Fighting Back the Beast

Chapters

One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
This story . . . .

One

ONE

The heavy door to the library stood open, giving way for a peculiar single-file trail of floating books to enter and make a stack in the center of the room. The stack was rising higher and higher, and a new one would be needed soon. Each book was enveloped in an bright, purple aura, which appeared to be guiding the tomes to their destination. These books were all part of a delivery in response to an order, made by the librarian whom of which worked and lived in the aforementioned library. She was an alicorn, a pony with both wings and a horn, who was colored lavender purple, and had a similarly-colored mane and tail, save a strip or two of pink. On her flank was a large star, all surrounded by five smaller ones, meant to imply the magical abilities of this particular pony. She could be found next to the open door, her horn enveloped in an aura identical to that of the books.

She was not the only living creature in the room, however. Aside from the bacteria and the hidden rodents, there was a second creature who was standing on the other side of the door. "Leaning" would be more accurate. He was a short, colored green and purple, with spikes on his back and claws on his arms and feet. He was a dragon, a young one at that, and his name was Spike. Spike was, despite the parade of floating books in front of him, quite bored. His elbow was placed on the wall of the curved inside of the tree and his closed fist pressed into his cheek. His expression was bored, and even slightly irate.

"Twilight," he said, addressing the Purple Alicorn whom we discussed earlier, "how big was this 'order' of yours, exactly?"

The purple mare's ears piqued in interest after detecting her name, and she looked away from the books and to Spike. The books did not halt their show, even as less concentration from Twilight was directed towards them.

"Hmm...let's see..." she said, "ah, I purchased exactly six-hundred and twenty-two books."

The small reptile's eyes widened and he stood up straight, taking his elbow off of the wall.

"Six hundred? And twenty-two? What are we gonna do with all those books?"

"Well, read them, of course. And then get them into the library so that other ponies can read them."

"Well duh, but why...why so many? This is the probably biggest order of yours so far..."

The third stack of books ended in the center of the library and a fourth began.

"Well, mostly because my stipend is a lot bigger than it was before I became a Princess."

"Hole in your pocket?"

Twilight giggled, "Yep, pretty much."

"Aw, but that means," his eyes widened once more, "more re-shelving. Gah!"

"Well, yes...you just now realized that?"

Spike threw his claws up and stalked up the stairs as Twilight chuckled at her assistant's antics. Yes it was true, that meant more re-shelving and, ooh, organizing, but, as we all know, Twilight loved re-shelving, and organizing even more so.

The engines rumbled, spitting smoke and flame into the empty space behind them. The rumbling could only be heard from inside, because, as you all know, there is no air in space. The ship that these engines belonged too was a large one, a carrier, and another one identical to its brother could be seen above it. A third, though smaller ship, a simple fighter, flew alongside both of them, and yet a fourth space-faring vehicle led the pack: a troop transport. All of these ships were damaged, and all of them running low on fuel. They needed to find someplace to land, fast.

This small collection of vehicles were the only survivors of the nuclear blast that had recently taken their homes away; they had managed to escape both the flames and the ISA forces. They were all that was left, and they wanted vengeance.

Each ship was packed to the rim with Helghast soldiers, primarily troopers, thousands of them, and each one wanted to end the ISA, moreso than ever before. But that would have to wait, as they needed to be alive for that to happen. In the cockpit of the original ship sat two pilots, red eyes glowing. One leaned over to the other and spoke in a raspy, accented voice, saying, "Our detectors are picking up a planet with the ability to sustain life, directly in front of us."

"How far?"

The other pilot was silent for a moment as he calculated. After a while he announced, "Definitely within flying distance."

The other pilot simply nodded and flipped on the intercom to speak to both the other ships and the inhabitants of his own.

"Sons and daughters of Helghan, I must announce that we have found a livable planet which we can reach before it is too late."

There was light-hearted cheering from all around.

"We will land there and get our bearings. We are not sure if it is already inhabited, but if it is we are to be friendly with them, for they are not yet our enemies. Over."

There was more cheering and the intercom switched off. Again, the pilots nodded to one another and began to accelerate towards what was hopefully their new home.

It was nighttime in Equestria, and the land slept as Princess Luna lept from dream to dream, painting the night sky with stars. Only the most studious of ponies were still up at a time like this, and Twilight was no exception. Spike had gone to bed, still a bit agitated at Twilight's massive book shipment, and Twilight had decided to stay up and study the stars, perhaps discover something new. Tonight, Twilight was looking for a comet.

They could be anywhere, and were very hard to spot, so Twilight needed to stay alert and ever watchful if she wished to successfully spot a comet, which she did. Very much so.

The night sky was still, sadly, save the slow turn of Equis on its Axis. Twilight sighed and let the telescope go. She was not giving up, mind you, rather taking a break; her neck was quite tired...

The Alicorn soon returned with a hot cup of coffee in hoof and took her position at the window once more. She panned the area, searching for anything that she might have missed. Sadly, still nothing. Wait. Hold on. What was that?

Twilight focused the telescope on what she believed had been motion, and she was correct. There, in the Northwest, a...that was not a star. It was neither a star nor any celestial object that Twilight had ever seen before and the peculiar part was that it seemed to be...descending to the ground. Yes, it most definitely was.

Twilight noticed that the previously clear night suddenly had dark storm clouds brewing, and all of them were heading in the direction of the falling object. It was a heavy storm, but it was moving at unnatural speeds.

Twilight noticed much thunder and lighting and she leveled her telescope to the ground. No...not one...but three. Three of these objects, which appeared to be made of metal, were descending from the storm, lightning striking all of them. Make that four.

Oh no, Twilight thought, those looks like....transports of some kind.

And she was correct. Twilight surveyed the far-away landing-point and the ships there. Each of them sported a symbol, a black and red circle with three arrows pointing outward. Military?

Twilight gasped and dropped her coffee. Were they being invaded?

The mare quickly found a quill and parchment, jotting down a quick letter to the Princess.

"Spike! Wake up! Now!"

"Huh? Wha-?"

"Send this!" Twilight said, shoving the rolled-up scroll into Spike's chest.

"What? Why? Why now?"

"Just do it!" Twilight hissed.

"Woah, jeez, alright, alright."

One deep breath and a puff of green smoke later, the scroll found its way into the air.

"Twilight...what's going on? What's wrong?"

"Spike, look at this."

Twilight placed a stool under the telescope and the baby dragon tiredly climbed on top of it. He leveled it and peered inside. His little body tensed up and he gasped.

"What are they?"

The ramp landed on the ground with a heavy thud, and several troopers rushed out, though not as quickly as they would have, had they been entering an actual battle.

The sensors had declared the gravity almost exact to that of their previous planet. The air was not breathable, but they had their masks for a reason. After surveying the area for a short time, Commander Stromm, the newly-elected, if not temporary, Helghast leader, had decided to set down in a large, thick forest where they could clear the trees for lumber and maybe hide from the natives, if they be hostile. They had, quite frankly, been too excited to scan for much more than a few seconds, and the storm clouds upon landing had made it impossible to see very far, so they had yet to know if there were any sentient beings there.

Already, construction was beginning. Lumber was being rooted, cut, and burned, and supplies from the ships were being brought out. Tents were set up, as well as fences and towers. Yes, the Helghast soldiers were quick and efficient, if nothing else.

From atop his ship, Commander Stromm began to survey the area once more with his binoculars.

"Ah. Well, that most certainly is interesting..."

"What is it, Sir?" The trooper standing behind him inquired.

"It appears as if there are sentient beings occupying this planet."

"You have located one?"

"I have found three entire settlements, all within view."

"That is interesting."

"Here," Stromm said, handing the binoculars over to the trooper, "take a look for yourself and begin creating a map."

"Right away, Commander."

The trooper immediately looked through the binoculars, an audible interested ah finding its way from under his mask, and began to take mental notes; he would send for map-making supplies later.

Commander Stromm walked down into then ship, and found his way onto the ground. He had a new Empire to build.

The return letter had found its way back quickly, and it was simple: be still and wait for the Guards to come and determine whether or not these new visitors were friendly. They would be safe, the Princess assured them. Twilight had opted to keep sending letters while she observed what was going on over in the Everfree forest. So far, the results had been disturbing. The creatures were tall, bipedal things that were dressed in heavy, black clothes and armor, with a strange apparatus on where Twilight guessed their face would be. The eyes on these apparatuses were glowing red. Each had a lot of gear on itself, things that Twilight recognized and things that she did not.

Almost as soon as they set down, one of the ships had let its occupants out. The creatures seemed eager, hurried even, but not necessarily in search of things just to kill. They had explored for a bit, and then more troops and supplies came from each of the vehicles. Crates, more of the creatures, tents, metal, wood, and a plethora of other items came in spades.

Twilight's stomach turned a bit when she saw the aliens begin to tear up their surroundings. Such a low level of care for the wildlife. Then she saw something that both intrigued and disturbed her even further. One of the aliens wandered off. This one was big, in a heavy suit that appeared to be made of metal. He wandered into the underbrush, probably out of curiosity, and Twilight gasped as she saw something throw itself at the alien: a Timber Wolf.

The wooden canine attempted to latch onto the creature's arm, but to no avail: it was, after all, solid metal. The alien looked down at the poor wolf for a moment before hurling it into the underbrush, raising its arm up, and somehow firing a volley of flame after it.

The wolf was not seen again, but Twilight doubted that it survived. Flames...how had it done that? She did not see any horns, nor wands, nor staffs, so she was not sure if it was magic or...what? The rest of the wolf's pack was nowhere to be found.

Another letter went to the Princess.

Twilight began to survey the site again. Tents and fences were being erected, as well as fox-holes and ditches being dug. These things were here to stay, though whether that was a good or a bad thing, Twilight still had to determine.

"Spike, you still there?"

"Yeah Twilight, what is it?"

Still looking through her telescope, Twilight said, "Don't worry Spike, these things won't hurt us."

"H...how do you know?"

The unicorn let the telescope from her grasp and looked the small dragon in the eye.

"Because, Spike, I will protect us."

Spike smiled and wrapped his claws around Twilight in a hug, who returned us. They sat in silence like that for a while, both reassuring the other with their warmth.

Still hugging Twilight, Spike asked, "What about Fluttershy? She lives really close to there."

"They haven't noticed her yet...at least, I don't think so..."

Twilight broke of the hug and returned to her telescope, swinging it over to Fluttershy's hut. What she saw drew a gasp from her. Two of the aliens were close, both of them looking at the timid pony's home.

"Hold. Look."

"Yes?"

"It appears to be a building, a civilian's housing."

"Oh?"

"Yes. There," said Private Zyve, pointing.

"Ah. Look at all of those animals..."

"Yes. Perhaps we could kill one or two for food; it would be easy hunting."

The other, Private Sycth, nodded slowly, "Alright, not too many; we don't want the resident to declare war on us."

Zyve chuckled.

"No, we do not. Attach your silencer and follow me."

"Hold. I have a better idea."

"What is that?"

"We are experienced with our firearms, but rarely have we used our blades."

"Yes...?"

"Perhaps we could sneak up on whichever ones we wish to kill and use our blades."

"I don't see why not."

Fluttershy sat, huddled in the corner of her kitchen, a frying pan gripped between her two front hooves. She could barely hold on, she was trembling so hard. It was all she could do to not wet herself right then and there. She slowly peeked out of the window, and noticed that the monsters had come closer.

She considered making a run for it, but they might catch her. Also, that would mean leaving behind her animal friends...

Her animal friends!

Fluttershy peeked out the window just in time to see one of the monsters grab Angel Bunny. Those things were fast, and quiet...

But that's not what was on the timid pegasus' mind, what was on her mind was how that monster pulled a large, sharp knife from under his belt, and held it up to the struggling creature.

No!

The small rabbit struggled to no avail, and Zyve stood, ready to slit the furry creature's throught. His hand was halted when he heard a resounding "NO!" come from inside the cottage. It was not a terrified or despaired cry, no, it sounded more like a determined one. And whatever it was spoke the same language as they? Interes-

Private Zyve was hurled to the ground beneath something unbelievably strong. There was more force in this than when he had been hit almost directly by a mortar round back on Helghan!

"You think you can just go around picking on, no killing poor, defenseless animals for you own selfish gain!? You think that you can just come here and start doing whatever you want!? Well I'm here to tell you, right here, right now, that. You. CAN'T!"

Zyve had been struggling for his blade but, with that last word, the misleadingly adorable creature widened its eyes and Zyve froze. It was like a fist of cold iron had been rammed down his throat and into his intestines. He couldn't move, blink, and could hardly talk.

What? What is this?

"Zyve!"

Sycth raised his weapon but Zyve managed to utter a strangled "no."

Sycth was hesitant, but he lowered his weapon. The standing Helghast thought for a moment and decided to attempt communication: it seemed as if she spoke the same language as the Helghasts after all.

"You are on my partner."

He made no attempt to sound nice or warm, he just deadpanned.

"Of course I'm 'on your partner' he tried to kill Angel Bunny!" the small, formerly timid creature shouted, not breaking eye contact with Zyve.

"What if I told you that he was sorry?"

"Well..."

"Look at him, he's struggling to breath, you're going to suffocate him if-"

"Ohmigodness!"

The small equine creature hopped off in a quick motion.

"I'm so sorry! But you tried to kill Angel!"

The pony seemed conflicted.

"Oh but I'm still so, so sorry!"

The next few moments were surprisingly....awkward.

"What should we do, comrade?" Sycth quietly whispered to Zyve.

"I am...not sure..."

He met the small animal's eyes, and it, she, looked away.

Zyve had to stop a chuckle, "Would you like to come with us? We'd like you to meet our leader, and ours to meet yours."

"Um...well, mayb-no."

"What?"

"I can't just leave my critter friends here all alone!"

Zyve and Sycth had to practically bite their tongues off to keep from laughing.

"Well, maybe later, you can see reas-"

And, once more, Zyve was hit to the ground; this time with a purple flash of energy.

"Fluttershy! Are you alright!"

"No, Twilight! It was all a big misunderstanding!"

Sycth had already fired. Twilight blocked the projectile with her magic and launched it back, where it found its way into Sycth's left kneecap with a wet thud.

"Gahhh!" the Helghast exclaimed as we crumpled to the dirt ground. By this point, most of Fluttershy's animals had either fled or were watching, intrigued.

"STOP!"

Twilight, Sycth, and a truly dazed Zyve all froze.

"Twilight! They didn't mean any harm, I think they were just looking for food...?"

With the last bit of the sentence, Fluttershy turned to face Zyve, still on the ground, who nodded.

"You see; we've been fleeing from a powerful enemy for a long while, and this is the first planet that could sustain life that we-"

"You can speak Equestrian!?"

"Wait...what?"

"Yes! Yes you can!" Twilight began hopping around in glee.

Fluttershy looked over the moaning form of Sycth on the ground over to Zyve who had managed to stand up and said, "Don't worry; she does that."

Zyve made no effort to suppress a chuckle this time.

"Stromm! Commander Stromm!"

The Helghast leader turned away from his supervision of the camp to the trooper who was rushing toward him.

"Yes?"

"We received a message from Privates Sycth and Zyve: they made contact with the natives!"

Stromm's interest piqued.

"How did it go?"

"Well..."

"We don't have another war on our hands, do we?"

"Negative. There were a few... misunderstandings. But it seems that all is well now. In fact, they are bringing back two of them so that you many meet them."

"Ah, wise of them...Sycth...Zyve...how long have they been privates?"

"Three years, commander."

"Ah, well, inform them that they have both been promoted."

The trooped saluted and hurried off. Stromm turned, his hands behind his back, and smiled. Interesting times indeed.

Two

The two guards stood, stunned. They had both been assigned to protect Princess Twilight Sparkle, but, as soon as they reached the library, the door was pulled open and a tell-tale lavender blur sped out. What exactly was going on?

"Maybe the Princess had some shopping to do?" One of them offered sheepishly.

"I... honestly do not know... Should we wait for her return, or follow her?"

"It would probably be wise for us to try and track her."

"Agreed."

The two golden-shod ponies began to follow the hoofsteps, around the tree-library, and into the Everfree forest. When the pair reached the edge, they both halted, quizzical expressions on both of their faces. They exchanged glances and shrugged.

"Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be...interesting?"

"Probably because it will."

The thick, heavy phalanx of leaves parted as the two guards pushed onward, in search of their Princess. After about ten or fifteen minutes, the two came to a scene: Fluttershy's cottage.

"Is that...blood?"

"...it is..."

There was a gaping hole in the side of the cottage, signs of struggle, and something else.

One of the guards opted to investigate that very thing and found an empty cartridge.

"What is this?"

The other guard approached the first and gave it a sniff.

"Whew! Smells like sulfur."

"What would this have to do with sulfur?"

"Not sure, but keep it, in case we need evidence."

"What about the blood?"

"It is...thinner than pony blood. Perhaps it belongs to one of the aliens?"

"Does that mean that they are hostile."

"More than likely, but don't jump to any conclusions. For all we know, Princess Twilight decided to rescue this alien from a Timberwolf or something, but arrived too late to save him from a wound."

"Where did they go?"

"Well, only one way to find out. This way!"

Commander Stromm was in something of a trance. He sat in his chair, in his ship's bridge, and was, quite frankly, boiling. He was not displeased with his men, nor with the location that they had landed, nor with the natives. He was displeased with the history of the Helghast people.

Under a greedy leader, they had invaded Vekta, entirely unprovoked. They had started this war. But then Stromm's anger shifted toward the ISA. They had every right to fight back, which they did, but what they did was too much. They slaughtered Helghast troops, and drove them off of the planet, but they did not stop there, no. They invaded his planet and then exiled the Helghasts, civilians and all, and left them to die.

Once more, his anger shifted towards the Helghasts. They had been dragged around by the ear, forced to work, and cruel, selfish leadership led to the nuclear annihilation of an entire city. Millions of innocent men, women and children burned in the flames. Any surviving Helghast that were left was now here. Yes, Stromm was angry at both his old leaders, and at the men of the ISA, but all he wanted was to be left alone, to build a new life here with his people, and co-exist with the natives, who apparently spoke his language. How convienient. He wanted to forget the past, forget the wars, forget the ISA, and, most of all, forget his mistakes.

The Commander was torn from his thoughts as the buzzer to the bridge sounded. He was all alone inside, seeking a secluded spot to mentally vilify in peace, but they had found him. At first he was irritated, but then he remembered that the two newly-promoted Specialists were escorting a pair of the natives to meet him under peaceful terms, and he became excited.

Stromm stood and made sure that he was at least presentable, he was meeting an alien race after all, it would be wise to make a good first impressions and called out, "Enter."

There was a hiss and clang as the thick door pulled itself up. Stromm tasted blood in an attempt to keep form laughing. He had been expecting somewhat humanoid creatures, or even tendrils and slime, or even tusks, but not...bright, technicolored...ponies?

"Hello!" The one on the left, a purple one with a horn and wings.

"Uh-uh-um, Greetings, Miss...?"

"My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle," By the progress of the Stars, "and I am here to personally welcome you to Equestria."

Good Scolar f*cking Visari.

"I am glad. My name is Commander Stromm, the leader of the Helghast people."

"Is that what you call yourselves?"

"That is more the name of our political party, our race belongs to one called humanity. It is somewhat complicated, as our bodies are different than that of other 'humans', but we still fall under the same category. I really all depends on who you ask...?"

Stromm trailed off a bit. Notebook? The unicorn, Princess Twilight, had somehow pulled a notebook out from somewhere and was furiously jotting down notes.

Noticing Stromm's glowing eye-lenses directed towards here, she asked, "You don't mind, do you? I'm a bit of what you might call a scholar."

Stromm lifted up a hand and answered, "No, not all, I was just wondering...where in the name of stars did you get that notebook from?"

"What, this old thing? I only bought it from a store...what?"

Stromm shook his head and sat into his chair, motioning for his guest to sit on the chair. She ignored the chair and lay on the floor.

"Never mind. Any thing else that you would like to know?"

"Well, I was-"

"Wait, hold on."

Stromm looked over Twilight's soldier over to look at Specialist Sycth, who was limping.

"Was I misinformed?"

"Misinformed about...what, sir?"

"I thought that you were bringing two."

"Well..."

Zyve answered, "We did, but she's...shy."

"Shy," Stromm deadpanned.

"Well...yes."

Twilight spoke up, saying, "You'll have to excuse her."

Stromm shrugged and settled back down into his chair.

"Alright, my apologies, please continue."

"What is your race's scientific name?"

"Homo Sapiens Sapiens.

"Uh huh...can you tell me why you are here?"

Stromm looked at the two Specialists standing by the door, then back to Twilight.

"How much time do you have?"

"There is always time for science!"

Stromm chuckled.

"Make yourself comfortable; we'll be here for a while. You two are excused."

Zyve and Sycth both nodded and went to try and talk to Fluttershy.

"It all began several years ago when one of my people's old leaders, who shall not named, invaded another human colony, unprovoked..."

Twilight couldn't restrain her tears. She was able to control the urge to sob, but one tear from each eye, it was inescapable. It was such a tragic story, and it caused conflicting feelings.

"So that's why you're here, isn't it?"

"Yes. I only wish for peace for all of my people, for yours, and for the ISA."

"So...this ISA...if they were to find you here, what do you believe would happen?"

"I only pray that they do not. They are determined to wipe all of us out, to be rid of us completely, and I do not blame them, but they are going to the extreme. If they found us here, I do not think that they will be interesting in peace."

Twilight was silent.

"But do not worry: we traveled far. If they find us here, it will probably be when they are looking for more planets to assimilate, and, by that time, they will more than likely be more willing to leave us alone."

"I can only hope so."

"So...you said earlier that you were 'Princess' Twilight Sparkle. If that word means the same as I know it, that means that you are royalty?"

The lavender mare sniffed and attempted to wipe away her tears, then smiled.

"Yes, that is true."

"Does that mean that you have a kind and queen as well?"

"Actually, no."

"No?"

There are four Princesses, and we all share power."

"Oh?"

"Yes. There is myself, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadence."

"But why no kings or queens?"

"By all rights, we are technically queens, but Celestia and Luna decided to call the Alicorn rulers 'Princesses' rather than 'queens' so that we would be more approachable, and so that we may seem less intimidating."

"So that you appear more humble?"

"Yes, that would be a better way to word it."

Twilight's eyes widened.

"Oh no."

"What is it?"

"Princess Celestia, she sent troops to protect me from you guys before we knew that you were friendly. Well, before Fluttershy and I did."

"And?"

"Well, they probably know that I'm missing, and I'm assuming you noticed that that one of your soldiers was limping?"

"Sycth? Yes."

"We had a bit of a...misunderstanding. I used my magic to heal it, but..."

"I don't see the big deal if Sycth forgave you."

"He did! What I'm trying to say is that we left some signs of violence."

Stromm finally put two and two together.

"Lord Saturn..."

"Exactly."

The two unicorn guards stood, amazed. Of course, they knew that there had been an alien landing, that's entire reason that they were there, but they actually got a good look at the aliens and their technology, they were...hesitant to jump to the rescue.

"Should we send for the Princess and her troops?"

"Seems like the best idea to me. Go."

"Alrigh-"

"Wait!"

"What is it?"

"Look!"

With a hiss and a bout of steam, the ramp on the bottom of the nearest space-faring vehicle began to descend and five figures walked out. Two they recognized, Princess Twilight and the Element of Kindness, but the other three were just more aliens. Except for one....

Instead of the helmet that most of the others seemed to wear, he wore a cap, and he had a cape. His boots were larger too.

"A general? Leader?"

"I don't know, but let's see what happens. I do not so any restraints..."

Twilight called out with a magically-amplified voice that visually startled almost every single one of the Helghasts, including Commander Stromm. Both of the guards snickered.

"If you are out there, anyone who has come to rescue me, know that I am unharmed! There was an unnecessary skirmish during first contact, but we have forgiven one another and are peaceful with one another!"

"Bullshit?"

"Not sure..."

"I repeat: Fluttershy and I are unharmed, and these visitors are peaceful!"

"Bullshit?"

"Shhhh!"

"Is there anypony out there! I am fine."

"Bullshit?"

"Gah...I don't know."

The unicorn guard thought for a moment, his golden-shod hoof perched on his chin, a spear grasped in his other.

"Ah! I'll use my magic to send out a hologram."

"Okay, do it. Let's see what's really going on."

After concentrating for a few moments, a blue aura enveloped the guard's horn and a near-perfect version of him lept to life.

"Gooood, goood..."

The hologram walked out of the underbrush and waved.

The two real guards tensed, waiting for an attack on the hologram. Nothing happened.

"You!" Twilight called.

"Can you make it seem as if your voice is coming from the fake you if you speak."

"Yes, I think so."

"Do it."

The fake guard strolled forward, close to Twilight.

Twilight no longer had to use her voice.

"Why hello th-...wait."

"What?" Stromm asked.

Twilight chuckled.

"Just my guards being careful: this is fake, a decoy, hologram."

Stromm chuckled and nodded. These ponies seemed quite a bit more technologically advanced than first impressions would say...

Twilight called out with an amplified voice again, startling only a few of the Helghasts this time.

"I promise you! You will be fine!"

The two guards finally shrugged, what the hay?, and emerged from their hiding spot.

"Ah, there they are," Twilight said, motioning to the approaching guards.

Stromm was confused. Okay, amplified voices, holograms...but metal armor and spears?

The two guards were let through the camp gate and cautiously approached the five individuals.

"Hello! Captain Strong, Private Iron, good to see you again."

Fluttershy, who had remained silent up until now, decided to speak.

"Umm..you know, I'm pretty sure they're...nice. I mean, they did try to eat Angel Bunny, but..."

She stopped and eeped as soon as she noticed that all attention was on her. She blushed and shrunk away.

Iron and Strong exchanged glances and shrugged. Seemed legit.

Three hours later, Stromm, Twilight, Luna, Celestia, Cadence, Shining Armor, the rest of the Mane Six, Iron Mind, Strong Will, Zyve and Sycth, whom no one why they tagged along, and a couple of other guards all stood in the conference room. The Helghasts told their story again, causing many of the ponies to hold back tears again, and told their intentions.

Naturally, Princess Celestia was welcoming, and was willing to let them be there, but Luna was mistrusting. After some convincing, more talking, and some banter, Celestia agreed to give Commander Stromm a large chunk of land, namely, all of The Everfree forest, excluding Zecora's hut and the old ruins. They also received Rambling Rock Ridge. That was more than enough for the time being. When the Helghast population grows to exceed that, Princess Celestia agreed to help find land in the Lost World. There were peace treaties as well. All seemed fine. But, the damaged ships that the Helghasts drove to their new planet left a trail of debris floating space, unbeknownst to them. At that exact moment, a large ISA fleet was working on tracking them down, and getting rid of all of them, once and for all.

Armeen Kabar was amazed. After half of his ten-year life being spent on a stuffy ship filled with angry troops and other, equally filthy children, he was finally clean again. Not only clean, but he was also full. Not only clean and full, but he had managed to make friends with some of the locals.

After the new leader, Storm or something, and the Princesses of this place became friends, he and other people were allowed to mingle with the aliens that already lived here. They were ponies. He thought that that seemed really girly, but, as it turns out, they all make really good friends. Especially the three that he just found. He was a super-tough boy, but, deep inside, he still thought that they were really cute.

He met them one day when he woke up to cheering outside of the refugee ship in which he slept. His mother, the only family whom he had left, made him get up, get dressed, and come outside. Commander Storm, oh, it was Stromm, was outside. He told everyone in a really loud voice that they had made peace with the natives, and that they were free to do what they wanted, within common sense restrictions. With his Mother's permission, he had decided to explore a really close town, Ponyville.

He was the only person there, but the ponies there were really nice. It was kind of strange, he was really expecting to be yelled at or something. Instead, everything was really nice. So, with his hands in his pockets, he strolled down the cobblestone streets.

He passed a girly-looking bakery and saw a pink pony inside through a window. She had a really sad look on her face and was saying something about how there were far too many new-comers to throw parties all for. Then she got a real happy look and said something about one giant party and bolted off.

Armeen smiled and kept on walking. The buildings look old, like something from the Knight's time. The ponies here weren't like peasants or anything though.

The young Helghast boy was pondering his new life when he was tackled from the side, very heavily. He fell into a large puddle of mud. He hit his head on the stone and let loose a loud "Ouch!"

He rubbed his head, scrunching his eyes shut.

"What was that for!?"

He opened his eyes and saw three tiny little ponies with equally dazed looks on thier faces piled on top of him. One was white, with puffy hair and a tail, the other one was yellow and red with a really big bow in her hair, and the other one had purple hair and a kind of brown coat.

They all scrambled off of each other and the white one immediately started apologizing, saying, "Oh, I'm sorry, we didn't see you there. We were all kind of bumped off course and kind of ran into you, I guess."

Armeen snorted and inspected all of them further. The purple-brown one spoke up, "Hey, you're one of those aliens, aren't 'cha?"

"Well, to me, you're the aliens, but I guess since I'm here on your planet, I could be an alien. Yeah."

The one with the bow got a smile and said, with an accent not unlike his old aunt's, "Well welcome tah Ponyville. I'm Applebloom, this here is Scootaloo, and this is Sweetie Belle," she said, gesturing to the other two.

Armeen nodded and said, "My name's Armeen."

The boy looked over their shoulders curiously and back to them, "What were ya doing, anyway?"

"We were trying'a get our cutie marks!" said Applebloom.

"Cutie Marks?"

Sounded sissy.

"Yeah! It's when somepony discovers their super-special talent and it shows up on their flanks," explained Scootaloo excitedly, as she flashed her blank flank at Armeen.

"What's that you got on yer face? Or is that your actual face?" asked Applebloom.

"Oh, this?" Armeen asked, gesturing to his gas mask, "It's a mask. The air here is poisonous for us humans, I need to wear it or else I'll get sick.

"Oh..."

After a few seconds of silence, Sweetie Belle asked, "Umm...do you guys get Cutie Marks?"

"Nah, not really."

"Oh, well do you know what your talent is yet?"

"Not really, I'm only ten."

All three of them lit up, gasping, and exclaimed, "Us too!"

Applebloom asked Armeen something about wanting to join their crusaders club. Thinking that is sounded like fun, he agreed, and they all went off in search of new adventure.

Stromm was glad to get some time off. He decided to walk around the nearby town called Ponyville. The name was quite juvenile, but also very descriptive.

He rounded a corner just in time to see one of his people, a small boy, run off with three smaller ponies, probably around the same age. He smiled under his mask. Things were going unnaturally well.

The trooper had drawn a map of the town when commanded, and Stromm now pulled it from under his coat and surveyed it. He decided to drop in on Princess Twilight, who, for some reason, lived here in Ponyville rather than Canterlot. It appeared as if she was also a librian. Stromm had read everything on his ship, multiple times, and was in search of new reading material. Of course, in the sate to save lives, not many books were grabbed, and not a single one was digital. He hardly ever had any free time either. But that's not the point, he needed more to read. Stromm, aside from leading his people and slaughtering the ISA, loved to read. It was one of his favorite past-times. He had read almost every book that he could get his hands on, be it nonfiction, fiction, romance, tragedy, science fiction, political writings, or anything else. He also wanted a clearer understanding of the locals and thier culture, and and self-respecting library had some books on their own people. Or ponies. Whatever.

The large Helghast man found the library, a tree of all things, and was about to knock on the door that he undoubtedly would have to stoop through, when it opened all on its own. Twilight stood there.

"Oh! Hello Mr. Stromm, I was just on my way to see you."

"Oh?" he asked, stepping back.

"Yes, I wanted to inform you that I developed a new spell-"

"Forgive the interruption, but...spell?"

Twilight got a weird look on her face.

"Yes...spell."

"As in...magic spell?"

"Why of course!"

That explains quite a bit, actually.

"Why do you ask?"

"It doesn't matter anymore. So why am I being inform of this 'spell'?"

The Alicorn smiled again and answered, "The land that Princess Celestia so graciously gave you, I think that I might be able to make it so you may breathe the air there without your masks."

"That would be convient on multiple levels, your majesty."

"Well, now that I have that out of the way, the trip to your camp is useless. What are you here for?"

"Ah, yes, that's right. I actually came here for a book."

Stromm was amused at that. The leader of a new nation coming to check out a book from the librarian/scholar/princess/scientist/writer of the area.

"Of course! Come in!"

His expectations confirmed, Stromm ducked low and into the tree.

"Any specific books that you are looking for?"

Under his mask, Stromm got the smirk of the greatest idea ever.

"Could you...hold on for just one moment?"

"Um...sure?"

Commander Stromm opened up his comm and ordered, "I want a dozen heavy troopers here, on the double. Tell them to leave their weapons, but bring their armor."

"Have you decided?"

Stromm looked up and said, with a smile, "All of them."

Three

THREE

The crickets creaked in the night as the sun finally hid behind the horizon, and as Luna began her night by raising the moon and painting the night sky. Princess Celestia stood outside in the garden, and pondered recent happenings. Commander Stromm's story is a sad one. His people have suffered so much, both under themselves and under their enemies. Their coming here disturbed her somewhat. She had worn a mask of acceptance when she had spoken with them, but, now, she scowled. She was not cross with them for doing this, she was glad to help them find peace and a home, but she could not trust them. For all she knew, Stromm was a liar and they were here to invade her ponies. To count him worthy of staying here, Celestia and Luna had a little plan tonight: his dreams.

Just as Princess Celestia finished her though, her younger sister, Princess Luna landed next to her.

"Greetings, dear sister," she greeted, "Is he asleep yet?"

"I know not. We may have to wait for a while longer: the night is still young."

Luna nodded and said, "I am glad that you have opted to make this decision, Celestia, I have a place in my heart for our visitors, but I do not entirely trust them."

Celestia nodded back and answered, "My feelings are identical, sister."

They sat in silence for a while, both pondering similar things. What would they do if he did plan on an invasion? Neither of them had seen their weapons in action, would they be able to withstand them? What if their enemy, this 'ISA' finds them here? Then what?

"Sister, I believe that it is time: check."

Luna, Princess of the Night, closer her eyes and showed a face of concentration. Shortly thereafter, she opened them again.

"Yes, Celestia, he sleeps. Come with me, and we will see what he dreams of."

Everything was hazy. Clear sight was something that could not be reached. There was a slow dredge of black as he blinked. And then blinked again. There were dots of red above him. Ah, a comrade.

He hacked and coughed and then spoke, "Oh thanks the stars, I am wounded, you must help me."

The dots that were close drew further away as the Helghast Elite stood up straight.

"I know, Corporal Stromm, I am here to do just that."

"Thank you...thank you."

Stromm saw the arm of his fellow Helghast move as the barrel of a pistol was pointed directly between his eyes.

"What? No...no, I am fine! Just stunned, what is going on?"

"Stromm, I am sorry to inform you, but you are not just fine."

The Helghast motioned southwards and Stromm looked down. His stomach was coated with ice and his heart very nearly stopped. His lower body was not there. Where his legs should have been, there were bloody stumps.

"No...no...I cannot perish now..."

"You must."

"But you can save me!"

"I can. But I will not. You are weak. Die."

Stromm screamed in anguish and he heard a gunshot and clenched his eyes shut. But he was alive. He opened his eyes once more and saw the Helghast, his would-be executioner, tumble to the ground. Two Helghast troopers who had been standing nearby exchanged glances and ran off.

"No! Do not leave me! Bastards! Cowards! TRAITORS!"

Stromm fell back and began to cry in anger and in anguish. Just then, he heard movement aside him. It was a medic. An ISA medic.

"What are you doing?" Stromm spat.

"Compassion doesn't take sides buddy, I'm gonna get you all patched up."

Stromm had found someone to take his anger out.

"Hold still whi-"

Stromm reached over, grasped the medic's neck, who cried out in surprise, and wrenched it as hard as he could. There was a crunch and the medic tumbled to the ground.

"Bastards...cowards...traitors...I will get them...I will get them..."

Stromm grabbed the Medic's assault rifle and slung it onto his back. He began to crawl, dragging his bloodied stumps behind him, crawling off in the direction of the two troopers. He left a trail of blood and shredded flesh in the dirt as he made slow progress, mumbling obscenities and curses all along the way.

A battle raged in the distance around him. Smoke drifted into the air, and visible bullets streaked upwards, making contact with troop transports, bringing them down in smoke and flames.

When he made it to a burned out building, Stromm stopped. He heard voices, voices with Helghan accents.

"There they are..." the wounded man growled to himself.

He shuffled forward into the ruined building and stopped. They were around the corner. Stromm grabbed his rifle and pulled it out. He checked to see where it was loaded and flicked the safety off.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yes, I beleive I did."

Stromm's nostrils flared underneath his mask and he used the strength in his abdomen to jump forward, and he fired.

"N-!"

He emptied the entire magazine into the cowards whom he once called his comrades, and fell back, breathing heavily. He reached forward and pulled his mask off, and took another deep breath.

"Good."

The sudden voice startled him. Stromm looked around and found a Helghast officer, all alone, in the darkness.

"I saw what they did to you, abandoning you, and was about to do the same myself. Do not worry, I am not here to put you out of your misery, nor to punish you. I am doing what they should have done. You will receive help."

Stromm let out a sigh of relief.

"I will send word to promote you and get you first aid. We will get you your legs back and you will fight once more."

Stromm did his best to salute the officer from the ground, and the standing soldier chuckled.

"Ever the patriot, I see. You were also wise to not accept help from the ISA medic, had you done so you would have been tried with treason and shot."

"I know. I know."

"As of now, rest. You will fight again. You will fight again..."

Princess Celestia stood, wide-eyed. Her younger sister was visibly less disturbed.

"Luna..." Celestia said, a warning tone in her voice.

"Quite yourself, sister, another one is beginning."

Princess Celestia wasn't sure that she wanted to watch another one, but she turned her attention to the dream vision floating in the air in front of them anyway.

The inside of the transport was quite, crowded, and dark. Each bench on either side of the inside stretched from front to end, save the cockpit. Each of these benches was crowded with seated Helghast troopers. They looked from one to another, both positive and negative anticipation in their guts. Stromm was excited, for he wanted to try out his new legs.

The still un-named Helghast officer had managed to rescue him and get him to the medics, where he was patched up. Afterwards, his legs were not reattached, no, but replaced. Where flesh should have been, was now metal. His legs had been replaced with robotics. They let him exert more energy while tiring less, and they were very strong, good for kicking down doors and stomping in ISA skulls.

"ETA Thirty-seconds!" called the pilot up front. The time passed slowly, as each Helghast checked his gear and ammo and made sure that everything was secure for battle.

Stromm felt the shuttle touch down with a shudder and there was a call of, "Now! Go, go, go!"

Stromm exchanged glances with the soldier next to him and they both nodded. Stromm let loose a war cry and rushed out of the air vehicle and down the ramp.

As soon as they left, they began to get cut down by machine gun fire. Stromm seized a recently-fallen soldier from the ground and held the corpse in front of him as he returned fire from his waist. By the time that he reached decent cover, the body in front of him was all but gone, and Stromm discarded the scraps, leaving the entire front of his body stained with blood.

He looked around and saw that he was the only surviving trooper who had made it to cover. Now he could fight without any distractions.

Stromm heaved his weapon and jogged down the alleyway. He managed to make it far enough away that the sounds of battle were distant, and he rounded a corner just in time to meet a group of three ISA soldiers. The trio stood only two feet away. Their illusions of kindness and mercy had obviously made them weak, and therefore slow, and Stromm drew his blade and drove it upwards into the jaw of the closest soldier. The other two raised their weapons, and Stromm threw the now-dead ISA soldier into the other one. The other soldier still-standing, however, managed to squeeze off a couple rounds, both of which his Stromm directly in the chest.

His body armor there for a reason, Stromm simply strode forward and kicked the man in the groin as hard as he could, destroying his soft parts in a splash of steaming red and white that spatted down his legs. The weakling screaming in pure agony and fell down, clutching his destroyed groin and Stromm turned to the other soldier who was pinned under the first man killed. He looked him in the eye for a second, and then promptly crushed his skull with his boot, sending blood and brains into the gutter.

Stromm turned to the other man, manhood destroyed, and watching him whimper. Stromm gave him a bored look and left him to suffer in pain, moving down the alleyway.

Again, Stromm was alone, and was glad about his new legs.

The Helghast was moving forward when he walked inside of a factory. Stromm was not sure what it manufactured, but it was still running, and much of the machinery exposed, their cogs and pistons churning. The Helghast moved silently, for one so large, and he heard voices.

"We're surrounded, man, no place we can go."

"I know, let's just hunker down here and wait for reinforcements."

More lambs to slaughter. Stromm discarded his rifle on the ground, wishing to use his blade and legs in its stead, making no effort to mask the sound.

The voices paused for a moment and one of them asked the other, "What was that?"

"Do I look like I know? Probably a rat or somethin', but let's check it out anyway."

Stromm hid in the shadows and watched as the two men went moved forward, each going down a different pathway in the machinery. Idiots.

As one of them approached his position, an oriental man with a handkerchief on his head, Stromm looked at the heavy, churning gears and got an idea.

Once the oriental was close enough, Stromm rushed from his hiding place in the darkness and grabbed the man's head, holding his throat so that he could not scream. He took his rifle, pistol, and knife, and threw them onto a pile of nearby sacks so that they wouldn't make a noise.

The Helghast directed the other man's face toward the gears and turned him around to face him again. The oriental's eyes were wide, and he shook his head as fast as he could, whilst in Stromm's grasp.

Stromm leaned forward, slowly, and hissed into the man's ear.

"You cannot win, ISA scum," and thrust his skull into the gears.

It didn't matter how tight that his throat was being constricted, the sheer amount of terror and pained loosed a scream from the man that could be heard all around the building. That would attract the other ISA man, not to mention the scent of smoke and the struggling grinding of the cogs that was being produced.

Stromm hid in his spot again and waited like a spider to catch a fly. The Helghast trooper had managed to keep a majority of the excessive blood shed off of him, and the ichor from his previous encounters of the day had dried by then, so there was no blood trail leading back to his little spot in the shadows.

As expected, soon, the other soldier appeared, calling, "Kevin! Yo, Kevin! You alright man? Kevin!"

There was a gasp and a, "Hold mother of f*cking god. Kevin!"

There was a ruffling as the soldier approached his fallen comrade. "Oh my god, what the hell?"

The other soldier twirled around and began to shout, saying, "Come out you coward! I will kill you myself!"

Stromm chuckled. Is that so?, and bolted from his spot. This time, the soldier surprised Stromm, and dodged him in time.

"There ya are you asshole!" he shouted and leveled his weapon. Stromm ducked as three rounds whizzed overhead, and he moved forward, seizing the barrel and yanking it from the ISA man's grasp.

Stromm grabbed the weakling's throat, fully intending to repeat his actions, and again moved his opponents skull towards a new set of cogs. He unbuckled the man's helmet and thrust him forward, but this man was a fighter. He caught himself on the side of the open cage that was supposed to protect people from being caught in the machinery, and fought back. This struggle went on for a few minutes, Stromm pushing forward, and the ISA man using the back of his knees and his arms to brace himself.

Suddenly, the ISA soldier stopped for a bit, and gave Stromm a sly smile. At first, the Helghast was confused, but he realized what the other man planned to do and tried to pull away. He did not do so in time.

The man grabbed onto Stromm's gloved hand and let himself fall back into the gears, being turned into a bloody pulp of flesh and bones, and Stromm was almost pulled in himself. He was, actually, just not all of the way.

It was his hand, up to the wrist, which fell into the metal and was torn away. Stromm was not a weakling, and did not scream, but the pain was there, nonetheless. The tough Helghast withdrew his stump and examined the protruding bone with wonder. It was jagged and sharp.

Stromm turned and saw yet another man, and ISA medic, who gaped at the scene in front of him, and then began to rush forward.

Stromm smirked. This was becoming quite a repetitive occurance. The ISA men were truly weak foes.

"You're gonna bleed to death if you-"

Stromm rushed forward and buried the exposed bone into the medic's throat. The man's blood mixed with the Helghasts and he fell from the bone, leaving the white covered with red.

Finally, from loss of blood and from exhaustion, Stromm collapsed. Was he going to lose some part of his body every single battle from now on?

"Celestia, I know what you're thinking, but please wait."

"My dear sister, what kind of monster are we allowing to mingle with our ponies?" Her voice was eerily calm.

"Think, Sister. This dreams are memories of the past, obviously he is a changed man."

Ironic, really. In the beginning, it was Celestia who wanted peace, but Luna who was mistrusting more than loving. It seems that the tables have turned.

"How do we know that he is simply wearing a mask of the personality?"

"I suppose that we do not, but also keep in mind, sister, that these are dreams. Dreams do not reflect the individual's intentions."

"I suppose that you are right. He still has a chance, but my trust in him is sinking lower and lower."

Luna was silent for a moment, but then her eyes lit up with and idea.

"'Tia! I have an idea?"

"And what is that, Luna?"

"There is yet a third dream coming on. This man has been through quite a lot to dream so much. We can sneak into New Helghan," she said, referring to the land that Celestia had given Stromm and his people, "and watch his dream there, and then see whether he likes these dreams. After every single one, he has woken up for a few seconds. We can see if it is in glee, or in terror."

Stromm examined his new hand, made from the exact type of metal that his legs were, and just as strong. Maybe he could use it to tear out the throat of his enemies...

"Hold the line!"

That's right. There were in battle.

"The ISA men have lost all hope, and are going to charge our position in a last-ditch hope. Ready your weapons!"

As soon as the Officer had finished his sentence, Stromm heard a cry and watched as one hundred and fifty ISA men leaped out of the ditch that they were hiding and and began to run at full speed. Many were banners emblazoned with the ISA logo.

"Fire at will!"

The muzzle flare was glorious, and the charging men began to fall. But it was not enough: there were many men.

"Orders have been changed! Break the line, but break it forward! We will meet them! For Helghan!"

"FOR HELGHAN!" the many soldiers in the trench offered back, and they themselves charged forward. The adrenaline in Stromm's viens was flowing without end, and he too charged forward with a battle cry on his lips.

Stromm put his rifle onto his back and drew two blades: one hatchet and another, a large dagger, large enough to be considered a machete by some.

Stromm picked out his target, who had evidently picked him as well, and locked eyes with him as the two lines met in a crash of armor and bones. Gunshots began to ring out, faster and faster, and more intense. Soldiers were strangling one another, beating each other with large rocks. Stromm, on the other hand, was dropping ISA men like flies.

His axe swung, as did his dagger, and many throats were sliced that day. He got shot multiple times, but each time, his armor deflected it. It did not take long, but soon the ISA men were no more. That was to be expected, as they were weak. Stromm was covered in blood and-

His eyes opened.

Celestia and Luna stood outside of the Ship's window, concealed by magic, and braced themselves in anticipation. Stromm had awoken, but he was not in a cold sweat. Celestia gasped when she saw that, indeed, the dreams had been memories. Both of his legs were metal, as was the hand that machinery had taken away. He was in his undergarments, so he was not naked, but his abdomen was exposed. Celestia saw many ugly scars. Blade wounds, shrapnel, burns. Much of his right pectoral was missing, undoubtedly blasted away by some sort of awful human weapon.

Stromm only sat on the edge of his bed, his arms on his knees, and his face downward. Princess Celestia's heart, which had been becoming tighter and tighter, opened once more as she witnessed something that she never thought that she would before. She watched, as Commander Stromm, veteran of two wars and hundreds of battles, with a kill count of over five hundred, who had not accepted the help of medics, and who had ruthlessly killed his own men, began to cry.

The large, muscled man, at first, sniffled and a tear or two fell onto the ground. But things quickly escalated as he began to cry with deep breaths, sobs wracking his body.

"Come, my sister. Let us leave him alone."

They both agreed that, for know, Commander Stromm was harmless.

Things were going quite well. It had already been about a year and a half since the Helghast refugees landed there, but they were already building things. Stromm opted to pollute less, but the buildings were the same: metal. The Helghast mappers had found a large pocket of metal, iron and copper, in the mountains and they had begun a mine. Lumber was being cut down, and the more dangerous animals of the Everfree were being either killed or capture for taming.

Stromm had not been able to sleep after last night, he was quite embarrassed, but glad that no one had seen him, and had gotten dressed and started his day early. Twilight's spell had been a success, and the civilians could now wander free within New Helghan. It was required, however that soldiers wear their masks, for it was part of their uniform. Stromm kept his on because, quite frankly, he thought that it was bad-ass. There was actually no reason for him to be wearing it other than that.

He was about to go out, to start his day, and then begin to read his new massive check-out, at which Princess Twilight had been happy about, but he was going to be slowed down by a very specific slate gray pegasus and her unicorn daughter while he was still inside his ship. How had she gotten inside?

"Hey!" The mare called.

Stromm looked around for the source of the voice. "Aha, there you are."

It was a gray pegasus, as said, with really bright, amber eyes that were a bit out of alignment. She had a blonde mane and tail, and, with her, was a small unicorn filly, whom of which was hiding behind the first. Her mother? Elder sister?

Stromm squatted down to say hello, but the little filly shrunk away even further. Stromm gave a mock pout under his mask and stood back up.

"Whatever is the matter?"

"Hello mister commander sir, my name is Ditzy Do, and this here is my daughter, Dinky."

Stromm chuckled. Adorable ponies, adorable ponies everywhere.

"Oh? And just how may I help you?"

"My daughter here is really shy, and kind of scared of you guys."

Stromm looked behind him at a trio of Helghast men who gave him a nod and continued down the hallway. He looked back and answered, "Well, I can see why..."

Ditzy chuckled and said, "Yeah, exactly. So I took her here, to show her that there's nothing to be afraid of."

"Actually, there's plenty to be afraid of."

"Wha-?"

Not the answer that she was expecting.

"My men are all grizzled war veterans, all of whom have killed more people than they have eaten meals. They are all armed to the teeth with guns, blades, electricity and flames. We have thick armor that can stop almost anything, and many of us have parts that have been replaced by metal as the result of injuries."

Stromm pulled off his glove and showed them the metal replacement. Dinky looked positively terrified, and now even Ditzy looked unsure.

"My people and I have the ability to wipe out Equestria, and all of the other countries, and we will if it comes to it. I have killed many men in my time, in slow and painful ways. I have murdered comrades for betraying me, and for uniform violations."

"Okay mister, I think that's enough, I've gotta g-"

"But," Stromm held up his hand, "It's not whether there are things to be afraid of, it's whether you choose to be afraid of them. Princess Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Twilight all welcomed me, though mayhaps with some mistrust, though I cannot blame them. The gave me land, a home for me and my people, and helped my along my dream for peace. I am bound with a strict code of honor, as are my people, and in that code, I am not allowed to attack allies. If I were to order and attack on your ponies, my soldiers would kill me and elect a new leader. You do not need to fear me, nor my people," Stromm finished.

He leaned down again towards Dinky and pulled out a sucker. The young unicorn hesitantly took it in her aura.

Stromm lifted up his comm and called for a heavy trooper. After he was finished, he looked back at Dinky, who returned his gaze with a smile around the sucker.

The heavy trooper arrived quickly, and Stromm gave him a command.

"Soldier, I want you to give these two a piggy back ride back to Ponyville, double-time!"

"Whee!"

The soldier saluted and gingerly picked up each pony. Dinky rode on the barrel of his weapon, and Ditzy on his back.

Stromm chuckled at the sight and began his day. Again. Now you may wonder why he had a sucker. Turns out, Stromm always carried candy with him, ever since he became elected leader of the Helghasts, but that was the first time he got to use it, and oh Dear God it gave him warm fuzzies.

Four

FOUR

This day, much like the previous, had been glorious for Stromm, at least thus far. He had had a good night's sleep, without any nightmares, and he had been well rested. Coffee had not really been needed, but the Commander had a mug anyway. Coffee's good.

It was almost lunch time and the leader of the Helghasts had decided to take a casual stroll down to Ponyville to get something from Sugarcube Corner. Another amusing thought: a war commander of an entire nation deciding to pick up some bread and, if possible, cheese at the local bakery for lunch.

Stromm fancied himself a humble man, and did not like the aspects of servants. He did everything himself, if he could, which included fixing his own meal. Many buildings were still being put up, but none of them were his, because he opted to simply live in the ship. It's not like they were going anywhere soon. At least he hoped not, that would be quite disheartening to both himself and what little people he had left.

About this simple lunch of his: he never got it. He had been heading towards his destination, quite casually, when one of the ponies whom he recognized as a Royal Guard rushed up to him, seemingly from nowhere.

"Commander Stromm! Sir!"

The armored unicorn preformed the Helghast salute, quite well, actually, better than even some of the Helghasts, and Stromm returned it.

"What is it?"

"The Princess requests an audience with you!"

"Which one?"

"Well, it was Princess Luna who sent the order, but her Majesty Twilight will be briefing you."

"Briefing me? What mission am I going on?"

"That's is sir, you will learn at the library. Of course, it is optional, seeing as you are not a civilian of hers, but Her Majesty urges you to accept; it could mean the life or death of many of her ponies."

"Yes. Alright."

"I will escort you to the library, sir."

Stromm knew where the library is, of course, but, after reading a book on standard Equestria Military conduct, he knew that escorts were required for practically everything.

Soon, they were at the tree-library, and the Guard gave his goodbye and departed. He wondered what could possibly be going on?

The sight was really very comical. Two Helghasts, with their masks and helmets still donned, were sitting with towels wrapped around their waists, and otherwise naked. They were inside of a sauna, accompanying Rarity and Fluttershy.

"Oh, I'm so glad that you two could come. I really wanted to get to know you better. I mean, even though you tried to kill Angel Bunny..."

"Yes darlings, I am glad as well. You two are the only of your kind here that would have been willing to do this, and while I am not as scholarly as Twilight, I must admit that I am curious about you two," said Rarity from the other side of the foggy room.

"What is there to know?" Zyve inquired, his arms behind his head, propping it up.

"There could be many things. We all learned your story when Commander Stromm told everyone at the palace, but I am curious about some other things as well."

"Yeah?"

"There could be many things, like those devices that I always see you men carry. Every single one of you has at least one."

"The things that we left outside?"

"Yes."

"Those were StA-52 Assault Rifles."

Both Rarity and Fluttershy had blank faces.

"Guns."

Equally blank faces.

"Oh...gah, Sycth, you take over."

Sycth, who had remained silent up to this point, leaned forward and began to talk.

"Well, a 'gun' is a projectile weapon used by modern-"

The door to the sauna flung open and the two ponies shrieked.

"Zyve, Sycth! Commander Stromm needs you!"

Both Helghasts groaned.

Commander Stromm waited patiently for the two men's arrival and, thanks to Helghast training, he did not have to wait long at all.

Soon, Zyve, Sycth, and the third soldier arrived.

They all saluted one another and went inside, where Twilight was waiting, perhaps a little less patiently than Stromm.

"We are here for the breifing?" Stromm asked, still somewhat confused.

"Yes! Good, I was wondering where you were. Hello, Zyve, Sycth. Who is that?" Twilight asked, gesturing towards the third.

He preformed a snappy Equestrian salute and said, "Corporal Mann Oresteil, Advanced Shock Trooper, Ma'am!"

Twilight nodded, satisfied with his answer.

Giggling, she said, "At ease, soldier."

Oresteil complied and all of the Helghasts stood in the center of the library, where Twilight began to speak.

"Okay, the reason that I have called you, Stromm, here today is to request your acceptance for a mission."

"What is it?"

"Dragon."

Stromm blinked under his lenses.

"There are Dragons here in Equestria?"

"Why yes."

Stromm chuckled.

"And I suppose that there are Manticores, Kappa, and Trolls here as well?"

"Yes, actually, but we're talking about dragons."

Well then...

"We have one plaguing the Everfree forest, stealing gold from travelers, and scaring the manure out of a hermit who lives there, a zebra named Zecora."

"How many men do you think that I need?"

Twilight looked at all of her guests for a moment and answered, "You could probably use five more heavy troopers and a tank, in addition to these."

"Dragons are tough?"

"Very."

"So...I thought that you believed in saving lives at all costs? Why are you hiring us to kill this dragon?"

"Well, Princess Celestia would have attempted peace, but this order came from Luna, who also ordered me not to tell Celestia, and I ask you not to tell her either."

Stromm nodded.

"Alright. We accept."

Twilight smiled.

"I'm glad. You will each be payed quite a bit for this. Oh, and also, be sure to eradicate any other dangerous creature that you might run into along they way."

"For sure."

Three hours later, a group of Helghasts and one tank crushed through the underbrush of the forest. Stromm had decided to accompany his men, mostly because he wanted to see a real dragon. You know, before he killed it.

The instructions given to them by Twilight had pointed out a cave deep in the forest. Apparently, if successful, everyone in the party would get to keep the horde there for themselves. Another reason why Stromm decided to tag along.

It took a little over an hour, but they eventually reached the cave mouth, which was quite large.

"Hold. Check the map." Stromm commanded.

A few seconds of silence later, Zyve answered back, "Affirmative Sir."

"Alright men, advance."

The entire group all checked their weapons, raised them, and moved forward. Sycth still had the faintest of limps.

Stromm made the soldiers and one vehicle stop once more while he peeked around the corner. He came back smiling, his eyes filled with glee. Due to his mask, though, no one could saw it.

"Yes, it is here. Move forward."

Finally, they were inside. The dragon was no where to be seen.

"Search for it."

And they did. But not a single sign of the dragon, aside from the heaps of gold, silver, and gems.

"Alright, set up here, and we will wait twenty-four hours for his return. If he does not show up then, we pack up the spoils and leave."

Marah Kabar left New Helghan for the first time. For the for the twenty-one month since the refugees had landed, she had not needed to leave once. Now she did, because Armeen was missing. Again. Most of the time, she would just have a trooper go fetch him, but she decided that she needed to explore around anyway.

She retrieved her mask and requested an exit at the fence. It was granted and Marah left, a bit unsure, but also a bit excited. Perhaps she would make a new friend. Or maybe even two. She had to admit, she was quite curious about these ponies, it's just...she didn't really like...interaction with living things.

But onward she went. She needed to break out of her shell, and she knew it. She went into town and was surprised that she really did not receive much attention, save for a warm smile and/or a wave.

She picked the closest building, a normal-looking house, and decided to ask whoever lived there. She was still kind of amazed at the fact that they all spoke the exact same language, save a few differences, but that would only make it more convienient to find Armeen.

As she approached, her ears picked up on something: music. It sounded as if it were coming from a cello. It sounded soft, sad, and somewhat melancholy. Marah couldn't help but become a bit choked up. It was amazing because she herself played, cello and bass, but such instruments had been lost in the long war.

Shaking her head, and hoping that she would not be irritating the pony inside by interrupting his or her playing, she set forward again. But, again, she was stopped.

The soft melodic song was suddenly halted as there was a short quake. The entire building quivered and Marah felt an insane and quite inharmonic song erupt from all windows and doors of the building, filled with bass and a lot of thudding and high-pitched snares.

"Vinyl!"

Funny...that voice sounded...what was it? British? From Earth?

Another voice, interrupted by laughter, returned, "Sorry! I...I couldn't resist!"

"It's not funny, Vinyl!"

"Hehe, yeah it is."

Well, these two were obviously busy at the moment. Marah turned to leave when she heard a voice, the very same that had been arguing with the British sounding one just moments ago, call her.

"Hey! Did'ja need something? Don't be shy!"

The voice came from an upper window. Standing there, leaning out, was what appeared to be a unicorn mare with an electric blue mane styled in a very frazzled-looking way. A pair of dark purple goggles were strapped over her forehead, and her eyes were red. Vinyl.

"Oh, um...no, it's alright..."

"Nah, don't worry. Come on in, 'Tavi's cooling down!"

Marah decided that Vinyl wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer and went back to the door.

Minutes later, Marah was sitting in a well-decorated living room with comfy sofas, a tea table, and a roaring fire contained safely within the hearth of the brick fireplace.

There had only been two sofas, but Vinyl had used her magic to levitate another in from the other room, a sight which Marah watched, wide-eyed. She had heard about the magic from less-shy civilians who had left and from soldiers, but had until then to witness it in action.

"Hehe, never seen any magic before, eh?"

Marah shook her head.

Vinyl and Marah sat down in the chairs.

"Don't worry, 'Tavi will be here with the tea soon."

"'Tavi?"

"Octavia's her full name. 'Tavi's just a nickname, or sometimes 'Octi. It just depends. She's real good with the cello, I guess, but she can be kind of stuck up sometimes."

"It's not being stuck up, it's manners."

Marah jumped but Vinyl only grinned.

"She's real good at sneaking up on ponies too."

They all settled down and Marah took the tea and gave it a taste. Immediately, her eyes widened.

"Wow, Octavia, this is really good."

The brown earth pony nodded and smiled.

"Why thank you...?"

"Marah. Marah Armeen."

Marah looked over to Vinyl, holding out her cup of tea and asked, "You're not going to have any?"

"Naw, don't like tea all that much. Besides, after all that, Octavia probably poisoned it."

The earth pony narrowed her eyes lightly and moved the small cup around in her front hooves.

"That wouldn't be too far from the truth, actually."

"See? I told ya."

Instead, in another magic puff and another startling of Marah, Vinyl had a can of beer.

"You sure are jumpy, aint' ya?"

The Helghast women sighed and said, "Yeah, I suppose so. It's my first time leaving New Helghan."

"Is it now?" Asked Octavia.

"Sure is. I'm a bit nervous about the whole thing, but, as I see so far, ponies seem to be hospitable enough."

Both ponies smiled.

"Now, the entire reason I came here in the first place: have either of you seen a little boy? He's my son, Armeen Kabar, and he's late."

Vinyl just waved her hoof dismissively.

"Yeah, I seen him, don't worry; he's hangin' out with the Cutie Mark Crusaders."

"Cutie...Mark Crusaders?"

"Just these three fillies who go around having fun. They don't get hurt very often. At least not too bad..."

Marah was not an overly-protective mother, so she took Vinyl's word for it, and finished her tea. She had three more cups before she left.

Five

FIVE

"That's a lot of treasure."

"Yeah...how are we going to carry it all?"

"More than one trip?"

"More than one trips are for pussies."

"Do you want all of this?"

"I'm not getting all of it, we're splitting it up."

"Well, yeah, I know, but...you know what I mean."

"Maybe I don't. Details."

"I just expect you to not be an idiot. Looks like I need to re-state my assumptions."

"Hey there, be nice."

"Anyway, you know what I mean."

"Maybe..."

"Whatever. How are we going to move all of this?"

"Maybe instead of killing the dragon, we could enslave it and use it to carry all of it back to Helghan, and then kill it."

"Bit cruel."

"I was joking. You know that."

"Maybe I don't-"

"Knock it off!" one of the heavy troopers called, "You're annoying all of us!"

Zyve and Sycth pouted and went silent. They were really, really bored. Not for much longer though...

"Men! I have a visual! Battle stations!"

"That's more like it! Come on!"

Oresteil made sure that his weapon was charged and that the rest of the troops were ready. He watched as Commander Stromm slid into the tank, ready to command it. This was going to be fun.

The heavy trooper who had spotted the dragon in the first place scuttled down the entrance, as fast as he could with all of that heavy armor, and made sure that his weapon was ready.

There was silence for three seconds. The Helghasts were all quite excited, and also nervous. Dragon. Come on.

That silence was broken as a loud roar bellowed down the cave, and a massive, green dragon tromped inside, anger in his eyes.

The tank fired of a shell which impacted the dragon's chest, only knocking a few scales off. The heavy troopers all pressed their buttons and soon there was a wave of hot metal streaking down the dark cave, lighting up the passage in little sparks of light.

Zyve and Sycth took cover behind a large boulder and also began to shoot, adding their own concussive cracking and the tinkling of shells to the barrage.

The dragon was almost entirely unharmed, and roared again. He charged forward and swept his tail, launching three spikes from it, which embedded themselves in the ground near the ranks of heavy troopers, who began to fire more frantically.

Oresteil slowly slunk closer, unnoticed by the dragon, and readied his weapon. Again, the tanks fired with a deafening roar which shook the cave, and the dragon shuddered as the shell hit him. But he was still up. Twilight was right; dragons are tough.

The dragon readies a flaming breath but Oresteil seized the chance and lept from his hiding spot, letting loose a barrage of electricity.

The large reptile writhed in pain, and roared. Just then, Stromm, the brilliant man that he was, timed the tank's shell just right. The tank shuddered as it launched yet another round, this time directly into the dragon's maw. It's head exploded and it was thrown backwards, creating a heavy quake which caused the gold in the cave to jingle as it landed on the rock floor.

Zyve looked at Sycth and asked, "So. How are we going to carry all of this?"

Everyone was panting, exhausted from their recent battle. No casualties or injuries, thankfully, just a dead dragon.

Stromm climbed out from his vehicle, as did the other men who were inside.

"Well. Gold anyone?"

The dragon's corpse was doused with gasoline and lit afire. The tanks was loaded with gold, and each of the soldiers grabbed as much as they could carry. Stromm was glad; this money would massively help his budding country, which was going quite well at this point. Also, he was committing Zyve and Sycth to be his personal bodyguards: they were tough.

The Helghast leader rode outside of the tank, taking in the scenery. The forest was hideous, he had no idea what he was doing out here. He slid back inside of the hatch and smiled. He really wished that he could take his mask off here, he wanted his troops to see how happy he was. You would be too if you had gotten to see a dragon, battle it to the death and loot his horde.

That had been the first time in years that Stromm had been in combat. It seemed as if he had not lost his skills, nor had his men. Helghast training did its job very well.

"Thanks ladies, that tea was great."

"You are ever so welcome. Be sure to drop by again soon!"

Octavia looked at Vinyl, whos eyes widened.

"Oh! Yeah! Nice to meet'cha Marah. Uh...good luck finding your boy!"

The women smiled.

"Thanks. I'm going to need it."

As Marah walked down towards the picket fence, she heard the door shut and Octavia say, "Now...I beleive that we have some unfinished business regarding that...rude interruption of my music."

"'Octi...no...please..."

That was all Marah head and she was out into the town again.

Industry was picking up. More and more buildings were being put up, as well as more and more trees becoming cut down. Populations was finally rising again as well. Over fifty new children, many of them males.

Twilight's spell ended up a success, and Stromm's people could now do as they please without their masks, at least inside New Helghan. The borders could clearly be seen, aside from the wall, yes, walls, no longer fences, due to the blue shimmering in the air.

The walls were not really necessary, nor were the guards on them, but it had become a habit of the Helghasts to be ready for war. It was understandable.

There had been some...issues regarding the trust of the locals, but the most aggressive that they became was painting angry phrases on the walls like Get out!, or You will only bring war!.

In response, the some of the guards had been put on the ground, and that seemed to halt all anti-Helghast movements. Stromm hated the men like Visari who had started all of this, but he was certainly grateful for the uniforms. They were terrifying, especially to normally peaceful ponies who would be so angry as to paint angry messages on the walls.

There had been some issues regarding Zecora, she didn't like how destructive they were being to nature, but it had been fixed when Stromm made a patch of the forest untouchable, and Zecora had been made happy. Ponies were even coming to live in New Helghan, and Helghasts to Equestria. There was an open trade route that streamed steadily between the two nations, and one had even been opened with The Crystal Empire up north, and the Cameloo.

They had attempted one with Gryphus, but they were like the old Soviet Union of Earth: Proud, with an Iron Curtain of their own. Stromm hated oppression like that...very much.

"Private, I called you here today because I am told that you are good with your stealth and data gathering."

"So they say, sir."

"Right. I am sure that you are aware of the country Gryphus?"

"Affirmative."

"I want you to gather information on it first here, in Ponyville and Canterlot. Then report to me, and I will decide if I need to send you to Gryphus."

"Yes sir."

The trooper made an exit, to prepare for his mission, and Stromm sighed. He really hoped that he would not have to go to war with Gryphus. Celestia would most certainly object, but New Helghan had been founded under the principle of freedom and justice. Almost like America, on the ISA's Earth, but Stromm actually planned to stick to his ideals.

Therefore, if the Gryphon people were oppressed, it would be his job to liberate them. And liberate him he would.

Six

SIX

Princess Celestia sat in her throne room, waiting for somepony to come to her with some sort of problem. No one had in over an hour and she had become quite bored. Suddenly though, a guard burst through the doors, much like when the Crystal Empire had returned.

"Princess!" He said with a bow, "Prince Shining Armor requests an audience with you!"

"What is it about?"

"I...do not know. He just needs to talk to you."

"Alright. I will take my leave. You two," she said, referring to her guards, "Come with me."

They both nodded and they exited the throne room.

After traveling a sizeable distance distance from the throne room to Princes Shining's office, Celestia entered. The poor stallion, a Princes of an entire different country and the captain of the military in another. Must be worked to death.

The two guards waited outside and the Solar Princess found Shining standing on his balcony, staring out at New Helghan.

"Princess, I'm glad you decided to show up."

"Of course. What is going on, Shining?"

"Look," Prince Shining answered, gesturing towards the spyglass that lay on the edge of his balcony.

The Princess took it up in her magic and lifted it towards her eye.

New Helghan had changed somewhat. It was always an industrial country, but something was...different. There was much more smoke, and the military presence in the streets had increased.

"What are they paranoid of?"

"I don't think that they are afraid of anything..."

The Princess looked around more and spotted the factories. She gasped. They were all in full production, and she saw many Helghast weapons coming from the factories, each of them being picked up by a Helghast soldier. Rifles were not the only thing being produced, as Celestia saw vehicles being driven outside as well. Tanks, trucks and other metal machines.

"No. They're not afraid. They're preparing."

"Yes. With whom?"

"I fear that it may be with us."

"What makes you think that?"

"They have shut their gates: no one can come in or out."

Princess Celestia put down the tool, a pit in her stomach.

"Send for Stromm, I wish to speak with him."

"That's another thing, Princess, they won't allow any communication between us."

There was silence for a moment and then Celestia spoke, "I do not beleive that Stromm would do such a thing...but I have not always been a perfect judge of character. Prince?"

"Yes Princess?"

"Put your troops on standby, increase defenses."

"We are not attacking him, I hope?"

"No, but be cautious. I truly fear if he does turn on us."

Shining Armor nodded and went on his way, leaving the Princess on his office balcony.

Oh Stromm, Celestia though, what are you up to?

"Soldiers, I speak to you today to inform you where exactly we are going. I am aware that you were ushered up and into battle mode without any explaining, but that's my job. We are on our way to a country neighboring Equestria called Gryphus. Several months ago, Stromm heard about them, and what information he received was unpleasant: their government is oppressive, a tyrant for a king. Stromm sent a scout to their land, but he never returned. At least not in one piece. His head was mailed back in a box. Stromm has assumed this an official deceleration of war, and we are going to fight that war."

The Officer looked around to see whether his troops were paying attention and continued.

"The Gryphon technology is higher than that of out Equestrian neighbors, but it is still below us. They are just now exploring the effects of gunpowder. But do not become to cocky, as the Gryphons are large and strong, which means that they can carry much more firepower than just one of us. Their repeaters are like cannons to us, and they have also found ways to use potions and crystals to create different effects, such as incendiary rounds and extra shrapnel. They have a chance against us. But we will win, because we are the good guys this time. We are liberating the Gryphon people. ETA Five hours."

New Helghan was quiet. The smoke had stopped, but communications and the gates re-opened. Princess Celestia sent a pair of guards inside to ask around, and what she had gotten back surprised her.

No, she had nothing to fear from Helghan, as they were not attacking her, but she was still disturbed. They were still going to war with one of Equestria's neighbors, the Gryphons, and the worst part was that it was entirely unprovoked. The civilians knew nothing, but they did not seem to care.

Another thing that irked her: the civilians did not seem to care one bit about the fact that their men were being sent over to the Gryphons so that they could kill each other. Celestia was going to have a little chat with Stromm when he got back.

Stromm was not a coward, not in the slightest. Unlike Visari, he was going to the front lines with his soldiers. Not only would it help troop morale, but he wanted to kill the Gryphon king himself. That Gryphon was every free man's nightmare. Everyday he killed thousands of his own people because of something that they might do. He took three-quarters of everything that his people made to swim in his own greed.

Not for much longer. The entirety of Stromm's forces had set up camp one mile from the border of Gryphus. They had yet to be noticed, and were all preparing for their first push into Gryphon territory. The land was moderate, with long grass and few trees all around. It was a lot like a savannah, but a bit more cool. The grass was green and well, same with the trees. Majestic, snowy peaks jutted out into the distance. They would make good cover for their march to the capital...

Stromm snapped out of his thoughts and immediately ordered , "Capture one and kill the other, now."

The troop radioed the command to the defenses outside of the camp and Stromm flinched when he heard the Anti-aircraft open fire. Those rounds, designed to punch through thick bullet-proof metal, must have torn the poor Gryphon to shreds.

There was an alarmed squawk, some ruffling noises, and two men pulled a struggling Gryphon into Stromm's tent. All of those years of war, battle, and terror returned to Stromm. Under his mask, a terrifying grin spread.

Luckily, the Gryphon was small, so the two men, Zyve and Sycth of course, had managed him easily. The Gryphon attempted to get up and charge Stromm but, still sitting in his chair, the Helghast leader raised his pistol and fired a round into the Gryphon's left wing.

He screamed and fell to the dirt ground, writhing and kicking up dust. When the Gryphon was finished, Stromm stood up and holstered his still smoking weapon.

He leaned over and harshly whispered into the Gryphon's ear, much like Kevin before Stromm had thrust his head into the machine, "We can't have you doing that, now can we?"

The Helghast leader stood up straight, raised his boot, and brought it down onto the Gryphon's arm. There was a crunch. More screams of pain. Stromm repeated his action with all of the Gryphon's limbs, save his wings. Stromm had placed his round so that the Gryphon would still be able to fly, but that made it no less painful for the bird-like creature.

The Gryphon lay, whimpering.

"Zyve, Sycth, leave us be."

Soon it was only Stromm and the Gryphon.

"What's your name, soldier?" Stromm asked after a moment of silence.

The Gryphon mumbled.

"Speak up."

"Stein. Iron Stein."

"Rank?"

"Corporal."

"Interesting. I have a job for you, Stein."

"Oh?"

"Yes, I do. But first a little information."

The Gryphon chuckled.

"Good luck getting anything from me, buddy."

A light burned in Stromm's eyes and he whispered.

"Challenge accepted," and brought his boot down onto the Gryphon's beak, shattering the top of it. Stein's tongue writhed in yet another scream.

"I happen to know the most sensitive parts of a living body, on any creature, and just what pains them the most."

Stromm took out his knife and stabbed it through the Gryphon's front paw, into the ground. Blood gushed from the wound and onto the dirt, staining it.

"Alright! What do you want to know," said Stein, panting heavily, his words warbled due to his broken beak.

Stromm withdrew his blade, with a wince from Stein, and said, "That was quick. Glad you made the right decision. First, what I want to know is how heavily your border is guarded."

"Very. We have over two thousand troops there on a twenty-four hour basis, with over six tons of gunpowder, and one thousand spears."

Stein looked at Stromm, wanting to see the fear in his eyes, but had forgotten that the Helghast was wearing a mask.

Stromm chuckled, sending chills down Stein's spine.

"I know that trick. Telling your interrogator that you have more forces than in reality. But you screwed something up: you brought confidence back into your voice."

Stein's eyes widened and Stromm stomped on his paw, the very same one which he had stabbed.

Stein yelped and began to cry.

"T-t-there are only six g-g-guards there, including me and Gladius..."

"Who?"

"The Gryphon who you just killed."

"Any messengers?"

"Y-yes, one..."

"How fast can he fly?"

"He-he-he's one of the-best."

"Good. How long do you think it would take for you to fly back?"

"Ab-b-bout one minute."

"Good. Good."

Suddenly, Stromm lunged forward, causing the Gryphon the flinch. There was a clack and a few beeps. Stein felt something heavy clamp onto his back.

"W-what is this?"

"It's a bomb, timed for one minute and a half. Hurry and get to your border and give your messenger this scroll."

Stromm handed Stein a rolled-up piece of paper.

"W-w-will it deactivate if I d-do that?"

"No you pathetic, groveling coward! You are going to die and nothing will save you!" Stromm roared, "But before you're torn to shreds by a barrage of white hot metal and flames, do your country a service and get that warning to your king! GO!"

Stein yelped and began to sob. He did as he was told, though, and began to painfully fly away, dropping blood and tears as he went.

"These pathetic Gryphons won't know what hit them," Stromm growled.

Lieutenant Gaffer Hit sat around the table, his cards splayed. On the other side was Private Steel, Specialist Jaf, and Private Smog. The last guard and only female in the pillbox, Corporal Gilda lay snoring on a cot.

"Smog, eyes of Gilda. You got a wife, remember?"

"Just cuz' I'm on a diet don't mean I can't look at the menu." Smog said.

The Gryphons all chuckled and returned to their cards.

"Damn! Shit! You'r a f*cking cheat! A f*cking cheat!" Jaf suddenly shouted as he stood up violently.

Gaffer only laughed.

"No, Jaf, I'm just a hell's-width better than you."

Jaf was about to retort when he was startled by a call from the bunk

"Hey! Can you dweebs please keep it quiet over there? I'm trying to friggin' sleep over here!"

The male Gryphons all turned to Gilda. There was a moment of silence and Steel rapidly said, "Smog was looking at your ass when you were asleep."

Smog's eyes widened, and the other Gryphons all turned to the table, smiles spread across their beaks.

Gilda stalked off her bunk and towards Smog. She grabbed his chest feather and brought her face close to her's.

"I ever hear about you doing that again, and I cut your dick off with my talons, ya hear me?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah Gilda. Is' just, I mean, is' been three months since ah've seen me wife."

"Do I look like I give a shit?"

"Err, um, no, no ya don't."

Gilda let the other Gryphon go and walked over to her bunk.

"Remember...talon."

Suddenly, the door to the concrete bunker slammed open, and Stein tumbled in.

All of the Gryphons rushed to help him but the battered Gryphon shouted, "No! Get back! Get back! The Helghasts are here, just outside the border! They killed Gladius and brought me to their leader! He did this to me, and told me to give you this scroll, and have Gilda fly it back to the king. They're coming! Right now!"

"None o' this explains why you don' want us ta help ya."

A long beep sounded and Stein tensed up for a second. He braced his face, cried, "Avenge me!," and lept back outside into the grass.

There was a boom bits of smoking flesh found their way into the bunker.

Everyone was quite.

"Shit! Gilda, get this to the King! You Gryphons, battle-stations! F*ck! Damn!"

While the Lieutenant shouted, Gilda snatched the scroll and launched herself outside. As she flew up and away, she opened the scroll.

On it was nothing but two words, both of them scrawled in blood.

Bad Gryphon.

The remaining troops all huddled over near the slit in the wall where their weapons protruded, and they waited. Flies attracted to the spattered corpse of Stein outside could be heard in the silence.

"Where this army o' Stromm's anywho?" Smog asked, a perplexed tone in his voice.

"Shh! Look!" Gaffer hissed

There, on the horizon. A line of black that stretched beyond sight faded into view.

"Holy mother of shit..." said Steel under his breath.

"Well, Gryphons, let us all take a moment to curse King Dim for making surrendering illegal."

More silence as the enemy mass approached. Hundreds and hundreds of men tromped through the grass with the help of massive, moving husks of metal.

Gaffer leaned over to Steel and murmured, "Steel...get the Gatling gun."

Steel smirked and nodded. He hopped up and rushed to the other side of the room, where a steel ladder was drilled into the wall, presumably to man the automatic weapon.

"Alright soldiers, take out your explosives ."

Each of the soldiers pulled a round, black bomb from their clothes and armor.

"Wait...wait..."

The ranks of Helghasts were coming closer, the green grass parting for their passage. When they were only a few feet away, and beginning the talk about the pillbox in front of them, Gaffer swept his paw through the air and shouted, "Now!"

Four hissing bombs whizzed from the small building and detonated in the ranks of the Helghasts. Above them, there was a war cray and Steel began to crank the lever on his weapon.

The thud, thud, thud, thud, thuds, sounded as Private Steel sent several Helghasts to their doom, throwing blood into the air, and staining the grass. Before much else could happen, five or six grenades of the Helghast's making clinked into the pillbox.

"Fire!" Gaffer cried, and each of the bird-creatures let loose a shot before they were all killed in the resulting explosion.

The shots were two inches and a half-inches wide, and took down many more. Private Steel's compartment above the pillbox was destroyed when a rocket streaked over and detonated.

Twelve Helghasts dead, five Gryphons. Several thousand to go.

Seven

SEVEN

The great towers of the city sprung forth into the sky, puncturing the flawless blue with their spires. Flags and banners whirled gently in the breeze, flapping. The birds chirped and the flowers bloomed. It was quite peaceful. That peace was about to be disturbed.

Bronze City, the capital of Gryphus had a large, thick wall filled with towers and guards, both on the ground and in the air. One of those guards, Black Talon, flew through the sky, around and around the city, keeping a watchful eye out for any disturbances. Soon enough, he spotted one. It came in from the West; another Gryphon.

She seemed tired, distraught. Normally, Black would have stopped her, but he could tell by her armor that she was a soldier in the Royal Gryphon Military.

"Hail!" He called. Unfortunately, he did not receive an answer, only the flapping of wings as the exhausted Gryphon sped past him, apparently on her way to the palace.

Wonder what that was about? Black Talon thought to himself. He only shrugged in the air and continued his rounds.

"King Dim! Sire! I have a messenger for you!" Called the guard.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Let him in!"

Turns out, it was a female, Dim saw, as she tumbled inside, panting heavily. She approached him and barely managed to mumble something along the lines of "your majesty" as she thrust a scroll into his lap. The poor Gryphon collapsed onto the ground.

"Get off my robe!" Dim said, irritated. The female Gryphon hardly managed to do so.

The Gryphon King unrolled the scroll and read the simple words. His eyes only narrowed.

"'Bad Gryphon?' Do the mock me like a child?"

Dim looked over the the messenger who had brought the scroll in the first place.

"You, messenger, what is your name?"

The other Gryphon stood up on wobbly legs and saluted.

"I am Corporal Gilda Bane, at your service," she panted.

"What happened?"

"Sire, at the bunker where I was stationed, we were attacked. Two of my fellow guards were doing thier rounds around the border and only one returned, his limbs broken, his beak smashed. He was beat up pretty good. He pawed over this scroll and lept out before some sort of explosive on him activated and he was killed."

"What about the other Gryphons? What happened to them?"

"I...don't know, your majesty. I was told to get this to you as soon as possible, and I left before I could see."

King Dim nodded.

"Guard!"

"Yessir!"

"Fetch the mage and his orb: let us see what is attacking us."

The guard nodded and left. There was a moment of silence and then Dim spoke.

"Corporal Gilda, are you weak?"

"No sir."

"I thought not. Be glad that I don't execute you for dirtying my robes."

"I am, sir."

Before Dim could say another thing, the single guard returned with a cloaked Gryphon.

"Mage-master Claw: bring me your orb."

The Mage shuffled over and set the orb down on the ground before Dim. The Large Gryphon looked at the glass orb and cleared his throat.

"Show me holdout number seventy-two."

The orb swirled around a bit before a clear image was visible. When it was, the mage gave a short gasp and King Dim's eyes narrowed ever further.

There was nothing but rubble, discarded shells, and blood. The entire area was spattered with it. There were a few corpses, but they were all mutilated beyond recognition. There were no signs of the aggressors.

Each bunker has six guards. If two were killed outside, and it Gilda is here, then that should leave three. Why do I only see two?

Suddenly, the Mage jumped back even further. The Gryphon King leaned forward. That was a peculiar sight.

It was a small, glass dome. Outside of it was what appeared to be a container of some sort, and two, rubber hoses connected the glass orb to it. Inside of the barrier were three creatures. They looked more like apes than anything else, albeit less hairier. They were feasting on a meat inside.

Ah. There's the other one.

"Mage, if you vomit in here, I will have you thrown in the dungeon."

The cloaked Gryphon, who had yet to speak a single word, nodded furiously as he kept his stomach under control.

"Take this orb back. And you," The King said, referring to Gilda,"You are dismissed."

Soon, it was only Dim and his guard.

Looks like our alien friends want my things. Well they cannot have them: they are mine.

Turns out, Gryphon is pretty good. It's like the rarest, toughest, leanest steak you've had, no matter how burnt it is. The bones are really tough too, Stromm could use them as effective tools had he been a primitive man. He was not, though, he has steel and iron, so bones are useless. Except for the skulls, they could make good mantle-pieces...

"So, what have we learned?"

"Don't a approach a Gryphon pillbox; nuke it from a distance," replied each of the men who shared his air chamber.

Stromm nodded. They were learning already. This war would be over soon.

After an hour or so, it was time to pack up. Based on the maps and other things that had survive inside of the small bunker, they were quite close to the capital. Not a wise place to put your King, the edge of the border. That just means that the Gryphons would have intense defenses. But that just means more fun.

The Gryphon village was small, it didn't even have an official name. Only twenty or so resided there. Every able Gryphon was forced to work in the fields though, if they didn't the guards from the mountains would come down and take one of them, presumably to be tortured, killed, or simply left to die in the wilderness.

But they were about to be free. One of the workers finished his work for the day and stretched. The night was approaching. He turned to return to his small hut, but was stopped by a distant rumbling noise. He turned around and saw lights, both on the ground and in the sky.

His eyes widened with fear. What new torture had King Dim devised now? But there was no escape, as whatever they were entered the village quickly. But instead of pain, there was food. Warmth for the night. Had someone finally came to help them? These strange creatures with advanced technology? The answer was yes. They would be liberated and then some.

Eight

EIGHT

Marah was beyond the point of knocking. Now she would simply just walk in and would be welcomed. These days, she visited Vinyl and Octavia practically every other day, at least. And the two ponies didn't mind in the slightest. The three always had a fantastic time in each other'c companies. Something happened recently that made everything even better.

Marah, always the humble woman, had not spoken about her talent with the cell or the bass until it slipped. She tried to brush it off, but the other two insisted that they hear her play. With Octavia's permissions, Marah took up her cello, which was a bit smaller but playable, and began to play one of her favorite classical songs: Bach's Cello Suite No.1 The Prelude.

When she had finished, even Vinyl Scratch had seemed impressed. The next day, to Marah's surprise, the two ponies dropped by her house, though she still has no idea how they found her, and dropped off a present: a cello that was intentionally made bigger for her comfort, and some sheet music. Marah had been a happy woman. She was really quite glad that Lord Stromm had landed here of all places. She would live a happy life here, she knew it.

Commander Stromm surveyed the area with his binoculars. His army was standing at the lip of a majestic valley, one that was filled with green trees and brush, and an all matter of other things. But it didn't matter how beautiful that it was if he couldn't cross it, now did it? There was something of a switch-back trail that was big enough even for the tanks, but it only lead down to the bottom of the valley, not up to the other side.

Stromm sighed to himself and turned to the Helghast trooper standing next to him.

"We make camp here for the night, then we will pack up in the morning and set out to go around."

The soldier saluted and went off to spread Stromm's command. Again, Stromm looked at the valley, this time with his naked eye and then he turned away. As soon as he did so, a noise went off. It sounded like a gunshot, but very distant...

Stromm didn't much time to think about it, as the grassy ground next to his left foot exploded in a plume of dirt and white smoke.

"We're under fire! Take cover, take cover!"

Several more gunshots sounded, and several more sections of ground disintegrated. No Helghast deaths so far. Soon, most of the men had taken cover behind trees, boulders, or tanks. Ah. The tanks.

"All tanks, return fire!"

There was a barrage of mechanical buzzing as the large machines turned their barrels to comply.

Boom....boom...boom..boom, boom, boom, boomboomboomBOOM.

As the tank nearest to him fired its round, Stromm turned his sight to the other side of the valley. It was being torn apart.

"Snipers, get in position, execute plan A-2. Everyone else, return fire!"

The flames were glorious. Stromm's lenses were ablaze with the muzzle flares and smoke reached out over the lip of the valley, and the other side was obliterated. The snipers were picking off Gryphons as well. It was then that Stromm noticed that some were attempting to retreat by air.

"Don't let those ones escape!"

There was more mechanical groaning and the anti-aircraft guns opened fire. The Helghast Leader could see the geysers of blood and feathers from all the way over there.

"Cease fire!"

The din was cut with a knife, and all noise save the breathing of the men and the screaming of wounded Gryphons ceased. This battle had been won with zero Helghast casualties.

Oh, that was also quite convienient: all of the destruction of the ground had created something of a pathway. The path on Stromm's side was now connected with a large enough ridge of rocks that led to the other side.

"Perfect. Soldier? Change of plans: we camp here for the night and then cross here next morning."

Come to think of it, Armeen was kind of glad that his mother had swooped in and kept him from doing that wit the Cutie Mark Crusaders. That would've been...bad...very bad, in fact. But also come to think of it some more, he would much rather have done that instead of go talk to his mother's friends. He didn't think that that sounded fun at all. Last time he did that, it was nothing but tea and-and...gossip.

"Move along, Armeen."

The boy grumbled.

It didn't take long, and they eventually reached the building. Armeen's mother just opened the door and walked in.

"Uh, mom?"

"Yes?"

"Aren't you supposed to...knock?"

"Well, normally I would, but we've become such good friends, I don't really think I need to knock."

"Ah! Marah! So glad to see you!" Greeted one of the ponies.

"Octavia, this is my son, Armeen."

Octavia smiled and greeted the boy, who only rolled his eyes.

"I'm going to have to apologize: Armeen doesn't really want to be here."

"Oh, I know. After all, we're just a bunch of boring old ladies, are we not?"

Marah chuckled.

"Vinyl is anything but boring."

"There's an idea! Armeen, go look for Vinyl. Maybe she can show you her gear or something."

"Alright," Armeen mumbled. This was going to be boring. He knew it.

The night was still, aside from the breathing and snoring of sleeping soldiers and the cracking of many fires. The only Helghast's who were still awake were either Stromm, or on guard duty. This was unusual, as Stromm was normally fast asleep by now. He liked sleep. Things tended to die when he was awake...

But tonight, it seemed, would be an exception.

As Stromm sat at his portable desk, pondering and planning, someone came into his tent.

"Stromm, sir."

It was Zyve.

"Yes? What is it?"

"We have a non-hostile Gryphon here to speak with you."

"At this hour?"

"It seems so, sir."

"Alright, bring him in."

Soon, Commander Stromm sat in his tent with a tall, muscular Gryphon.

"Lord Stromm, my name is Lauded Blade, and I am with the Gryphon resistance."

"Oh? There's a resistance?"

"Yes sir. You are speaking with its face. I am wanted all over Gryphus for my actions against the king."

Stromm stood.

"We could use some help. Am I correct in assuming that that's what you're here for?"

"Affirmative. I want to join my forces up with yours."

"How many soldiers?"

"I have over seven hundred Gryphons under my command, three hundred ready at a moment's notice, and one hundred to be ready if given some time."

Stromm nodded thoughtfully. It was not the largest of forces, but it would still help.

"We all have our own weapons, armor, and supplies and we can sustain ourselves. I only wish to merge our forces to make us appear stronger when we meet King Dim's lackeys in battle."

Stromm was silent for a moment.

"You know...this is all quite sudden..."

Lauded Blade's eye ticked nervously and his posture became more unsure.

"What...do you mean, sir?"

"Well, you know, I've been in Gryphon territory for about a week, and you're just now hearing about me?"

"Well...um...no, I just...decided to choose now to speak with you..."

Stromm whirled around and glared the Gryphon in the eye.

"Why?"

There was a moment of silence as the two fighting beasts stared at each other. Suddenly, Lauded Blade shoved Stromm away and turned to flee, but Stromm grabbed his tail before he could make his escape.

"Shit!" the Gryphon swore.

"Yeah 'shit.' You have been caught. And now I want some information..."

"Screw you!"

Stromm was about to reply when Zyve came in again.

"Um...sir? It seems that we have another resistance leader here to speak with you?"

"Ah, that'd be the real Lauded Blade. Well, bring him in."

The true Gryphon who entered was a bit smaller and darker than his impostor.

"What's all this then?" Asked the Gryphon, a confused look on his face.

"This Gryphon here was pretending to be you. I sniffed him out and now I got him."

The impostor was still on the ground, swearing under his breath.

Stromm looked up at the real Lauded and asked, "Would you like to help me get some information out of him?"

Nine

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This story . . . .

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