for the Clans. It was the first planet the six original Clans had fled to, battered and bruised from their first war with the Inner System. Since this would give every Clan a claim to ownership of the planet, the Khans decided it should instead be declared neutral territory, becoming home to many wartime production facilities. Most of the new Clans took their names from wildlife on Strana, much like the original Clans did with creatures from Terra.

Hazelnut frowned. If their Khan had decided to attack Strana, there had to be a reason. It was ritual suicide to launch an invasion on a place so sacred to all the Clans, so why do it? He scratched his chin, a dark theory coming to mind. "Our Khan knows deep down the war is lost, so I suppose his twisted mind doesn't care about how soon it happens. He only wants to inflict as much damage as possible before the Clan falls.

"What if... what if the Khans from other Clans are meeting on Strana during our scheduled attack? We weren't the only ship involved in the plan, and the other ships were supposed to destroy sites controlled by other Clans. We were the only ones set to attack a Clan Wolf installation. If their Khan is there, that would explain why we were given explicit instructions to kill everypony on site. Were we really supposed to murder the Khans of other Clans? Of all the dishonorable things..." Hazelnut shook his head. It made sense. He couldn't think of any other reason their Khan would attack Strana like this. There was nothing else to gain from such a thing.

Twenty seconds until jump.

The green pony glanced over at Hazelnut. "Hey, do you really think that other ship is going to follow us?"

Hazelnut nodded. "I'm sure of it. If my theory about the attack we had planned was correct, they'll do anything in their power to keep us from making it to Strana. Once they figure out we've left, of course. If they haven't started firing at us yet, they must not have noticed we're about to jump. I can imagine the looks on their faces when they realize we're lightyears away, along with their Captain. They'll probably figure out the smartest place for us to head is Strana, and they'll be hot on our tails as soon as they come up with the equations for the jump."

Ten seconds until jump.

"That's concerning, but comforting at the same time." The pilot faced forwards again and clutched the edges of his seat tighter.

"Well, I guess none of that matters if we don't even survive the jump. I sure hope those calculations are correct," Hazelnut said, shifting nervously in his seat. The other pony shot him a terrified look, but said nothing. Not that Hazelnut could have heard him over the ship's robotic voice counting down, anyway.

Five seconds until jump.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

Initiating jump.

Hazelnut felt a familiar twisting in his stomach as the ship entered hyperspace. The low odds of an error during a standard jump never bothered him, but in a situation like this, he'd have to be insane to not be afraid. Well, insane or Obsidian. Not that there was much of a difference.

The seconds ticked by, the nauseating effects of the jump beginning to bear down on Hazelnut. "Normally it isn't this bad. Is it the effect of a misjump, or is it just my mind?" he worried, gritting his teeth. His mind had started to feel like it was wading through a pool of water, which quickly changed to mud. He could barely think straight anymore. "No, this is definitely not supposed to happen. Something's going wrong. Is it a misjump? Is it the effect of Strana's gravity?" Hazelnut blinked his heavy eyes a few times, black tendrils creeping in around the edges of his vision. "This is bad. Celestia protect us..." he thought as he slipped from consciousness.

Hazelnut blinked his eyes open groggily. He could feel somepony trying to shake him awake and calling his name. "I'm alive, get yer hooves off me," he said, his words slurring together. He raised a hoof slowly to fend off the green shape that was standing in front of him. The fact that they were still alive after a jump like that was surprising to him, though maybe not entirely unexpected.

Hazelnut shook his head, clearing his head slightly. He managed to focus his eyes on the world around him, and saw the pilot of the DropShip standing in front of him, his worried expression outlined by the flashing red lights visible through the glass of the cockpit. He could hear the Constellation's voice repeating itself over and over in a tone of voice he'd hoped he would never have to hear.

Hull damage catastrophic. Evacuate immediately. Hull damage catastrophic. Evacuate immediately...

He rubbed his eyes. "Do you know what's going on?"

The pony shook his head. "No word yet from the bridge. The jump just finished, so they're probably still recovering and reorganizing."

Hazelnut slid out of his seat onto unsteady hooves and glanced out at the red lights. "Hopefully they're okay in there. We can't leave the ship unless they undock us."

The pilot nodded. Being stuck in a nonfunctioning ship with another, larger WarShip following was not a good situation to be in. Just then, the ship's harrowing voice cut to static, and to Hazelnut's relief, Cotton's voice came in through the comms on the DropShip.

"Bridge to DropShip pilots. What's your status?"

The green pony walked over to the console and held down a button. "All good here." He was quickly echoed by two more pilots, followed by a third, less convincing voice.

"Good. We're going to undock you now. We're above pretty much the middle of nowhere on Strana, but there's a big Clan Ghost Bear facility not to far from your drop point. Head there, and make sure you mention at some point you're not hostile. If the Windigo isn't destroyed when it follows us, we'll try to draw their fire and distract them long enough for you to land. Good luck, soldiers. We'll see you on the other side some day," Cotton said, followed by an ominous creaking sound from the ship.

"Aff, Commander. It's been an honor," the pilot said, before releasing the button and sitting down in his seat. "I guess this is it, huh? We die here, or we go on to live the peaceful lives we should have had in the first place."

Hazelnut sighed. "Yeah. Although, I was actually thinking about fighting against Clan Draconequus if we survive this. I know it's what Slate would do, and I wouldn't want to disappoint him."

The WarShip let out an ungodly groan, weakly detaching the DropShips from itself. It barely seemed functional anymore, and Hazelnut would be surprised if it could even still move. Strana would surely be taking it's toll on the hull, which wasn't designed to handle any sort of gravitational load. The DropShip let out a long beep as it slid out of the Constellation and into open space.

Hazelnut saw another DropShip exit in front of them, this one much larger and designed to hold many more soldiers. Unlike the Tub of Lard and his own ship, which were Leopard classes and were well suited for regular transport missions, the ship in front of his was a Lion class DropShip, usually only used in combat. It could carry over two times the number of Mechs, as well as a large amount of infantry. However, the Lion class ships were more like giant drop pods with powerful thrusters than actual ships, which would make it impossible for them to fly straight to the Clan Ghost Bear facility. They would have to make their stand wherever they landed, and pray that Clan Ghost Bear would send help.

Hazelnut shook his head again and turned to head out of the cockpit. The nausea of the jump had begun to wear off, and he felt steady enough to walk around again. "I'm going to change into my cooling suit. Let me know when we get within comms range of the facility," he said, walking through the door at the back of the room.

"Aff," the pilot said, turning the ship to follow the Lion in front of them.

The door hissed shut behind Hazelnut, and he walked down the cramped hallway to one of the closets, which usually contained the cooling suits and neurohelmets of the other MechWarriors on board. His was the only one left in the small space, with the others having been replaced by uniforms, and he pulled it out and headed to the restroom. He didn't particularly enjoy changing in the confined passageways of the ship, and avoided it whenever possible.

Hazelnut shut the door of the restroom behind him and quickly stripped from his uniform, not taking his usual care to keep it at least somewhat neatly folded. He couldn't see himself ever wearing it again after today, so he didn't see a point in keeping it looking nice. He dropped his uniform in the trash can and reached for his cooling suit, which was draped over the sink, but stopped when he saw his reflection.

From this angle, Hazelnut could clearly see the jagged scar on his flank, just in front of his knife-shaped cutie mark. Cotton had given him that a few years ago when they were very drunk, on their way to pick up another group of cadets. In her delirious state, she thought it would be cool if it looked like his cutie mark hat cut him. She had chased him all around the ship, not stopping until she had accomplished what she had set out to do, which ended up being quite painful for him. Looking back on it, it was actually a fond memory of his, though it was quite terrifying at the time.

Hazelnut smiled sadly to himself. That wasn't the half craziest thing he and Cotton had gotten into on this ship, especially while drinking. The usually mellow pony turned into somepony else entirely when she was drunk, and he swore she had almost gotten them killed on multiple occasions. She was the closest friend he'd ever had, and he was going to miss her.

Hazelnut sighed and pulled his cooling suit onto his body. "I can't think about that now. The others are counting on me and Obsidian to see them through this, and we can't let them down." He grabbed his neurohelmet and left the small restroom, before heading down the hall back to the cockpit.

The pilot looked back as Hazelnut entered the room. "There you are. I was starting to get worried." He pressed a few buttons, putting the ship into autopilot, and walked over to stare out one of the glass panes of the cockpit. "Come take a look at this. It's a miracle we survived that jump."

Hazelnut placed his neurohelmet on his seat and walked over to peer through the window, looking for what the other pony was talking about. He sucked in a breath. The Constellation was just barely visible from where he stood, or rather, what was left of the Constellation. Almost the entire top half of the ship was collapsed in, with bits of the ship floating off into space. The glass of the cockpit was cracked, though luckily it wasn't leaking air, otherwise the crew inside would have died before they could have released the DropShips. The rest of the ship seemed unharmed though, so with any luck some of the weapons were still functional.

"Damn. I can't believe we're still alive," Hazelnut said, blinking at the mangled ship.

"Me neither." The pilot walked back over to his seat and tapped one of the screens. "I think we're about in comms range of the facility. They shouldn't have any trouble hearing us from here, especially if we can use one of those satellites," he said, pointing to a few objects floating in the distance.

Hazelnut walked back over to his seat and sat down, placing his neurohelmet on the floor beneath him. "Good. Hopefully they'll actually listen to us." He grabbed his headset off of its stand and placed it on, flicking the microphone down in front of his mouth before clearing his throat. "Here goes nothing," he thought, tapping a few buttons on his console. A light flickered on just above it, indicating the ship was now broadcasting. Hazelnut took a deep breath, ready to speak into his microphone, but stopped when he heard a gravelly voice through his headset.

"This is Star Colonel Cobalt Dash of Clan Ghost Bear, Silveroot Keshik. State your business on Strana Mechty before we blow you out of the atmosphere, Draconequus scum."

Hazelnut froze, his mouth open slightly. "The Silveroot Keshik? That's the personal military unit of Ghost Bear's saKhan, the second in command of their Clan. If they're here, the Khans must really be meeting on Strana. It looks like my theory was correct," he thought. Somehow that didn't make him feel any better. "Um, this is Star Commander Hazelnut of Clan Draconequus, 84th Freeborn Unit. We defected after we were given orders to attack the Clan Wolf base on Strana in one week's time, and Strana was the closest militarized planet to our last location. We were hoping to find help here. We're not hostile."

The comms were silent for a moment, and Hazelnut bit his lip anxiously. "This really isn't as flawless of a plan as I'd like to have," he thought. "Our survival rides almost entirely on whether or not we can get help here."

After a few more seconds, Colonel Dash spoke up again. "And how can I trust you? Your Clan is known for nothing other than your bloodthirsty and deceptive nature. How can you prove what you say is true? Show me proof, and I may consider aiding you and your soldiers."

Just then, the DropShip beeped, alerting them to another ship emerging from hyperspace. Hazelnut glanced at his console, which showed the location and mass of the ship. "Two million tons. Shit, that's definitely the Windigo," he thought, running over to the glass of the cockpit. He glanced out and saw the massive ship floating not too far from the Constellation. While damaged, the Windigo still seemed to be in working condition, and would likely be operational in just a few minutes. The Constellation began firing at the other ship with its remaining weapons, hoping to draw their attention.

"Is that proof enough?" Hazelnut said, walking back over to his seat. "We killed their Captain after they murdered one of our Commanders, so they're probably more than a little pissed off."

The comms were silent again, this time for much longer. Hazelnut began to worry he wasn't going to get a response, until a new voice cut in, this one sounding like it belonged to a much older pony. "Forgive me for interfering, Colonel, but I believe it is our duty to help them in this situation. They risked their lives to come here and warn us of their Clan's treachery. If not for them, Our Kahns would have been murdered in this planned attack, and we owe them for warning us. Don't sully your Clan's honor by being shrewd."

Hazelnut heard a click, presumably from the Colonel exiting the comm channel. He heard the other voice sigh. "Sorry to barge in on your conversation, but I couldn't sit by and watch your unit be destroyed after what you did for us. Ah, and forgive me for not introducing myself sooner. I am Galaxy Commander Peregrine of Clan Wolf, Red Keshik. DropShips are preparing to leave for your drop location, ETA three hours. We're not nearly as close as Clan Ghost Bear is, which is why I wanted to convince Colonel Dash to head to your location, but I guess we'll work with what we've got. Don't die before we get there. I'd like to thank you properly."

"Understood. Thank you, Sir," Hazelnut said, slumping back into his seat. He pressed a button on his console and took his headset off.

"Kind of ironic that the ones chasing us helped us find help," the pilot said, chuckling lightly.

Hazelnut nodded. "Now we just have to survive long enough for that help to get to us." He stood up from his seat and walked back over to the edge of the cockpit to watch the fight going on overhead. The crew of the Windigo seemed to have come to their senses, and were turning the ship to bring their weapons to bear on the Constellation. After a brief delay, their numerous weapons began firing, slamming into the other ship's already weakened hull.

"We're entering the mesosphere. If the Constellation can hold them off for just another couple of minutes, we'll be safe from their weapons," the pilot said, turning his head to look down at the planet. A light red haze had begun to envelop the DropShips as they broke through the atmosphere, and they began shaking violently.

"I really should be sitting down for this," Hazelnut thought, digging his hooves into the floor as the ship rapidly decelerated. He could no longer see the fight going on, but he could imagine the severe damage the Constellation would have taken by now. Especially in its state, it was no match for its much larger and more heavily armed opponent.

As the ship began to stop decelerating and the haze around it disappeared, Hazelnut looked back out the window at the distant WarShips. The Constellation wasn't even firing back anymore, it was just tanking the hits. "Is the crew dead, or are their weapons destroyed?" he thought, frowning. "Or, maybe now that their mission is complete, they don't see a point in fighting back anymore."

The Windigo fired a final salvo from its autocannons, punching through the Constellation's depleted armor. The large shells tore into the hull and decimated the internals of the ship. The ammunition on the Constellation exploded, shredding it to pieces and flinging scraps of metal out into space. Having defeated their opponent, the Windigo began launching its own dropships, which headed straight for Strana.

Hazelnut shut his eyes and turned his head away, fighting back tears. "No, not now. There will be time to mourn later. These ponies need a Commander, and you'll have to be a damn fine one to pull them through this mess," he thought, walking slowly back over to his seat.

"They did their job. We made it into the atmosphere, and now we have a chance at survival. This is all thanks to them," the pilot said, bowing his head for a moment. He turned back to face forward and adjusted their course, following the Lion DropShips that were falling below them.

Hazelnut reached down to grab his neurohelmet. "Goodbye, friend. May you and every other pony on board have a swift passage to the afterlife." He flipped the helmet around to stare at his reflection. His brown eyes stared straight back at him, a complicated mixture of emotions clouding them. "Because of your sacrifice, our Khan will answer for his crimes, and we can finally put an end to this accursed war. Thank you."

The End of the Beginning

Sundance stepped out of the DropShip and glanced around at the open field they had landed in. It was a tundra in the northern part of Strana, probably about half a day's travel from the mountains by Mech. The rocky ground had patches of moss-like grass here and there, and was mostly flat. He could see large grey buildings in the far distance, presumably the Clan Ghost Bear facility. It would probably take a few hours to get there by Mech, but an aerodyne DropShip like the Leopard could probably make the trip in just over an hour.

"Um... Not a lot of cover out here. Is this really the best place to hold?" Chartreuse asked as she scanned the barren ground around them.

"We don't have a choice. This is as far north as the Lions could alter their drop paths, so we have to hold here. We've got about an hour before those Mercers hit the ground. The Ghost Bears weren't very open to helping us, so we can't run to them for help," Hazelnut said over the comms.

"You're telling me those DropShips heading towards us are all Mercers? They can each hold a full binary Mechs, and there are six of them! We can't fight off sixty mechs on our own! How are we supposed to survive without help?" Mist asked, glancing worryingly up at the massive spheres rapidly descending towards the atmosphere.

Hazelnut clicked his tongue. "Ah, I didn't say nopony was going to help us, just not the Ghost Bears. Clan Wolf is sending dropships to our location. They'll get here a little under an hour after the Mercers, so we just have to survive on our own for that long."

Mist sighed and dropped his head into his hooves. He took a deep breath then sat back up, leaning into his seat. "Alright, fuck it. Do we have a plan?"

"Our DropShips should deter them from landing too close, though they'll likely try to land within range to provide some assistance to their Mechs while they fight. I was thinking we could try to use our Lions as cover since it's pretty empty out here. The scout Mechs can all hang around behind the DropShips and attack when the enemy starts to get closer. We only need to delay them, not kill them, so that makes it a little easier."

"That's it? That's our plan?" Mist said.

Hazelnut sighed. "Slate was the one who was always in charge of this stuff. That's the best I could come up with, so we're gonna have to stick with it."

The massive bay doors of the Lion DropShips opened slowly, revealing the Mechs and infantry that were inside. Sundance saw quite a few large Mechs step out, shaking the ground with their weight. "And I guess nopony's told you yet, but despite being a freeborn unit, we've got quite a few strong Mechs. This mission shouldn't be too impossible, assuming everything goes to plan," Hazelnut said, stepping out of one of the DropShips in his Mech. Since there wasn't room on the Leopard DropShips for their own Mechs, the commanders had to keep them on the Lions. It didn't matter too much in a situation like this where they had plenty of time, but it could be annoying at other times.

"Damn. I take back what I said. We might actually survive long enough," Mist said, surprised.

Sundance glanced over the Mechs that had stepped off the DropShips. He couldn't recognize all of them, but if he had to guess, there were two lights, six mediums, eight heavies, and four assaults, excluding the ones from the Leopard DropShips. Hazelnut and Obsidian walked over to Sundance and his friends, both in very large Mechs. Obsidian's Mech seemed to be a Summoner, like Mist's, but something was a bit different about how it looked. It looked newer in a way.

"Wow, a Blood Asp and a Grand Summoner." Mist stared at the two Mechs, practically salivating. Sundance had never heard of either of those two, but considering the names, he assumed the Grand Summoner was the one that looked like Mist's Mech, and the Blood Asp was the one with two massive guns on top of it.

"Yep. Being the terribly important assets to our Clan that we are, we get only the very best equipment," Obsidian said jokingly. "Wait, no, actually we aren't, and we don't. We took these as salvage a while back because we were issued ancient Mechs that could barely move, like yours. No offense."

Mist shrugged. "I don't disagree. I love this Mech, but it shows it's age sometimes. It could really use some work."

Sundance turned to Mist as the two commanders walked away to do their best to boost the morale of the other soldiers. "So how exactly will we know which Mechs to shoot at? Every Mech on the battlefield is going to have Clan Draconequus's symbol painted on them."

"It's shouldn't be too hard to tell. While all of our Mechs are painted in the standard forest camo, theirs should be painted in our Clan's colors. If you see a Mech that looks more like a foal's school art project than a war machine, shoot it. Simple, right?"

Sundance nodded. "I guess so."

"Is that who I think it is?" Sundance heard a voice over the comms exclaim. He turned to see a large Mech sauntering over to them, a bright pink swirl painted on it as the pony's cutie mark. He recognized the Mech as a Gargoyle, another one of the aging Mechs from the same era as his own.

"Carmine? You're still alive?" Mist said, turning to face the larger Mech.

"Surprisingly, yeah. I certainly never expected to see any of you again. That's mostly thanks to Chalk, though. He's been doing most of the keeping me alive," Carmine said jokingly, a curious edge to her voice. She rotated the torso of her Gargoyle around to look at another, much larger Mech, which was walking slowly towards them. There were quite a few short white lines drawn on it near the cockpit, which Sundance was pretty sure signified the number of kills the pilot had. This pilot had more than either of the commanders, meaning they must be a very dangerous MechWarrior.

Sundance glanced at one of his screens, which showed the Mech was an Executioner in configuration E, a ninety-five ton assault Mech with a nasty weapons loadout. He thought he recognized the bomb shaped cutie mark painted on it as belonging to Bittersweet, but brushed it off as too much of a coincidence. However, his hopes quickly fell when he heard the other pony speak up.

"It's not my fault you can't defend yourself. If you weren't so careless you wouldn't need saving all the time," Bittersweet said, frowning at her.

Carmine shrugged. "You'd have nothing to do if I wasn't constantly in danger. Besides, I'm pretty sure half of those kills of yours are indirectly because of me."

Bittersweet sighed. "I'm gonna die trying to save your ass one of these days, and I won't be happy about it." He turned to Sundance and looked his Mech over equivocally, scratching under his neurohelmet with one hoof. "Can't say I ever thought I'd see you again. I was surprised when they put you on the Constellation, and not in a good way."

Sundance shifted in his seat nervously. He had actually kind of been hoping that Bittersweet would be dead by now. After everything the green pony put him through, he wasn't exactly happy to be standing in front of his tormentor again. He wasn't really sure what to say, either. This wasn't a situation he had thought he would ever be in.

Luckily for Sundance, Vermilion moved his Timber Wolf in between the two of them before he could react. "Leave him alone, Bittersweet."

Bittersweet raised his hooves. "I wasn't gonna touch him. I'm not an idiot, you know. Even somepony like him can do at least something in a Mech like that before dying, and we need all the help we can get here." He turned to go, but stopped for a moment. He rotated the torso of his Executioner back around to glance at Sundance. "I heard you were one of the ones to off Sienna. That took guts, even if it was just a fluke." He nodded to Sundance before walking over to another group of heavies and the other assault. Carmine waved to the group and followed Bittersweet over to the other Mechs, frowning slightly to herself.

"Is it just me, or did he compliment Sundance? I'm not going crazy, right? He actually said that?" Mist asked, glancing between his friends.

"You are going crazy, but that doesn't have anything to do with Bittersweet," Chartreuse said, poking fun at him. She walked over to them and sighed. "This all feels like it's going too fast. Everything was normal this morning, but it's not even lunch time yet and we're suddenly about to fight for our lives."

Sundance nodded. Everything had went downhill rapidly after the Captain walked into the briefing room. He had been prepared to fight Mechs in a war, not kill a pony face to face, almost die during a risky jump through hyperspace, and finally have to fight for survival in an open field while waiting for backup. His anxiety had been at an all time high the entire day, and it certainly wasn't getting any better.

Breathe, Sundance. Calm down before you panic again, Solis said. She hadn't even been aware that anything was going on until Sundance powered up the Hellbringer half an hour ago. It definitely seemed like a dire situation to her, and a panic attack right now certainly wouldn't do him any good. They both needed to keep calm for the coming battle.

Sundance nodded again and took deep breaths, calming himself and thinking through the past few hours. Even though it had been an incredibly stressful morning, he wasn't sure he would have preferred it to have happened much differently. Attacking another Clan on Strana would have been awful, and he wasn't entirely sure he could have gone through with it. He hated that Slate and Cotton had had to die for it, but it didn't hurt quite as much when he though of their deaths as sacrifices, rather than unfortunate casualties of war.

"Speaking of which, I wonder if the other WarShip is still alive. From what Mist said, the gravity should be taking its toll on it by now," he thought, glancing out of his cockpit up at the sky to try and find the ship. However, he felt his heart miss a beat when he realized it was nowhere to be seen. All he could see was the wreck of the Constellation.

"Mist? What happened to the other WarShip?" he asked, confused. It couldn't possibly have jumped again or moved away from the planet that fast. He didn't know that much about WarShips, but he knew the KF drives couldn't do subsequent jumps because they had to recharge, which took days normally.

"Shit, they're not there? They're just gone?" Mist asked, slumping back into his seat. He rested his chin on one hoof. "Hmm... They might have jumped, probably to some point out of the star's gravitational field."

Sundance scratched the back of his head. "How? I thought the KF drives had to recharge before being used again. Doesn't that take a really long time?"

Mist nodded. "They do, but there is a way to jump twice. The Constellation should have been able to as well. It uses a Lithium-Fusion battery, which basically acts as a second charge for the KF drive. They must have had a functioning one on board. I'd imagine the one on the Constellation wasn't functional, considering we're here instead of somewhere in deep space.

"Anyway, jumping from a point with high gravity is almost as dangerous as jumping to a point with high gravity. There's a lot less room for error, making a misjump much less likely, but the ship is still going to suffer pretty severe damage. With any luck, it'll be enough to destroy the ship." Mist glanced back up at the DropShips, which had just entered the mesosphere and looked more like meteors than ships. "Not that it's important to us right now. We don't have long until they're on us."

Sundance sighed and leaned back into his seat. The other Mechs had begun to move into their positions, preparing for the fight. "Damn. Even after all that they still might survive."

The four of them walked over to stand beside one of the Lion DropShips, lined up by weight with Chartreuse in the front. Since she had the most armor, she could take any stray hits from the Mercers as they landed. The other assaults and heavies lined up in a similar fashion, and even a few of the larger mediums were in formation. The lights and more fragile mediums were hunkered behind the large DropShips, waiting for their opportunity to join the fight. All of the infantry were still onboard the ships, similarly waiting until they could be of use. After a few minutes of silence, Hazelnut spoke up on the comms.

"Alright, soldiers. This is it. We hold them off here while we wait for reinforcements. Our Lions are equipped with anti-missile systems, so don't stray too far until the enemy gets closer. Try to stay behind the DropShips until then. You don't need to take any excess damage, and we only need to survive until the Clan Wolf forces arrive. Does everypony know their role?" Hazelnut said, walking to his place in the formation between the two Lions. "Yes? Good. Save your ammo for the Mechs when they step out. Don't bother firing at the DropShips. From the distance they're landing at, they can't do too much anyway."

Sundance glanced behind the other DropShips at Tangelo's Mech. They weren't likely to see each other in battle too much, considering their hugely different roles. "I hope she'll be okay. I don't know what I'll do if she doesn't make it through this."

Sundance watched as the Mercers broke through the atmosphere and plummeted towards the ground. They were huge, bigger then the Lion he was hiding partially behind. They certainly looked intimidating as the massive engines began firing, slowing their decent. He ran his tongue over his missing tooth nervously.

The Mercers slowed almost to a halt as they neared the dirt. Now that they were more or less level with the Mechs on the ground, the enemy ships began firing their PPCs at them. At extreme ranges like this they weren't hugely accurate or powerful, and most of the shots hit the Lions, dealing negligible amounts of damage to the sturdy machines.

The ground shook as the six DropShips touched down, just a few seconds apart. If Sundance had to guess, they were a little over a kilometer and a half away. As long as everypony stuck to the plan and didn't move too far forward, the DropShips wouldn't be much of a threat to them.

The doors slowly opened one after another, and Mechs began spilling out of the giant ships. Even though he knew they had the advantage with the enemy having to come to them, Sundance couldn't help but feel fear at the sight of so many Mechs charging towards them.

Sundance took a deep breath and placed his hooves nervously on the controls. "Here we go. Ready to hopefully not die?" he thought, glancing at the advancing Mechs. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest like a jackhammer, and he could barely keep his hooves from shaking.

Of course. Let's give them hell, Solis said. While she was at least a little scared, she was also excited at the prospect of finally participating in a real battle. Maybe it was a little barbaric, but as a training Mech, she had always wanted to fight on a battlefield and destroy enemy Mechs. Now she just had to live through it.

"Assaults and heavies, now's our time. Once we've got their attention, we'll need the slower mediums to support us and keep their lights away from our rear armor. Our lights and faster mediums should circle around and shoot at the assaults and heavies from the rear. Infantry, do your best to help after the lights have entered the fight. Stick together and call your targets. With that many enemies, we really have to focus just a few Mechs at a time if we're going to survive. Everypony ready?" Hazelnut asked, stepping forward from the cover of the DropShips. "Good. Now charge!" He ran forward towards the enemy Mechs, a group of heavies following close behind. The rest of the assaults and heavies followed his lead, dispersing out into the battlefield and firing at the enemy.

Sundance glanced wildly around the battlefield as he followed his friends into it, trying to keep his fear under control. Even though he had known this was going to be terrifying, it was still more than he had expected to have to handle. "There's so many of them," he said, starting to lose hope. Could they really hold off two whole Clusters of Mechs on their own long enough for Clan Wolf to get there?

"Let's not worry about their numbers. Sitting here isn't going to do much good. Let's just focus on one thing at a time," Vermilion said, firing his missiles at a distant Mech.

Mist nodded. "If the four of us stick together and focus one Mech at a time, we should be good. Me and Sundance can run in and shoot them from up close, while you and Chartreuse get them from a bit further back. We can make it through this, just stick to the plan." He glanced around the battlefield, assessing possible targets for a moment. "There, an Ebon Jaguar to the right, cut off from the rest of them. You guys ready?"

"I guess so," Sundance said. He glanced at his loadout. "Slug ammo on the LBX and medium range missiles in the ATM. That's about as good as I'm gonna get in an open field like this," he thought, taking a few more deep breaths.

"Let's go, then." Mist charged forward in his Summoner and sprinted towards the smaller Mech, who had its back facing him. "Turn around and face us, you motherfucker!" he shouted, firing his SRMs and small laser at the Ebon Jaguar. The Mech turned around, looking for who had dared to shoot it in the back, only to be met by a volley of shots from Mist's UAC/20 across the center and left torsos. After a moment, the Mech oriented itself and brought its weapons to bear on Mist's Summoner, backing away from the larger Mech.

Sundance ran his tongue over his missing tooth again as the Ebon Jaguar's targeting data pulled up on one of his screens. "Moderate damage to the torsos, but the CT has the worst of it. I guess that's where we're gonna aim," he thought, pushing the throttle forwards. He fired his large and medium lasers at the Mech as it turned its torso to follow Mist, not really dealing any significant damage, but managing to grab its attention. He waited for the torso of the enemy Mech to turn around to face him, and instead of just a few autocannon shots this time, a volley of energy weapons and missiles smacked directly into the Mech, fired from Vermilion and Chartreuse. That was enough firepower to almost completely strip the armor from the Mech's torsos, and Sundance followed up with a slug from his own autocannon, which punched straight through the weakened armor and opened a hole in the Mech's center torso.

"This is going strangely well," Sundance thought, firing his missiles at the weakened Mech. "I guess having two massive DropShips close enough to use their short range weapons helps a lot." As if on cue, one of the Lions fired what seemed to be half a Star's worth of lasers at the Ebon Jaguar, dealing more than enough damage to destroy the Mech and kill the pilot inside.

"Damn. I guess that's one for the DropShips," Mist said jokingly.

Sundance nodded. "Is it just me, or is this a lot easier than it should be?"

"They've underestimated us. They had the advantage until they split apart like that." Vermilion shook his head and glanced around the battlefield. "Their lighter Mechs didn't wait for the assaults and larger heavies, so we don't have much opposition yet. The problem comes when their main force get here."

"They really made a huge mistake there," Chartreuse said, firing at a light Mech as it ran by. Sundance saw one of the tiny Mech's arms get destroyed, but it managed to sprint away before taking any more damage. "We might actually survive this."

Just then, an ungodly roar split the air as a hail of bullets flew through the air and smashed directly into Chartreuse's Marauder, exploding on the thick armor plates. The shots just kept coming, and Chartreuse let out a cry of annoyance. "Fuck! What's going on? I can't see a god damn thing!"

"It's a Bane on the far ridge. Those things mount a ton of UAC/2s," Mist said, turning to look at a far away assault Mech. "It's not within effective range of any of our weapons. We need to get deeper into the fighting if we want to avoid it. Hurry!"

The four of them rushed further into the battle where they were safe from the Bane, but became subject to fire from more enemies. Sundance flinched as he felt a burning pain in his left shoulder. He turned and saw a small Mech dart past him before moving behind another allied Mech to pester them instead.

"How are you holding up, Chartreuse?" Vermilion asked, firing his lasers at the back of a medium Mech. It turned to face him, only to get shot in the back and killed by what Sundance thought were the massive guns on top of Hazelnut's Blood Asp.

"Not too good. That Mech really fucked me up back there." Chartreuse turned as a light Mech tried to flank around behind her, but Sundance warded it off with a shot from his autocannon, blowing off a side torso and the attached arm. She sighed. "The entire front of my Mech is pretty beat up. This is a shitty situation to be in."

Sundance watched the small Mech run off, trailing smoke behind it. His mind went to Tangelo, who very well could be in a similar situation, or dead already. Light Mechs were quite fragile, as he had just seen. Sundance shook his head. He was distracting himself by worrying about something he couldn't control again. He would just have to make sure he survived this battle, and hope she was able to do the same.

"I hate these small bastards. They're so hard to hit." Mist turned in a circle as a light Mech ran around him, peppering him with lasers. He let out an exasperated noise and stepped forward, tripping the Mech as it ran in front of him. "Aha! Not so slippery now, are you?" He shouted, turning to face his fallen opponent. He walked forward and brought one of the legs of his Summoner down on it, pinning its torso to the ground. He pushed his full weight onto that leg, crushing the small Mech and the pilot inside. Glass shattered outwards as the cockpit was flattened, and Sundance saw blood spray out. He shuddered, his mind going back to the previous events of the morning.

Chartreuse shook her head and fired at a heavy Mech who was engaged with one of their mediums. "Holy shit, Mist. That's kind of brutal."

Mist shrugged and turned to fire at the Mech Chartreuse was shooting. "War is war. We have to do whatever it takes to survive."

The battle continued, slowly getting fiercer as the heavier enemy mechs trickled into the fray. While it had been manageable before, Sundance was pretty sure most of the enemy heavies were there by now, and he thought he even saw a few assaults running around. Most of the enemy lights and mediums were dead, and the ones that weren't were backing off to play a more supportive role. There was only one friendly casualty as far as he could tell, but that was likely to get much worse very soon.

"Shit's starting to get hard now. How many of them do you think are still up?" Chartreuse asked as she destroyed an enemy Hellbringer. They still focused enemy Mechs as a group whenever possible, minimizing the damage they took while maximizing the damage they dealt.

"I'd say we've killed about a quarter of their forces, but going by firepower instead of numbers, I don't know if we've made much of a dent. All we did was destroy a bunch of lights, mediums, and two or three of the faster heavies. This fight is far from over." He glanced around, looking for a new target. "Clan Phoenix Hawk to the right. Let's do this."

Sundance and Mist rushed towards the Phoenix Hawk, which had noticed them and turned its torso towards them, firing its twin autocannons. The pilot wasn't sure who to shoot at first, but they quickly settled on Sundance. He grunted as he felt the large shells slam into his Mech's side torsos, but he kept running forward to get within effective range of his own weapons.

"Now!" Mist shouted. He and Sundance both fired their autocannons at the assault Mech's center torso, then split apart to allow Chartreuse and Vermilion to attack with their own weapons. However, the pilot managed to see through their attack and fired the Mech's Jump Jets, carrying them out of the way of the follow-up shots. The Phoenix Hawk landed after a couple of seconds and turned to face Mist, who was running past him off to the left. It leapt forward and swung with one of its weaponless arms, connecting with the slightly lighter Mech and sending it tumbling to the ground.

"Over here, you big bastard!" Sundance shouted, firing his lasers and autocannon at the rear of the Mech. The LBX slug punched straight through the softened armor and satisfyingly blew the entire torso apart. The large Mech toppled to the ground, exploding in a massive fireball out the open chassis.

Mist pushed his Mech to its feet and groaned, rubbing his head. "Good shot. That was almost really bad."

"How'd he die so fast? You killed him with one salvo," Chartreuse said, walking over towards them.

"Ammunition explosion, I think. It happened to me during one of our training exercises a few months back," Sundance replied, glancing at the fallen enemy. "You alright, Mist?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Armor's still holding up pretty well." Mist turned to look out at the battlefield, which they had managed to stray towards the edge of again. "We shouldn't be all the way out here. I can't imagine the others are faring to well. We need to go help them."

Sundance nodded and turned to follow him back into the thickest part of the fighting. He spotted a couple more friendly Mechs lying in pieces, which was concerning. While their own Mechs had been fighting for a while now and were all damaged to some degree, the enemy still had fresh Mechs pouring in, and they were getting heavier and stronger with each wave.

Sundance spotted a medium Mech circling behind one of the friendly heavies, and pulled up its targeting data. "There, a Huntsman on the left. Let's take it out," he said, sprinting to get within range of his autocannon. He fired as soon as he had a clear shot, hissing as the slug nearly missed the Mech. He managed to connect the shot with one of the Huntsman's arms, and it began turning towards him. Chartreuse hit it with a volley from her PPCs as the front of the Mech became visible and punched a hole through its center torso. A small fireball shot out of the hole and the Mech fell backwards, destroyed.

"Nice call. You shouldn't be that far out on your own, though. Head back over towards us," Mist said, firing at a passing heavy Mech.

Sundance nodded and turned back towards his friends. He hadn't realized he had ran so far away from them. He took a step forward, but stopped when movement off to his left caught his eye. There was a large group of enemy Mechs charging across the battlefield, heading straight for them. "Shit. Guys?" He started moving forward to head to their position, but flinched back when he felt a sharp pain in the center of his chest. He clasped a hoof over it and let out a gasp.

Moderate damage, center torso. Gauss Rifle fired from that group of Mechs, I think, Solis said. Things had suddenly taken a bad turn, and she wasn't entirely sure they could survive a fight against the five Mechs that were charging towards them.

Suddenly, one of the DropShips shifted its attention towards the enemy Star of Mechs and began firing at them, managing to heavily damage one of the heavies with its lasers. "Still looking out for us, I see," Sundance thought, glancing back gratefully at the ship before turning to face the enemy. He pushed forwards again, running to the aid of his friends who had already begun engaging the group.

"Nice of you to join us. Care to help out?" Chartreuse said as Sundance got closer, blasting an arm off of one of the Mechs with her PPCs. Being outnumbered as they were, they couldn't focus one Mech at a time anymore. If it weren't for the DropShip covering their asses he would have already given up hope.

"Sorry. I know I shouldn't have run off so far." Sundance winced as he felt lasers rake across his Mech and turned to face his new opponent. Similarly to the Grand Summoner and Mist's Mech, this one looked like a newer version of his own. He pulled up the Mech's targeting data, which simply named it 'Hel,' a sixty-five ton Mech just like the original Hellbringer, only with a more dangerous weapon loadout. Two Gauss Rifles, two ER Large lasers, and a Streak SRM-4. "Shit, this is bad," he thought.

Sundance fired his autocannon at the Hel's right torso, rocking the enemy Mech at just the right time to throw off the return shots from its two Gauss Rifles. Sundance felt a small stinging pain in his left foreleg as of the massive slugs glanced off the edge of his Hellbringer's arm, while the other missed entirely. He followed up with his lasers and missiles, before turning his torso to absorb the return missiles and laser shots in one of his arms.

Moderate damage, right arm. Light damage, right torso.

Sundance turned back towards the enemy Mech, hoping to get another shot into its left torso. However, the Hel's reload was a split second faster than his own, and it fired both of its Gauss Rifles directly at his center torso. Sundance recoiled, the pain not unlike getting hit with a sledgehammer. He let out an agonized cough and gripped the controls tighter.

Critical hit, center torso. The others can't help right now. You have to be careful, Solis said, worried. She was concerned for Sundance's safety, of course, but she would die too if the Hellbringer was destroyed.

"I know, I'm trying. I don't know what I can do in this situation," Sundance thought, feeling the fear rise in his throat. He turned the torso again to take the return missiles in the left arm, before turning back to fire his autocannon and lasers. Some of the lasers missed the target, but the LBX slug managed to connect with the left torso. He glanced at the targeting screen. "This isn't good. They've still got a lot of armor left, and our CT is open."

The Hel fired its lasers again, and Sundance winced as he felt a burning sensation in his left foreleg. This was followed by the most intense pain he thought he'd ever felt as the Mech fired is Gauss Rifles at the same spot. Sundance doubled over in his seat and stifled a yell, clutching his left foreleg to his chest.

Arm destroyed. Weapon destroyed. You have to do something. You're not going to last much longer, Solis said, rising as close to panicking as she had ever been. While she had always wanted to fight in a battle and destroy enemy Mechs, it had never occurred to her that she might be the one to get destroyed.

"I can't do anything. What am I supposed to be able to do here? They have every advantage in a one on one fight," Sundance cried out, fighting back tears from the pain. He gingerly placed his hooves back on the controls and turned to face the enemy Mech. He fired his large laser and missiles again, only to be met by another salvo from the Hel's weapons. Sundance clutched a hoof to his right shoulder and threw his head back, screaming in agony.

Right torso destroyed. Weapon destroyed. Damage critical. Solis began beeping sporadically in what Sundance assumed was full blown panic, but he wasn't able to understand most of what she was saying.

Sundance glanced at the weapons loadout screen. "Just an ER Small laser left. So this is what happens when a skilled pilot fights somepony like me," he thought hopelessly. The pain from his damaged Mech was almost unbearable at this point, and Sundance gritted his teeth, tears streaming down his face. "This is such a fucking stupid 'gift' to have. What's the point of it if all it does is distract me?" The Hel wandered into his view, it's torso turned to face him. Sundance's reflexes shouted at him to do something, but deep down he knew he couldn't lift a hoof to save himself. He had never been much use on his own, and even in a life or death situation, he couldn't protect himself. Sundance tightened his hooves around his aching body and stared out at the enemy Mech, waiting for it to finish him off. "I'm sorry, Tangelo."

Suddenly a bright light flashed around the Hel and he saw a few small shapes dart around past the bottom of his cockpit. The back of the enemy Mech exploded in a giant fireball as it tumbled to the ground. "What the..?"

"Need some help?" he heard a wonderfully familiar voice say over the comms.

"Tangelo, you're alive!" Sundance breathed as she stepped into view, her Piranha looking like it was barely damaged. Solis let out what he thought was a terrified sigh of relief.

"Yep! We've been charging around the battlefield causing all sorts of hell for the enemy heavies and assaults. It's hard to hit what you can't see," she said, turning to help the others with their own fights. Sundance saw two more lights and a couple of mediums follow behind her, one of them being Fern in his Ice Ferret. Between all their Mechs and the DropShip assisting them, the enemy Star of Mechs was quickly dealt with, and the group took a moment to rest and catch their breath. The pain in Sundance's body had begun to fade, though he still felt a sharp twinge whenever he moved too suddenly.

Sundance glanced at his friends. Vermilion seemed to be the better off of the four of them, with seemingly minimal damage. Mist's Summoner had definitely seen better days, but as far as Sundance could tell, his armor was still holding. Chartreuse, however, was not in such great condition. Almost all of the armor plating on the torso of her Marauder had been stripped off, and her left arm was lying in a heap on the ground. At least they were all still alive.

Tangelo walked back over to Sundance and let out a nervous sigh. "I'm glad we got here when we did. Another second later and you would have... well, thankfully you're still with us."

He nodded. "I almost gave up there. Thanks for saving my ass."

"Hey, it's what I'm here for," Tangelo said, winking at him.

Sundance grinned at her, feeling lucky in more ways than one at that moment. Even on the battlefield, in the middle of all this death and destruction, she still managed to warm his heart and melt all of his fears away. Tangelo really was an amazing pony.

"Shit, it's that Bane again!" Mist shouted, a hint of fear in his voice. Sundance's head snapped around towards the enemy Mech just as the barrage of shells ripped through the air and tore into Tangelo's Piranha. He turned back towards the small Mech and felt his stomach drop as he saw the armor shred itself, pieces of metal flying off in every direction from the force of the explosions. The cockpit shattered from the shells pummeling it, eventually giving way and allowing some to pass through. The Mech crumpled to the ground, almost in slow motion as Sundance realized what had just happened.

"NOOO!" Sundance shouted, shooting forward out of his seat to stare at the fallen Mech. His mouth hung open as he stood there, and while he could hear the sounds of weapon fire and ponies talking on the comms, all his stunned mind could process was the fact that Tangelo's Mech was lying in a smoking heap in front of him. He flung the cockpit open and grabbed frantically at the chain at the back of the cramped space.

Wait, Sundance, you can't exit in the middle of a battle! You'll get killed! Solis said in as close to a yell as she could manage. He didn't listen to her, however, and he yanked on the chain as hard as he could. Being as stubborn as ever, it refused to budge.

"Come on, you piece of shit!" He shouted, planting his rear hooves against his seat and pulling with all of his strength. "Come out before I-" Sundance cut off as the handle suddenly released from the chain, snapping the old grip in half. He was flung backwards and over the edge of the cockpit, before being sent out into the open air. He felt the wind whip past him as he plummeted towards the ground. He turned his head just in time to avoid a broken neck as he smashed into the frozen dirt, and he felt the wind being knocked from him and the sharp SNAP of bones as he landed.

The neurohelmet was flung from Sundance's head by the force of the impact. He lied there for a moment, gasping for breath. "Fuck..." He coughed a few times and pushed himself shakily to his hooves, wincing at the pain in his chest and right foreleg. He hobbled over towards Tangelo's Piranha, his broken limb held limply against his chest. "Please be okay. For the love of Celestia, please, please don't be dead," he begged as he neared the hunk of metal.

Sundance pulled his battered body on top of the Mech and towards the cockpit. His hopes quickly fell as he saw the blood splattered on the inside of the cockpit that stained the glass red. "No..." He pounded on the glass with his good hoof, trying to see inside through the cracked glass and ichor. "Tangelo? Tangelo!" He reached in frantically through one of the holes in the cockpit and unlatched it, cutting his foreleg on the sharp edges of the glass. It swung open slowly, and Sundance felt his stomach churn dangerously at the gory mess inside. If he had eaten breakfast that morning, he probably would've vomited on the spot.

Blood was spattered all over the cockpit, giving off a sickly warm scent. There were four massive holes in Tangelo's torso, and what looked like her intestines were leaking out of a couple. Sundance was pretty sure that was her stomach lying on the floor. A few of the rounds had grazed across her legs, but one must have hit bone because her left hind leg had been severed just below the hip. He could see a hoof wedged tightly underneath the seat where it shouldn't have been.

Sundance gaped at the terrible scene, unable to move. He was shaking so badly he felt he might topple right off the Mech. "This... this can't be happening," he thought, his jaw quivering. "She was fine. Ten seconds ago she was just fine. W-we were going to make it through this and everything was okay, but now..."

Tangelo's head moved slightly and she let out a low groan. Sundance gasped and catapulted himself into the cockpit, not caring about the blood and guts he landed in. "Tangelo!" he cried, carefully removing her neurohelmet with his left hoof.

Tangelo blinked weakly at him, her eyes struggling to focus. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly. "Hey, Sundance. Sorry you had to see me like this," she said softly. She coughed painfully, blood beginning to trickle from her mouth. Her breaths were shallow and crackled like paper.

Sundance placed his uninjured hoof behind Tangelo's head, gently supporting it. "Why did this have to happen? We were doing so good. We were gonna make it out alive." His voice cracked, but he didn't particularly care at the moment. He could feel the burning heat from the tears building up in his eyes, and the lump forming in his throat was threatening to choke him to death.

Tangelo let out a coughing laugh. "That's war, I guess. It doesn't care who you are or how happy you are or how hard you try. It'll take your life just the same." She wheezed, struggling to form words around the blood pooling in her lungs. "It's cruel, but... it's not so bad to die in the company of the one you love."

Sundance cupped her head with his hooves delicately as she coughed again, much weaker this time. He gritted his teeth at the pain in his right foreleg, but pushed through it. "Please, you can't die! There's so much we haven't gotten to talk about or do yet," he whined, tears beginning to flow down his cheeks.

Tangelo smiled sadly, her own eyes beginning to water. "I wish I had a choice. Look at me, Sundance. It would take more than a miracle to keep me alive. Life isn't some story where everything turns out alright in the end." Her voice had almost quieted to a whisper at this point, and Sundance had to strain his ears to hear her over the sounds of weapon fire. "You have to move on. You have friends... who still need you."

Sundance rested his forehead against Tangelo's and squeezed his eyes shut. "But I need you."

Tangelo raised a hoof weakly and ran it through Sundance's ruffled mane. "And I need you. But this is how it is." She sighed quietly and coughed up more blood. "I don't want to go. I want to grow old with you and have your foals," she said, smiling slightly. "But that won't happen now. This is the end for me. But you... are still alive. You have to keep going."

Tangelo raised her head feebly. "You're such a kind stallion. You made me feel wanted... even after you knew how broken I was. Never let... that part of you change. You're such a blessing... to this cold universe." She locked her lips with Sundance's one last time, pouring the last of her love and emotions into him. The tears began slowly rolling down her face, not for herself, but for everything she was putting Sundance through now. For all the pain he was feeling, the one pony who ever made her feel truly special. The pony who completed her. The pony she loved.

"All things considered... It really wasn't such a bad life..." Tangelo thought as her mind went dark. She let out a sigh as the light left her body, sad, but content. Undeniably, it had been a fulfilling last few years.

Sundance broke the kiss as he felt the foreleg wrapped around him relax and flop lifelessly to Tangelo's side. He stared at her peaceful face, her eyes cracked open ever so slightly, her lips wet with her crimson blood, her mane aglow from the light of Strana's star spilling into the cockpit and blanketing her entire body.

Sundance clenched his trembling jaw shut and dropped his head down on Tangelo's body, his hooves gripping her tightly. His shoulders shook violently as he began to sob, his tears flowing freely now. "I'm sorry," he whimpered in between shaky breaths. "I'm so so sorry." He leaned back and cried out his lament to the world, cradling the body of his one true love. He cried, cried until his throat was ragged, cried until his tears ran dry, cried until he had nothing left to give.

~~

Chartreuse gasped and glanced back at Tangelo's Piranha as it fell. She gritted her teeth and turned back towards the enemy mech, looking to trade a life for a life. The Bane shifted it's attention towards Sundance's Hellbringer just as the cockpit swung open, and Chartreuse stepped forward, firing her remaining ER PPCs at the massive Mech's center torso. While it still was quite a ways away, it had wandered into the effective range of some of their weapons. "No you don't!" she shouted, drawing its focus. Its targeting data pulled up on one of her screens. "Ten UAC/2s on a one hundred ton Mech!? What the fuck?"

Chartreuse recoiled back into her seat as the Bane began firing at her again, but the onslaught didn't last more than a few seconds as the friendly mediums and remaining lights rushed at the assault Mech. Fern ran at the head of the group, shouting something unintelligible as he fired his own PPC at it. The Bane oriented itself and pedaled backwards, trying to get away from the oncoming swarm of Mechs. It fired its autocannons at the medium at the back of the charging group, though it was taking considerably more damage than it could give with the help of Chartreuse and Vermillion.

Chartreuse began to think they had this fight won as the small Mechs closed the gap and got within spitting distance of the Bane, but that hope rapidly changed to despair as another large Mech, which she recognized as a Warhawk, came out of seemingly nowhere. It swung one of its massive legs at Fern's Ice Ferret and knocked it to the ground before stomping down on its cockpit. Fern screamed in fear, which was quickly cut off when the large Mech's foot smashed through the glass and crushed the torso of the small Mech. This was followed up by four ER PPC shots that slammed into one of the light Mechs charging towards it, making short work of the thinly-armored machine.

The Bane finished off the medium Mech it was shooting at, and their remaining light Mech ran off to avoid the same fate. However, this fleeing was short lived as the small Mech ran straight into a barrage of autocannon slugs fired from another enemy assault Mech as it crested the ridge. "It's over," Chartreuse thought hopelessly as she watched the four small Mechs get swatted like flies. She gripped the controls of her Mech tightly, her body beginning to shake. "We failed, and now we're all going to die to these fucking casket born."

Suddenly a voice Chartreuse didn't recognize came in over the comms. It was gruff, and sounded like it belonged to a very old pony. "Mind if we drop in?"

Chartreuse glanced up at the sky as a group of blue dots pinged on her radar. She saw six DropShips barreling towards them, a red wolf head in front of a red five-pointed star painted on each of them. They looked a lot like the Leopard class DropShip she had arrived on, but a big difference made itself clear when the bay doors began to open. In addition to the four doors like on the Leopards, there was a fifth door situated at the nose of the ship, allowing it to carry a full Star of Mechs.

"Galaxy Commander Peregrine! I've never been so happy to see anypony in all my life," Hazelnut exclaimed. "We really were in a tight spot."

As the bay doors finished opening and the DropShips flew over the battlefield, Chartreuse saw a Dire Wolf, a one hundred ton assault Mech, step out of the ship at the head of the formation. It plummeted to the ground and landed right on top the Bane in front of her, crushing it into the ground with its momentum. It then turned its attention to the Warhawk, using its blistering array of lasers and autocannons to take apart the enemy Mech's armor. Chartreuse and the others took the opportunity to fire at the remaining assault Mech, which her targeting computer labeled a 'Canis,' to keep it off of their new ally.

"I was beginning to worry we were too late. We would have been here sooner, but I was busy convincing a certain Colonel to lend a hoof. While I did bring a Cluster of assault Mechs, I felt this battle could go a lot smoother if we had more help." The Clan Wolf Mech finished off it's opponent and turned around towards the other assault, which was busy firing at Vermillion's Timberwolf with its own lasers and autocannons. Between the four of them, they finished off the Canis with ease, and the Dire Wolf turned towards them. "Get yourselves behind those Lions. We'll take care of it from here."

Chartreuse nodded and the three of them turned to move towards cover. The rest of the Clan Wolf Mechs had all jumped from their own DropShips by then and were engaged in the battle, the terror of thirty assault Mechs dropping from the sky causing mass confusion among the enemy ranks.

"You convinced Colonel Dash to help us? That can't have been easy," Hazelnut said, a slight hint of admiration in his voice.

"It wasn't. It took the better part of two hours for me to get him to budge. Stupid Ghost Bear philosophies."

"Our philosophy of 'wait and see' is not stupid. It is a belief that has served our Clan well for centuries," another voice said. This one was gravelly, and the pony behind it sounded much younger than the first. "I've brought a Trinary of assault and heavy Mechs. We will attack from the opposite side and crush the scum between our claws. Get your soldiers out of the fight, Commander Hazelnut. We'll handle the rest."

"Aff. We are in your debt." Chartreuse heard a click as Hazelnut switched to their unit's private channel. "Everypony take cover behind the DropShips. The Wolves and Ghost Bears've got our backs."

Chartreuse sighed and slumped back into her seat. She ran a hoof along the back of her mane as she turned her Marauder around. "Holy fuck, it's finally over. I can't believe we all made it through."

"Well, almost all of us. Fern and Tangelo..." Mist glanced down at Tangelo's Piranha, where Sundance was still bowed over her corpse.

Chartreuse felt a twinge of an unexpected emotion as she glanced down at his huddled figure. While she obviously felt sorry for him, and she was a little sad that Tangelo had died, she also felt... elated. She felt like she'd won somehow, seeing the broken orange body. Even now, she couldn't forget that night she saw the two of them together in the forest, and it felt impossible to ignore how she felt about Sundance. Chartreuse bit her bottom lip and looked away, unsure how to feel. "Is that really the kind of pony I'm turning into? The kind who feels joy at the pain of others, and who only cares about themselves? I know it's terrible, so why do I feel so... happy?"

"Chartreuse, you go on to the DropShip. Mist and I will stay here and guard Sundance. You shouldn't stay out here in your condition," Vermillion said, stopping by the wrecked Piranha.

Chartreuse nodded gratefully to her friends. "You got it. Thanks," she said, glancing at her damage indicator. It really was a miracle that she was still alive in her state. She walked past them and headed for the Lions, which were a few hundred meters away. As she got near them, however, a loud beeping caught her attention.

Warning.

Chartreuse glanced at the top of her HUD and felt her stomach drop when she saw the missile indicator light up. "Fuck, not now! I'm not within range of the DropShip's AMS yet!" She turned around and saw a stream of missiles arcing towards her, launched from some far away Mech hoping to get one last kill before being taken out by the forces surrounding them. "Uh... guys?"

"Shit! Get out of there! Eject!" Mist shouted as he turned around. Vermillion charged forwards to try to put his own Mech between hers and the missiles, but he wasn't nearly close enough to get there in time.

Chartreuse's hoof hovered over the ejection lever under her seat. She was shaking in fear, and while every muscle in her body was screaming for her to pull it and launch herself to safety, a nagging thought in the back of her mind froze her entire body. "You deserve this. A terrible pony like you shouldn't exist in this world. You've become who you so desperately despise, and now you have to suffer for it."

Chartreuse stared at the missiles as the world slowed around her and these thoughts circled in her head. All she could do was sit there with her mouth open. "It's karma. I'm getting what I deserve," she realized, her body trembling as the missiles began crashing into the exposed internals of her Mech. The last of the armor on her Marauder was blasted off and the synthetic muscles disintegrated as her entire Mech was engulfed in a massive fireball. The glass of the cockpit cracked before eventually giving way to the relentless onslaught of missiles. Chartreuse didn't scream as her body was enveloped in fire. She simply sat there as the flames licked hungrily at her body, and as the Mech tumbled to the ground, everything around her went black.

~~

Bittersweet smashed the arm of his Executioner into the cockpit of his opponent and fired one of his ER Large lasers, destroying the internals of the Mech and vaporizing the pilot inside. He stepped back to allow the heavy Mech to crumple to the ground, defeated.

"Nice one, Chalk. What's that, your third kill today?" Carmine asked, engaged in her own fight a short distance away.

"Fourth actually. They're not any tougher than those Clan Bugbear dregs we fought last month." He turned to look around the battlefield. Now that Clan Wolf had joined the fight and the Clan Ghost Bear mechs had just begun dropping from their own ships, there wasn't much left for him to do. The fight would probably be over in a matter of minutes with so many skilled pilots on their side.

Bittersweet sighed and leaned back in his seat. From the time he had stepped out onto the battlefield and claimed his first life, he had realized this was what he was meant for. The clashing of steel against steel, the smell of gunpowder from his machine guns, the screaming of his victims... There wasn't a better place in all of the universe for a pony like him.

"Yeah, they're not all that good. I was expecting more resistance." Carmine let out a cry of triumph as her enemy's torso exploded into bits, the ammunition setting off a deadly reaction. "That's two for me. I guess we should head behind the DropShips now."

Bittersweet sighed again and turned to head back, casting a longing glance at the fighting. From the sound of it he'd end up joining Clan Ghost Bear after the battle, and he didn't want them to think he couldn't follow instructions. They'd probably relegate him to the laborer class if he continued against orders, and he certainly didn't want to live a life like that.

"Fuck, where'd you come from? Hey, I'll catch up to you in a moment. I've got something to deal with," Carmine said. Bittersweet glanced at the rear-view camera and saw her fighting an enemy Mad Dog Mk IV. It wasn't exactly an even match up in favor of the small heavy, so Bittersweet left her to deal with the negligible threat.

Bittersweet heard a loud explosion behind him. "Ah shit. I might actually need some help back here. Bastard's got friends." He glanced at the small screen again and saw an Omen had appeared to back up the Mad Dog. He shook his head.

"This is what I meant about being careless," Bittersweet said, turning his Executioner in a slow circle. As much as he wanted to rebuke her, she had given him an excuse to rejoin the battle, which was the one thing he really wanted at that moment. He pressed the throttle forward and activated his Mech's MASC, temporarily pushing the Executioner past it's walking speed of sixty-five kph.

Bittersweet fired his missiles at the back of the Omen, dragging its attention towards him. He shot his heavy lasers as the smaller Mech turned around and followed up with his large lasers. The Mech had already been lightly damaged in the battle, and his volley of shots had almost managed to destroy the last of the armor on the Mech's left torso. He turned the torso of his Executioner to absorb the return shots, which caused a fair amount of damage to one of his arms.

Bittersweet turned back towards the Omen and fired the heavy lasers again, stripping the last of the armor from the Mech's left torso. He fired his missiles at the breach and watched as the torso crumpled, the missiles ravaging the internal structure of the enemy Mech.

The Omen fired its weapons again, and Bittersweet glanced at his damage indicator. "I'm starting to take some pretty heavy damage. I've been out here for too long," he thought. As much as he wanted to enjoy the fight, he had to end it quickly. Sighing, Bittersweet activated the MASC again and rushed forward, before twisting the torso of his Executioner and slamming its right arm into the exposed structure of the Mech. He fired the large lasers, watching in satisfaction as they ripped through the cockpit and killed the Mech's pilot.

Bittersweet flinched as he felt the torso of his Mech rock forward sharply. He turned and saw a Deimos stepping towards him, its twin autocannon barrels smoking. The Mad Dog was also running towards him off to the left, and Carmine was nowhere to be seen. Bittersweet cursed under his breath. "Where is that retarded pony?" He shook his head and rushed forwards toward the Deimos. "Fine, I'll do all the work myself!"

Bittersweet fired the heavy lasers directly at the Deimos's cockpit, damaging the reinforced glass. It fired it's autocannons again, and Bittersweet hissed at the computer's irritating voice.

Critical hit, left torso.

"Shut up, bitch. I have eyes." Bittersweet hated whenever his Mech piped up. He knew more of what was going on in the Mech than it did, and the voice only served as a distraction. "Why is there no way to turn that shit off?" He fired his missiles again, then followed up with the large lasers. His missiles peppered the enemy's torso, and one of the large lasers managed to hit the cockpit, further compromising it. He smirked as the distance between the two of them quickly closed. The Deimos was walking backwards as fast as it could, but it didn't have a chance at outrunning an Executioner with its MASC activated.

"You're mine now!" he shouted as he got within melee distance of the enemy Mech. He swung at the cockpit of the Deimos and growled with satisfaction as the arm of his Executioner passed straight through the weakened glass. The assault Mech fell backwards and crashed to the ground, trailing shards of glass stained with blood.

Bittersweet turned around just in time to take a volley of SRMs to the left torso, which were soon followed by a PPC and autocannon shot to the center torso.

Left torso destroyed. Weapon destroyed. Damage critical.

"Fucking little cunt. Let's see you do that again up close!" He pushed the throttle forward again, the MASC beginning to take its toll on the legs. While the speed boost was helpful, it could be damaging when used for prolonged periods of time. He fired his missiles at the Mad Dog's cockpit, obstructing the pilots vision and dealing a respectable amount of damage. Bittersweet turned out of the way to avoid the return shots from the temporarily blinded pilot. He smirked again as he got into grappling range with the small Mech and grabbed one of its arms with the hand actuator on his Executioner. Not many Mechs had hands, and Bittersweet tended to use his quite a bit. His unorthodox fighting method was one reason he was such an effective MechWarrior.

Bittersweet wrenched the Mad Dog to the ground and stepped on the center torso of the Mech, grunting in satisfaction as the arm clenched in his Mech's hand ripped free. The armor on the Mad Dog began buckling from his Executioner's weight, and before long, it collapsed entirely. The Mech exploded in a bright fireball, and the glass of the cockpit shattered outwards.

Bittersweet let out a sigh and stepped back. He glanced at his damage indicator again. "That could have ended badly. I don't know why nopony ever thinks to use melee attacks or aim for the cockpit. It's a good tactic if your opponent is as inept as they were."

"Nice work. I kind of thought they had you there for a second," Carmine said, sauntering over to Bittersweet.

Bittersweet turned angrily towards her. "That wouldn't have happened if you had helped at all. What the fuck were you doing, chasing a butterfly?"

Carmine nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. Sorry. I didn't mean to get distracted."

"Can't you just use your brain for once in your life? Why are you always so useless?" He snarled.

Carmine sighed. "Fine, you want to know why? You want to know the reason I'm always running off and getting into stupid situations where you have to save my ass?" She could hear her voice rising in pitch, but she didn't particularly care. She had been waiting years for this very moment, the right time to say what she'd always wanted to, to do what she had been planning for such a long time.

Bittersweet snorted contemptuously. "Fine, tell me why you're such a worthless pony."

Carmine shifted in her seat, feeling the strong emotions welling up inside of her. She'd always dreamed of this moment, but now she almost felt too nervous to say just a few words to the pony she'd been around for most of her life. She felt like it should be easy after everything they'd been through, but she could feel the words catching in her throat. She glanced out at the battlefield and took a deep breath. "It's now or never," she told herself. "I'm always putting myself into these situations where you have to risk your life for me on purpose. I wanted you to get hurt protecting me, but still survive." She took a step towards his Mech, until they were almost close enough to touch. "I'm always doing that because I wanted to work up the courage. The courage to tell you that I..." She swallowed and took a deep breath, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards.

"That I'm the one who killed you."

Carmine rammed the right arm of her Gargoyle into the exposed internals of Bittersweet's Executioner and pushed it in as deep as it would go, tearing apart the inside of the Mech. She fired the LBX autocannon in that arm and giggled maniacally as the cluster ammunition tore through the inside of the Mech, shredding the synthetic muscles, electronics, and finally, Bittersweet. She watched the blood spray across the cockpit, and her hooves went to her face is the larger Mech tumbled backwards, defeated.

"If you honestly thought I'd just sit back and take your abuse for the rest of my life, you're even dumber than you looked!" Carmine shouted in between breaths, still cackling uncontrollably. She threw her head back and laughed even harder, running her hooves down her face and onto her chest. There was a raging inferno of conflicting emotions inside of her, but she knew the one she felt the strongest right then was then was twisted, corrupt glee. She was finally rid of that bastard, and not a single fiber of her being felt guilty.

"You traitor!" a scratchy voice shouted over the comms. Carmine's laugher cut off, and she turned her head to look at the Mech that had appeared in front of her. It was a Kodiak, a gold tree overtop of a blue shield painted on it as its unit designation. It charged towards her and knocked her Gargoyle to the ground, before planting a foot over top of her Mech's torso. "If you were one of mine I'd kill you here and now. But regrettably, your fate is up to Commander Hazelnut."

Carmine glared up at the larger Mech and rubbed a sore spot on the back of her head. "Look at this fucking asshole, all high and mighty. He doesn't know the shit I've been through," she thought bitterly. "You can fuck off. This matter is none of your business," she said, raising the arms of her Gargoyle at the Kodiak.

"You don't want to do that," the voice said dangerously.

"Try me." Carmine fired the autocannons in her arms at the Kodiak, aiming straight for the cockpit. Having expected this, the pilot shifted their Mech slightly, and the cluster rounds smacked into the side torso of the Mech. She followed up with her missiles, trying to get the Mech to move off of her.

"You asked for this," the pilot growled, rearing his one hundred ton Mech upwards. He brought the torso and all of its momentum back down towards Carmine's Mech, and she screamed as a large claw on one of the Kodiak's arms pierced the cockpit and sliced her in half. Blood quickly gurgled in her throat, muffling her struggles, and she stared out at the other pilot.

"You can't... do this..." she struggled out through the blood flooding her lungs. She had been sliced cleanly in half, right through the middle of her chest. Her vision began going dark as the blood flowed out of her body at an alarming rate. "You... scum..." Carmine sighed and her head flopped to the side, her eyes still open and staring angrily out at the world.

~~

Colonel Cobalt Dash sighed and stood his Kodiak back up, pulling the Mech's claws from the Gargoyle underneath him. He glanced ruefully down at the dead pilot. "I'll have to explain this to Hazelnut. He won't be happy if he finds out otherwise." He hadn't really wanted to kill her, But she'd left him with no choice. He turned towards the fallen Executioner and bowed his head slightly. He had seen the skilled pilot take on two assaults and a heavy alone, not a feat many can claim to have survived. Losing a MechWarrior with that level of talent was something he deeply regretted. "You die with honor, MechWarrior. I wish you good hunting in the afterlife."

Cobalt turned back towards the battlefield and surveyed the ongoing destruction. A few enemies had been taken out in Death From Above attacks when their Mechs had jumped from the DropShips. It was a favorite tactic of the Clans, though it was rarely performed in that manner. Typically, that type of attack was restricted to Mechs with Jump Jets. The rest were being swiftly dealt with by the hardened MechWarriors from both Clan Wolf and his own unit. Cobalt nodded to himself. Even though Keshiks rarely saw battle, being the personal units of high-up officials, that didn't mean they were unexperienced. Every one of his warriors was capable of defeating Mechs many tons heavier than their own with ease, providing an average pilot was behind the opponent's Mech.

The sound of weapon fire began dying off as the battle came to a close. Cobalt walked around the battlefield, observing but not participating. He had complete faith in the skills of his warriors and their Wolf allies, and with the numbers now heavily in their favor, there was no need to get in the way. He would leave the glory to the MechWarriors already engaged in fights.

A Blood Asp not too far from Cobalt kicked a Mad Dog to the ground and fired its twin Gauss Rifles at the Mech, exploding it in a violent fireball. The victor lowered its arms and looked around it, turning towards Cobalt as the pilot noticed him. "Colonel Dash, I'd assume? I'm Commander Hazelnut. Thank you again for your support."

Cobalt nodded to the junior warrior. "It's what needed to be done. We couldn't let the Wolves be the only ones to assist you after you saved countless lives." He growled quietly to himself. "If only I had been quicker to come to your aid. Many lives were lost because of my hesitance to believe your words." Cobalt sighed deeply. "One of your MechWarriors, the exceptional pilot in the Executioner, was betrayed and killed by an ally Gargoyle. I attempted to immobilize the traitor, but I was forced to kill her when she fired on me. I apologize for this. Her fate was yours to decide, not mine."

Hazelnut frowned and let out a disappointed sigh. "So he's dead, huh? Bittersweet was so talented, though I can understand how he made enemies. He was more than a little rough around the edges. But to die in such a manner? Murdered by an ally? I never thought Carmine would stoop so low." He shook his head.

Cobalt glanced at the dying battle again and noted the inactivity of the warriors. There must only be a hoofful of enemies left for them to be idling around like that. He turned back to the Commander. "I think now would be a good time to make a decision on your future. I would like to personally extend an invitation to you and your surviving MechWarriors to join the Silveroot Keshik, at least to the ones who accept and pass our trial. It is not an easy task, though the reward is great."

Hazelnut sucked in a breath. "Join the Silveroot Keshik? Are you sure? That's a huge honor."

Cobalt nodded. "Your warriors are skilled to have survived this fight, and I believe they have a place in my unit, providing they choose to accept. In addition to the usual process of becoming a bondspony, and eventually an abtakha, they will need to pass an additional trial completed by all members of the Silveroot Keshik."

Hazelnut was silent for a moment. He hadn't expected to be offered a place among a new Clan so easily, especially as part of such a venerable unit. "My fellow commander and I would be honored to join you. However, I'm not sure how many of our soldiers would be willing to continue to fight. They are strong, but none of them became soldiers by choice. Many of them may choose to become merchants or laborers instead."

Cobalt turned his gaze towards a small group of Mechs in the distance. He could see three heavy Mechs standing proudly, their pilots skilled, dedicated, and loyal, though young. He had seen them fight as his DropShip had neared the battlefield, and he had a feeling they had great untold potential. It was a shame the Marauder pilot had been killed, however. She had seemed to be the most talented of them all.

He glanced down at the Piranha, where one of the pilots was crouched. While seemingly not as skilled as his companions, there was a certain spark in the young pony. The death of his friend would only serve to strengthen him and fuel the fires of his resolve, and Cobalt was particularly interested to see where the MechWarrior would go. He was certain that group would accept his offer, even if none of the others did. He could sense strength in ponies, and even from such a far distance, their determination was emanating like a visible aura around them as they mourned their fallen comrades. They were fighters; that much was certain.

"Don't underestimate your soldiers, Commander. There's more to them than meets the eye."

Epilogue

Mint rolled out of her bed in the infirmary onto her three unsteady hooves, nearly faceplanting onto the floor. She righted herself and shook her head, clearing the haze from her mind. The stuffy room made it hard to think clearly, which wasn't helped along by the anesthetics. Sighing, she peeled off the sensors plastered to her body and shuffled over towards the door. It opened automatically as she neared it, sliding into the wall with a light hiss. A nurse charged through the doorway at the same time and nearly collided with her. The nurse let out a small yelp before stepping back and taking a breath.

"Mint, you had me worried when the monitors went dark. You should be resting in bed, not moving around like this. You need to give your body time to heal. We've been over this," she said, motioning for her to walk back into the room.

"I'm tired of sitting around. It's been a week. Can't I just take a quick walk? Please? I'm fine, really." Mint lifted one of her hind legs and balanced shakily on two legs, smiling and trying to desmonstrate her point.

The nurse ran a hoof down the side of her neck. They young pony had been sitting patiently for a while now. As long as she was careful, she wasn't likely to make her injuries worse. She sighed reluctantly. "Alright, but be careful. You'll never heal if you're always moving around."

"Thank you!" Mint hobbled past the nurse into the hallway and glanced around her. She had been unconscious when she was brought to the infirmary, so the clean hallways were completely unfamiliar to her. She looked around as she came to an intersection, pressing herself against the wall as a doctor rushed past. Shrugging, she picked a hall at random, turning right to head down a short hallway that ended at a set of double doors. She could see light filtering in through the frosted windows, but it was impossible to tell what was on the other side through the translucent glass.

Mint pushed one of the doors open and squinted at the dazzling courtyard in front of her. It was a large space, trees and bushes lining the smooth stone walkways. She could hear wildlife rustling in the brush or occasionally scampering up a tree. A small pond sat neatly in one corner of the square area, the fountain in the middle of it sending ripples across its surface. There was a line of benches situated around it, and Mint saw her friends seated in them. Well, most of her friends, anyway.

Mint had heard about the deaths of Chartreuse, Fern, and of course, Tangelo. She had been devastated at the news, and she couldn't help thinking that things could have turned out differently if her Mech hadn't been destroyed so early on in the fight. She shuddered, thinking back to the event. A Gauss slug had passed straight through the cockpit of her Adder, removing her right foreleg in the process. She had managed to eject before a follow-up shot punched a hole through the Mech's center torso, and had been taken onto one of the DropShips by a medic. She had been transferred to an infirmary on the Ghost Bear facility after the battle was over, and she had woken up a few days prior, weary and confused.

Mint walked over to her friends, not wanting to call out and startle them. Vermillion and Mist were sitting on one of the benches, talking in hushed voices, while Sundance sat not too far off and stared off into space with one of his forelegs bandaged and in a sling. Bistre was lying on the ground, listlessly pulling up blades of grass and dropping them into the pond.

"Hey guys," Mint said as she ambled closer. The air was crisp enough for her breath to turn to vapor, but strangely she didn't feel all that cold. Mist and Vermillion waved to her before turning back to continue their conversation. Bistre simply glanced at her from the corner of his eye, and Sundance ignored her completely. Mint sighed internally. She couldn't even imagine the pain he was going through. Sure, she had been close to Tangelo. The two of them had practically been sisters. But Tangelo had told her just how much Sundance meant to her during their countless late night talks, even before they had started dating. She knew Sundance felt the same way about her, and she couldn't see that kind of hurt going away easily.

Mint plopped herself down next to Sundance and gazed into the pond. She could see fish swimming around aimlessly in it; Koi, if she remembered correctly. They were native to Terra, but were brought over to many other planets back during the first Exodus. She watched the creatures mill about for a few moments, before eventually breaking the silence. "They're kind of like us, aren't they? The fish trapped in the pond, I mean."

Sundance shifted his gaze slowly towards her, his brow creased slightly into a frown.

"We got dragged into this war unwillingly, and now there's nothing we can do to get out of it. Try as we might, there's no escape."

Sundance turned back towards the pond, silent for a moment. "But we can get out now. It's over. The war will be finished soon. We don't have to fight anymore." He stared at the Koi blankly. "They're trapped, but we have a way out."

Mint shook her head. "The Koi could leave too, but they'd have to evolve and grow legs. We're in the same boat. You and I both know that even though it's simple in theory for us to leave all this behind us, it's much easier said than done." She sighed and rested her head on the back of the bench, turning her eyes towards the early grey sky. Strana's white star gleamed above the mountains, its rays cutting through the morning fog. It was almost ironic; the way the pure light made their whole situation seem so clear, and now that they finally had the opportunity for the peaceful lives they've always wanted, they were going to turn their backs on the one in a million chance.

"After everything that's happened, do you really think you could just sit by and wait? After everything our old Clan did to us, could you really do nothing? I don't know about you, but now that I'm finally out of there, I realize my old dream of settling down as a merchant was never going to happen, at least not for a long while. Maybe it's the determination we developed as cadets, the sense of duty Slate demonstrated, the selfless sacrifice made by Cotton, or revenge for the deaths of our friends, but now there's nothing I want more than to be the one to personally run a blade through the heart of that foul Khan who started this century long struggle." Mint clenched her hoof in her lap, before sighing and relaxing her body. "That's my take on our situation, anyway. Do with it what you will."

Sundance frowned again, deeper this time. The gears in his head slowly began turning, and he glanced at her again. Before he could reply though, Bistre stood up and sighed in a resigned way. He turned around and walked past their bench. "That's great and all, but not all of us are as determined as you." He stopped and looked at Mint over his shoulder. "I... I wish I had half the confidence and strength as you. A DropShip is picking me up tomorrow. I'm leaving to become a laborer."

Mint blinked at him. "I understand. Maybe we'll see each other again some day," she said, smiling sadly at her friend. He had been acting differently ever since he killed Sienna, and she had almost expected him to stay out of the fighting now that they were free. He hadn't done much during the battle either, mostly just hanging out at the rear of the formation. She couldn't really blame him, actually. It was still strange though, seeing the once hotheaded pony now so quiet and feeble.

Bistre nodded and turned away before slowly slinking towards the double doors Mint had come through earlier. Mint sighed and turned to face forwards again. She patted Sundance gently on the shoulder. "Think about it, okay? Don't spend the rest of your life wallowing like this. It's not what Tangelo would want." She stood up and walked over towards Mist and Vermillion, the latter nodding as she neared.

"Good to see you out of bed," Vermillion said.

Mint smiled. "Feels good, too. Hopefully I won't be hobbling around like this for long. Colonel Dash said he'd pay for a prosthetic, regardless of whether or not I choose to accept his offer. Obviously I'm going to, though."

Mist nodded. "We were thinking the same thing. The Clan Draconequus higher-ups have to pay for what they've done, and we'd love to be a part of that."

Mint sat down next to them. "Good. I wasn't entirely sure if I'd have to go on alone." She shifted to get into a more comfortable position, the cold stone bench hurting her spine. "So we're bondsponies now. What does that mean, exactly?"

"It's a bit different for each Clan, but Hazelnut explained it all to me a few days ago. Once you and Sundance are well enough to leave, we'll get bondcords, bracelets that we'll have to wear until we earn the right to join Clan Ghost Bear as reinstated warriors, abtakhas. We'll need to prove our combat skill, integrity, and loyalty for that to happen." Mist scratched the back of his head. "There was something else he mentioned, but apparently Colonel Dash didn't tell him the specifics. All I know is that there's another trial we'll have to pass before we can join the Silveroot Keshik. We'll be abtakhas whether or not we pass it though."

Mint nodded. "Sounds like a pretty good deal. I can't wait to put an end to this mess," she said, leaning back on the bench. She smiled to herself. Now that their old Clan's cruelty and war crimes had been brought to light, the Khans of all the other Clans had made new plans to meet on Strana, safely this time. Once they came to a decision, Clan Draconequus was likely to be hunted down and killed, and their destruction would be a sweet one. Mint sighed in a way that was almost happy. "It's good to finally see some justice in the universe."

~~

Galaxy Commander Peregrine was walking across the battlefield in his Dire Wolf, surveying the destruction that had occurred. While the freeborn unit who had saved his Khan suffered heavy casualties, he was pleased to see the entire attacking force had been wiped out. Not a single MechWarrior from either Clan Wolf or Clan Ghost Bear had fallen, either.

Peregrine had agreed to allow Clan Ghost Bear to have the survivors as bondsponies, on the condition Clan Wolf got the destroyed Mechs and DropShips as salvage. There were a lot of strong Mechs lying as scrap across the battlefield, and the recoverable ones would make a favorable addition to his unit's armory. He placed a hoof over the throttle and was about to move forward, but a scraping noise outside of his Mech made him stop. "What was that? Are one of the enemies still alive?" he thought, gripping the controls tighter. He spun his Mech around suddenly, expecting to see an enemy Mech still kicking around behind him. He did not, however, expect to see a pilot he had thought dead stand their Mech back up, pieces of it falling off as the structure weakly held the mess of a machine together.

It was barely recognizable anymore, but he could tell it was a Clan Marauder. It's right arm hung loosely by its side, there wasn't a scrap of armor left on it, and the cockpit had been blown to hell, revealing the injured MechWarrior inside. The glass of her neurohelmet had been shattered, and he could see the terrible burn wounds underneath. Her cooling suit had fared similarly, and very little of her grey fur and yellow mane were still visible, but somehow, she was still breathing and strong enough to control her Mech. It was a miracle either the pilot or the machine had survived, and Peregrine was more than a little impressed.

Peregrine tapped a hoof against his chin, thinking. While he had agreed to send any bodies inside the Mechs to Clan Ghost Bear so the freeborn unit could mourn their dead, he hadn't been given instructions on what to do with live pilots. This left him in a rather odd predicament. "Hmm... what to do with you?" he mused. He leaned back in his seat, an idea coming to mind. "The Ghost Bears got the rest of the survivors, so why don't we keep just one? I'm sure nopony will mind."

Peregrine pressed a button to activate the external speakers on his Mech. Judging by the state of the Marauder, there wasn't much of a chance the comms on it were still functional. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak. "MechWarrior, I hereby claim you as my bondspony. You now serve the Red Keshik of Clan Wolf under my direct command."

~~

Discord groaned internally as Fluttershy greeted him at the door again. He was starting to regret telling her about his plan to kill Celestia and Luna. Even though she couldn't tell anypony else, she had refused to do anything but try to persuade him to change the past few years.

"Welcome back, Discord. Did you-"

"No, I didn't make any new friends today. Honestly Fluttershy, you should just stop trying to convince me. My mind is made up." Discord walked over to his couch and flopped into it before letting out an overly dramatic sigh. "Planning to overthrow an interplanetary government takes a lot of work. What does the Lord of Chaos have to do to relax around here?" He snapped his fingers, only to be met with a disappointing flash. Even that seemed to get weaker each time he did it.

"You could-"

"Make friends. Yes, you've tried that one already. A hundred times, in fact." His clawed hand went reflexively to the ornate ring on his other index finger. He tended to play with it whenever he got irritated. It was a gift from Celestia, given to him centuries ago, with a matching bracelet worn by each of the royal ponies. Exactly when or why it was given, he couldn't remember. That memory had always eluded his mind, for some strange reason.

"You never told me how you got that. It seems a bit strange for you to wear a ring like that," Fluttershy said, floating over towards him.

He spun the ring around his finger. "I don't entirely remember how I got it. It happened ages ago. All I know is that Celestia gave it to me."

Fluttershy frowned, confused. "And you still wear it? But I thought you hated her? You wouldn't still be wearing a gift from her after all this time if that were true."

"Fine, I will take it off, then," Discord retorted, twisting the ring off of his finger just to spite her. Truth be told, he had always been too terrified to remove it. He didn't know why, but whenever he thought of removing the ring, a sharp terror shot through his body. This time was no exception, and as the ring slowly moved off of his finger, he physically felt a chill move up his spine.

The ring came off of Discord's finger, throwing up sparks as it went. His eyes shot open and a thousand new thoughts flooded his head. His mind somehow felt... clearer. As if a thick fog he hadn't realized was there had suddenly lifted.

"Discord? Are you feeling alright?" Fluttershy said, concerned. He had suddenly locked up and was staring off into space, completely silent.

Discord slowly turned to the ring in his hand. A theory popped into his head, and to test it out, he crushed the ring in his palm. When he opened it again, the ring had turned into a pebble, grey and ordinary. "My magic..."

He turned his head towards Fluttershy, who had a look of confusion on her face. As they sat there in silence, realization dawned on both of them, almost at the same time, and Fluttershy followed after Discord as he stormed out of his house. "Discord, wait!"

"No! All of these years, that's why my magic was slowly disappearing? Those curs!" Discord shouted, flinging the ring-turned-pebble as far as he could, out into the depths of Chaosville. "An enchanted ring? How dare they curb my powers!" He huffed angrily, cursing himself for being dumb enough to put on that ring all those years ago. The memory had suddenly came into his mind when he removed it. "Was it enchanted to alter my thoughts as well? That must be why it took me so long to remove it."

"Discord, please, don't do this! I'm sure Celestia has a perfectly valid explanation!" Fluttershy said desperately as Discord raised one hand.

Discord scoffed. "You mean they didn't trust me! After a millennium and a half, those sisters still didn't think I was good enough to restrain myself. And look where that's gotten us. Well I'm done playing nicely."

"Please think this over! You don't have to kill them. They were just worried-"

"That I might turn evil again? Well guess what, they were right. You never really believed in me either, did you? You've just been pretending this whole time, haven't you?" Discord could feel the anger building up inside of him, but he didn't particularly care. It was too much for him to control anymore.

Fluttershy recoiled backwards, hurt. "Why would you think I would do something like that? Of course I believe in you! I've always believed in you!"

Discord snorted and raised one of his hands again. "I'm sure you did. Goodbye, Fluttershy. It's time to go back to your real friends in the afterlife. I'm sure they'd love to hear more of your lies," he snarled, snapping his fingers.

"No, wait! I-" Fluttershy cut off as her astral body was enveloped in a flash of bright light, and a moment later, she was gone.

Discord sighed. He knew he had gone too far, but he was too pissed to care. He'd have to reconjure her some time and apologize. For now, however, he had a mission to complete. With his magic now returned, he could abandon his original plan and take his rightful place as Lord of Chaos again. He frowned dangerously. Celestia and Luna had messed with the wrong draconequus, and now they were going to pay.

To be continued...

Author's Note

What a ride that was. Hope everyone liked the plot twists in the last few chapters. I'm gonna take a short break from writing now as I head into finals week and deal with some other upcoming personal stuff. After that I might make a short pilot story for a cool fic idea I had. I guess we'll see. Anyway, I'll start on the second part of this fic at some point in the next few months, so keep an eye out (Watch my blogs, too. It's not all significant, but I do post some pretty important stuff there).

"Be ever vigilant and rely on your strengths: Faith, which preserves us; Knowledge, which gives us power; Understanding, which lets us know our foes; Courage, which lets us face the darkness without fear."
~Our father, Nicholas Kerensky