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Warning : the following dark fanfiction is coming to a conclusion...

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My Little Pony

The Aeons of Equestria

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Episode 9: The Fight for Tomorrow (Part 1)

Reno slowly managed to push himself to his feet. The dust and smoke parted completely, dissipating and leaving the two clockwork warriors and his doppelganger standing in the open. Behind the stunned human was Princess Celestia covered by a pair of guards in golden plate-mail, along with their captain clad in silver.

As Reno lifted one hand into a wave, General Strife did the same in mirror image. As if reading his thoughts, their actions were perfectly mirrored as Reno proceeded to cock his head and slowly pace to one side and back.

Everything about them was the same... but there were subtle differences. Strife seemed a little older, though they remained the same height. And the general had a more athletic, muscular body thanks to his military conditioning. Reno might have augmented all of Strife's moves, but he predicted he wouldn't stand a chance in a stand-up fight with the general.

"This is fucked up." Reno finally muttered, staring into his own eyes.

"Yeah, fucked up would be one way to describe it." General Strife said back before he let his arms fall to his side and he paced around Reno. "Celestia, you old regal-whore! Where's that sexy little sister of yours?"

Celestia didn't answer as her three remaining guards drew their swords. The princess merely glared as Strife continued pacing around Reno and clamped his arms behind his back.

With a sigh, Strife rolled his eyes back to Reno. "See, Reno? These ponies are quite bitter, aren't they?"

"Maybe calling a princess a whore isn't going to draw a pleasant conversation from them, you old faggot." Reno said without missing a beat, surprising even himself.

That made Strife laugh, throwing his head back into his neck. "Oh, yes. This one is me indeed! Which begs the question... why are you fighting for them?"

Reno shrugged, maintaining his casual mask. "Seemed like a good idea at the time, with your guys trying to kill me and all."

"I must apologise for that." Strife said with some sincerity that sounded genuine. "I have been locked away for an aeon. It seems the Shadow Legion... my Shadow Legion is under new management. The Goddess it would seem. Can't say I'm particularly happy about that... buuuuuut, I suppose I can't really complain. We'll see where things take us."

"Stop wasting time, Strife!" Celestia called, speaking for the first time in the man's presence. "What do you want?"

"YOU KNOW GOD-DAMN WELL WHAT I WANT!" Strife suddenly screamed. His voice echoed through the air with terrifying volume, and as he screamed past Reno, the human couldn't help wince in fear. Strife's eyes were suddenly wide, his pupils tiny and crazed in comparison. A dark shadow had descended over his face, and for a moment it was as if Reno was staring into the evil within the general's soul. "I WANT WHAT WAS OURS! I WANT WHAT IS MINE! THE WORLD IS FORMED BY THE GREAT! THE WORLD IS MY BRITHRIGHT!

Within a split second it was gone again, and Reno was left standing there with one hand clutching his chest, trying to calm his fluttering heart.

"Princess..." Reno growled from the corner of his mouth, as if he didn't want Strife to hear him even though the two were only about a foot away from each other. "Would you kindly not piss the gentleman off while I'm standing within arm's reach."

Strife averted his gaze to Reno and suddenly smiled, before his smile morphed into a chuckle. "Oh, Reno. My dear deluded Reno. I would never hurt you. How could I hurt my own flesh and blood, after all?"

"We're not related. We're the same person." Reno mumbled.

"Exactly!" Strife exclaimed taking a step back and throwing his arms up into the air. "That is why I will give you an offer no other will ever receive. Join me. Join the Shadow Legion. Ditch these pathetic ponies. Ditch these weak abominations of nature, and join me as my second in command. Together, we can rule Equestria and beyond!"

Reno cleared his throat and sighed. "Second in command? Yeah, you know what? I'd be obliged for motives of common sense to decline your request... that means no, asshole."

Strife let out a long breath and turned on his heel. "Very well!" he called as he briskly walked away without missing a beat or batting an eye. "Kill them. And make sure to skin the imposter alive. I want to be wearing him as a coat by the time this is over." He ordered to clockwork warriors.

Stomping into attention, the armoured hulks stood ready to charge... but it was not the clockwork warriors who made the first move.

Reno stood by stunned as one of the guards darted past him, throwing himself headlong at the general's back. "Cur!" came the stallion's valiant cry. "You'll die like a dog!"

The pony was a blur of motion as Reno reached out in a pathetic attempt to stop him. He was moving too fast, and was dedicated to the charge... dedicated to death.

As fast as the guard was moving, the clockwork warriors between him and Strife, while clunky, were faster. One stepped in, a massive fist darting down. The open palm closed around the pony's face and powerful metal fingers wrapped around his head. A muffled scream filled Reno's ears as he staggered back a step. The pony jerked to a halt, his body flailing around his head held fast like a rag-doll being shaken around by an enthusiastic child.

Crying out, Celestia unleashed a bolt of magic. Golden light flowed down from her horn in thin veins, crawled across her brilliant fur and gathered in a ball of pure cackling energy in one hand. She threw it with enough force to stop a charging rhino in its tracks. The energy bolt streaked through the air, nearly singeing Reno's hair as it flew past him. The human had to shade his eyes from the blinding light as it made contact with the clockwork warrior holding one of Celestia's guards.

The explosion of light slowly faded. Reno blinked away spots and felt his stomach sink. He was sure that blast should have obliterated the abomination of armour and clockwork... but it did nothing. The creatures stood there, unfazed and unscathed.

Celestia's magic was useless against them.

Shrugging off the blow, the clockwork warrior's fingers tightened and with a sickening crack globules of crimson matter burst from between the armoured tendrils.

The abandoned sword of the guard pony slid to a halt by Reno's feet as he watched speechless, the guard's headless corpse falling to the ground in a puddle of gory mess. With a shuddering breath he quickly stooped and snatched up the blade. Anything to defend himself was better than nothing, though he predicted a sword would do very little against the armoured hulks.

"What do we do?" the other guard asked nervously holding his sword high.

"I dunno." Came the captain's nervous reply. She'd obviously never fought anything like this before, and Reno couldn't blame her for being stunned. The clockwork warriors stood together, towering over the trio and preparing to attack. "Uh... I dunno!"

Gripping his own blade in two hands by his side, point aimed at the ceiling, Reno glanced sideways at the pony now standing to his left, then over at the captain on his right. "Take off the head! Kill 'em all!"

Firmly pushing off his off-leg, Reno charged headlong at the two creatures, regardless of what he'd just seen. There was no time for fear. General Strife was in Canterlot, so close. Reno knew what he had to do.

The first clockwork warrior leapt forward to meet Reno's charge as the captain and her remaining guard galloped at the second armoured hulk.

Reno's sword pointed downward, clutched in two hands by his side as he ran, the blade trailing along in his wake. The clockwork warrior steadied its stance, ready to attack. Reno darted into range and a heavy, armoured fist swung around in a wide arc.

The human ducked as he darted to his right. A slipstream played over Reno's head as his vision blurred for a moment. Every hair on his body stood upright with fright as he realised if he hadn't moved he'd be turned into pink paste by the hulk's blow. Regardless, Reno skidded to a halt and swung his blade around behind the clockwork warrior.

With the crunching noise of splintering steel and grinding gears, Reno threw his weight upon the hilt of the sword, driving the blade into the chink of armour at the back of the warrior's knee. The steel was forced through delicate cogs and wheels, shattering most of the mobility in the joint and causing steam to hiss from the gap in the armour.

Reno tried to twist the blade, hopefully dismember the armoured creature.... That was when it hit him.

Not an idea, or a revelation; common things that would likely hit a person during a fight for survival. What hit him was something even more likely to hit someone in the middle of a fight.

The back of an armoured hand slammed hard into Reno's side, causing his shoulder joint to pop and his body to be flung like a limp play-thing across the courts. He tumbled and rolled through the air uncontrollably before the world started punching him from every angle. He slammed into the polished floor and bounced with a grunt, feeling his teeth accidentally sink painfully into the corner of his tongue. Pain raced through his body as he tasted copper.

Another bounce, this time his jaw clenched; but he was in no less pain. Reno rolled head over heels before slamming down on his front and pressing his hands against the polished floor. With a loud squeak he slid to a short halt, slowly looking up to realise the distance he'd travelled. He was practically on the far side of the room with the clockwork warrior clumsily limping closer to him. With every step there was a grinding noise of broken gears and a dull thud with every staggered step.

Pushing himself to his feet, Reno saw his sword was still hanging out of the warrior's leg. Gritting his teeth, Reno sighed and looked down at the ground for a moment. "This is a really bad idea." He muttered before lifting his steadfast eyes again and pushing off.

His boots pounded the marble as he charged full tilt at the incoming clockwork warrior. The warrior steadied its stance, ready to crush the human as he came into range. The armoured feet were parted wide and the fingers formed claws ready to sink into fragile flesh...

And then Reno kicked his own legs out from under himself. Carried forward by his kicking motion, Reno hit the deck flat on his back and slid underneath the clockwork warrior. It was a blur of black and steam as he swooped between the hulk's legs and shot out behind it, reaching out at the same time. His fingers closed around the hilt of the sword sticking out the back of the clockwork warrior's knee and he pulled the weapon free as he continued on out of range, finally sliding to a halt, leaving the armoured hulk standing confused for a moment.

Reno rolled to his feet and looked across the shattered courts. There he saw the captain and her remaining guard throw themselves upon the other clockwork warrior. The stallion in gold was clinging to the warrior's arm and bucking his hooves against the armoured chest of the creature. The captain hung from the clockwork warrior's collar, dragging it back off-balance.

It was only now Reno took in a good look of the captain. Tall and lithe, she had bluish-grey fur, the luxurious fur on her fetlocks poofed up, with similar feathering around her wrists by the hem of her gloves. She had light plate armour following the subtle contours of her slender body. Her yellow-lime mane was cut short and brushed back with a few strands framing the left side of her face, and she had a khaki bandana wrapped around her throat with a neat knot tied at her neck. There was a black string wrapped around her head, with a black eye-patch covering over her left eye, her remaining good eye revealed to be a glowing amber colour.

The warrior teetered, then fell back. The mare quickly scrambled over the clockwork warrior's shoulder and kicked down on the chest as it landed flat on its back with a pronounced 'crunch' causing the floor to dent, crack and buckle.

Dropping to one knee, the captain swung her sword around and planted the point on the ground beside the clockwork warrior's head. She pressed an armoured knee against the blade, holding the tip in place and threw her weight upon the hilt, levering the blade under the hulk's chin and audibly crunching through the joints and gears in the armoured creature's neck. With one deft move she sliced clean through the throat, decapitating the clockwork warrior.

Impressed, Reno twisted his head around to see his clockwork warrior was reaching out for him. Practically on top of the human, the armoured creature went to turn his face into paste... Reno lashed out with a wide swing of his sword.

The hilt shuddered in his hands and when Reno's eyes opened he saw a quad of metal fingers flying through the air and heard the clockwork warrior groan in what sounded oddly enough like pain. The armoured claw retracted for the warrior to get a better look at the damage, wriggling the remaining pinkie-finger.

Reno's body seemed to move on automatic from there on, acting entirely. Like an extension of his own body, the sword followed the swing through, over his left shoulder and he felt the cold flat edge of the blade press against his neck. Reno stepped closer to the clockwork warrior then swung the sword back around the way it had come. Dropping to one knee as he swung like a baseball-bat, he saw the sword tear clean through the warrior's damaged leg, sending the clockwork warrior tumbling down onto one side.

When the armoured hulk fell heavily, Reno wasn't quite finished yet. Sword still clutched tightly in both hands, Reno leapt up from his crouched position and kicked both feet against the clockwork warrior's chest. As he kicked off, throwing the creature further off balance, the sword came up under an angle again. Sparks and bits of gears and cogs spat into the air as Reno whirled right around with a blur of steel flashing around him.

When he landed in a low crouch, his sword carried through with excess momentum, flourished through both hands and came to a halt in an ice-pick grip in his off-hand while he rose to stand straight with his back to the clockwork warrior. Looking over his shoulder Reno saw he hadn't quite decapitated the clockwork warrior... he'd turned the armoured monster into a Pez-Dispencer.

Reno watched the last clockwork warrior slump only partially decapitated to the ground as the lights in the eyes faded into darkness. With a sigh he spat on the ground by the dead warrior's feet and dropped the sword, blade chipped and most likely dull from striking the armour and clockwork from all the wrong angles.

As the blade clattered to the floor, Reno swayed and moved to the shattered window. His boot-soles crunched on the broken glass as he stood framed in the glorified stone archway overlooking Canterlot as she bled down the mountainside. Parts of the plaza that held the majestic city in place on the mountainside had crumbled away, dragging stone and screaming ponies down with it. Strife was nowhere to be seen, already in the royal palace that stood framed across a burning city no doubt. The air was filled with smoke and choked with flashing tracers shooting up into the cloudy night sky.

Over the far rooftops he saw something bob around. Long black barrels pointed at the sky from the palace gardens flashed and sent anti-aircraft shells into the air. The shells exploded into black clouds of smoke and shrapnel, plucking pegasi in golden armour out of the sky. The Shadow Legion was ruling the airspace, but what made it worse was the fact the guns were moving. They recoiled and bobbed around the place, moving and shifting every time a formation of pegasi got into a position to regroup and counter attack. Every time the guns became vulnerable they shifted into a better firing position and showered Celestia's air forces with another barrage of hurt.

"There is no way we can cross the skies to the palace." A woman's voice stated. Reno looked over his shoulder and saw it was the captain. "Silver." She introduced without missing a beat. "Captain Silver of Celestia's Royal Guard."

Reno gave a curt nod. "Reno Strife, bringer of darkness and destruction." He returned without showing a hint of emotion. "Where do you think the general ran off to?"

"The throne of the moon." Came Celestia's majestic voice as she moved up behind them escorted by the last of her guard. "In the throne room of the palace, my sister's throne sits beside my own. That is what Strife is after. If he sits upon the throne of the moon..." Celestia didn't finish, merely shaking out her magical mane and sighing at the ground.

So Reno finished for her, in a tone so dark it caused his heart to skip in a moment of panic. "Then darkness will rule Equestria." Reno hardly sounded like himself anymore. He was hardly noticing the changes at first. But now it was becoming more apparent... he was becoming Strife. Balling his hands into fists, Reno readied himself for what he knew was going to come. There was no running away from this. He had to do it. "If he's headed for the throne, so am I. And if we can't fly," he glanced at Celestia's wings. "Then I walk."

Resting her hand on the hilt of her sword, Silver gave a snort. "Strife's troops will be congregated in the palace. How will you get to the throne room?"

"I'll fight my way in. with my bare fucking hands if I have to!" Reno said.

Silver grinned, glancing back at her princess. "Just what I wanted to hear. You're in luck then, because I know a secret way into the throne room. An old royal escape passage in the lower gardens on the western flank of the palace. I'll go with you and take you there."

Not really caring either way, he went to take a step forward, but stopped when he saw a glowing, glittering phantom reach around and block his path. Stopped by her mane, Reno half turned to look at the winged unicorn princess. Her eyes betrayed her thoughts. She didn't want to let Reno do this... but somehow deep down inside this gentle leader wanted to see Strife dead... for the greater good... for Equestria's sake.

"What will you do when you infiltrate the palace?" she asked. Reno's eyes betrayed his thoughts too, and looking deep in them Celestia instantly knew the answer. She merely sighed, and her horn began to glow. "Very well." She said.

A similar golden light emitted from her horn wrapped itself around Reno's waist. Lifting his arms and looking down with surprise, Reno saw the light take a shape and solidify. A black belt with khaki pouches attached formed itself comfortably over his hips. It was the utility belt he'd stolen from the dead Diamond Dog during the Ponyville attack, pouches still stuffed with a pair of Raider STANAG magazines and his rations. Even his canteen was still full of water. The pistol holster held the sidearm he hadn't even used yet, along with the required ammunition.

The only difference was the emblem on the buckle. No longer the insigne of the Shadow Legion, it was replaced with a golden buckle inscribed with delicate black lines silhouetting a unicorn's profile with what looked like a rifle crossed over it.

"A pony's cutie-mark represents their calling in life." Celestia said wisely. Her horn grew brighter and golden light formed around Reno's right hand. "Were you a pony, Reno, yours would stand for defence." The light took shape. A handle, mag-well, stock... a barrel. "Because that is obviously what you stand for. You would throw yourself into the path of peril. You would forgo your own humanity and let blood stain your hands for Equestria, a land not even your home. You would risk your life for the ponies of Equestria."

Reno looked down and felt the familiar weight enter his hand. His shoulder drooped for a moment before he caught the weapon and held it up, catching the front grip with his left hand. The Raider looked brand new unlike the one he'd procured early on in his adventure. It was also embossed with a marking on the body identical to that on his belt.

His own cutie-mark.... Reno quickly scrapped the thought. _ No, it's not a god-damn cutie-mark. It's an emblem... or an insigne. 'Cuz I'm a man, dammit!_

Reno's gaze lifted to Celestia's and he gave a shrug, before turning and moving out the way Strife had entered earlier. "We'll see..."

After all. They hadn't won yet...

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Reno felt the cool night air pierce his t-shirt and make the hairs on the back of his bare arms stand upright. And then came a soothing wave of heat as he moved past a burning building, within which the screams of a dying family could be heard. Despite the heat, Reno felt something cold in the depth of his soul bring a chill to his spine, before telling himself he didn't care.

The general's malice was taking hold. The human was seeing eviscerated, perforated and downright destroyed bloody mush that resembled corpses of ponies lay strewn on the Canterlot streets, draped over guard-rails and gathered on cobbled porches... but while he took in the gruesome sights and felt like he should care, he couldn't bring himself to care.

They were just bodies. Just lost souls he'd never known, and never know.

"How can they do this?" Captain Silver hissed angrily, close behind Reno with a sword in her hand.

Keeping his focus through the sights of his weapon, Reno shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine." He lied blatantly. He knew damn well what this was about. This killing was methodical... rage filled.

General Strife had aeons of anger for Celestia and her empire all pent up inside him. Reno was starting to feel it building within himself too. Like the princess said, Reno would slowly become the general. Already he was starting to feel emotions that didn't make sense. A sense of anger towards ponies. He suddenly had no love for them whatsoever.

The human stopped at a corner and leaned around, covering an adjacent street as Silver moved on behind him. She crossed the alley and led the rest of the way, Reno lowering his rifle and jogging to keep up. The barrel of his weapon bobbed from left to right as he kept his head low, sweeping through the Canterlot streets towards the palace gardens.

The duo passed through a set of grand gates littered with the bodies of fallen Shadow Legion soldiers as well as Celestia's royal guard. The duo carefully stepped between the bloodied corpses, making for the royal gardens around the side of the palace. The palace itself was at the end of a long raised bridge arching over the lower gardens where they would find their entrance. At the end of the empty bridge were several dark silhouettes guarding the massive sealed and locked palace doors.

"We circle west!" Captain Silver called, running up ahead across the upper paths overlooking the gardens below. Her hooves crunched in the gravel as she rounded a cluster of bushes, following the winding walkway. "The passage is hidden in the foundations by the lower gardens."

"Whoa, wait up!" Reno called, stopping for a breath and falling behind. "Hang on!" he panted, but the captain was already gone, disappearing behind a tall wall of hedges. "Goddammit."

Shaking his head, Reno dropped to one knee and wiped his forehead with the back of one arm. The barrel of his Raider crashed into the ground and he leaned on the stock like a makeshift cane while he caught his breath.

Reaching back with his free hand, Reno pulled loose his canteen, popped the lid and tipped the canister back. He gulped down several mouthfuls of water, feeling the cold liquid cool his overheating body. Water leaked from the corners of his mouth, drawing clean trails through the grime and soot clinging to his sweaty skin.

Catching his second wind, the human forced himself up again, but as he did his torso rose above the bushes surrounding him and he was exposed and idle for a moment...

Gunfire tore at his eardrums and bullets hissed all around him. Projectiles shredded the surrounding foliage, causing Reno to instinctively stumble out of the way. Rounds smashed into the gravel at his heels as he looked over to see a trio of conscripts closing in the way they had come.

Instantly, Reno whipped around balancing on his right heel. Carrying the momentum his rifle swung with, he pressed the weapon against his shoulder and caught the foregrip. As he aimed, he squeezed the trigger and dropped back down to one knee again. Flashes in his field of vision left black spots in his eyes, but he squinted through as he held the weapon as steady as he could.

Round after round cycled through the mechanism and spat from the barrel in the direction of the conscripts. The Shadow Legion soldiers scattered for cover as the air around them exploded. Reno's bullets smashed into nearby pots and statues, choking the air with dust.

Several clouds of pink dust burst from one of the conscript's chest as he danced to a rhythm of bullets striking his body. The pony crumpled and his fellows dropped for cover.

"Yeah! What are you shooting at, huh!?" Reno didn't stop firing as he whooped at the top of his lungs. "You can't hit shit!"

Holding his ground he leaned against the recoil and kept up the sustained automatic fire. Bullets tore deeper into the crockery the attackers were using for cover. Rounds pierced ceramic and earth, punching through into the second conscript's barely protected face. His helmet pinged across the paved ground as the pony dropped to the ground with blood leaking from two ragged holes in his skull.

Reno almost stumbled forward as the Raider in his hands kicked its last and the bolt locked back. "Shit!" cursing under his breath, the human twisted sideways and dove behind the base of a tall statue. Landing flat out, he glanced up as he scrambled into cover to see what the statue was of. It didn't make much sense.

The creature depicted in cold stone looked like he'd been constructed from parts of all sorts of other creature. The head of a pony, with a long slender body like that of a snake covered in short fur. He had the goatee of a goat, a one horn from a ram and an antler of a deer. His tail ended in that of a snake, one arm from an eagle, the other a paw of a lion. One leg came from a goat, and the other leg was that of a lizard. His wings were even contrasting, one wing from a bat, the other a feathery number like that of a Pegasus pony.

A volley of return fire came. Bullets from the last conscript's weapons slammed into the stone monolith Reno used for cover and tore away whole chunks of the monument.

Cursing again under his breath, Reno ejected the empty magazine from his gun, letting it clatter to the ground beside him. As it dropped, he pulled a full clip from his utility belt and slammed it into the receiver. Slapping the bottom of the steel mag for good measure, he pressed the bolt release button on the side of the Raider and felt the weapon shudder as the mechanism slammed shut. The bolt pushed a new round into the chamber and he was ready to fire again.

Meanwhile the conscript's fire crawled upward and shattered the statue. Chunks of various different animal body-parts rained down on Reno as he covered his head with both arms. A lion's paw bounced against his forearms, and part of the head landed on his foot. Reno looked at the parts raining around him and noticed they were hollow. Normally speaking statues were carved out of solid rock. Why was this one hollow?

Either not interested at the time, or just too worried about dying to worry about a hollow statue, Reno lifted his rifle around the side of his cover and let loose a quick burst.

"C'mon! Come get me!" He cried as Reno heard his rounds slam into something, followed by a distressed cry from the conscript shooting at him.

Now was his chance to move. Twisting right around, the human rolled to his feet and sprinted clear of the statue's base he used for cover. Raider cradled across his chest, Reno pounded the earth across a patch of grass leapt over a low hedge, and landed running. Fire picked up, blindly scything through the air behind him as Reno cried out at the top of his lungs.

"Raaaaaaaaaaagh!" he yelled, literally feeling the slipstream of projectiles brushing the back of his head. Without losing speed he dropped to one knee and slid across the rough gravel pathway, disappearing into the shadow of a bush. "Haha! Yeah! Try to keep up, motherfucker!"

The conscript popped up again and fired on him. Rounds slammed into the bush and burst through with a shower of foliage and splinters beside Reno's face. Wincing and leaning away, he dropped flat on his back. His boots kicked the ground and his torso slid around the far side of the bush, rifle flat across his chest as he peered through the glowing sights.

While the conscript was firing over the human, Reno quickly lined up his shot and let three bullets fly. Two slammed against the pony's chest-plate. The third, carried up by the recoil hit the conscript in the throat. Gagging and struggling through the pain, the enemy dropped his rifle and fell to the ground, kicking and squirming.

Leaving him there to bleed out, Reno sat up and sighed. So much for catching his breath. He turned the way Silver had run and went to follow her.

And that was when her scream filled the air, piercing the sperrattic gunshots and explosions rumbling through the air.

"Goddammit!" Reno cursed as he picked up the pace. "It's always something!"

The young man levelled his rifle and twisted around the high hedge Silver had gone, pausing to clear the next section of pathway. Satisfied the way ahead was clear of Shadow Legion, he cast one glance back to the way he'd come, then pushed onward with his rifle held ready. The sights bobbed from side to side as he moved briskly, snapping left and right to check every shadow and every corner.

Back hunched and head low, Reno side-stepped around a thick tree and found himself standing by the edge of a terrace. The semi-rounded balcony was surrounded by a low handrail forged from poured concrete and decorated with leafy ivy plants. The terrace was floored with more gravel, and overlooked the lower gardens surrounding the palace. The area below was a flat grassy area littered with more statues, and was skirting the entrance of some sort of sprawling hedge-maze.

Standing in the centre of the terrace was Captain Silver, but she wasn't alone. Facing him, the captain's sword lay on the ground at her hooves and she had one hand twisted around her back. By her shoulder Reno saw a familiar figure. Seemingly human, the figure was clad in Shadow Legion colours with a scarf wrapped over his face, head-dress hiding the rest of his head.

The lord Reno recognised from the village he'd seen burn from when he'd first arrived in Equestria was holding the barrel of his 'luger' against the side of Captain Silver's head.

"Hi, Reno." Silver sighed with a meek grin. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, yeah." Reno answered quickly without averting his concentration too much. "Good times."

"You're quite the menace, aren't you, boy?" came the lord's voice, piercing Reno's skull.

Baring his teeth, Reno felt his finger touch the trigger of his rifle, but he didn't squeeze. His sights were square on the lord's face, but there was still a risk of hitting Silver... but why should he care about these fucking ponies? They were all inferior. He might as well just kill Silver so he could get a clean...

NO! Reno gave his head a quick shake, clearing thoughts that were leaking into his brain from a dark place. He wasn't going to kill the captain to get a clean shot. Those weren't his thoughts. Those were coming rom General Strife. He wasn't going to become the general!

"Let her go, asshole!" Reno cried, contemplating on moving closer, hoping to get a better shot. "Don't make me rearrange your face!"

"Do not insult this one." The lord laughed, pressing his luger tighter against Silver's head. The pony remained silent and still, her amber eyes watching Reno carefully. "If you had a shot you would take it... no, you are not yet like the general. Not completely. You will not fire, for fear of hurting the precious pony." The lord snickered, pressing his face closer to Silver's and taking a long sniff of her hair. As she recoiled for a moment, trying to pull free, the lord gave another sharp twist of her arm, drawing a gasp from the mare. "But not to worry. The change will be complete soon. You will become like the general, and then..."

BANG!

It wasn't like a story, or a movie where the badguy actually got to finish his awful monologue. Standing still in a warzone was probably the worst decision anyone could have made. The gunshot deafened them all. Blood filled the air as Reno saw Silver and the lord fall to the ground. Reno's heart stopped as his finger moved away from the trigger. There had been no flash and no recoil. What the hell had happened? If Reno hadn't fired, who did?

Silver fell on all fours, blood matting her fur and mane, but she looked up, her remaining eye wide with shock as she too tried to comprehend what had happened. The lord had been launched sideways and dropped heavily to the ground where he squirmed. The luger had fallen discarded to the gravel, and the lords hands were clutching his collar, blood seeping into his gloves and fatigues.

Silver only hesitated a moment longer, before kicking off and diving forward. As she moved she grabbed her sword by the hilt and rolled to her feet by Reno's side, the human still keeping his Raider trained on the dying lord.

A figure melted from the shadows to the left. Reno watched him emerge, a bedraggled looking Shadow Legion commander. His fatigues were stained with blood, his head-dress missing to reveal the human's shaggy brown hair. Wrapped over his torso and around his leg were bloodied bandages. He walked with a limp, one arm cradling his gut while his other held on to a long sniper's rifle he was using as a cane. Leaned over, he pressed the barrel against the ground with every pace, leaning heavily on the wooden furnishings.

The lord opened his eyes to look at the figure standing over him.

"You..." the lord coughed, his voice suddenly losing all volume. It had lost all importance. He was just another dying man. "Karskin... y-you... you would kill me... for... f-for these... ponies!"

"No." the bloodied commander, named Karskin, shook his head. "Not for them." shouldering his rifle again, he levelled the barrel on the lord's head. "For me."

Another deafening gunshot and the lord's brains were painted across the gravel.

Karskin stumbled and caught himself on his rifle again. Pushing hard, he took a long breath and turned his pale features to where Reno and Silver stood. The duo had their weapons pointed at the commander as he watched them. But between them, he seemed to be more interested in Reno, watching the human curiously.

He grunted. "I've suffered too much blood loss to put up with this bullshit." Karskin managed to hold out his hand and point to Reno. "You... what's your name, boy?"

"Reno Strife." Reno answered sharply.

Karskin laughed. He laughed so hard he actually collapsed to his knees and winced with pain. "Oh... that... that's something you don't see every day." The commander gave a sigh, then dragged himself across the terrace until he sat himself up against the guard rail. "What are you up to?"

Reno slowly lowered his rifle and moved closer. "Across the gardens is a secret entrance to the palace throne room. I'm going to get in there and kill General Strife."

Karskin laughed again. "Hahaha! Kill General Strife? Isn't that like killing yourself?" The commander shook his head and sighed. "Well, you're lucky I would pay with my life to see that... get going then. I can cover you from up here."

Reno cocked an eyebrow and eyed the wounded man. "Uh-huh. And what's to stop you from shooting me in the back of the head? You're Shadow Legion."

Karskin shook his head. "I am loyal to General Strife. But he turned his back on me and now fights in the name of some bullshit goddess. Fuck him, fuck the goddess, and fuck the Shadow Legion. I am loyal to the old general, and you remind me of him." Karskin held up a hand. "So I am loyal to you, Reno Strife."

Reno hesitated a moment, then reached down and shook the commander's hand. "We'll see."

Reno walked around where the commander was sitting and found a narrow stairway leading down to the lower gardens. He waved Silver over and started descending the stone steps.

The captain quickly caught up, glancing back over her shoulder. "We're really going to trust him?" she asked.

"For now." Reno answered shortly.

They reached the bottom of the stairway and Captain Silver pointed out an archway built into the foundations of the Canterlot palace. It was covered over by an iron grate. That had to be it.

"That passage leads to a stairway, a secret escape tunnel that leads up to the throne room." The captain said. "C'mon!"

Side by side the duo ran. Silver's hooves thudded heavily against the grass, kicking up clods of dirt at her heels. Reno's rifle rocked from side to side in his arms as he struggled to keep up with the captain's powerful strides.

They cleared the lower gardens reasonably quickly and slid into the shadow of the archway, clinging to the grating blocking their path. Silver gave the doorway a tug, but it didn't move. The heavy padlock holding it in place simply rattled lightly.

Reno lifted the heavy lock and gave it a tug. "Oh, good. There's no way we're getting in without a key."

"Can't you shoot it off?" Silver asked catching her breath.

Reno scoffed. "Pfah! Do you see this thing?" he gave the lock a solid tug. "It's bigger than the fucking magazine this gun takes!"

The ground shook as Reno stopped pulling at the lock and took a step back. After a brief pause the ground shook again with another heavy footfall. Again... and again... tremors grew more violent as the rumbling grew louder. Something big was coming. And whatever it was, it was getting closer.

"O... kay, we'd better try something." The human hissed, looking wide eyed at Silver.

The captain looked equally worried, and quickly swung her sword around and slid the point in behind the lock. Using the blade like a crow-bar, she started pulling back on the handle in an attempt to break the lock.

Meanwhile Reno raised a knee to his chest and kicked the grate blocking their entrance. The lock and hinges rattled, but didn't give way. He threw his weight against the doorway. Again, a rattle, but nothing more.

With a frustrated cry, Reno turned and ran back out into the garden a few dozen paces. He wanted to get a run at it... but as he skidded to a halt and turned back to the grate, his body froze and is blood ran cold. As he slowly looked up, every hair on his body stood upright.

It stomped around the corner, standing in full view and looking down on the human with some animalistic curiosity.

It was a creature of massive, but strange proportions. Almost twenty feet tall, with one thick powerful arm, the other weak and spindly. One leg was fatter than the other, and the torso seemed broad on one side and malnourished on the other half, gaunt with flabby skin hanging from thick ribs like steel girders. The head was comparatively small, almost like a disproportionate potato, with what looked like a ginger beard sprouting from its knobbly chin. The flabby skin underneath the rudimentary armour plating strapped to the body was pale pink, with clouds of black flowing and curling across its form. The jaw was the largest part of the creature's head, a pair of jagged tusks sticking up through thick, blubbery lips. Mounted on its back were the array of upward pointing guns Reno had seen earlier.

This was the Shadow Legion's anti-air platform. A gun-mounted troll!

"C'mon!" Silver screamed from the doorway as she pulled back harder on her sword.

Even as she screamed, Reno's rifle aimed upward and he fired. The Raider kicked violently against his shoulder as empty brass tumbled off to one side. Rounds pinged and sparked across the troll's armour as the lumbering beast raised a hand to shield its face. Nothing Reno threw at it had any effects, mere mosquito bites on the towering monster's thick hide.

His rifle clicked and the troll's hand moved to one side to reveal its angered snarl. Reno turned his rifle on one side and inspected the open bolt. Last mag. His first instinct was to reload, but what good would that do? He didn't have enough punch to hurt this thing...

BANG-BANG!!!

The two shots tore at Reno's ear-drums and made him flinch. Looking up he saw two white trails of smoke scythe through the air and fade quickly. Thick globules of blood splashed across the troll's collar and splattered the armour on its chest. Roaring in pain the creature slowly turned its head to where Karskin remained perched on the balcony above. His sniper rifle was held level, and kicked as another shot scythed through the air.

This one hit the troll in the eye and caused it to recoil. The troll crashed into the side of the palace and caught itself on the mortar and brick as globules of eye and gore flowed freely down the creature's face. Another roar of anger and agony as it pushed off and regained its footing.

Reno didn't need to take another hint.

He was already sprinting back across the grass at the locked grate. His last attempt. Do or die. On the last few feet he twisted his body, throwing his left shoulder towards the metal and tucking his rifle under his right arm.

His whole body slammed into the grate... with a clang the lock broke away under the strain and Silver fell back, her sword falling to her side. Reno stumbled through the archway and hit the deck flat-out, bruises swelling on his shoulder. Groaning and gritting his teeth, the human slowly pushed himself to his feet and looked up.

The troll launched itself across the lower gardens directly at where Karskin was standing. He had thrown down his rifle and drawn his bayonet. Yelling and defiantly holding his arms out to embrace the incoming troll.

"C'mon! Are you ready? I am!"

Silver ran into the passage after Reno and scooped the human into her arm. Without looking back she dragged the stunned human along, deeper into the dark and damp passage running through the foundations of Celestia's palace. The earth shook, perhaps all of Equestria did, as the troll and Karskin clashed somewhere out of sight.

And it was the last Reno saw of Karskin...