Steel Factor pt.2- Marelia

[SunlightHeart]

Gale nodded and answered the command with a short "Ma'am" as she turned her head to face the other Steel Ranger next to her. From the corner of her eyes she could see the griffin reinforcements coming and seemingly taking up the fight against those assassins. Thankfully Gale was just a normal citizen right now and not yet invoved in the fight, and so she most likely wouldn't pose a threat to the griffin commonwealth soldiers and not count as a target to them... unless of course she moved closer to them with the gun on her side. With a firm grip by her mouth she pulled the rifle out of it's makeshift mounting and threw it towards their carriage. She simply assumed that the others over there would act logically and grab it. Then she pointed towards one of the buildings closer to the crash site. "We shouldn't walk directly towards the robot or the griffin soldiers will think of us as a threat and act accordingly." she said in her ever-calm voice to Sugar before moving into the direction she has pointed to.

(Reference-Picture for Vivian)

From above in the sky, Vivian darted down to the crash site. She wasn't the first to get there however, but in contradiction to the centurions she didn't rush into the battle. Instead she spread her wings and let the air get caught in those, resulting in a sudden break which almost made her dizzy. But a few meters above the rooftops she recovered herself and brought the rifle up with her hooves, scanning over the area around the downed steel carriages. She could see a nice collection of ponies and griffins as well as robots. The largest group seemed to have nothing to do with the attack, even when it was suspicious that they weren't on the run as most citizens, and two seemingly unarmed ponies were moving closer towards the crash site. Even thought they were unarmed, the question remained what they were doing. Then there were the two centurions, still visible through the already vanishing smoke, one robot lying on the ground - for whatever reason that might have - and a pony and another griffin, seemingly armed and on the move towards the downed carriage. From all the options she had, those were probably her targets, but as she wasn't sure about that yet she chose to not fire away but first take aim on the griffin one abd see what was to happen.

Raven snatched up Gale’s rifle in her magic and stuffed it into the cart before anyone noticed what happened.

“Right,” Sugar said as she trailed behind her superior. The smoke was still pretty thick, blocking her from seeing anything over a couple of feet in front of her. Some of the smoke went into her mouth, causing the mare to cough as they scampered towards the building. The structure Gale suggested was close enough to assess the situation, but far enough not to be a suspicious location to sprint for. Like every other it was well taken care of, and sturdy looking. Neither mare was even winded when they reached the building. Sugar quickly scanned the area.

"I can't see a **** thing, it wouldn't matter anyway... I'm no good at this strategy stuff. How do you want to grab Malik?" she asked quietly.

[Nexar]

Gale Force tried to keep her breath low to avoid breathing in the smoke, and every time she did have to breath in, she flapped a few times with her wings first to create an area with less smoke around her so she could breath without further problems. Looking at the wall of smoke, she couldn't directly see where Malik was, but she still knew his rough location from before the smoke filled the area. "We aren't going to grab him, Sugar. He'd be too heavy anyway. I will reactivate him and we both should hope that he has calmed down and follows us."

Right after she had said so, she tried to contact the robot again and send him the order to power up before she made her way towards his location. "Malik, ignore the sounds of battle and follow me." she ordered the robot and looked at him, awaiting a positive reaction from it.

In the meanwhile, high above them, Vivian kept slapping her wings to stay airborne as she looked over the battlefield. The enemy stallion was inside the smoke, and the laser rays showed that he was most likely fighting one of the centurions, and even though she couldn't see what exactly was going on inside of the smoke, she heard the unicorn yelling to the other pony. Miasma? Was that her real name or some sort of codemane? Real name or not, Vivian moved her gun to aim at that Miasma, taking a short moment to aim as her target was covered in smoke before she fired off a burst of fiery lead.

--------------------------------------------

Miasma Perception test to spot Vivian

Eclipse rolled:

"1d10" [2] = 2 - Success

Miasma Perception test to attempt a dodge

Eclipse rolled:

"1d10" [2] = 2 - Success

To hit difficulty: 52

Nighthawk rolled:

"5d30" [21,8,30,17,8] = 84 * 1,75 = 147

Result: all 5 shots hit.

[UnitP0N13]

...too many times.

Too many times has the Wastes smothered another innocent life with its cruelty, with its unforgiving nature. Too many times had Malik witnessed the atrocities each and every creature was capable of. Murder, rape, theft, manipulation...so many a sin so little a people have the capacity for.

It sickened him to the core of his very being.

It sickened him that he could not stop it. He couldn't always be there in the nick of time to save the day, and he knew this. But when it really mattered...it tore him apart. Not being in control of the situation, not being the shield that blocked evil's vile blade, being unable to defend himself or the innocent that slowly passed by him, like sand between a griffon's talons. He could not save them all, and each death only torn at his poor, mechanical heart.

But it did much more than that.

It fueled the burning hatred deep within him. It nurtured the Beast that always kept shrouded in the very recesses of Malik's mind, waiting for the chance to free itself and purify the world of hate, and make corrupt once more innocent. For with every shield, comes a sword, as does every sword a shield. And if Malik could be a shield to protect the innocent...

He'd be a sword to AVENGE THEM ALL...

*******

Malik shot up after a few moments...eyes glowing blood red with hate. A guttural, electronic growl began to escape him as he looked towards the smoke when he caught himself, realizing he was awake again.

The crimson rage faded from his eyes almost instantaneously, glowing a pleasant yellow once more. He turned towards his group, slowly rejoining as he visibly fought back the anger the boiled from within, remembering the tiny paw the jutted out ever so slightly from under its mother's belly. He willed himself to run back to his group, to flee from the battlefield. He knew he wouldn't be able to fight as is...and so the beast that lay within him waited. The price would be paid eventually, it always was. Always has been.

Atrocity begets atrocity, blood spills blood.

The crime done to the innocent

shall be death upon the guilty.

Blood is the crime and blood shall be the punishment:

a crimson fire to make what was once corrupt

pure and innocent again.

Through baptism of sin and death, life is brought into being

and made repeat again.

But the Wastes shall learn to fear family once more...

They shall learn to fear He who watches over it.

For He is the reaper...

"And you are merely waiting to be judged..." Malik spoke under his breath, seemingly stuck in some insidious trance of bloodlust as he regrouped with the rest of his team, silently taking his place at the cart next to Sugar once more, an almost murderous pressure in the air about him.

[SunlightHeart]

The hull of the carriage peeled away from Miles' onslaught. His cuts were strong and precise, allowing him to get through to the prize inside with practiced ease. Within the carriage was a silver briefcase and the corpse of a griffon gripping on to it. It was heavily armored, pointing it out as the most important object in the case.

Miasma trotted through the fire, quickly and carefully. Her helmet allowed her to see one more griffon through the smoke, but there could be more hiding behind solid cover. Apparently the other carriage decided to completely abandon the one carrying their target. "Alright Miles, I'm moving to cover you!" She called out through the smoke. She readied her tri- beam magic ME rifle in her telekinesis. Not even a second later her ears picked up the beats of wings above her. They were two weak to belong to a griffon though. She looked up just in time to see a pegasus aiming at her. Miasma took evasive action, but much too soon, her enemy tracked her motion like a pro and let hot fire spray from the rifle she had beaded on her.

"****!" Miasma cried as five rounds tore into her, each searing her insides with magical fire. One to through her right lung, two into her gut, and a fourth into her left flank, and the last into her shoulder. The mare crumpled to the ground, howling in agony, however she never lost her grip on her weapon.

The last Centurion bounded to the source of the screaming. It violently grabbed and tossed ponies out of it's way and into walls as it advanced, even going so far as to spray it's RCW into the crowd just to clear a path to the suffering mercenary.

[SunlightHeart]

Sugar took her place next to Malik and hitched herself onto the carriage. Sugar was still pumped from the adrenaline running through her veins. She was so close to a fight, but didn't get to do anything, she growled a little bit. A part of her wished that they hadn't stopped Malik after his little outburst. That part she suppressed somewhere deep inside of herself. It was banished from her thoughts by discipline. She growled quietly as she thought about how she'd lost the chance to gut some griffons.

With Malik back, Raven was finally calming down. After he disappeared into the smoke she thought that the griffons would take him down. He wasn't acting like himself either, she'd never seen so much rage in the happy go luck pegatron before. It was unnerving. she hated it and couldn't stand to see that side of him. Shifting in the carriage, she leaned out of the vehicle and wrapped her hooves around his neck before resting her head atop his.

Twist directed them through the chaos, this was not where they wanted to be. She didn't have time to worry about Malik's current state. The safe house wasn't too far off the main shopping area so they it wouldn't be long until they were safely within its walls.

[UnitP0N13]

Malik snapped from his thoughts of murder and killing as he felt Raven's soft coat brush against his obsidian armor. Immediately he felt guilty. He thought he had moved past such thoughts and concepts of revenge...yet each time he witnesses the killing of innocents, it only seems to bring him much closer to the cliff of monstrosity.

However, the one thing that made him felt worse was the fact that he let himself go in front of someone he truly cared about: Raven. She was one of the only people that actually cared about him, and he forced her to watch him lose a part of himself in his own rage.

He nuzzled back into her chin as his heart sank. "...I'm sorry." was all he could muster before gently shaking, choking on his own invisible tears as he slowly began to trot towards the safehouse, away from all of those who were in dire need of saving. He choked on the part of himself he lost as he heard the screams of children, families being mowed down by the Centurions, the calls for help, the calls for their mothers and fathers...their pleas for life...

That day, he lost another part of himself...and the Beast with in him grew just a bit more.

That day...the robot cried.

[SunlightHeart]

[Marelia Safe House - Agora District]

Without his support Miles was left to be captured by the Commonwealth forces. The mercenary hand't even made it through the thick armor plating before being taken down, cuffed, and dragged away. A centurion took a suitcase out of the carriage Miles and Miasma had assaulted and flew towards the control tower with the prize

Through the smoke and confusion Twist caught sight of the passed out form of an armored pony. She was dressed in elite riot gear and held a tri-beam laser rifle in her hooves. She was breathing shallowly. Each breath caused her chest to rise and fall shakily. The pony's body had several burned body wounds, causing Twist to worry, in the end she broke protocol and had Malik recover the armored pony. Malik just used the cover of smoke to steal her from underneath the Commonwealth's beaks. Like a sack of grain, she was easily hauled onto the cart where Raven covered her up with a blanket and removed her helmet.

---

The group made it to the out of the fray safely. They weren't much worse off for the quick burst of action they were involved with.

The safe house was an old two story shop with the windows still intact. A half lit sign adorned the front of the building, flickering weakly as it drew from Marelia's power-plant. Its brown brick work was as sturdy as the day it was built. From the outside it looked like a homely little establishment. Twist knocked on the shops beige door, garnering the attention of the pony inside. After a few moments of shuffling a voice the inhabitant of the shop spoke up. "My weapon shipment shouldn't be here for another week," the stallion said.

"That would be the case had you not chosen express delivery," Strawberry Twist responded confidently.

The door opened slowly, revealing the interior of the building. Twist walked in, looking natural, then gestured for Raven and Gale to follow her inside. Sugar and Malik pulled the cart down the adjacent alley towards the back of the parts

The interior was as lavish as one could get in the wastelands. The floors where fairly clean, as were the shelves and cabinets. An ornate chandelier hovered-- literally--above the group's head. Surprisingly, it worked perfectly no flickering at all. To the left was the caged in vendor area. Behind the metal cage were weapons of all make and model, both M.E,W. and traditional projectile. Parts for everything from toasters to tanks were laid out for purchase as well. On the right was a stairwell leading above them to the living quarters of the building or below to the basement which contained all of the work benches and materials.

The stallion closed the door once everyone was inside. When he was sure the coast was clear he saluted Twist and introduced himself. "Knight Key Lime, deep infiltration specialist and for the duration of your assignment here, your quartermaster."

"Star Paladin Strawberry Twist it's nice to meet you Key Lime."

"Likewise, ma'am. If there is anything you need just let me know. Now if you'll excuse me i have to help the rest of your party unload the cart your supplies."

---

[Later that night]

Now everyone is free to interact with each other.

Levels of the safe house: Top floor (Living quarters- Malik, Raven, and Sugar are here), Basement (Gale, Arik, and the prisoner are here), main floor (Strawberry Twist)

[UnitP0N13]

Malik rested with Raven upon an old couch that had patches of its upholstery chewed or torn out in some fashion or another. Had he not been forced to walk away from the massacre, he may have been happy has his friend nestled herself into the warm of his body and wing has he draped the warm, metal appendage over her. But heavy was his heart, torn was his soul. Had he a full face, his face would've worn the expression of a soldier who had seen too many smiles riddles with bullets. No matter the years he had spent protecting the lives of the Wastes, witnessing their deaths never got any easier.

It only fueled his hate for the cause of these deaths.

Again, he was broken of his thoughts; he felt Raven's warmth against his face as she nuzzled his cheek worriedly. He had not spoken ever since they had made it inside, and he knew that his prolonged silence had begun to eat away at her, just as his thoughts had begun to eat away at him. The robot did not want this suffering to go on for the rest of the night, and if he wanted Raven to trust him, he would have to open himself to her. But it scared him. He was scared that he would scare her, and lose the only friend he had in this miserable hellhole.

After a few moments, he reluctantly spoke:

"I thought about killing her." Malik breathed out uneasily, continuing after another couple of a seconds in silence. "The mare we retrieved. She had a rifle next to her. Tri-beam, laser. I didn't hear any ballistic gunfire before the carriage, and the only other thing that could've punched through the armor even if it missed the window...would be laser weaponry."

He shifted his wings uneasily, unable to look into Raven's eyes as he pried a bit of his heart open. "She caused all of those people to die, all of the people under the carriage including the gryphon mother who was trying to protect her child, and, inadvertently...anyone who had been standing in the Centurion's line of sight. That mare caused all of this to happen, and all I wanted to do was to crush her ****ing skull when I saw her rifle." His body twitched angrily, his eyes flashing red for a fraction of a second before returning to its yellow, cathode ray color.

"...I couldn't bring myself to do it. I feel all of this hate ball up inside of me as I try to push it back down, and even as it gets the better of me I manage to find away to push it back. I'm not sure how long I can keep this up...witnessing all of these meaningless deaths, the disregard for other lives...it never ends. And it's because of people like her that it continues to affect other people, bystanders and families alike. People like her who make me sick. They pull the trigger, but never think about the consequences."

Malik looks to the window as the sun sets in the distance, and the clouds begin to darken out the sky once more.

"It might be one bullet, but it could still be the death of all. And so it continues to be."

The Pegatron falls silent once more, gently setting his head down on Raven's neck. Hopefully she didn't mind at this point in time...

"...I'm sorry if I scared you, Raven."

[SunlightHeart]

The excitement of the day coupled with the lack of release for her aggression forced Sugar to fall asleep early. She lay curled up on a mattress in a far corner of the room, quietly snoozing the evening away.

The weight of Malik's head resting on her was an alien sensation, but one she enjoyed nonetheless. Her ear twitched in time with sound of the gizmos inside the pegatron. The warmth of his form and their closeness put Raven into a calm trance, numbing the events of today's tragedy. Even without Mal's presence what occured in the market district wasn't too traumatic by her standards, but her opinion on the matter was skewered. The mare knew more about the Commonwealth Griffons than she wanted to. They were all monsters to her. Every. Single. One. The winged beasts deserved whatever they got, regardless of whose side they were on. She threw her feelings to the side for now though, Malik needed her support. Raven wrapped her hooves around his neck and wiggled closer to him. The young mare could only hope he found some level of comfort in her.

Raven didn't have anything to say about Malik's fear of scaring her, instead she nuzzled his neck.

She breathed in the robot's scent, enjoying every moment of his company. "You've been in the wastes for so long. You've seen everything evil in ponykind. I'm glad you didn't kill her, you know. The scariest thing was seeing you lose yourself... Y-you're always so upbeat and positive, like there's something good around every corner. To see you on a war path... I don't ever want to see you like that again. Thank you for coming back to me..."

[UnitP0N13]

"Of course. You're my best friend and...well..." Malik paused, realizing just how close they've become in just a few days.

Raven was easily the kindest pony he had ever met to this point. Most just saw him as some crazed robot with a few loose circuits. She saw him for who he truly was: a robot with feelings. A robot with his own sense of will, and a robot with a heart. Raven actually cared about him, somepony, a robot, who was a mere stranger a few days ago. Even then she threw down her own life for him. He saw how similar both of them were, and his eyes lit up in a blush.

He felt something. A little something, and it made his ram speed up a tiny bit. He saw how beautiful she truly was as the moon slowly rose, the sky clearing for this moment, and lit up her golden eyes and silvery mane, how they sparkled and shined in the grace of the moon's glow. He remembered every tender moment they had shared together, and even though they had only spent a couple of days together, it felt like an eternity: those honey-sweet moments that glazed over so slowly through time but always seemed to move the time forward in its mysterious, perhaps even magical ways. Such was love, Malik suppo-...

Love.

...

Love?

Malik stared into her eyes for a moment, and it took another before it struck him completely: he was absolutely head over hooves for her. A mere few days and she already managed to steal his metallic heart...he didn't even know he was capable of having these kind of feelings for another pony. Before he could even process this entirely, he found his metal face pressing gently against her lips, his eyes flickering before staying back on, a set of pixelated pupils now showing up on his cathode ray eyes, gazing tenderly back into Raven's golden saucers, his vision swimming in her sea of silver moon and golden sun just as his metal heart took to the skies, tiny amounts of electricity jumping from his face to her lips, and down her spine, much more potent than the butterfly kisses from earlier.

As he parted slowly from her, he had absolutely lost his poetic prose. Words? What were those? Had he spoken now, it probably would've sounded somewhat akin to some gibbering lunatic trying to summon Cthulhu. So he tried to keep it as simple as possible:

"...I like you."

[SunlightHeart]

Raven gently touched both of Mal's cheeks with her hooves and brought her face close to his. Mindful of her horn she closed her eyes and touched foreheads with the pegatron. A spark of magic jumped from her horn onto him. She sniffled quietly as tears as few tears snaked down her cheeks. "I like you too you silly, silly robot..."

A million thoughts ran through her mind as she savored what he had told her. Will he still feel that way after this mission's over?

[UnitP0N13]

"Good...and uh...don't worry about me. I won't be leaving the Rangers any time soon. Ever." His pixelated eyes stared into hers for quite sometime before he wrapped his hooves around her in a big hug.

"There's no place I'd rather be....than by your side..."

He pulled away from the hug to give her another kiss, making it much longer than the first and pouring his heart out into hers. The moon smiled upon the both of them as their relationship blossomed into a young love, illuminating his armor and her dark coat, eyes and mane as he pulled away and wrapped himself a bit tighter around her, shifting his body to the left a little so she was using his body to rest on, keeping her warm and toasty with his wings.

Had Sugar been watching, she either would've cursed him out in anger or envy.

[SunlightHeart]

Raven giggle quietly, still enjoying the electric feeling after their lips parted. She let herself sink into their embrace. Nestling closer to him, she nuzzled his neck and sighed contently. Through their contact she share with him all of her tension, letting their combine strength support her problems. Maybe she'd open up to him tomorrow, they had to start somewhere, but for now she was happy just being in his hooves. The shell he'd made around felt safer than any armor.

"Good night, Malik..." she whispered into his chest.

[UnitP0N13]

"Goodnight...my love." He whispered back, kissing her head, just at the base of her horn before resting his head atop hers and shutting his eyes.

He dreamt of cheese and electric sheep, he dreamed about seas of flowing green and sparkling oceans of blue. But most of all he dreamt of her...and the love they shared together too. All manner of hate left him, and for tonight, he would be himself once more...

...for now...

[Nexar]

Away from the fight, Gale walked into their safehouse and nooded to the covert operative knight before she introduced herself. After she had taken the surroundings into a quick view, she moved over to the cart with all their supplies and items on it and quickly picked everything of interest from there. Namely, the parts of her equipment as well as the griffin's cyberarms. Together with those she retreated to a peaceful corner and started reassembling the stuff again, at first the griffon's arms so he didn't had to wait idly.

Not long after, Gale Force had taken off those clothings and had managed to reassemble her cybernetics as well as her rifle. But where it wasn't a big problem to apply the visor to her head, it was much more complicated to place the bodypiece on herself, especially with the plug which was supposed to go into her spine. Grabbing the piece with her mouth, Gale walked over to the cybergriffin and placed the chestpiece down on the ground in front of him. "Arik, would you help me put on the chestpiece?" she said in her usual, cold voice.

[SunlightHeart]

Away from the fight, Gale walked into their safehouse and nooded to the covert operative knight before she introduced herself. After she had taken the surroundings into a quick view, she moved over to the cart with all their supplies and items on it and quickly picked everything of interest from there. Namely, the parts of her equipment as well as the griffin's cyberarms. Together with those she retreated to a peaceful corner and started reassembling the stuff again, at first the griffon's arms so he didn't had to wait idly.

Not long after, Gale Force had taken off those clothings and had managed to reassemble her cybernetics as well as her rifle. But where it wasn't a big problem to apply the visor to her head, it was much more complicated to place the bodypiece on herself, especially with the plug which was supposed to go into her spine. Grabbing the piece with her mouth, Gale walked over to the cybergriffin and placed the chestpiece down on the ground in front of him. "Arik, would you help me put on the chestpiece?" she said in her usual, cold voice.

The griffon leaned back against the basement wall and watched Gale work. It was impressive how fast the mare worked. Her machinations put the griffon in a trance, allowing him to think back on what was going on.

At first Arik though this little trip with the rangers was going to be a bore, but after that craziness in the market district future prospects for entertainment skyrocketed. This Commonwealth seemed like the self righteous spiteful sort of pricks he oh-so loved to knock down a few pegs whenever he had the chance. And those other ponies... what the heck was that all about? What ever was going on here it was getting real, and the manure was terribly close to hitting the fan. At the moment he had more questions than answers, but at least they had the armored mare who attacked the Commonwealth under lock and key. He'd commend their efforts against the griffons, but he had no idea what their motive was. Honestly, Arik had no clue what any of these groups real motive was anymore. Why did the Rangers want to stop the Commonwealth if they made everything better? Who were those ponies that attacked? Why did the Commonwealth make such an effort to clean up the town?

His musings were smashed by Gale's question. "Wha-" he sputtered dumbly. "Oh... Right, right. Plug my arms in and I'll gladly lend you a hand," He said as he presented her the empty socket on his right shoulder.

[Nexar]

Gale Force stared at the griffon. She had given him the arms before, but either she had been too much caught up in the routine to rebuild her own cybernetics, or she had simply forgotten to not only give Arik his arms, but also plug them in. In any way, she didn't show any sign of shame, sorry or anything at all as she reached for one of the arms and replaced it into the arm socket before she grabbed the other arm with her mouth to hold it to the griffon. With his first arm attached, it shouldn't be much of a problem for him to attach the second one.

"We need to get back to full fighting strength and stay there." she said, just trying to say anything as she waited. "We should also find out what those other ponies were supposed to be and what their goal was."

[SunlightHeart]

Gale Force stared at the griffon. She had given him the arms before, but either she had been too much caught up in the routine to rebuild her own cybernetics, or she had simply forgotten to not only give Arik his arms, but also plug them in. In any way, she didn't show any sign of shame, sorry or anything at all as she reached for one of the arms and replaced it into the arm socket before she grabbed the other arm with her mouth to hold it to the griffon. With his first arm attached, it shouldn't be much of a problem for him to attach the second one.

"We need to get back to full fighting strength and stay there." she said, just trying to say anything as she waited. "We should also find out what those other ponies were supposed to be and what their goal was."

He chuckled a little at her blank stare. Once his right arm clicked into place he rolled his shoulders and flexed his claws. His heads up display gave the limb an all green. Once his right arm was in order he eagerly took his left and connected it, he ran through the same tests he did with his right arm. With one final roll of his shoulders he declared himself good to go and nodded at the mare. "Feels good to be whole again!" He said as he stretched his wings and arms.

He reached down and carefully took Gale's chest piece in his grasp. Lifting it into place, he asked, "So, do you intend to interrogate that mare? She was pretty banged up as well, I want to know how she survived..." He looked at her expectantly.

[SunlightHeart]

[For Malik]

Incoming wireless transmission 2.4GHz channel: From ??? to 00EXccGr3nd4L wireless MWER(Magical wireless emission receiver).

**I saw your rage, toy soldier. You wanted to lash out, to rend those responsible for the suffering you witnessed, but you were powerless.

You are are powerless... because you are weak. You are weak... because you are incomplete. And you are incomplete... because you deny what you are.

To defend what's those precious to you... shed your shell... become that which you hate. Direct it, master it... Toy soldier, you don't have to march when they wind you... steal your key back... become... autonomous.

I send give you a gift... Something to aid you in the destruction of of those standing in you way. The griffons... the reckless assailants in the market... bring them all ruin.**

File Transfer >>>>>>>> Gr3nd4L.exe (Unstabilized)

**I have given you the gun... It is up to you to find the sights.**

[UnitP0N13]

Malik stirred gently in his sleep as the filed transferred, oblivious to all the was happening. He nuzzled his face gently into Raven's mane as he slept, burrowing his little snout into it before settling back into a state of stillness.

And He waited.

He waited for the next day to come, the next blood of dawn to pour over the horizon. For tomorrow...tomorrow would be a day of Reckoning. Tomorrow could be the day...the whole world burns.

[Nexar]

He chuckled a little at her blank stare. Once his right arm clicked into place he rolled his shoulders and flexed his claws. His heads up display gave the limb an all green. Once his right arm was in order he eagerly took his left and connected it, he ran through the same tests he did with his right arm. With one final roll of his shoulders he declared himself good to go and nodded at the mare. "Feels good to be whole again!" He said as he stretched his wings and arms.

He reached down and carefully took Gale's chest piece in his grasp. Lifting it into place, he asked, "So, do you intend to interrogate that mare? She was pretty banged up as well, I want to know how she survived..." He looked at her expectantly.

With her part of the bargain fulfulled, Gale turned to her side and lowered herself a little bit, giving the griffin better access to her back with the plug on it. However, Gale didn't even look up as she answered to his question. "I will not be the one interrogating the mare. As to why she survived, there are many possibilities. She could be extraordinary tough, none of the shots hit immediately life important organs, none of the immediately life important organs failed to function despite being damaged, the used ammunition was too heavy and didn't stick inside of her body, thus not spreading their fire all across her body, important organs could be damaged, even to the point where it would normally have stopped funtioning, but kept functioning through an extraordinary will to live, or she simply didn't bleed out because it was fire ammunition." she said, to name a few.

[SunlightHeart]

With her part of the bargain fulfulled, Gale turned to her side and lowered herself a little bit, giving the griffin better access to her back with the plug on it. However, Gale didn't even look up as she answered to his question. "I will not be the one interrogating the mare. As to why she survived, there are many possibilities. She could be extraordinary tough, none of the shots hit immediately life important organs, none of the immediately life important organs failed to function despite being damaged, the used ammunition was too heavy and didn't stick inside of her body, thus not spreading their fire all across her body, important organs could be damaged, even to the point where it would normally have stopped funtioning, but kept functioning through an extraordinary will to live, or she simply didn't bleed out because it was fire ammunition." she said, to name a few.

Arik took the chest-piece in claws. Hefting the light alloy cybernetic up and over the mare, he aligned the plug with the socket in her spine and lowered the piece into position. It snapped into place with a satisfying click. He withdrew his claws from her and shrugged at the info she gave him. Arik looked "You're probably right, I don't understand squat about anatomy or what a pony can take before their body goes kaput." The cybergriffon sighed. "Guess we have to wait on Ms. Berry before we get any kind of answers from that mare-"

The mare in question stirred in her sleep. The mare was being held in a caged off section of the basement. She'd been stripped of all weapons and armor, and left exposed on the floor. "Urgh..." she moaned.

[UnitP0N13]

((Sorry, bit of a timeskip here.))

Then came the day...of Hearth Warming. The smell of firewood burning, a mixture of mesquite and applewood, filled the air. A certain pegatron, who was now completely out of caps, was quickly putting up the tree and slipping presents underneath for all. Even Key Lime, it seems, had a Santa this year 'round. (And one for the prisoner. Jerk.)

And under the tree lay not a day late, lay Raven's gift, but time was running short, soon they'd all be awake! With all the joy and glee to come, to and fro did Malik run. Lighting the Warming tree, which sparkled so bright, adorned with grenade-ornaments: much to any military mare's delight. He hung the stockings, so hastily made, above the fireplace, mindful even of the fake 'nades (...well, most were fake, anyway.) He kicked out a little and flicked on his radio, to jolly tunes that were being looped not a day ago.

Malik dashed quickly to the unreliable coffee machine, though the liquid it would be dispensing would not be that of the coffee bean. He turned it on, and it spattered and shook, tossing off dust like an opened old book. And just when it appeared to be a no-go, out from its spout poured hot cocoa. The chocolatey scent rose to the air, rousing anyone who has a nose to bear. The scent of Hearth's Warming Eve, a scent so tender and sweet, the scent of a one-thousand-cap-holiday that can't be beat.

And so Malik walked over to his new marefriend, and shook her with glee, saying "Get up, take a look at the den."

[SunlightHeart]

[Merry Christmas Interlude]

Raven groaned, batting a hoof at the air where she assumed the pony disturbing her was. She didn't want to move, but who could blame her? These were some of the most comfortable living arrangements she'd ever inhabited. Her quarters back at Stalliongrad weren't bad, but she was quite spartan in furnishing it.The mattress she and Malik had shared-- as a couple-- was much softer than what she was used to while still being supportive of her frame. As the shaking continued, she thought about just ignoring the pony disturbing her, however their voice-- Malik's voice-- caused her senses to all come to her at once. The first thing she noticed was a strange sweet smell. She had no idea what it was, all she knew was that it smelled absolutely amazing.

The mare cracked her eyes open and looked at the excited pegatron. "T-the what?" was her first reaction. She had no idea what a den was so she just opted to look around at the room they were in. The room seemed, cheery... more cheery then it had the right to be. The old fireplace was up and going and there was even a decorate husk of a tree in the middle of the room. Under it lay gifts neatly wrapped damaged, yet still festive paper.

Raven looked completely lost. "Mal... when did you... how... what is all of this?" She drowsily stepped off of the mattress.

[UnitP0N13]

((And now for some music from Mal's radio:

))

"It's Hearth's Warming, silly! A time for gift giving and cheer! I almost forgot about it last night, so I snuck out and spent all one thousand caps I had gained from joining up with you guys to buy you all gifts and decorate the room just for this day!" He gave his love a quick good morning kiss on the cheek, excitedly explaining to her about today.

He practically hopped over to the table that held the coffee machine and grabbed the pot that was now full of hot cocoa, pouring the sweet liquid into a cup for Raven, dropping a few mildly crusty marshmellows in and trotting back to her, carefully handing it to her.

"Here, drink up- but be careful! Hot cocoa is called hot for a reason. So...maybe blow on it for the moment before taking a little sip. I'll go grab your presents and wake everyone else up."

The bot quickly grabbed not one, or even two, but five presents in total, where as everyone else had one. "Come on everyone, wake up! Up an' at 'em!" He nuzzled a bell on the wall near the tree, which rang audibly through out the building.

He wobbled back on his hind legs, his forehooves busy with carrying Raven's presents, which he gently set down in front of her. "Happy Hearth's Warming, Raven. Go ahead, open up your presents!"

Within the papers, wrapped with (probably innocent) joy, were naughty stockings clearly not meant for little girls and boys (But still warm, all the same...). Another present, equally made in cheer, was a pristine collection of full color Daring Do comics, the most notable being Daring Do: And The Whitetail'd Fear. Clearly he had seen her gusto and grit, for in the next present was a pair of ballistic fists. The fourth gift was -now this one was funny- two pairs of slippers, all shaped like bunnies. The last gift and the best part, a rusted chain with a cog attached, with a small, purple gem in the middle...cut and shaped like a heart.

A necklace!