Claire had seen many things in her lifetime. She had just turned seventy-eight years old last month, and she had been a soldier for sixty of those years. A veteran of hundreds of battles, and she had witnessed things that would drive most to madness. She had witnessed the deaths of countless brave souls, torn to pieces by terrible monsters that defied logic or description. Some may argue that she had indeed gone mad from it all. She certainly felt insane when she witnessed a pink pony appear as a blur from nowhere and without warning. With a swiftness unlike anything she had seen before, this mare ran into the room, reached into her puffy, curly mane with a hoof, and withdrew a bright blue cannon. Before Claire could even vocalize her shock, she watched helplessly as the mare fired the cannon directly into the face of Ignatius, who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Multicoloured paper scraps and tiny, glittery specks of plastic blew out from the end of the barrel of the bizzare weapon, absolutely covering the unsuspecting Lunar Knight. A few tense seconds passed as the team waited for the smoke to clear, the three unassailed members stared at the pink pony, gawking at the audacious action. The Lunar captain put a hand to her hip, ready to draw her pistol if Ignatius was anything but unharmed. However, when the smoke cleared, that hand quickly met her face as she turned away. She covered her mouth with her hand to hide the barely-stifled laughter rising in her throat in the aftermath of the pink pony’s attack. She did not consider herself easily amused, but seeing her Lieutenant so… Sparkly and colourful managed to wrestle a small laugh from somewhere deep in her core. Thankfully, neither of the Solars noticed this small slip, as they were too busy openly laughing at Ignatius as he tried and failed to wipe the scraps off of himself. Unbeknownst to Claire however, the pink mare did indeed notice her slip, and it made her own smile just a bit brighter. It was when everyone was done with their laughing that the mare decided to introduce herself in the most long-winded way possible.

“Welcome to Ponyville! I’m Pinkie Pie, and I am so happy to meet the four of you! Last night, my Pinkie Sense got all tingly and weird in a way that it never did before, and for a little while I wasn’t sure what it meant but then I realized it was weird because I had never had this kind of Pinkie Sense tingle before, and so I had to spend like an hour trying to figure out what it meant but when I figured it out I was all like,” Pinkie made a loud gasping sound which was both the expression she had made before, and also her taking a breath of air, “So when I figured out what my Pinkie Sense was trying to tell me, I just knew I had to whip up an extra special party for the four of you, because you’re all from another world and exploring Equestria for the first time so I have to show you the best possible first impression so that you’ll stay around for a long time and we can all become the best of friends!” The team of soldiers had to play catch-up with the pink pony’s words, but once they fully processed the verbal barrage, they all decided individually that she was of no threat. The Solars in particular were excited for this one.

It was then that Sunset Shimmer and Spike entered the dining room from opposite ends, with the former entering from the hall and the latter entering from the kitchen. Sunset breathed a sigh of relief as she counted the heads in the room, and found that they were all attached to their necks, Pinkie in particular. “Oh thank Celestia, no one is dead. I wasn’t sure how you four would react to Pinkie Pie.” Spike rolled his eyes, drying his claws with a dishrag that he then tossed over his shoulder. He walked up to Pinkie Pie and gave her a hug around the neck, which she eagerly returned in kind.

“Hey Pinkie, I was wondering when you’d show up. You always know when someone new is in town. It’s really good to see you again, even if it’s only been a few weeks.” He turned to face the soldiers and began to introduce them, from left to right. “That guy over there is Captain Rhys, and next to him is Lieutenant Colette. He’s a human, and she’s what’s called a canid. That guy you blasted with the Party Cannon is Lieutenant Ignatius. I guess he’s some sort of robot, but he’s pretty cool. The one over there though,” he pointed over his shoulder to Claire, who was watching the introductions through squinted eyes, “That’s Captain Claire. She’s pretty intense. Maybe you should keep your distance from her.” Pinkie put a hoof to her chin, squinting back at the Lunar captain as she sized her up. Once satisfied in her assessment, she turned to the other three.

Colette was still giggling at a sparkly Ignatius, who seemed to have given up on cleaning himself off, instead choosing to simply sit back down quietly. Rhys had successfully collected himself from the explosive introduction, and stepped forward to speak. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Pinkie Pie. As our friend Spike said, I am Rook Captain Rhys, of the Solar Guard. Your exuberance is refreshing, and reminds me of the Solar Queen back home. She too has a fondness for parties and I think you two might get along well, if you ever meet.” Pinkie didn’t seem to be batting an eye at the newcomers, which was relieving for Sunset. She was almost worried that Pinkie would freak out and run outside, screaming about aliens and causing a panic.

“Oh you have a queen? That’s pretty neat! We have a princess in Equestria, but I’m sure you already knew that. You’re in her castle, after all! At least, this was originally her castle. She lives in Canterlot now, so she had to give this castle to her student, Starlight Glimmer! I bet you already met her too, so I don’t have to tell you who she is. Anyway, you said that your queen likes parties? That sounds super-duper-neato! I’d love to meet her sometime, but I’m sure she’s back on your world doing queen stuff and is suuuuper busy, so why don’t we have a party together in the meantime?” It was Colette’s turn to join the conversation as she walked over, wiping one last laugh-tear from her eye.

“Sorry, I couldn’t get over that great stunt you pulled on Ignatius. Never seen a Lunar so stumped before. You said something about a welcoming party for us?” Pinkie Pie nodded vigorously, always excited to talk about parties.

“Of course! You four are new to town! I always have to throw a party for anyone and everyone who’s new! I’m Equestria’s contested number one party pony, and it’s always my pleasure to make new friends! We can have it over at Sugarcube Corner, I throw a lot of my parties there. Either way this is totally happening tonight, because I have to introduce you to everyone in town as soon as possible!” Rhys and Colette exchanged a puzzled glance before looking back down at Pinkie Pie.

“Ok, but why do you have to introduce everyone to us tonight? I know we’re cool and all, and I love a good party as much as the next gal, but why so eager?” Pinkie Pie looked at them as though they had sprouted an extra head each.

“Because how else are we going to advance the plot if you stay cooped up in the castle all the time, silly? You need to get out of here and explore, otherwise how else are you going to solve your Friendship Problem?” Spike cocked his head at Pinkie, crossing his arms.

“Uh, Pinkie. You’ve officially stopped making sense. You’re gonna have to run that by us again.” Sunset stepped forward now, just confused as everyone else.

“And wait a minute, I didn’t tell you about the Friendship Problem yet. How did you know about that?” The pink mare rolled her eyes and gave a loud, exasperated sigh.

“Come on, Sunset! It’s obvious that you’re here for a Friendship Problem as the Element of Empathy. Your ability to see other people’s memories is perfect for this job!” Sunset blinked a few times, flabbergasted by Pinkie’s knowledge of the situation. She knew that she shouldn’t be surprised, but this still completely caught her off guard. Then, a piece in her mind clicked and she came to a sudden realization.

“Wait, Pinkie, you just said ‘people,’ and you know about my Element. Are you the Pinkie from the Human Realm?” Pinkie Pie waved off the accusation with a wry smile.

“Come on, Sunset. We both know it wouldn’t matter either way. Anyway,” she looked back up to the now completely flummoxed soldiers in front of her, “Like I was saying, you four should totally come to my party tonight! There’s gonna be food, games, music, and pretty much everyone in town! Don’t worry, I’ll let everyone know how crazy you four look. I’ll vouch for you four, and hopefully no one goes too crazy when they see you.” She gave a sly wink before bouncing past Sunset and the Solars towards the door. “I gotta go do some last preparations and hand out invitations to everyone! I just wanted to drop by and say hi!” Spike ran after her, stopping at the doorway of the dining room.

“Sorry for that, everyone. She’s a lot at first, I know. But she’s a really great pony once you get to know her! Also, her parties are pretty legendary in Equestria, so be sure not to miss it. I’m gonna go walk her out.” As the small dragon left, Rhys and Colette looked at each other, brows raised in disbelief. They looked to Ignatius, who was sitting with his head resting on his crossed fingers. Seeing their gaze on him, he merely shrugged. When they looked at Claire, she had managed to return to her deadpan expression as per usual. Now, however, she was staring directly at Sunset Shimmer. She got up from her seat, and moved down the table towards the others. She made her way around to the other side of the table, switching off the boombox and the music as she moved before standing directly in front of the unicorn, who was at this point worried that she had done something terribly wrong. Even though both of the Solars were taller than Claire, their presence beside her didn’t make her feel any better at the daemonkin looming over her.

“So, Sunset Shimmer. You’re some sort of psionic empath, is that it? You can relive the memories of others?” Sunset nodded slowly, not sure what to say. She was feeling the same terror as she did yesterday, having watched the team tear through a pack of timberwolves. Except now, all of that animosity was bearing down on her. Surprisingly, Claire’s eyes softened slightly, and a small measure of tension was released from her shoulders as she exhaled slowly. After seconds that felt like minutes, she spoke again. “Then in that case, maybe you can understand where Rhys cannot.” Sunset looked up at Rhys, who was now looking away, shame written across his face. Colette was frowning with concern, a hand on his shoulder as she stared hard at the Lunar captain.

“I know what you’re thinking, and I don’t think it’s a good idea, Claire. You became a Lunar for a good reason. Sharing that burden with another… Doesn’t that go against everything you people believe in?” Colette’s voice wasn’t provocative, but completely earnest, which made Sunset all the more worried. If Pinkie Pie was right, and the map had chosen her specifically for her empathic powers, what kind of memories would she have to witness to understand Claire? She knew that she shared a loss with Rhys, but she had no idea as to how it happened, or why. She watched the two continue their discourse as the Solar captain began to walk away, head held low.

“The magic of this world brought her to us in a quest to help, Lieutenant. If she were not capable of shouldering the weight, why would it send her?” Claire spoke slowly and without malice. As the tension slowly rolled off of her, she suddenly looked weary, as though she had not slept properly in years. Maybe she hadn’t. “I have abided by the Lunar code long enough to know that it is… a difficult path to walk alone.” Ignatius had silently joined the group, standing behind his captain. His eyes looked no less intense when he was covered in glitter and confetti.

“There is not a Lunar on Earth that does not wish they were not a Lunar.” Claire looked at him, and they seemed to share a moment of understanding. Colette let a frustrated growl escape her muzzle, pushing Sunset aside as she got right up into the Lunar captain’s face. Claire’s expression didn’t change, however.

“You don’t get it, do you? Your guilt, your shame, all of that angst in that messed up skull of yours is gonna get mixed up in Sunset, and you’re gonna leave a permanent mark on her. That sort of empathic connection isn’t just something that you can walk off. Your souls will meet in the middle, and you’ll leave some of that burden on her for the rest of her life. She doesn’t deserve it.” Now, the hateful snarl had returned to Claire’s face, as her patience seemed to have run thin.

“Do you think I like the idea of tainting her like this? Who are we to question this world’s customs? Everyone we have met has been familiar with this ‘Cutie Map’ and all recognize the importance of her quest! Are we to believe their faith is misplaced? I have never been in this position before, I am just as clueless as you, but at least I am not pretending like I understand this world and its magic!” Sunset watched as the two argued over her, bickering back and forth over what was the correct choice of action. As their tempers rose with their voices, Sunset shut her eyes to think.

She understood what it was like to bear a burden of guilt. She had to live with the consequences of her actions at Canterlot high, and it took a long time for anyone to even look at her after what she had done. It took even longer for her to be able to look at herself in the mirror, the guilt hanging from her heart like a heavy weight, always threatening to crush her. There were times where she was unsure if she could live with the pain, but her friends helped keep her eyes ahead, and reassure her that there was still a future for her. Eventually, others forgave her, and she even came to forgive herself. Without the help of others however, she doubted that she would have been able to survive on her own. Her mind was made up, and she used her magic to shove the two apart. The two women stumbled but caught themselves, looking down at Sunset in shock. She looked back up at them with conviction, and spoke up.

“Enough. I don’t need you two to make up my mind for me. The map chose me for a reason. No one else can do what needs to be done, and I’m done beating around the bush.” She turned to Colette first, whose mouth hung open in surprise from the sudden show of force from the small unicorn. “I don’t need you to defend me. I’ve been through a lot over the years, and I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I’ve carried guilt for years, and I already know how painful it can be. Out of everyone I know, I stand the best chances of living with a little more.” Colette’s maw snapped shut, having nothing to say in response. She pursed her lips, but ultimately nodded in understanding. She turned away, and went after Rhys who was sulking in the corner to try and comfort him. Sunset knew she would need to deal with him next, but for now, focused on Claire. She turned to the Lunar, who had calmed down. Her face was once again somber, but that was better than hostile.

“Claire… Are you sure you want to do this? I’ll see everything through your eyes, everything that happened… You won’t feel anything, but I’ll feel everything. Not everyone is comfortable with the idea of that level of intrusiveness but-”

“It is fine, Sunset Shimmer. You have my consent. I want you to understand. I believe you can understand.” She paused, looking around the room, before returning her eyes to Sunset. “Perhaps we should go somewhere more private. I’m not sure how your empathic magic works, but you may want to be settled in and comfortable for… everything in my mind.” Sunset considered it for a moment, but decided it would probably be best to take her up on the offer. Every other time she tried using her magic to see someone’s thoughts, it was very on-the-spot and she could never maintain a connection for long. She may be able to stay connected for longer if she can concentrate comfortably. Besides, she had a feeling that Rhys wouldn’t want to be around for this.

“Yeah. Let’s go do that. We can go to my room.” With that, Sunset turned to leave, leading the way. But Ignatius put a hand on his captain’s shoulder, stopping her. They silently looked into each other’s eyes, unblinking for a moment, sharing an unspoken sentiment that only two Lunars could understand. After several seconds, Ignatius nodded, and let her go, letting her catch up to Sunset who was waiting at the door. She considered asking what that interaction was about, but decided against it. It was unspoken for a reason.

—

When the pair arrived at Sunset’s room, she opened the door and let Claire inside, closing the door behind them both. She set a pair of pillows down on the ground for them both to sit on, and took her own seat. However, the Lunar captain did not immediately sit down. Instead, she pressed a button on the back of her neck, where her armor met her spine. Much like how her helmet had retracted into itself to slide into her chestpiece, the armor began to retract into itself, starting at the extremities. After a few seconds of watching the metallic pieces sliding into each other silently and elegantly, all that was left was the cuirass, which Claire lifted over her head and placed on the ground. It was strange seeing the normally fiercely intimidating daemonkin doing something so mundane as undressing. She kneeled down, and unfastened her boots, pulling them off to reveal that much like her hands, her feet were also prosthetics of pale violet colour. She placed the boots beside the armor, and stood tall in front of Sunset in nothing but a jet-black bodysuit. She thought that was all, but then Claire reached up to her neck and began to undo some sort of invisible fastener, opening the suit from throat to groin. Sunset was about to object, but her mouth clamped shut when the undergarment fell to the ground, revealing the daemonkin’s body, or the lack thereof. From the neck down, Claire’s body was entirely cybernetic. An incredibly advanced series of prostheses that encapsulated every aspect of her body, all made of the same pale violet metal as her hands and feet. Sunset’s eyes were wide with shock and horror, and eventually met Claire’s own, which were firm with conviction.

“What… What happened to you?” The daemonkin said nothing for a moment, and kneeled down, taking her seat. She folded her legs underneath her, sitting on her heels similar to a samurai that Sunset had seen in old movies back in the Human Realm. Claire held out a hand to Sunset, who hesitated to take it. Sensing this, she answered the question.

“Take my hand, and I will show you how I became like this.” After several more seconds of deliberation, she placed her hoof on the cold, clawed metal hand. She focused her magic in her horn, and reached into Claire through their physical connection in order to form one between their very souls. Her eyes turned white with magic, and she felt a rush as her consciousness left her body, and entered the memories of the Lunar Captain.

—

She found herself in the body of Claire, who was standing in a wide open and dark field. At first she thought it was night, but then when she looked up, she realized that the sky was red and filled with dark clouds. A faint dot of light peered through the haze, and dread crept in as Sunset realized that it was the sun, and this darkness was the day. It reminded her of the eternal night that Nightmare Moon promised, but the sickly colour of the sky betrayed how much worse this was. The field she stood in was no better, with not a single speck of green in sight. As far as the eye could see were sprawling red dunes of sand, with huge jagged rocks protruding from the surface. It didn’t take more than a few seconds to realize that these jutting structures were in fact derelict remains of a city, long collapsed and ruined, with only the strongest materials left to erode in the dunes. This sorry state stretched all the way to the horizon, leaving Sunset cold, as she couldn’t bear to imagine what had wrought such destruction on such a massive scale, nor could she even think about the countless souls that must have inhabited the sprawling supercity before her. It was only this inability to further observe the environment that allowed Sunset to realize that while she was definitely Claire that she was watching from, it was not the Claire she knew. This woman was wearing a heavy powered suit of white and gold armor, more similar to the armor that was worn by Colette than what Sunset saw the Lunar captain wearing previously. Despite this, Sunset could tell without a doubt this was Claire. Underneath the armor, she could feel a beating heart and warm blood, and more importantly she could feel the legs and arms of a whole person, instead of the numbness of mechanical replacements. She reasoned that this was before Claire suffered the mutilations that called for such drastic modifications.

Curious to learn more about her situation, Sunset began to observe the direct surroundings. She realized next that in her hands was a massive machine gun, which looked far too huge and heavy to ever be wielded by a normal human. Much like her armor, it was painted a bold white and gold, which clashed just as intensely with the dark red world around her. It was only while looking down at the gun that she noticed the chest-high barricade in front of her. It was of sturdy-looking metal, easily two feet thick. As heavy-duty as it appeared, it too contrasted with the pretty armor and weapon, being rusted at the edges and very heavily worn from the seemingly toxic environment. Whatever was written on it had long faded away, leaving faded and illegible words on the face of it. The writing likely would be unintelligible to Sunset anyway, if the HUD in the helmet were of any indication. Multiple widgets were on the screen in front of her face, and she could read none of them. Looking around her revealed thousands of other soldiers in similar armor standing in a line that looked to be miles long. Each of them stood in a neat formation, but many of them were idling like she was, looking around aimlessly or facing each other, likely chatting. Behind her was an enormous wall that was topped with a massive clear dome. She could see light coming from inside, and it occurred to her that this must be a city that all of these soldiers were intending to protect. It didn’t take Sunset long to figure out that with so many soldiers stationed in one place, it could only mean one thing. They were anticipating an attack.

A man’s voice appeared in her ear, but it wasn’t the soldier beside her. In fact, her helmet seemed to be blocking out all noise from the outside, as the wind that was blowing the sand across the ruins was completely absent. “How are you feeling, hon? Nervous?” Sunset felt her eyes roll and her mouth make a smirk, and she remembered that she was merely an observer in this memory.

“Of course not. We’ve done this a hundred times, and I’ve done it hundreds more than you ever have. This’ll be just like any other battle. I bet I can kill more of them than you.” She heard laughter over the communication system in response. It reminded Sunset of Rhys’ laugh.

“Ever cocky, aren’t you? One of these days, that attitude is gonna cost you your ass, love. Mark my words.” Sunset was surprised to hear Claire giggle in response, much like a schoolgirl talking to her crush. It suddenly hit her that the man on the comms was Claire’s late husband, and Rhys’ brother. The following realization was much more grim; this was the battle that he died.

“How about this, darling? When you have more medals on our wall than me, then you can lecture me about my ego.” It was weird hearing Claire make jokes, but this seemed to be many years ago. She really had changed a great deal since then.

“That’s hardly a fair contest, hon. You’ve got over twenty years of service on me. If you retire after this battle, I might have a chance to catch up before I’m an old man.” Claire blew a raspberry at him, playfully scoffing his offer.

“You humans pass your prime so early. I can’t imagine growing so frail so young. Who’s going to take care of you when you’re skin and bones?” He laughed again, clearly enjoying the banter.

“You, of course! You’re going to stay young and sexy when I’m a shriveled up cadavre in fifty years. When you married me, you promised ‘Until death do we part.’ I’m going to hold you to that oath.” Their back and forth left Sunset feeling warmed, almost forgetting that she was standing in the middle of a hellscape on an alien world. It was unfortunately interrupted by a third voice, one she recognized.

“You know, you two could do without the mushy talk when we’re on the field. It’s terribly distracting for everyone else on the channel.” Rhys was apparently listening to all of that, and he sounded rather embarrassed by it. Both Claire and his brother laughed in response, before giving their apologies.

“Sorry, little brother. Forgot we had you in the call. You can’t blame us, can you? It’s always boring waiting on the attack.” Sunset had been right. They were deployed in wait for an invasion force. The confirmation only made the pit in her gut return, swallowing up the warmness from a moment before.

“I would apologize for getting mushy with your brother, but I did also marry him. I think mushy talk is the least I’m owed for swearing my life away to him.” Claire giggled again as Rhys’ voice responded, sounding annoyed.

“You know, James is right. You’re technically only sworn to him for the length of his life. If you like, I can shoot him and free you of your life oath.” Once again, the eyes rolled with a smirk.

“No thanks, Rhys. I rather like your brother, as inconvenient as the oath can be. I’d be terribly disappointed if you killed him, especially considering the surprise I have in store for him after this battle.” A groan of displeasure echoed from the younger brother as the elder sibling laughed.

“Please tell me that’s not a euphemism for sex. Because I really don’t need to know about how the two of you spend your evenings together.” Claire didn’t answer, instead smiling deviously. She took a hand off her gun and placed it on her stomach, with pride swelling in her heart. Sunset’s dread grew even deeper as she understood the silent implication. Was there no end to the loss of this battle? Just then, a new voice sounded over the communications system in the helmet, snapping Claire to attention as she readied her weapon, pointing it ahead at the sprawling ruins.

“Alright ladies, gents, and everything in between! We’ve got confirmation of the hostile forces one klick out. They’re approaching on foot, and so far it just looks like an absolute ton of infantry. No sight of heavy units, so it looks like it’s going to be a shooting gallery. Oh, and of course, music is on channel 20 for anyone wanting something to listen to while they kick some ass. Lock and load, everyone! Let’s show these freaks a good time! ”

A grin crept across Claire’s face as her HUD showed the first of the hostile forces crawling out from through the ruins. They were shambling bodies, vaguely humanoid but very clearly wrong in both proportions and movements. Sunset was happy that they were so far away, because she didn’t think she would want to get a clear view of them. Before engaging the incoming invaders, Claire switched on the other channel, filling her helmet with loud rock music. The song seemed to be a thinly veiled euphemism for sex, using gunfire as the metaphor. Even if the lyrics weren’t exactly appropriate for the situation, Sunset could understand the appeal. The passionate vocals and instruments definitely got the blood pumping. Finally Claire squeezed the trigger on her gun, and there was a muted sound like thunderous drumming. It was clear that the weapon was so loud and powerful that the reverberations of the gunfire managed to make their way through the helmet’s noise dampening, even if just barely. The sound grew slightly louder as more and more soldiers along the row began to open fire on the quickly massing hordes of things charging at them. Thousands of guns fired nearly non-stop, with only seconds of pause during reloads to remove the magazine and insert a fresh one. Claire would hit a latch on the side of the gun, dropping the empty box into her waiting hand, and pushing it into her side holster where it was immediately replaced with a full one, allowing for lightning fast reloads to keep firing.

This went on for hours, with the cacophonous sound of gunfire never ending. Hundreds of millions of rounds of ammunition were expended, with millions of the incoming horrors dropping dead against the onslaught of firepower. Missiles and grenades exploded along the enemy lines, sending showers of limbs and gore, but those quickly ran out within the first hour of fighting. Over time, the things got bigger and tougher, with more rounds needed to bring down each one. Some were twice the size of others, clearly vile amalgams of multiple desecrated bodies. The bodies piled up high, and the tide slowly crept closer and closer across the field. Two hundred yards away, then one hundred, then fifty. The things were close enough that Sunset could now see that they were crude and revolting mockeries of the human form, made of twisted and blackened wood intertwined with what appeared to be rotten flesh and bone. From a distance, they looked like wooden figurines, and moved in a sporadic, jerking motion like a puppet on strings. Most worrisome were the sharp protrusions on the ends of each arm, looking like blades of various quality and make. Some looked like large pieces of scrap metal honed to a cutting edge, and some were old, broken swords still gripped in the hands that must have held them in life. Sunset guessed that these monstrous creatures must be the Marionettes that the team were talking about while they fought against the timberwolves back in the Everfree. The way that the creatures splintered apart from the endless stream of bullets was vaguely reminiscent of timberwolves, but the black blood and sinew added an extra level of repugnance to the display. Sunset was certain that if it wasn’t for the closed-breathing system of the power armor, the smell alone would kill the defending Solars. By this point, Claire’s smile had faded, replaced with a grimace of concentrated will as she continued to aim, fire, and reload as fast as she could. She had turned off the music an hour ago, when the neverending mass of bodies had cross the one hundred yard threshold. The voice of Rhys came over the comms again, after nearly three hours of fighting. His voice trembled with a forced calm that was clearly disingenuous.

“I've never seen so many before... They just won’t stop coming. We’ve been at this for hours, and if this doesn’t let up soon, I’m going to run out of ammo!” Claire gritted her teeth, still trying to focus on the threat looming closer and closer to her. Still, she spared a fraction of her attention to her brother-in-law.

“Don’t worry, Rhys. We’ll get through this. There’s no way that there’s many more. We’re going to kill the rest of these things, and go home. We’re going to have a nice hot meal at the mess hall, and we’re gonna talk about this for years to come. This is going to be the greatest victory of the UDE!” She emptied another magazine, and as she reached down to replace it, a blur swept past her, coming over the barricade and tackling the soldier to her left. She looked over, and saw what looked to be a Lunar knight standing on top of the body of the Solar knight, who was now impaled with a massive sword, not unlike Colette's. The blade glowed with arcing electricity like the weapons that Sunset had seen the team use in their fight against the timberwolves, except this one was in much worse condition with rust along its surface and a chipped edge. It only took a second glance to realize that the thing in front of her was no Lunar Guard. It wore black, but only because it was caked in layers of filth and grime. The armor was cracked and broken in multiple spots, revealing a rotting and emaciated form underneath. The helmet was split open along the mask, with a skeletal face peering through, the eyes long since fallen out, leaving hollow sockets that seemed to glow with a deep, dark, green light. The thing stared directly at Claire as it twisted the sword in the chest of the writhing Solar beneath it, blood gushing from the gaping wound. As it violently withdrew the blade, the Solar finally went still, and Claire suddenly remembered how to move, shouting into the communications system as she backpedaled away from the pair of corpses. Her voice was full of fear and horror as the thing lunged at her next, bloody blade raised over its head and mouth open in a silent scream.

“DEATHKNIGHTS! THEY HAVE DEATHKNIGHTS!” With no time to reload or draw a secondary weapon, Claire raised her rifle in front of her in an attempt to block the blow. The Deathknight's swing came down hard, cleaving straight through the weapon, but thankfully with not enough force to make its way all the way through her armor. Even damaged however, the energy-wreathed sword still bit deep into Claire's pauldron, sending pain arcing through her body as blade met flesh. Luckily, she was able to leap backwards before any more damage was taken, bumping into the knight behind who was stationed to her right. He swiveled and aimed over her shoulder, firing a volley of rounds into the Deathknight, causing it to flail from the force of the rounds. Each round seemed to explode with a small detonation on impact, leaving the monster covered in holes and craters before it collapsed. Claire's savior quickly pivoted back to his previous stance, returning his fire into the writhing crowd.

Although Claire managed to save her arm from being severed entirely, it had still gone completely numb, hanging limply beside her. This pain was unlike anything Sunset had felt before, but she managed to hold onto the link for the time being. Several notifications had appeared on Claire's HUD, one of which seemed to indicate her body, with the left arm in a deep red. Using her other hand, she drew a small ampule from her right holster, injecting it directly into the still-smoking open wound with a pained hiss through gritted teeth. Dropping the empty vial on the ground, she wasted no time in drawing her backup pistol with her good hand, firing into the crowd alongside her Solar comrades. The voice from earlier, likely a commander officer sounded off again in the helmet.

"We have confirmation of the presence of Deathknights on the field! Remember, Deathknights have no recollection of their former lives. Kill them on sight and with extreme prejudice! Stand strong, and we will not fall today!” The announcement may have been intended to be informative and reassuring, but the line started to become increasingly busy as other Knights on the channel began to panic.

“Deathknights? Here? The intel said it was just a large mass of Marionettes!”

“The intel was obviously wrong! Keep your head on straight and keep firing, damnit!”

“My squad is almost out of ammo, we’re going to have to counter charge them soon, and if they don’t thin out by then we’re not going to make it!”

“Does anyone see that? It looks like a Mass Grave over the hill! Gods, please tell me I’m just seeing things!”

“I see it too! We don’t have the equipment to deal with that! Who the hell gathered the intel for this shit?”

“They won’t stop coming! They just keep climbing over the corpses! We can’t hold them off like this! There’s too damn many of them!”

“The line is broken! I just heard my friend in the fifth division go down!”

“Fifth division? That’s right in the center of the line! The damn things split our forces in half! I thought they were supposed to be stupid?”

“Sweetgoddessofmercypleasegrantmeyourlightinthistimeofdarknessandsavemysoul.”

Claire shut off all of the comms frequencies except for her private channels to James and Rhys, and the command channel. She leaned over the barricade and looked to her right, and sure enough through her eyes Sunset could see a huge swarm of the monsters colliding with the barricade a mere few hundred yards out, climbing over and killing everything in reach. She could feel the panic rising in the hardened soldier’s heart, and she looked straight ahead again, trying to determine how close the inevitable melee was. But that’s not what her eyes locked onto. In the far distance, behind the enemy lines, was a lone figure standing above the chaotic mass of flesh and bloodshed. Literally hovering in the air, was a tall, spindly thing that Sunset couldn’t see clearly, but suddenly felt pure fear run up and down her spine.

Fear beyond anything she had ever experienced before in her life. Beyond the fear of the dark, of being abandoned, beyond even the fear of death. It felt like the whole world vanished, and all there was left was overwhelming terror beyond comprehension. Every neuron in her brain wanted to run, hide, even death was preferable to looking at this thing for even a second longer. But the terror trapped her mind and body in a feedback loop of horror and indescribable dread. She couldn’t peel her eyes away from this thing, she couldn’t move at all, even as the wave of monsters came closer and closer. Then, for just a second, she could feel it look directly at her, and her mind finally gave up entirely as the world went black.

Author's Note

Hehe. Now the fun begins.
I've got a pretty good plan laid out going forward, so I hope y'all are excited for what's to come. And hey, if you wanna ask questions or theories, by all means ask. I love talking to my readers.
See y'all next week!

Edit: Weeks later, and I haven't updated. Why? Because it seems like no one gives a damn about this story. If someone, anyone reads this and posts another comment, I will continue this story. Until then, I think this is dead in the water. Shame, because I actually really cared about this one.