Chapter 6

Nate’s rattled mind was a blur. A loud ringing in his head was all he could hear as he slowly but surely started to regain his consciousness. Nate couldn’t make heads or tails of what had happened to him, and couldn’t tell if he was right side up or upside down. All he could recall was that he was fighting the changeling who ambushed him. The last thing he remembered was getting beat into a corner, no matter what he tried throwing at the changeling. Eventually, the ringing in his ear soon also started to subside. Until he heard another loud voice trying to get his attention.

“Rise and shine, sweetheart,” Kellogg’s voice rang out followed by a dark chuckle.

“I was beginning to think I just dreamt your voice,” Nate grumbled.

“Awww, I’m flattered. But you got the metaphorical real deal,” Kellogg taunted. “But seriously, get your ass up. You got lucky this time but luck won’t always be there for you. This place is different from the Commonwealth, brute force and a big gun aren’t going to cut it.”

Nate hated every second Kellogg talked, but he knew that the man was right. He was backed into a corner and couldn’t get out. He wasn’t sure what happened, but whatever happened was the cause of why he was still alive.

The HUD in Nate’s helmet glitched a few times before managing to switch on. The first thing Nate noticed was the state of his armor’s damages. Nearly every part of his armor was red and the warning alarm from before was still going off. Nate also noticed that he was standing and a little slouched over. Nate focused his senses as best he could before attempting to move his body. When he raised his arms, he could hear the sounds of his damaged platting creek against the metallic frame. Nate noticed the deep tears in his armor and could only imagine what the rest of his armor looked like after that fight with Thatcher.

Speaking of which, Nate glanced over on the ground to see Thatcher’s headless corpse laying next to him. Nate looked around the cavern and took into account the damage caused by his intrusion. The bodies that littered the area, the damages done by both him and his wolves. He remembered everything up until Thatcher had the upper hand on him. The prisoners were all still huddled together, even after Nate had been unconscious for who knows how long. They probably were too paralyzed with fear after the brutal display they were forced to witness.

“What happened, Kellogg?” Nate asked. He attempted to take a step forward, but the damage done to his legs made his control sluggish and heavy. “Last thing I remember was almost getting my head lopped off.”

“Oh, it was glorious. You got right back up and you unleashed that primal rage that I knew was inside you. That killer instinct. That desire to kill,” Kellogg said, almost proud of Nate.

“What? I blacked out?” Nate said, now confused.

“You did, but something in you just snapped. It was like you were driving, but someone else took the wheel. Not really sure who or what, but whatever it was saved your sorry ass. The only reason you’re still alive, really,” Kellogg explained it as best he could as even he didn’t fully understand what happened.

It didn’t help that there was a blistering headache that was making Nate dizzy, now he was being told he had somehow gone on a rampage while unconscious. The absurdity of it all was almost too much to bear, but Nate couldn’t dwell on it right now. Nate glanced at his HUD to see the readings of his armor were blaring red. Both arms, the right leg, and torso were red, indicating severe damage was done to them. When Nate moved his arms a little, he could hear the strain again from the couplings trying to keep everything held together, and even a few small electrical sparks, which told Nate even the wiring had been damaged.

“All this from just a single high-class drone,” Nate muttered, looking down at the headless corpse of his opponent. “It would seem I’ve underestimated this Queen and her forces,” Nate assessed.

Nate looked around the now quiet mine he remembered he was still in. The captive miners and prisoners were all still huddled in the corner, unable to move due to fear, and his wolves were also still patiently waiting for an order from their master. Nate continued to scan the inlays of the mine when he thought of something. It was a long shot, considering how devolved the world had become since his time, but if he could procure the right materials and a few able-minded, so-called technicians, Nate would be able to repair his armor back to working conditions.

“Computer, scan the mine for minerals. Locate sources of iron, copper, and any other metals that can be sourced within the mountain,” Nate ordered.

The helmet began highlighting different ores of metal and other useful minerals all throughout the mine, then it started beeping while highlighting an area deep in the mine.

Error.

Unidentified minerals detected.

“Elaborate,” Nate ordered impatiently.

“The computer just said unidentified. Meaning no fucking clue,” Kellogg pointed out. Nate groaned as he turned to the workers.

“I won’t hurt you, but if any of you try to attack me in any way, well…” Nate looked at his wolves as they growled at the ponies. “You’ll regret it. Now, tell me what else you all were digging down here?”

The miners were still too afraid to speak, safe for one who cleared his throat a little.

“Um…we mined many different ore,” the miner said. “But the one ore that they forced us to mine for the most was Eclipse Iron.”

“Eclipse Iron?” Nate said. “I’ve never heard or read about any mineral called that.”

“Th-There’s some in that cart over there,” the miner said, pointing to a mining cart still in one of the tracks.

Nate carefully walked over to the cart, as to not put too much stress on his damaged armor and looked inside. He reached in and grabbed a rock the size of his armor’s fist that had a dark blueish color to it but seemed to have a certain shine even in the dimly lighted mine.

“Analyze,” Nate ordered his helmet’s computer.

It took a few minutes for the helmet to do a thorough analysis on the minerals, suddenly it beeped up and spoke.

Analysis complete.

Unidentified minerals detected.

Cross-referencing archived records of known elements and minerals.

Eighty percent increase in durability compared to steel.

Material unknown.

Further study required.

“Eighty percent?” Nate repeated. “That’s even denser than my armor plating.”

During his travels across the wasteland, Nate took it upon himself to become more knowledgeable on a scientific point of view. It was thanks to his self-learning and lessons he got from his companions that he was able to craft and build materials from his own hands. However, even though this mysterious ore was arguably the best source he’d come across so far, there was still the main issue of him being trapped in his power armor. Nate placed the rock in his hand back in the cart and faced the miners.

“Listen up,” Nate ordered. “The ones who subjugated all of you to work until you bit it are now dead. From now on, you’re all gonna be under new management. Me.”

“Y-You…?” One of the miners shivered nervously.

“Yes, but here’s the deal. I’m not like these assholes. You’re all free to work and rest as you please. Eat and drink as much as you want, I could give a shit what you do. So long as you bring me more of this ore,” Nate said. “In other words, you all have a debt that you’ll be paying for the rest of your lives through labor. Am I understood?”

“W-Why?” One of the ponies asked, it was a young colt about fourteen years old.

“You prefer I kill you all right here right now?” Nate asked coldly, the ponies all froze in terror as his tone was clearly not joking. “It’s as I said, you can all do what you want and live as you please, but you will do whatever I tell you all to. Now, go get me those minerals in the carts. So long as you get what I need, we won’t have a problem.”

The ponies reluctantly went back to work while Nate had one of his wolves stand by. Just as he was about to make his long trek back to Appleloosa, one of the miners boldly approached Nate.

“What do you want?” Nate asked bitterly.

“Sir, I sincerely beg you to allow us at least a few days rest,” the pony begged. “We’ve been working nonstop for months now, and some of us are on the brink of collapsing. We understand that you want your minerals, but we can’t work if we’re dead.”

Much as Nate wanted to make an example of this stallion, the back of Nate’s mind told him that he had a point. By the looks of it, most of these workers looked like they wouldn’t last a day or two. Not to mention, there was a small part of his old noble self that made him feel a twinge of pity and guilt for these poor souls who’ve been subjected to all counts of torture and forced labor. With a heavy sigh, Nate simply nodded his head at the stallion.

“Fine,” Nate said begrudgingly. “A week, no more. Got it? Then it’s back to work.”

“Oh, thank you! Thank you, sir!” The stallion said and ran off to tell the others.

Nate rolled his eyes and turned away once more to leave. However, as he was about to depart, his sensors picked up small signs of movement from one of the former holding cells. Nate was about to just brush it off as just another prisoner hiding from all the chaos, but his curiosity nagged him into at least checking it out.

Nate groaned internally while mentally cursing his conscience and walked over to where the movement was. The cell was quite smaller than most of the other cells, and the bars were still intact. Nate grabbed two of the bars and ripped them off from the stone wall.

Inside was a lethargic female pony wearing rags for clothes. Her fur was dirty and matted but Nate could tell it was a bright pink color and her mane and tail were a darker hot pink. Nate stared at the unconscious mare and noticed she was barely breathing. Feeling the twinge of pity in the back of his head again, Nate reached into a compartment in his armor and pulled out a stimpack. He gently injected the contents of the syringe into the mare, which allowed her breathing to quickly stabilize. However, he knew she needed proper sustenance once she woke up. All he did was give her a little more time. Nate scooped up the mare in his metallic hands and carried her out of the cell. Nate then approached one of his wolves and placed the mare on its back.

“Let’s get out of here…” Nate said in a tired tone, and he led his pack out of the mine.

It had been a while since Starlight heard from Nate after he left to liberate Appleloosa. She’d be lying to herself if she said she was glad Nate was gone and didn’t come back since he’s the only one to actually put up a fight against the Changelings. Scary as he was, Nate was probably the ponies only hope of ever being free.

While Starlight was helping her town rebuild and studying the stimpack Nate left her, a courier sent from Appleloosa came to town asking for Starlight to come immediately by order of Lord Apex. This made Starlight somewhat glad that Nate was still alive, but it didn’t help her nerves settle since she was basically being summoned to meet with him.

After about a half day’s journey, Starlight managed to make it to Appleloosa without being intercepted by changelings. Similar to her own town, Appleloosa had been liberated by Nate and the townsfolk were hard at work trying to rebuild and make it safer by constructing a wall around it. Starlight noticed Nate’s creatures here and there, either standing guard or watching over the ponies so they wouldn’t slack off.

“Starlight?” A stallion approached Starlight to greet her. “Mah name’s Braeburn. Lord Apex asked me to meet up with ya once ya arrived.”

“Well, I’m here, so where is he?” Starlight asked.

“Last Ah heard, he went straight for the town hall in the middle of the night without any of us knowin’,” Braeburn said, pointing to the larger building. “He’s waitin’ for ya there.”

“Thank you…” Starlight said as she took a deep breath to physically and mentally prepare herself for whatever Nate had planned for her.

Sure, Nate did save them but that didn’t technically mean that he was a good person. That terrible feeling in her gut was always telling her that Nate might just start becoming worse than the changelings. Starlight walked up to the front doors of the town hall, seeing some of the mutated wolves acting as bodyguards as they growled at Starlight. Shakily, Starlight knocked on the door.

“I-It’s me, Starlight,” Starlight called out.

“Come in,” Nate called out from inside.

Starlight gulped and opened the door. She walked inside and closed the door behind her and looked around the seemingly abandoned building. The feeling of anxiety kept the mare on edge since she felt like she was walking through a haunted house filled with evil spirits of the damned.

“I’m in the main lobby,” Nate’s voice called out.

Starlight followed the voice down the hall. Ever since Starlight first encountered Nate, she could never get used to the robotic voice that came through his helmet. She recalled hearing Princess Luna’s royal voice before, which was loud enough to be heard from several miles away, but Nate’s voice was arguably more intimidating. When she turned the corner, she gasped when she saw Nate sitting on a large sofa. What shocked her was the condition of his armor. It looked like the plating was torn apart and the whole frame was barely holding on. The giant armored man sat there motionless, like a statue, yet he gazed at Starlight under his helmet with a blank expression.

“Hello, Starlight,” Nate said.

“I-I-I…h-how…?” Starlight stuttered.

Starlight was at a loss for words, she had seen Nate tank multiple hits, faced off against a small army, and completely tear through numerous foes without so much as a scratch or dent in his armor, and now she found him in such a state where it seemed that he was on the verge of defeat. Her mouth was still gaping as she tried to speak but no words could be spoken due to her shocked state-of-mind. It wouldn’t be much of an exaggeration to Starlight if she told someone she believed Nate to be indestructible. However, that belief had completely shattered and became nothing more than an afterthought once she saw the condition Nate’s power armor was in.

“What happened to you…?” Starlight asked. She tried to take a step forward, but her nerves forbade her movements and she stood in place.

“Sit down, please,” Nate said, gesturing to a nearby chair. Starlight nodded slightly and sat down on the chair. “I fought a changeling who apparently worked directly under Chrysalis. I killed him, but he almost got the best of me.”

“You fought a high-changeling?!” Starlight yelped as she looked at Nate with an expression that looked like she had heard something almost too absurd to be true.

“And what’s that?” Nate asked, mildly curious about the foe that apparently had a bit of a reputation.

“A High-Changeling are the most elite fighting units that serve directly under Queen Chrysalis. They’re faster, stronger, more skilled, and their magic is incredible. One is enough to wipe out a whole town on their own,” Starlight explained. She glanced at Nate to see his reaction, only for him to continue staring at her blankly. “And you…killed one?”

“I suppose so,” Nate sighed. “How many would you say there are in total?”

“I think…last I heard, at least a dozen?” Starlight guessed.

“A dozen…” Nate said with another exhausted sigh. The realization was now hitting him like a ton of bricks that he was biting off more than he could chew. “It seems I truly underestimated this Chrysalis.”

“Does that mean you’re going to stop?” Starlight wondered, worried that Nate had lost his motivation.

“No, not at all,” Nate said. “But it does mean that I’ll need to reassess my current strategies.” Nate paused and turned his head to look at Starlight. “Tell me something, is there anyone in your town, or anyone around here, who has any experience whatsoever with engineering?”

“Um…I’m pretty good at tinkering? I usually study magic, but I used to build some things with an old friend of mine. I could be of use in that regard…” Starlight said as she was afraid Nate would work her to the bone or punish her if she wasn’t of use.

Nate stared at Starlight and her obvious nervous behavior. The mare twiddled her fingers together as she tried to avoid eye contact. He noticed the faint droplets of sweat dripping off the side of her head as she had trouble sitting still. Thinking back, all Nate ever did was give Starlight several reasons to fear him and always be anxious around him. Much as he didn’t want to admit it, he knew he couldn’t continue his conquest alone. He needed allies, allies he could trust and who could trust him the same way.

“Starlight, look at me,” Nate said, making Starlight look at him. Her eyes held nothing but anxiety and fear as she had no choice but to look at the man sitting before her.

Nate reached up and put his hands on his helmet. He unlatched the couplings and slowly removed his helmet from his head. For the first time since Starlight met him, Nate’s bear face was revealed to the mare as he set his helmet aside. Starlight’s anxiety seemed to vanish and was replaced with mild curiosity. It was as if she’d never seen anything like Nate’s face in her life. She tilted her head to the side a little and had stopped twiddling her fingers.

“You’ve always wondered what I look like under all this armor, right?” Nate asked. His voice no longer sounding robotic was also a new experience for Starlight. “Well…my face is the only thing I can show you for the moment.”

“Do you mean that you can’t take off the armor? Why?” Starlight asked as she continued to stare at Nate’s exposed face.

His face looked almost flat besides his nose, not seeing any fur other than his hair and facial hair. And his eyes. Something about them just drew Starlight in. To Starlight, Nate’s eyes looked like they could tell a hundred stories and she would listen to every word.

“Long story short, the ejection module on my armor is severely damaged,” Nate said, as if trying to avoid a lengthy explanation. “I’d bore you with the details, but my origin isn’t relevant at the moment. Right now, I believe it would be wise if we both came to a mutual understanding.”

“Well…can I be honest?” The mare asked, hoping Nate would approve.

“Of course,” Nate said calmly.

“You are perhaps the most terrifying, intimidating, massive creature I have ever seen. And this is our life!” Starlight showed the bruises still on her neck when she was collared and enslaved. “You saved us, but you aren’t completely different from them…” Her voice cracked as she gulped nervously. She wasn’t sure if she was being bold, or stupid, or bold and stupid for being so blunt with Nate. “So…if you want mutual understanding, can you tell me…what are you?”

Hearing this question, Nate knew that he was now required to explain to her about his origins. In a way, Nate felt it was only fair to at least let someone in on who and what he was and where he came from.

“A fair statement and a fair request,” Nate responded, once again catching Starlight off guard with his unusually calm tone of voice. “But I warn you, it’s a long story. You sure you wanna know?”

“We lived as slaves to the most merciless, cruel, and vile creatures known in Equestria. Whatever you have to say can’t be any worse than this,” Starlight affirmed. Starlight adjusted herself on her seat in order to get more comfortable.

Nate could only smirk a little at her response, and nodded in understanding. “Well, to start, I’m over three million years old.”

“…H-Haha?” Starlight nervously laughed while rubbing her arm. “I, uh…didn’t take you for a comedian.”

Nate didn’t respond and only stared at her with a blank expression, which told her that he was very serious, and that made her face go pale. Starlight could swear she heard her brain switch off and turn back on again after being told something so ludicrous. Nate watched her eye twitched a little and a few strands over her hair sticking out.

“…H-H-How?!” Starlight yelped as her eyes widened so much that Nate almost thought they’d pop out. “That’s impossible! Princess Celestia and Luna are a little over ten thousand years, yeah, but three million?! Is your species immortal?!” The questions she blurted out almost made her dizzy.

“No, I was suspended in a sort of hibernation sleep after fighting a war against an enemy that threatened everyone’s right for free will,” Nate explained, recalling that day. “I was caught in a massive explosion. The explosion was made up of an unstable energy called radiation. The radiation was what kept me alive and well-preserved in my armor.”

“That’s…that’s just not possible,” Starlight said, shaking her head in disbelief. She ran her hand through her hair as she contemplated what was being told. “We have powerful unicorns who are capable of using powerful spells, but nothing of this caliber! What kind of war were you fighting? Ones with Gods or something?”

“No, no, nothing like that,” Nate said, stifling a laugh. “It was a secret organization called the Institute. They were responsible for taking people out of the blue and replacing them with fake humans called Synths. I didn’t know this in the beginning, because I was already dealing with a crisis of my own.”

“What kind?” Starlight wondered, now back to being curious about Nate after managing to calm herself.

“Even before the explosion, this world was once at war with each other on a global scale. Radiation explosions, similar to the one that trapped me and rendered me in a deep sleep, ripped the world apart. Billions of lives were lost, and humanity’s only salvation was putting large groups of humans in these underground vaults. The point of these vaults was to keep humans, like myself, from going extinct while the nuclear war raged on.” Nate was silent when the subject of what happened the day the bombs fell came to him. “I…I once had a family, a wife and a son.”

Hearing this about his life, the war of global scale, and the loss of his own family shook Starlight to her core. Her eyes widening in shock as her heart ached at his pain. Not to mention, she was once again shocked to hear that someone like Nate once had a family of his own. To think, someone like this human, the one she watched tear changelings apart like they were flies on the wall, once had people he cared about.

“Oh…oh my Celestia, I…I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine that…” Starlight said as she hung her head and her ears drooped. “What…what happened to them…?”

“When the bombs fell, we were put in these pods and cryogenically frozen,” Nate explained, closing his eyes. “The idea was to keep the vault dwellers preserved until the right time to let us out. I remember briefly waking up while still inside the pod and someone entering the vault.” Nate clenched his metal hand as he remembered the sound of Kellogg’s gun going off and killing Nora as the lab assistant took his infant son. “They…killed my wife right in front of me…took my son away…and left me frozen again…”

“I…I had no idea, I…oh my stars, I’m so sorry.” Starlight reached over and gently placed a hand over Nate’s. Her hand looked so tiny compared to his massive, metallic hand. All that fear washed away in that moment as Starlight felt nothing but sorry, pain, and sympathy for Nate. Having lost people herself but never to an extent like this.

“After I unthawed completely, I stepped out of the vault. Not knowing at the time that over two hundred years had passed since the war,” Nate continued, remembering his first look at the torn apart landscape that was once his home as he stepped out of the vault. “The world I knew was gone. Ripped apart and built anew by the survivors. I faced many challenges during my quest to find my son, met some pretty amazing people along the way. I was a general of a civilian militia group called the Minutemen.” Nate smiled a little as he reminisced about meeting his first companion. “A man named Preston Garvey was held up in an old museum. I saved him and his group from raiders, and he helped me rebuild the Minutemen to full strength.”

“Saving people, rebuilding, becoming a leader? I, uh, I didn’t think that’s something you’d do. At least not like…well, out of the goodness of your heart. No offense,” Starlight hesitantly said. “What happened after? Were you able to find your son?”

“None taken, and yes…but not the way I wanted,” Nate said. “A good friend of mine named Sturges helped me build a machine that helped get me into the Institute’s HQ. However, when I found my son, he turned out to be a fake. Then a man came to greet me who introduced himself as the Institute’s leader. And he…he was my son.” Starlight gasped at the unexpected twist. “Turns out I was on ice longer than I thought, and I missed my son’s entire life and was robbed of raising him.”

“He was already grown up? I can’t imagine living and never seeing your loved ones grow.” Starlight gently squeezed his metallic hand as she stared into his eyes. The same gaze that sent shivers and fear through Starlight now had the look of a broken man who has lost everything.

“That’s not the worst of it, Starlight,” Nate admitted in a low tone, trying to hide his emotions. “Shaun had done many incredible things while being the leader of the Institute. However, it wasn’t until he wanted to name me his successor did I learn what his real plan was. Shaun wanted to replace all the people in the Commonwealth into synthetic people. He basically wanted to rob everyone of free will.” Nate looked away with a heavy heart. “I…I had no choice. I had to destroy the Institute. So I stormed the place with the Minutemen and we fought our way to the core. The look on Shaun’s face when I faced him after I betrayed him. It was like I had committed an unforgivable sin to him. But I had a duty to uphold, to both the people of the Commonwealth who were still alive and surviving. I told him that the Commonwealth deserved to choose their own fate.”

“Your son…you did all that, searching for him, and you had to…” One horrible tragedy after another sent ripples of heartache and pain in Starlight as she listened to his tale. No longer did she see the monstrous brute, but now a sad and pitiable creature who sacrificed his own son for the sake of peace. “But you saved your home in the end, right?”

Nate looked at Starlight with eyes that now held sorrow and ill-contempt.

“How should I know?” Nate said. “I wasn’t able to see what all my efforts did for the Commonwealth.” Nate turned away again and looked out the window. “As far as I’ve seen, everything has drastically changed in more ways than I can possibly imagine. I doubt there’s anything left from my time.” His mood then turned dark, making Starlight a little on edge as she let go of his hand. “That’s why I’ve had enough of this cliché bullshit. I played the long game to save my home and find my son, and all it did was quite literally blow up in my fucking face. That’s why I’ve decided to take what I’m owed.” Nate clenched his free hand tightly as he narrowed his eyes and grit his teeth. “And I won’t stop until everything and everyone is at my mercy.”

That last bit caused Starlight to flinch back in her seat as she stared at Nate with fear, unsure if this is any better than under the oppression of the Changelings and the other evils of her world. Her view towards him was now all jumbled up with mixed feelings. Starlight felt sorrow for him for suffering so many tragedies, fear for seeing him revert back to his dark thoughts, and even somewhat admired him for his acts of heroism.

“You…You said that the Commonwealth changed. What do you mean by that?” Starlight wondered, trying to change the subject.

Nate leaned back in his seat and sighed. “To put it simply, this world used to be inhabited by humans like myself. I’m not sure what the hell happened in the past three million years, but somehow they all mutated into you pony people.” Starlight blinked as she processed what Nate told her. Once again, Nate revealed something so crazy that she almost thought he was mad for saying it.. “That’s right, Starlight, your ancient ancestors were humans.”

“Wait, that’s…impossible! Isn’t it?! That’s just not possible!” Starlight kept repeating herself. “How are you here?! Were you blown into the future?! Did you get caught in a spell?!” A thousand questions flew off from Starlight’s mouth while a million more rang up in her thoughts

“It’s as I said, I was preserved in a radioactive environment for millions of years,” Nate explained. “The world you know now, and even before those villains took control, was nothing like it was during my time. I can only assume humanity’s DNA mutated somehow due to the constant exposure of radioactive materials in the atmosphere. You all mostly have similar features to that of humans but there are some obvious animalistic traits as well. It’s still a little baffling to me that radiation had this much of a dramatic effect on the human genepool.”

“But radiation doesn’t work like that! At least, as far as I know. Unless…if what you’re saying is true then perhaps your DNA reacted differently to it and…” Starlight started muttering to herself about how all of it was possible, completely forgetting Nate was there. Nate arched a brow at the mare as she rubbed her temples while a slight migraine built up within her head.

“Look, that’s besides the point,” Nate shook his head dismissively. “There’s a reason why I’m telling you all this.” Starlight waited for him to respond as Nate thought about what to say next. “I know I come across as someone who’d kill anyone for simply looking at me the wrong way. I’ve just had a shit time lately. I’m still gonna see through to my takeover, but I don’t want you to feel like your life is constantly in danger around me.” Nat looked into Starlight’s eyes as if wanting her to take his words to heart. “It’s become apparent to me that I can’t do this without some measure of assistance. I need people I can trust, and that’s where you come in.”

“You trust me?” Starlight was stunned to hear this coming from Nate, she began to think about all he’s done. Sure, he wasn’t exactly the most benevolent person, but Nate is doing what she thought was impossible, standing up against the tyrants and freeing them. But hearing him say that he trusted her felt surprisingly comforting. So much so that her body began to relax a little.

“You shared all that with me. To be honest, if I was in your situation, I probably wouldn’t be the nicest either,” Starlight admitted. Considering everything he had told her, it’s a mystery how he hasn’t gone on a blind rampage by now. “I…I don’t know how much use I can be, but I’m willing to help in any way I can.”

“On the contrary,” Nate said. “Did you know that what I’ve done to those monsters of mine is all due to magic?” Starlight was once again taken aback. Hearing that the monsters under his command were created using magic was something she was not expecting to hear. “It’s true. However, that’s pretty much the extent of how I’ve been using my magic. I’ve just been pouring it into any animal or insect I see and they became the monsters you see now. I don’t exactly know how to properly use my magic any way else. So tell me something. How proficient are you, as a unicorn, when it comes to spell casting?”

Hearing this question about her skills, Starlight couldn’t help but show off as her horn lit up and she began teleporting all around the room, even behind Nate a few times before teleporting back in front of him.

“Not to brag, but I’m above average among most unicorns,” Starlight said with a proud smirk on her face.

“Impressive,” Nate nodded. “It’s a good thing I’m no stranger to teleportation. What else are you capable of? Are there other spells that can be cast? Are there specific types?”

“Well, I can do telekinesis at an extraordinary rate than most unicorns, cast a bubble shield around me, magic blasts, teleportation, even take others cutie marks and make them…well, average is a polite way of putting it,” Starlight explained. Starlight felt it was best to keep the method of removing cutie marks to herself for the time being.

Nate listened intently to everything Starlight told him. He surmised that this magic had its uses, but he didn’t expect there to be a wide variety of spells. Perhaps there were even more than the ones Starlight listed. The bit about these cutie marks perplexed him, but didn’t feel like it was too important for the time being.

“It would seem I’ve found my edge,” Nate said to himself, sounding confident.

“What do you mean?” Starlight asked, wondering what he meant.

“Starlight, this may be out of the blue, but I have an offer for you,” Nate said as he leaned forward a bit. “I want you to teach me how to use magic properly.”

“…What?” Starlight blinked a few times to see if Nate would start laughing or say he was joking again, only he wasn’t joking, again. “Um…m-mister Apex, sir? Uh…you don’t have a horn, and unicorns are the only ones that can actually use magic in a tangible and physical way…”

“Then allow me to let you in on a trade secret,” Nate said and pointed to the bell on his chest plate. “This look familiar to you?” Starlight examined the bell for a good while before she looked back up at Nate and shook her head. “I found it on a very tall mountain peak with ridiculously strong wings that almost blew me off.”

“Tall mountain…strong winds…” Starlight repeated until it clicked. “You mean Mt. Everhoof?” Nate nodded. “Amazing! No pony has ever been able to scale that mountain! They say the winds are enchanted!”

“That explains a lot,” Nate grumbled, recalling how annoyingly difficult it was to scale such a tall mountain. “But anyway, I found this bell in a cave that was sealed away in this freaky barrier which was difficult as hell to break through. Apparently, this bell belonged to some old sorcerer named Grogar.”

“GROGAR?!” Starlight shrieked. The name seemed to scare her as much as Nate did upon his arrival. “You mean the father of monsters?! The first King of Equestria?! The greatest evil to ever live?! THAT GROGAR?!”

“First, volume,” Nate said calmly yet mildly annoyed. “Second, yes, the very same. I guess he really did have such an infamous reputation.”

“I thought he was long since dead! It was thousands of years ago! Even WAY before Celestia and Luna’s time before Grogar was defeated!” Starlight said as she was still having a hard time believing this. If what Nate said was true about the bell infused on his power armor’s chest plate, Starlight wondered if Nate was a ticking time bomb of disaster and chaos waiting to happen.

“He mentioned something about trapping his own spirit in the bell before it was stolen and he died,” Nate said, trying to de-escalate the mood. “When I took the bell, I implanted it in my armor, as you can see now. It gave me all his magic and his spirit faded away. But rest assured, Starlight, it’s still me. Grogar’s long gone, and I just have his magic.”

Starlight looked at Nate worryingly as she still wasn’t completely sure she was fond of this new development.

“Well…I’ve seen what you could do alone, so if Grogar was really still around he would’ve created an army like you did but still treat us as slaves.” Starlight hesitated for a moment before closing her eyes and nodding. “So…I guess I can somehow learn to live with it.” Even though this revelation is more unbelievable than I could ever hope it to be! Starlight thought.

“Good to know,” Nate nodded back. Nate took a mental note not to mention the origin of his bell so loosely for the foreseeable future, judging by Starlight’s reaction. “Now, about my offer. If you teach me how to use my magic appropriately, then I promise to be less aggressive with you. I won’t bark orders, threaten you, or always make it seem like you’re one word away from stepping out of line. It’s like I said, I want there to be a mutual understanding between us.” Nate raised his hand out to Starlight for a shake. “Deal?”

Starlight stared down at Nate’s hand and thought about his offer. Nate was terrifying and far from friendly, but he was helping her and the ponies of Equestria, and she wasn’t being forced into this position. With a deep breath Starlight reached out and shook his hand.

“Deal. But I have to warn you, this won’t be easy,” Starlight stated firmly. “I will need to see what you can do and know so far in order to properly teach you.” The mare sounded like she was taking a gamble with this. Despite everything Nate had disclosed to her, she still felt like it was the right decision to at least have a little faith in Nate.

“Sounds doable,” Nate agreed. “Now, onto the next matter of business. My armor.” Nate gestured to the severely damaged plating of his power armor. “This is my main concern at the moment. You can already tell it’s unlike anything you’ve seen before, because it is. From what I’ve seen, the technology I used to create my armor has long since been lost. Thankfully, I had a knack for constantly running maintenance checks during my quest. So if you’re willing, I can walk you through how my armor works and what repairs need to be done. Fair warning, it won’t be easy in the slightest.”

“I get to get up close to this ancient armor that’s older than the Princesses?” Starlight had stars in her eyes as she gazed at Nate’s power armor. To think, not only would she be teaching Nate how to use magic but also be able to learn about what she considered to be an artifact of days long since gone by. The possibilities sent a shiver of excitement through the mare. “I’m the luckiest mare alive.”

Starlight muttered to herself as she tried to contain her excitement at the fact that she is perhaps the first pony in history to deal with not only a human but to also work with ancient technology.

“Are there any other smiths or those who would know how to craft armor?” Nate wondered, changing the subject. “They will also be needed in order to do the proper repairs.”

Starlight thought about his question for a moment until something crossed her mind.

“Iron Bridle,” Starlight said, “He’s an older stallion back in my town and is a retired forger. He came to live in our town some time ago before we were enslaved.”

“Think he can make something out of Eclipse Iron?” Nate wondered.

“He can,” Starlight answered with conviction in her voice. “His special talent was blacksmithing and forging. His skills even impressed the princesses. As long as you can give him an idea of what you want, he can build it. There’s just one problem, he was last seen being transferred to the old Pie family rock farm.”

“Pie…family?” Nate repeated, processing the name. Ugh, I can’t with these ridiculous names… Nate thought to himself. “You’re gonna have to explain a bit.”

“The Pie family are the owners of the rock farms,” Starlight explained. “They mine rocks, smash rocks, and even eat rocks. They handle everything rock related. But they are living on a mine of incredible minerals that are used for forging armor, weapons, fortifications, and other uses.”

“I see…” Nate nodded, still trying to get used to the new cultures these pony-people have adopted. “There’s a map over there in the big table. Would you mind getting it and pointing out where the farm is?”

Starlight nodded and walked over to the map, after looking around it for a moment she placed her finger on the location.

“Here,” she said.

Nate analyzed the map and noticed the terrain looked similarly to his HUD’s map. Not only that, his suspicions about the land being completely warped and changed due to millions of years of tectonic plates shifting was also true. He looked at where Starlight was pointing and to where Appleloosa was.

“About five kilometers out,” Nate said to himself. “Too bad I can’t go now. Seems like I’ll just have to focus on my armor and lessons.” Nate turned to Starlight and nodded. “Now I’d like you to send for any capable smiths in the area. Along with anyone who has any sort of skill with engineering, or tinkering as you put it, for the time being. We’ve got work to do.”

“Yes sir!” Starlight said. She was still a little nervous, but now she had something she hadn’t felt in so long. Hope. She walked out and began to gather anyone who was healthy enough to stand and with the capabilities to lead in order to set this place up as Nate’s main base of operations.

Author's Note

Nate’s conquest is put on a temporary hold. But soon he shall continue and become a force to be reckoned with.

Side Note:
Yes, this story is still alive. It’s just been a slow process.

Hope you enjoyed!

~WurkyWilk has left the building…