Author's Note

Firstly, I'm very sorry to release it so late. It's been in works for a LOOOONG time and that is entirely my fault. Sorry.

Secondly, I wanted to say that next chapters will be released with shorter delays, because now I feel guilty for making y'all wait and I'll try to make sure this huge hiatus never happens again. But no promises, tomorrow never knows.

And thirdly, enjoy the chapter I took almost HALF A GODDAMN YEAR to write. I hope it lives up to the expectations, if there even were any to begin with.

Lambda out

Getting Started

HAZARDOUS ENVIRONMENT

Chapter 3
Getting Started

Hey, Vendetta?

Focus on fighting, Twilight, don't mind me.

I think we should help her.

Nah, she's doing fine. You'd better worry about saving your own ass.

Twilight drove a powerful punch into a gas mask. Unlike the white one, soldiers in navy blue uniforms couldn't fight in close quarters for shit.

But maybe, just maybe, she's getting her flanks hoofed to her?

I'm telling you, she's doing fine. She's a better fighter than you, apparently.

Twilight dodged an all-out buck, jumped on the table, the very same table on which the orange boot used to reside, and drove the said boot between the soldier's glowing cyan eyepiece. It was unplugged, so now it only made a nice and hard gauntlet.

He's too damn nimble for any of us! I have to end this fast and lend her a hoof.

Twilight. Trust me. She's doing fine.

The unicorn took a fast look on the pink mare. Her eyepatch was off.

She saw a glimpse of an eye under it.

What the-

Another soldier used Twilight's moment of hesitation to strike her in the barrel, and she hit the wall.

"The fu-u-uck?!" Rainbow Dash's voice rang through the bunker. One of the soldiers answered by taking aim and giving a quick burst in her direction. She flinched as the pitch-black projectiles hit her in the armored chest. What kind of dark magic is that? The soldier wasn't lucky enough to have a Pegasus Combat Vest with many useful enchantments, so he went down loudly. His brain showered the area behind him. A bullet case from Dash's hoofgun hit the concrete floor.

Twilight jumped high in the air and landed onto another one's back, knocking him down and quickly finishing him off with a stomp to the throat.

They are armed?! Why don't they just use their guns against us then?

Dunno. They seem to have no problem shooting Rainbow Dash though.

Meanwhile, the pegasus quickly shot another head. That meant three dead soldiers, one with his face kicked and eight more, including the white one, who was sparring with Pinkie Pie. The odds would've been amazing, if I had my horn with me!

"Twilight! Take their guns!" Dash shouted and disappeared into a maze of various shelves and computers. Four of the remaining soldiers did the same.

Guns? Guns will do!

Kicking a soldier hard into the floor, she looked at a gun on his flank. It didn't seem like anything she'd seen in the war. Moreover, it didn't seem like anything Equestria, or any neighboring nation, had at the moment.

Aliens, with their freaky... Things. Can you use it?

I don't...

Suddenly, a hoof to the face!

Twilight was sent sprawling on the floor, and the navy blue soldier, seemingly feeling really proud of himself, took a step forward, aiming to knock her out for good. Fat chance! She rolled away from him and quickly sprung on her hooves. Years of practice, bitch!

The soldier just stood there for a moment, trying to measure his desire to go forth and get punched up.

"What? Come and get some! Chicken?" Twilight shouted gleefully. Ugh, I'm slowly turning into Pinkie!

That seemed to snap him out of his trance. He reared up and swiftly jumped into the action.

Ugh... Did he really think that launching himself like that was going to achive anything?

They should really train their soldiers! The white one is doing great against Pinkie, but those... They aren't even a challenge.

I know, ri--

A hoof to the face!

While the first soldier blindly flew at Twilight, the other two were waiting for an opportunity to deliver a blow. And they did. They did. Trying to break his ribs wasn't a good idea, it seemed.

She jumped up again, now with much less gusto.

"Alright. Not chicken. I'll give you that," Twilight wiped a trail of blood running from her nose and licked it. Tastes like shit. Like I'm feeling now.

She heard three more gunshots, then a long and wet burst. The shots sounded like a mix between a metallic bash and a spit. Not really intimidating, but a sharp yelp of pain made up for it just fine.

Great, now I gotta save Dash's ass too!

What did you want? Being a good friend and all that.

Going hoof-to-hoof with three douchebags, who could, please note, play like a team, was dangerous. The only edge Twilight had was their apparent inability to kill her. Guess I'm just so cool.

No, you're not. Watch out for the hooves in the face.

Twilight rose to a combat stance. Her face hurt, her eye was moist and a little bit blind, and she was really, really pissed. There wasn't a thing she hated more than getting shiners. Well, except all the other things she hated.

Rage will give me power!

You are so dumb I wonder how you haven't been killed on your first day at the border.

She wiped a trail of salty moisture from the corner of her eye and let out a carnal roar.

Shut up!!!

Hey, don't steal that white dude's lines!

Graaah!

She lunged forward, towards the soldiers. The trio attacked as well.

"Citizen, er-r... One-three-three-seven-E?" A mare in the Civil Protection uniform asked, looking at a badge on Rarity's chest. "Formerly known as, uh... Rarity?" Her modulated voice was quiet enough for other residents not to hear.

"That is me, yes. Why? Did I break any laws, officer?" Rarity arched an eyebrow. Her forelegs parted a little more and she subconsciously struggled to become wider. "Oh my, was I reported?"

"No, no, miss, nothing like that..." A metrocop mare said. Rarity noticed that she was alone, against all the regulations. "Can I come in?"

"U-u-uh..." Rarity was startled, not by the sight of a cop, but by her manners. Usualy, a squad of cops would sweep you right off your hooves and give you a good beatdown if they merely suspected you doing something wrong. An unsurprisingly effective strategy. "I suppose you can?" She still wasn't quite sure how to react.

They went inside and Rarity closed the door. She didn't lock it in case of a so-called 'cheese-it-emergency'. Some Resistance ponies were witty like that.

"Say, Rarity..." The metrocop seemed nervous saying that name. And Rarity was yet again surprised that she called her by her real name, not the number. "Do you have any alcoholic beverages?"

"What? Oh no, how can I? It's illegal! Not to mention, hard to get nowadays..."

"Uh, well, there is, uh, evidence, that you, uh, keep it stashed in your, uh, old armchair..."

"Wh-what?" Rarity gasped. "How?.."

"Uh, I, uh... I order you to, uh... Give it to me for, uh..." The mare scratched her mask. "Confiscation and recycling... Please."

Rarity's face went even whiter than it originally was. Grave silence reigned in the modest apartment.

"Very well then, officer," Rarity said sternly after a brief pause.

"And, uh, Rarity?" The metrocop turned her head away. "Fetch a glass, would you?"

Soon, the two mares were sitting behind the table with two glasses and a bottle of applejack.

"Funny. Usually when citizens turn to us CPs for help, we beat them up..." A modulated sigh hung in the air for a few seconds. "And when we CPs need help, citizens give it to us with no questions asked. Like now."

"What's troubling you, officer? And how do you know my name?"

The mare silently poured the drink in both their glasses.

"Rares, I... I killed him, okay? It was self-defence! He had a six shooter with him and he was beating her up..."

She put the mask off and gulped a drink down.

Rarity choked on her own.

"The youngster. She was an adult mare, yes, but young, like nineteen or such. Otherwise she'd be in the Machine Control Facility..." Another portion of apple vodka went into the metrocop's glass.

"She was crying. He was whacking her like a headcrab, and she was crying. I charged at him to save her, but he drew a gun at me..." She drank. A little bit of moisture was forming in the corner of her eyes.

"So I shot him. I saved myself, and I saved her... But she was hugging his body. Wailing. Calling him Daddy and telling him not to die..." The cop closed her eyes. A tear ran down her cheek.

"I shot the girl's father, Rarity. He died just like... Like..."

Rarity sweeped the armored mare into an embrace and held her close to her neck, tenderly nuzzling the blonde hair.

Applejack cried silently into the white coat.

Button Mash was happy. He had an awesome apartment, he had all the awesome games he could wish for, he had all the awesome food delivered to him without delays and payment. Right now, for example, he was chewing a four cheeze pizza and drinking light cider.

And he also had a rival. Because life without rivalry was boring. Right now, as Button devoured his lunch, this rival was trying to beat his high score in Mane Hack 2.

Sc00tz: yo mash

He spat the pizza out and quickly wiped his hooves with a cloth. After he was somewhat clean, he reached out to a keyboard and quickly typed a reply.

Stache: wut

Sc00tz: u suk! hue hue hue

Stache: stfu bitch

Sc00tz: dats not nice faget

Stache: ur not nice

Sc00tz: no u

Sc00tz: also ima beat ur stupd highscore

Sc00tz: check it out

Stache: nah u wont

Sc00tz: i can and i will

Stache: good luck bitch

Sc00tz: thx faget

After this little exchange of compliments, he wondered once again why he hasn't killed her long ago. They used to be classmates anyway and he always got hard time from her for whatever reason she could think of.

Sc00tz: hey faget guess what

Sc00tz: i beat ur score

Sc00tz: cuz u faget

His pizza fell out of his mouth and fell cheeze down on his coat.

Twilight planted both her hindlegs on a soldier's face, getting a satisfying 'crack' out of it. He went down, leaving other two to fight Twilight. This day was becoming better and better.

You know, I think you should help Pinkie.

But you said she was doing fine!

She dodged another hoof to the face and hit the attacker in the joint hard enough to leave him limping. Tossing and throwing them around was beyond her, though. Their equipment alone weighed more than Twilight herself.

She was. Now she's getting tired. Finish this fast and help her.

What about Rainbow Dash? I don't think she's okay either.

Oh jeez, her too. Crap!

The two tried to flank Twilight, but she dashed towards the limp one and jumped on top of him, hitting him across the back of his head with the heavy boot. While the other one was processing the fact that he was alone now, the unicorn tore an unfamiliar gun from the navy blue flank and... Realized she didn't know how to use it. A mesh of wires was poking from the part where a trigger would normally be. A second glance at the knocked out body revealed a rotary cage integrated into the armor. Oh well, so much for that idea.

But hey, at least it's heavy!

WHACK!

Now what, Dash or Pinkie?

A loud barrage of pained swears stated clearly that Rainbow Dash was in much more trouble than Pinkie Pie.

Fucking maze!

The stomps and gunshots were clearly nearby, so the unicorn took a chance and bucked a tall computer with all her might. A distorted soldier's moan indicated her success at bringing delicate electronics down on somepony's head. One more soldier looked back at her, but a shadow jumped from behind some shelf and shot. Half the soldier's neck transformed into a mess of bubbling flesh. He couldn't even cry for help. The other three were already dead, two with many new holes in them, and one was buried beneath the electronic waste.

Now Pinkie!

The no doubt heroic unicorn galloped back right in time to catch Pinkie as she sailed through the air towards a pile of Combine bodies by serving as an airbrake, or, rather, a soft wall.

Her eyepatch is off.

Yeah, well, that's not my biggest concern right now, you know?

Take a little look. I promise, it's awesome.

Ugh, fine!

Twilight helped Pinkie up. There was a hoofprint on her face and OH LUNA WHAT THE SCIENTIFIC FUCK?!

Her right eye was a familiar light blue generic pony eye, one you'd see pretty much everywhere. Her left eye was a glowing orange orb with some kind of a lense system inside, that looked like a set of pupils.

"What, never seen a Combine without a helmet?!" Pinkie barked and pushed Twilight off. "You've come to help? Then help! Don't just fucking stand there and stare at me!"

"B-b-b-but..." Twilight couldn't even form a simple 'what the fuck, Pinkie?'

"Look out!" The cyborg?! mare shouted.

Yeah, we're in a fight, you know.

B-b-but...

Well, as Princess Mi Amore Cadenza once said, a-hem, 'Butts are for sitting!'

C-cadence?

Ugh, just let me take o--

A surprise hoof to the face!

Applejack opened one eye. It's been so long since she got a good night of sleep like that.

Actually, where the hell was she right now? That didn't look like Civil Protection dormitory. That looked like a generic citizen's apartment in Ponyville Central. Oh, Ponyville Central, such a good district! Crime level was even lower than in pre-Combine Ponyville. There were markets, happy ponies, even restaurants and bars. Although, come to think of it, the bars were all illegal and if she was a good metrocop she'd have to shut them down.

Luckily, she was a really lousy metrocop.

But now she had to address a momentary need of locating herself, so contemplating her level of professionality could wait. Raising her head from the pillow, she looked around. Yes, this was a generic citizen's bedroom. Ponyville Central was the only district you could find a good bed in. And a big comfortable pillow too.

Actually, five more minutes of sleep wouldn't hurt at all. She rested her head on the pillow and...

Wait...

Pillows aren't supposed to be so warm, fluffy and breathing.

"Sleep well, darling?" the pillow said. Two tender forelegs wrapped themselves around Applejack's neck.

To the cop's relief, the pillow turned out to be just Rarity.

Wa-a-a-ait...

Why was Applejack in Rarity's bed in the first place? And why was Rarity there too? And why were they cuddled? And...

"Oh hell no, we didn't..." she muttered and desperately dug her face into the marshmallow coat, having nowhere else to dig it.

"I'm afraid, yes, we did, darling," Rarity's whisper sent chills down her spine.

"Guh!" Applejack sprung up from the bed. "B-but... But we're not supposed to!.. Do... That!.. Each other, I mean... Ugh!" She facehoofed.

"Oh, relax. I'm just joking!" Rarity smiled. "You're cute when you're in such shameful denial."

"Ugh, Rares..." Applejack plopped back on the bed. "You should've been an actress, you know that?"

"Yes, I do, darling." The marshmallow embraced her friend again. "And yes, you'd be a perfect marefriend for me, should you want so."

"I've told you many times, darling, I'm not into this kind of thing." Applejack, however, did not wiggle out of lusty trap. "I do not swing that way. Seriously, stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Hitting on me." Applejack knocked Rarity's restrained horn. "Apparently, some mares just can't take 'no' for an answer."

"The best things in life are worth fighting for." Rarity smiled. "Especially dreams."

"Dreams?"

"Yes, dreams!" Rarity whispered. "I've always dreamed of a prince. Imagine: a strong, handsome, gallant stallion, who would love you for who you are and would not treat you like a common working lady, and I don't imply honest day's work, Applejack." Rarity's teeth gritted and her body stiffened, but then all the gentleness poured back into her. "And then I see it clear as day. Maybe I don't need a prince. Princes are overrated whiny wussies." She looked into Applejack's eyes. "Maybe I need a knight, who's honest and dependable, and very hot."

"Yes, very subtle." The cop deadpanned.

"This matte bulletproof vest and leather boots aren't shining armor, of course. But I never wanted to be old-fashioned anyway."

"Look, Rarity." Applejack broke the eye contact and rolled out of bed, much to her friend's dismay. "I'm sorry I came, okay? I..." She located her gear and started putting it on. "I should've seen this coming. I just have nopony else to talk to. But now, oh my goodness!" She stomped and harrumphed. "Now that Ah've shared mah trouble to you, Ah sure feel fine. Could be even better though, if ya didn't try ta sleep with me!" She stopped for a second. "Which you kinda did. Heh."

"Applejack, please, calm down!" Rarity followed her out of bed. "Your accent is showing again!"

"Well, shoot!" Applejack said and cleared her throat. "Now, is that better? Do I sound like a decent Civil Protection officer?" Her southern twang was, indeed, gone now.

"Yes, you do. And please, keep yourself in check. I haven't spent all this time teaching you in vain, have I?"

"Well, Ah think ya wus jus' enjoyin' mah Apple speak. Ah know ya love it." She smiled and put on her mask. "Now, citizen one-three-three-seven-E, I must bid my farewells. Law is not going to enforce itself, you see."

"Oh, darling." The citizen put her blue jean uniform on. "Now I know you're just teasing me. You cruel, cruel thing!"

Applejack felt a twitch of guilt inside. Maybe sending those mixed signals wasn't a good idea, since Rarity was attracted to her. But it was too much fun not to.

She was a horrible pony. But she did feel better than the day before, thanks to this little mischievous flirting. That was what she came there for, after all.

Right?

Button was not amused. His lifelong nemesis was beating him at every game he was the best at. Guys from the top ten laughed at him so hard through the voice chat that he had to throw the headphones away.

And now, the lights were out. His PC showed only a simple DOS console, without any interface. This has been going on for... How long, exactly?

>Wake up, Mash. The Matrix has you.

The hell? His computer was finally communicated with him. And with a seriously outdated movie quote no less. He sprung to life and took a keyboard.

>Very funny. Who is it?

Yes, he could spell the words properly. Many text quests have taught him perfect Equestrian. He only reserved the crappy spelling for Scootaloo, who got the lowest marks in the whole school.

>Surprise!

He waited patiently, but nothing happened.

>Yes, ok, where is it?

>No, silly, that's my name!

>Oh. Hi.

>Hiya!

>How do you do it? The lights are out and I can't bring anything to life. I'm getting worried here.

>Oh, I'm... Let's say, a system administrator. I've temporarily shut down the E-Life simulation in your pod.

>What?

>You'll find out soon enough. Now tell me, Button Mash. Are you happy?

>Yes.

>No. Think. Has it never occured to you that you never see the world outside your apartment, that the details get blurry and that all the games you play have that unbelievable feeling of total immersion?

>Hm...

>What's the last time you've been to the bathroom?

What a silly question! Getting the waste out of body was a physical need of everypony. He's last been to the bathroom...

>Well...

>Exactly. You've spent the last few years playing games, haven't you?

>I don't regret it.

>And what do you think those games were?

>Huh? They're just games.

>Are you sure? Do you think the feeling of reality behind it was fake?

>What the hell are you talking about?

>Button. Trust me on this, okay? The Combine have been using the delirious foals to control their machinery.

>What? Combine? Machinery? What?

>You probably don't remember this, but over three years ago, the Combine have taken Ponyville. Everypony younger than 18 were taken to Machine Control Facilities and strapped to a huge computer. You've been told you're playing videogames, that you compete on a huge leaderboard, but the truth is you've been controlling the Combine tech. Didn't the situations you were in seem off to you?

>I don't understand.

>Fine, it is fine, really. The important thing is, this Facility is now in a shutdown, all the controls are severed and the Combine troops are moving in.

Years of playing games with most unbelievable scenarios have taught him to think fast and adapt. This is exactly what he did.

>Reason?

>To kill me and regain control so that the foals could keep guiding their death machines.

>Wait, wait, wait... So, what you're saying is when I've killed a pony in Mane Hack, I've killed a pony in real life?

>Well, not all the time, there isn't that much ponies in Ponyville, so part of the time you were given a simulation, but sometimes, yes.

Button felt sick. The keyboard fell out of his hooves. He was a killer. His head spinned and he felt weird in his stomach.

>But hey, Button, listen. Don't fade.

He quicky gathered his wits and reclaimed the precious keyboard with so many food stains.

>Yes, what?

>I can get you out of a tin can you're in.

>You can? And what then?

>And then you kill as many Combine as you can to save my metaphorical hide.

That idea seemed oddly great to the young buck. He wasn't weak. He felt bad for killing innocent ponies, but only because they were innocent. The Combine were not. They could be killed with no remorse. He hated to admit it, but that craving was lingering in the darkest corners of his mind ever since he took a virtual gun in his hooves what seemed an eternity ago. He wanted to know what it would feel like to actually pull the trigger and shoot somepony's brains out. To swing a heavy sledgehammer and break somepony's ribs. To fire a rocket and splatter a small group of real ponies, not virtual models. Button Mash loathed himself for it, but the curiosity was much, much stronger.

Then another idea struck him. If he had to fight an alien civilization, he had to have some allies.

>Will I be there alone?

>No, I have one more candidate for releasing.

>Who?

>Oh, you'll like her, don't worry. She's an old friend.

For some reason, Button felt more afraid of that 'old friend' than of facing the unknown soldiers.

>She? Who is she?

>A natural ass-kicker, I know her all her life. She goes by the name 'Scootaloo'.

>WHAT

"Hello! How are you today?"

"Meh. Could be worse. Who are you?"

"I will be your doctor. My name is Rorcharch Butterfly. And your name is?.."

"Vendetta."

"Ah, well, Vendetta, my sources say your name is Twilight Sparkle."

"Your sources are mistaken... Oh. You're probably referring to the body I'm in. Yes, Twilight, whatever. I never actually asked her name anyway."

"Nice to meet you, Twilight!"

"I would prefer... Screw it. Call me however you want. And as I said, I'm perfectly healthy. I don't need a doctor."

"I'm sorry, Twilight. You are being haunted by this... 'Vendetta' individual. This is serious. Such fast progression too."

"Alright, alright, whatever you say. Let's get this over with."

"Okay then. How old are you?"

"Older than Equestria itself."

"My sources say..."

"Twenty four, right?"

"Yes! See, that's easy!"

"Ugh. Your smile makes me sick."

"Oh, why's that? Didn't I brush my teeth today? Gosh, I'm so sorry about that."

"Teeth are fine. You smile like I'm a basket case. And I'm not. I just happen to posess this body... Well, that does actually sound like I'm crazy, but... UGH! You know what? Tell me one good reason not to disembowel you on the spot and not to make my escape through the wall. I'll just sit there and listen for a little while."

"Well, firstly, nice ponies don't disembowel their loving doctors!"

"Eh, I'm not nearly nice and not nearly a pony. But if you're talking to Twilight... Oh, let's see. This stash of memories says she killed more griffins that you can imagine. A very talented battle mage, a trained soldier too. Very fit and somewhat athletic, carrying all this ammo and working out in boot camp. Her magical capacity is something unbelievable. Intelligence is extremely high, for a pony. Overall, a pretty damn good body to be in, don't you think? So try again."

"Okay. I don't question your ability to tear me apart right now, but I question your sense of righteousness. I'm a doctor, after all. It's not okay to kill doctors."

"Well, true, but I can live with killing a few thousand doctors in my lifetime... Although, you're surprisingly innocent. It would really stain my reputation to kill an innocent being. I'm Vendetta, not Genocide. Keep talking."

"Would you really ruin the fine clothing you're in with blood?"

"It's a straightjacket. It's not fine. It's not fine at all. But... Yes, I've just had a shower. I don't want to be soaked with blood again... Okay, doctor. You've successfully talked me out of killing you. Now this is really something to be proud of."

"I'm proud of many things, Twilight. This is not the first and not the last time I've talked somepony out of doing something rash."

"...You know what? We might just get along."

"Glad to hear."

"What's the next question of your quiz?"

"Your relationship with your parents."

"Oh, this is totally cliche! Next!"

"Were you abused as a foal?"

"Aside from having her books taken from her during bedtime? No, I couldn't find anything."

"Now, Twilight, my very favorite! I'm going to show you a picture and you tell me what you see, okay?"

"Fine, why not?"

"What about this one?"

"A splash of blood."

"And this?"

"Muzzle flash of a Unicorn Assault Carabine Mark 6."

"Okay... This?"

"A vagina."

"Interesting... What about this?"

"Cotton candy."

"Wow. And this one?"

"Bowels."

"And the last one?"

"Tears."

"Well, nice, nice. Thank you very much for cooperation, Twilight. Now you can return to your room."

"When will I be released?"

"When you're not sick."

"Fair enough."

Twilight exhaled sharply and lost focus on the battle. A whole memory pattern was now open in her mind.

Vendetta, what the fuck!? It's not the best time to give me back my own memories you took from me, okay?

Shut up, it's not like I can control it! Now get back to--

A hoof to the face!

But unlike the previous hooves, this one hit like a hoof-sized bullet. Twilight flew into the concrete wall, oozing blood from numerous gashes. Her nose was bleeding as well. She spat a tooth out.

Now I'm starting to realize how Pinkie lost some of her teeth.

How observant of you. Now fight! And... I'm... I'm sorry, okay? I'll try to give it all back when there's no white dude to fight.

Wow, you actually apologized. Oh my. You know things are bad when Vendetta starts being polite.

Ah, shut up.

Twilight rose back and was immediately thrown into a three-pony hurricane of hooves, heads and helmets.

"Dashie, love, don't just fucking stand there, okay?" Pinkie shouted. "Shoot him!"

"I did!" Dash replied. "And his armor is too thick, and I could end up shooting you too, and you know I suck at melee, and..."

"Fuck!" Pinkie growled and punched the soldier into the air. He landed with a thud and a little shockwave of dust. He got up quickly though, not giving the two any chance to end him while he was on the floor. His movements haven't slowed down, like he couldn't feel pain at all.

"ENOUGH!" Came a too familiar Royal Canterlot Shout from the shadows. The white stallion froze on his hooves. Literally, he froze in mid-punch, without any warning. Pinkie, who was just trying to punch him again, flew straight through his half-transparent body. What? Shadowhorn magic? Here? But there are no shadowhorns around, right?

Yeah, this is strange.

"Nice zap," said another voice.

"Thank you, darling," the first one answered.

Two nightponies came out of the dark. Twilight and Pinkie froze too, but not because of freaky dark spells engulfing them like the white soldier.

"There is a train coming tomorrow at noon. You know what to do," the batpony stallion said to Dash.

"Sorry for not being able to help right away," the shadowhorn mare apologized to the fighter duo. "I had to wait until he was in the shadow. Good thing Pinkie doesn't like daylight lamps."

"Here are the details," the other one carried on and gave a note to the cyan pegasus. "You'll find an old friend trapped inside.”

"What, another one?" Pinkie asked unamusedly.

"Turns out, you have a lot of friends."

BANG!

A bullet flew through the Combine's body as if he wasn't there at all. Everyone looked at Rainbow Dash.

"What? I had to try," she said, putting the hoofgun down.

"He is in stasis, there is nothing you can do to him. You have to go," the mare said. "Oh, and also..." She turned to Twilight. "Good to have you aboard."

Then they both jumped into the dark corner.

"Hey! Wait!" Twilight asked. "Come back!"

"No use." Dash sighed. "They can travel through shadow world, or something... Freaky."

"Hey, stop wasting time and let's get outta here!" Pinkie shouted, trotting around and shoving seemingly random objects into her numerous pockets. "He's gonna come back any minute now! Twilight, you wanted to see the rest of my project? Today is your lucky day, because you're going to be hauling it!"

Our adventures only seem to be starting now, aren't they?

Yes. Yes, they are.

"What a delightful night!" Princess Luna sang, dancing around the throne. She laughed, throwing her hooves around and hugging every Night Guard pony who dared to stand close enough.

"A-hem." A big shadowhorn stallion said, holding a scroll in his magical grasp. "Sorry to interrupt, Your Wisdom, but..."

"Oh, I assure you, colonel, this is quite fine!" she almost yelled in his face, sweeping him off his hooves and waltzing with him across the room. "I've never felt so good about ponykind being in grave danger! Although..." She abruptly stopped, the poor colonel falling face first on the floor. "What a cruel, cruel Princess I am," she mumbled, looking nowhere in particular.

"Your Wisdom, shall we retaliate like I've proposed months ago?" came a somewhat annoyed voice from the floor. Some ponies helped their colonel up and he came closer to Princess Luna. "We've infiltrated Ponyville like you ordered, we've assisted local Resistance, we've acquired enough hostile technology to determine their level of scientific advancement, we've..."

"Oh, shush," she gently wrapped a wing over his muzzle and tickled his nose, resulting in a loud sneeze and a burst of laughter from the soldiers. "Colonel, you've been there yourself, haven't you?"

"Several times, yes."

"I want to go for a walk, which hiking outfit would you suggest?" she asked. He thought for a little while.

"Well, what do you want to do during your, e-e-er, walk?"

"Oh, nothing too extreme. See some old friends, help them out of a trouble, maybe blow up a city or two. The usual." She waved her hoof dismissively.

"I would advise Royal Nightmare, Lucid Dreamer or Moonshine," he finally said after a long pause. "You could wear Lunar Stomper, but it's not suitable for keeping a low profile. If you want to come barging through the main gate and attract all the attention to yourself, then of course yes. But that's rarely been your style."

"Yes, I've always found Lunar Stomper a bit too flashy." She sighed. "All right, then please get Lucid Dreamer ready for me." He saluted and almost went away. "No, wait! Moonshine! I want to wear Moonshine this time!" He nodded and turned. "No, no, no, Royal Nightmare! I'm a Princess after all, right?"

"I'll do it, Your Wisdom."

"No! Colonel, wait!" She buried her face in her hooves. "Oh, I can't decide!"

"I'll get Lucid Dreamer, mistress." He deadpanned.

"Wait!"

"No!" he suddenly yelled in a Royal Canterlot Voice. "This time you're going to wear Lucid Dreamer! Dark blue is fashionable this season!" And with that he trotted away.

Luna stood there dumbfounded. She shook her head and asked herself, "How does he even know?"

"A stash of fashion magazines in his quarters..." somepony answered. "Uh, Your Wisdom."

A mare in Civil Protection uniform stood sternly on a dark corner, with her hoofgun's safety unlocked. Many things could go wrong now, but she didn't care.

"Officer A-1031?" a low distorted voice rang from the sidewalk. A stallion in dirty and a little damaged white armor stood there, looking at her with his single eye in the helmet.

"Elite soldier BR-05," she answered, nodding. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. It is a private matter. At ease," he ordered. Applejack felt the tension in her body easing up. "Is there a place we can talk? Without supervision." He shot a brief look at the scanners flying here and there over their heads.

"I think there is. If you are okay with, uh, taking a little break from your, uh, service." She scratched the back of her head.

"I am quite okay with it. Lead the way."

They deepened into the narrow slums, taking seemingly random turns.

"I've never been to this part of Central before," the elite soldier commented.

"Don't fall back and you will be okay, otherwise you are a goner," the mare answered, not looking back. "We have to take certain precautions."

They fell silent again. After a few minutes of walking cirles, she finally went into a dirty door, vandalized with anti-Combine graffiti. The Overwatch duo took a staircase down. It was dark, with almost no light at all, so they could barely see crude writings on the walls around them. A very low ceiling made the Elite Soldier lower his head to the mare's level.

"Where do you think you're going?" a big stallion from the shadows asked with a sound of hoofgun being loaded.

"It's okay, Thunderlane, it's me," Applejack answered. "Relax."

"I'm not talking to you, AJ. I'm talking to him."

Thunderlane was smaller than the elite soldier, but he was brave enough to stand in his way, eyeing him.

"He's with me."

"Should I use force?" The soldier asked monotonously.

"No. Chill out, both of you!" she barked.

"I'll keep an eye on you, pal. Try anything funny and you get one in the eye."

"Do you have Confirmation 11-C from the Council, allowing you to have a non-neuro firearm?"

"Kiss my ass."

"Officer, is that a socially acceptable form of answer?"

"Yes," she grumbled. "Now can we just go?"

Thunderlane reluctantly stepped aside and let them pass. They entered a basement room with tables and a counter in the middle.

"Is that a bar?" the soldier asked.

Everypony suddenly ceased talking and looked at the pair.

"Take your mask off," she said, taking off hers.

"What? I can't, not when everyone's looking," he said in a hushed rasp.

"Now!" she hissed and nudged him hard in the side.

He sighed and undid the clamps holding it in place. A very pale red face looked out of it. One of his green eyes was tired and bloodshot, the other one was an orange orb with some alien tech inside. His expression was as blank as his low-pitched voice.

And suddenly, everypony was looking in another direction.

They proceeded to the nearest empty table and sat down, with everyone in the room deliberately avoiding any eye contact with the two.

"So, what is it you wanted to talk with me about?" Applejack asked as two mugs of cider appeared on their table.

The soldier put his mask on the table. "Here is the footage of the battle I've been in earlier today. Faces seem familiar, but I can't figure out why. You have much more left from the old life than I do, maybe you can assist."

Applejack took the mask in her hooves. It was scorched, scratched, battered and was in crappy shape overall. It was too big for her so she had to hold it with her hooves. Red interface blinked to life and showed her a wall of text in Combine. Her below-average language skills could only decipher words 'boot', 'big' and 'today'. This is what you get for sleeping through most Civil Protection language classes. She was never good at school.

"Can't see anything yet," she commented, looking at the text running in front of her eyes. The red glow made her eyes hurt. "No, wait."

There was some movement in front of her eyes. She could make out the Combine soldiers and a tight corridor.

"On position," one of them said. "Note. The BR-06 unit is connected to this frequency. She knows we're here."

The camera moved closer to the door, turned around and the wearer bucked it open.

"So, you've found me, huh? Took you long enough." A very familiar pony appeared in the picture, dressed in a coverall suit.

"That must be Pinkie Pie. Went crazy again, huh? Can't exactly blame her..."

"Shut up," the camera said. The battle broke out, but Pinkie was too fast for the metrocop to keep track of.

"The fu-u-uck?!" a boyish voice shouted from somewhere off-picture.

"Rainbow Dash? Yep, that must be her. Ain't nopony got a foul mouth like hers," Applejack mumbled. In a minute, a new familiar face appeared on the video, and she couldn't believe her eyes. "No, this can't be!" She put the mask off and whacked it against the table.

"What?"

"It's Twilight Sparkle. You probably don't remember that name, though," she answered, downing the mug.

"I actually do," the red stallion said, not touching his. "Twilight Sparkle, twenty five years old, main occupation - Her Radiance Princess Celestia's military, volunteered to the military at the age of twenty two, fighting at the Northern Border with Griffin Kingdom since twenty three, admitted to Canterlot City Asylum two weeks ago with an unspecified disorder, mission: extract and bring to processing, current status: held in captivity, correction, escaped, personal note: won't shut up, use of non-lethal force authorised and recommended, a skilled fighter, able to put down a whole squad of troops, use caution." He breathed in after his huge and fast rant.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait..." Applejack put a hoof down on the table. Hard. "What? Twilight Sparkle? The, no offense to her, dorkiest dork in the world? Military? This is so unlike her."

"Facts provided by the Overwatch servers do not lie. She was able to put down my whole squad," he fiddled with the mug. "Why does this name sound so familiar?"

"You used to have a crush on her in the old life. Made me tell you everything about her," Applejack smiled.

"I see," he said. Both were silent for a moment, the mare was knocking the table rhythmically. "Did it end well?"

"You never mustered up enough courage to actually ask her out."

"I used to be a coward? Funny. I still am."

"Oh, don't say that," Applejack put her hoof on his. "You're the bravest stallion I know."

"No. I'm just very good at following orders

Applejack just held his hoof.

Button Mash coughed and coughed. He just had a long tube removed from his throat and it took a lot of effort to breathe on his own again. Tears of pain ran down his cheeks as his eyes hurt madly. After a very long while, though, he was finally able to stand on his own, if very unsteady, legs.

"Button. Listen, Button. Hey," a a high-pitched voice said from somewhere above. "You have to go. The Overwatch will be there soon."

He cracked one eye open and started moving. Slowly at first, then faster and faster. He was getting his walking skills back.

"I've stimulated your muscles and machinery before releasing you, so it's going to come to you soon. You just keep going."

"You sti--" he fell victim to a violent fit of coughing. "You stimulated my what?" His voice was hoarse.

"Your muscles and machinery. Well, duh, every foal in Machine Control Facility gets basic enhancements, otherwise you wouldn't be able to connect to the mainframe. You've got neurosockets and life support."

"Does this mean I am a cyborg?" he asked.

"Turn left now. Technically yes, you are a cyborg."

"Wow!" He managed a smile. "Sweet! What can I do? Shoot lasers out of my hooves?"

"No. But I've uploaded a lot of useful stuff into your little head. Little colts and fillies can soak information up like a sponge! What you do with all of this is up to you. Turn right."

"I can't remember anything. Are you sure you gave me something?"

"Yes. It'll come when you need it."

Button just walked. As his eyes grew stronger, he was able to open them both and look around. Metallic pods, just like the one he used to be in, were everywhere. He was walking down a corridor made entirely out of navy blue-ish metal, like in that game, the name of which he couldn't quite recall. He looked at himself. His coat was brown, as usual, his gamepad cutie mark was the same, but his body felt very different, compared to the dream reality of the pod. He also had strange little metallic thingies all over his skin. Neurosockets, he realized.

"Take the door on your left."

He turned and saw a very generic and unnoticeable grey door. It took some effort to raise his forehoof to the doorknob and turn it, but after several attempts, he finally managed to do so and get inside. It was a very spacious storeroom with many crates inside it, but what caught his eye was a sobbing young mare on the floor. At first he didn't recognize her, but what gave him a hint were little underdeveloped wings and orange fur. He did know her after all. His greatest rival for the past... How long was it?

He sat (or gracefully fell on his butt) beside her and stroked her mane uncertainly. He was a little unsure about what to do with females. His videogame experience told him that all it takes is the right word. So he decided to find the most right ones for her. Even though she was a bitch.

Her teeth clenched and she opened her wet eyes.

"Hey," he said. "What's up, why's the crying?"

"L-look ar-round..." she whispered. "Is that s-some sort of a dream too? I c-can't believe it..." She slammed her eyelids shut again and shivered. Her hoof was trying to tear away a socket from the back of her head. "I can't do this! It's too much to ask of me, alright!?"

"Scoots. Hey. Look at me." He lifted her head and she looked at him again. "You beat my highscores, okay? It takes a radical bitch to do that and if you could win against me then there's nothing you can't do. Okay?"

"Button, this ain't a game! Those dudes ain't stupid bots and I ain't some sort of a Doomguy with guns all over his ass! Button, you..." she sniffed and wiped her eyes. "You seem so cool with all this. How?

"Life's a game," Button reasoned. "With awesome next-gen graphics, physics and realism. Think about it, everything you wanted to do in a game, but couldn't, it's in the real life! And now we get a stupid cool adventure right in front of us!"

"Hey, yeah..." she blinked. A small smile crossed her features. She rose to her hooves, with buck's help. "You know what? You're alright, faggot."

"Not so bad yourself, bitch."

They both smirked.