> A deep grave > by Connorcooper > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Part 1 (Light edit) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- He should be dead. He should have been dead. He should have been given the emperor's mercy, even though he was supposed to die like the rest of his kin. Yet... The knowledge he held was too great and the adapts from the machine cult wouldn't allow him death. Not yet at least. He can remember even now. Rushing through no-man's land with the information on the heretic lines along with a recovered package that was of great strategic value. He was a few feet away from the allied trench before the explosion went off. To this day he had no idea what caused the blast. It didn't matter all that he remembered was the combat sims wearing off and the burning pain that was in each limb. Half-blind and he could still feel his gasmask melt onto his face. That was when he saw it a being moving down clad in red wrapped him and the package in countless limbs of metal before the pain vanished then came the darkness. The next day he gave his report and the information, the magos that saved him were grateful for delivering the package. He never knew what was in it but the mechanics were extremely grateful. So grateful in fact he was walking on new limbs the next day and eyes that could help him see in the dark better than before. Luckily the new limbs could allow him to handle the kick of his new weapon with little effort that engineers of his regiment used. An engineer, a 'promotion' if one can call it that. He was taught by the best from the same being that gave him a second chance to serve the emperor and now the machine god as well. Fate seemed to smile down on him but only for a brief moment before realizing who he was. That brings him here. Trapped in the same tunnel he and a few others spent weeks digging under the enemy lines. A tunnel that was swarming with infected humans with the foul gifts from the chaos god Nurgle. This tunnel was dug right into the heart of a sick rotting twisted flesh-covered temple with the plaguefather's mark bearing the walls. He watched as two of his 'brothers' were pulled in and ripped apart, having to move back quickly to try and seal off the tunnel he stayed behind to buy them time. Even with the duel filtered gasmask, he could smell the stench of rotting flesh... It made him sick. He just hoped his tank-kin had finally finished welding the sap's entrance shut and started setting a defensive line. Yet hope is unreliable in this line of work. But there are facts and logic. These walking corpses should have known that the being before them was a walking corpse. One with a pack full of explosive charges. Maybe he can buy his regiment more time. The hades breaching drill next to him had a full tank as well. Machine spirit forgives him but this is what needed to be done. Pulling the trigger one last time he watched as the shot from his Mark 22c shotgun ripped apart the center mass of an infected imperial citizen While the last shell was spent, he watched as the infected's neck along with the jaw and the collar bones were torn into a bile colored mist. Reaching behind him he pulled out the small explosive device. Unlike the 'pine' texture of a frag grenade, this one was rounded and was one preferred by engineers such as himself for a much smaller explosion which was a blessing for a 'Tunnelratte' like himself. Plus this could punch through the armor plating over the hades breaching drill's fuel tank and set off not only the fuel lines but cause a chain reaction setting his own explosives off and the many other explosives nearby. He would bring this entire tunnel down on these abominations! Pulling the pin with his thumb he threw the grenade at the drill which caused the small explosive's magnetic system to clamp itself to the drill tank. While a Plague Zombie tackled him to the ground the Krieger couldn't help but slightly smile under his gas mask, he turned his gaze to the explosive then back to the wave of undead. "Auf Wiedersehen," The explosion engulfed the entire tunnel in milliseconds not even an angel of death could escape the blast. Fire of plasma, melta, and natural roared out the tunnel system melting the premacrete support beams while the dirt and stone above were sent loose and dropped down sealing the tunnel and burying the charred corpses. Yet... The dead man wasn't dead. *GUUUUH!* Shooting up the Krieger gasped. The cold air that entered his lungs was like razor blades slicing his respiratory system into ribbons, he was so used to the filtered air that his precious gasmask gave him that normal air was alien to him. Reaching for his mouth to cover it with his hands from the amount of pain this experience was to him, only to feel that his hands were bound. After a moment to collect himself, the Krieger realized he was sitting up, his back was up again a wooden pole wrapped in thick rope and his ankles and hands were bound by similar thick golden rope. Confusion filled his mind... How was he still alive? The blast should have killed him, yet he was still breathing. Breathing without his gas mask. He looked down at his limbs, he could still 'feel' them from every digit on his gloved hands and in his boot-covered feet. Still wearing his trusty oil-chemical treated trenchcoat, the engineer quickly noticed that he wasn't alone. Others were next to him. There were four wooden poles in total including himself, each held a captive but unlike him, these three were... alien to him. They could have been Xenos but they almost seemed more like abhuman. He has seen Rattlings and Ogryns before, though when he was stationed with a unit of Cadian's back in his early days he heard stories of 'Felinids' feline-like human mutants. Yet these weren't cat-looking adhumans but... equines. They were similar to the mounts that the death rider’s rode into battle. But these adhuman equines has strangely color coats and manes with unnatural colors. Pearl white, Blazing orange, and a light yellow. The three had fear on their faces, a very human emotion along with their body structure, but from what he could tell by human anatomy they were female and young. He saw the Pearl colored female who bore a horn sticking right from her forehead tired to squirm in her restraints, the orange female tried to bite through her robes but couldn't yet her stubbornness could be clearly seen, finally, the yellow female looked at him but the moment he turned to face her she turned away seemly to avoid eye contact with the Krieger out of fear. If it wasn't for the moisture in the air it was the feeling of cold air that told him he wasn't on the surface. He's been undergrounding so many times he has gotten used to the cold air of the underground, the coldness of the air nip at his face. He almost forgot the feeling of anything but the comfort of his gas mask strapped to his face, his captors took his precious gas mask off his face. Looking at his bindings he could easily break them, but not yet... Not until he finds out who was holding him and these equine abhumans. He would have to answer of how he got here later. His sharp bionic eyes cut through the darkness of the cave with little effort before they rested on a crudely built wooden table with familiar gear resting on top of it. His attention was turned to a low snoring and sure enough, there was a guard on a stool of some kind with metal armor that looked like an ork gretchin had made in a hurry, armed with a crudely crafted spear resting in it’s arms. The creature's oversized helmet covered their face and along with their eyes (if it even had any that is) but from the snoring, it sounded like this guard was asleep. His attention was grabbed by the three whispers. "Girls he's awake," The yellow one spoke to the others. "What?!" The three turned to him as he looked at them but they shivered slightly at the sight of his face masked in the darkness of the barely lord cave, mostly from the glow of his bionic eyes. Moving from the equines he brought his attention to look at the guard. Turning back to the girls he moved his finger to his lips, it took them a moment for them to realized what he was trying to tell them. Casually he moved his hands and the thick rope binding his wrists snapped quietly, the orange female gasped before the two hushed her which was louder than her gasp. These three were going to give him away if they don't shut up. Removing his chest and ankle bindings he rose up and walked over guard putting his hands together and bring them down on the strange creature's helmet. The impact of the helmet caused the three females to flinch but luckily for them, they didn't hear the crunch as the guard's lifeless body slumped down. Catching the guard and quietly setting the dead beast down, he then rose up and walked over to his gear seeing it all thrown about on the table but all of it was there. The Krieger blinked seeing that even some of his spent ammunition from before was also there, along with the Krak grenade he swore was used on the hades breaching drill. "Hey, buddy care to give us a helping hand?" The orange spoke. Ignoring the three the engineer quietly picked up his gasmask before pulling it over his face, the familiar tightness was a welcoming feeling as he pulled on the straps before moving a hand to put the duel filter system behind his neck and then push the connection port. Unfiltered air exited the gasmask before the staleness of his gasmask's rebreathers system quickly kicked. He closed his eyes for a moment with his hands over his gasmask. His second face. "Hey! HEY!" The orange pony shouted angrily to the Krieg engineer. "DUDE!" "Quiet!" His muffled whispered voice was barely heard by the three but him placing a finger to his gasmask's connection port told them before his words did. Grabbing the rest of his gear he went over to the females who all looked up at him barely able to see him in the dark cave with their organic eyes. He looked at the three in return in thought... Should he help these three? From how they acted so far maybe they would only slow him down for them to get caught again but then again he could get help in contacting imperial command. That is if this was a world of the imperium. Even then he could find a way out quicker without them but they might know the way out. 'By the golden throne, I'm going to regret this,' Going down he pulled out his trench knife and cut their bindings before the three got up. "Alright let's get out of here!" The pearl-colored one shouted about to rush out only to be stopped by the Tunnelratte grabbing her wrist. "What are you doing?" He asked through his mask. "What does it look like? We're getting out of here!" "If you run out there you'll give us away!" He spoke in a low growl starting to regret his choice of freeing them. "Quietly yet quickly we need to escape," He then let her wrist go. "Do you three know the way out?" The Krieger asked to which the three shook their head. 'Fuck,' Reaching down he pulled out his auspex scanner to which the green glow lit up the room slightly while the three females perked up at the sight of the device glowing giving a low 'ooh' at it. Looking at the scans, though they were limited it would be a great help in their escape. He looked up at the only way in or out of this area. "Follow... be quiet," The three nodded their heads while they exited the cave chamber into a tunnel away before the four moved in the darkness. They could now clearly hear the echos of digging and pickaxes hitting stone echo softly in the natural hallway of the cave. "Rarity's going to kill me... the diamond dogs just had to grab us right before our school pictures," Spoke the pearl-coated one. "Relax Sweetie Bell I bet Rarity will understand after we tell her we got kidnapped," Spoke the orange one. "Y'all be quiet our friend told us to be quiet for a good reason," The yellow one interrupted. "We are being quiet Apple bloom," The orange one argued. "Do you want to be napped by those dogs again Scootaloo?!" "No," "Be quiet," 'Applebloom' said shutting up her friend aware that the three gave him their names. 'Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Bell,' What strange names... > Part 2 (Light edit) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Ow," "Hey watch it," "Sweetie Belle your on my tail," The engineer is kinda regretting freeing those abhumans, he turned to the three equine humanoids the moment he turned to look at them they went silent before smiling, and the orange one gave him a wave. Yeah... He should have left these three behind and taken his chances when he escaped onto the surface of this world. "Yeah, I heard that the boss is getting ready for something big," "Really why's that?" The Krieger turned his attention to the two canines talking in the small wooden room built into the tunnels. "Those three ponies that the boys napped are to fetch us some pretty golden bits," Spoke the first dog mutant though unlike the other one was quite smaller but wasn't hunched down like the second much larger one. "What? We can't eat bits... We need gems we can eat those," "Not to eat you damn runt! Those bits we get will allow us to buy slaves to mine for gems," "But why not get the gems?" "Because the boss is thinking about the long term rather than short term," "Uhhhhh... what does that mean?" "By the fang your an idiot," The Krieger turned his head ready to quickly move past the two mutants but then the pearl-coated one stepped forward into the wooden room. When the equine passed the Tunnelratte who tried to grab her but the equine shouted. "You can't do that!" Cursing in his mind at the Equine's actions he unknowingly moved his hand to his las pistol at his side pushing the leather strap holding it in place down with his thumb. "Why not?" Asked the larger canine mutant. "Because it is wrong to buy or sell anypony or anyone for that matter," "Why's that?" "Who cares why you dumb runt! That's one of the ponies that's supposed to be tied up! Get her!" Without question, the large canine walked forward his oversize pawed hands reaching for her. Instantly regretting her actions the one that the others called Sweetie bell from what he could remember took a step back while the giant creature reached for her while she pleaded for him to stop. Fast as his limbs could move him the engineer grabbed the pearl equine's shoulder and pulled her behind him before pointing his las-pistol at the large canine's face. The dumb mutant blinked for a moment not knowing what was the small weapon was before the Krieger pulled the trigger, allowing the weapon's simple machine spirit to awaken. Almost right away the red laser beam hit the canine's head heating it to serve thousand kelvin before liquefying the skull and burning away the flesh-covered fur. While the eyes of the canine melted from his eye socket before ripping apart while cooking the mutant's brain before the remains of the head exploded into a shower of gore and blood. The equine behind him didn't see the gore-filled scene play out but then felt the heated bloody mist brush past her mane before she turned wide-eyed to see the butchered remnants of the mutant canine. Right after the mist of the heated blood settled down, the way the canine stood before his death caused the corpse to fall over onto the engineer. "The prisoners are loose!" Screaming the smaller dog mutant bolted forward. Trying to stop the creature before alerting the others he took aim and try to kill the mutant with his las pistol, but due to the body weighing him down he missed the shot hitting a wooden beam sending splinters flying into the air. Throwing the body off of him he took aim and fired twice but both miss their mark before the Krieger cursed in his mind. He grabbed Sweetie Belle by the arm and pulled her up before the two who turned their heads to two were hidden until now. "MOVE!" His voice shouted through his gasmask heavily muffled but loud enough for a half-deaf vox caster to hear him. Without a second thought, the two followed while Krieg moved forward holding onto Sweetie belle's arm, the four rushed forward. Turning a corner two mutants rushed forward one holding a pickaxe while the other reached out with strange gloves in the attending to cause harm. Yet his training kicked in like a machine spirit taking over a piece of wargear he felt his body move on relax before firing two laser bolts, one hitting into the pickax wielder's chest while the other blew off the glove wearer in the shoulder. The arm was blasted off before the mutant fell down screaming but was quickly silenced when the Krieger shot the creature in the side of the skull. "Why did you-" Scootaloo spoke up but the Krieger interrupted. "Keep moving!" She didn't have time to react before she moved with the Krieger leading the three through the tunnels. Breathing through his mask the Krieger looked up didn't need his auspex to tell where he was going, he could tell by his bionic eyes they were close to the surface. 'Almost there... Almost-' Again... Fate was not on his second for a third time this day, there it was the mouth of the cave and the light of this planet's local star shined in through the exit. But there standing almost shoulder to shoulder were about a hundred or more of those canine mutants all armed with makeshift weapons and armor. Some barked, some snarled, but all of them were ready to kill. He didn't need to turn back to know what was behind him, Scootaloo clung on his back out of fear of what was behind them. They were surrounded. His mind was like an Astartes trying to figure out what to do next. Even with his weapons and the state of their equipment he knew that they had something Kriegers almost always had... Numbers. He was one corpse with three unarmed female abhuman at his back. Gritting his teeth, the Krieger knew going back the way they came would also be suicide something he was willing to do but these three would be captured and his death would be meaningless. Contrary to belief the Death Krops of Krieg doesn't willingly throw themselves into danger without reason for the sake of death. They try and spend their lives trying to gain some advantage no matter how little it seemed... Yet he saw no advantage whatsoever here. Either way, he would end up dead or worse recaptured and most likely tortured along with these three being taken and then sold like that little creature said before. His eyes scanned for anything to help... yet nothing came. But then something moved through the horde of canine mutants, like someone was pushing their way forward. Sure enough, coming out of the horde was another canine mutant. Yet unlike the others, he stood tall without a hunch and looked more like an abhuman than a mutant, save for all the features that the others had. Unlike the ones beside him, this fur look more kept and he seemly had no defects like the ones behind him, and his armor was more like something that was created by a true blacksmith. If these were Ork then it wouldn't surprise him if this was the warboss. By that logic, he had to be the leader. "Well done..." The canine leader spoke in a voice sounding like he had been well educated. "Not only were you able to free yourselves but you also escaped the tunnels? Impressive! Very Impressive indeed! I would expect you to get lost in there but yet here you are... at the exit with freedom within reach," The Krieger could see the tall canine abhuman smile. "But sadly freedom with a price and I'm afraid that only three of you are going to make it out of here alive after a few lessons in manners," He lifted up a very nasty-looking mace pointing at the engineer. "You on the other hand cost me four of my pack... a price you're going to repay in a different kind of lesson," Not moving the Krieger could feel the pony clinging to his jacket shake in fear. Closing his eyes for a moment the Krieger took a breath before pulling a helluva of a gamble. Gently he put his hand down on the purple mane of the young teenage equine abhuman, which caused her to look up seeing him stare at the canine. Holstering his las pistol he reached down to his side but stopped just above his chainsword before moving and unclipped something that he could trust right now. "Oh? You're approaching me?" The leader asked. "Instead of running away like a coward, you are willing to face your death by my hand?" The only answer he got was when the Krieger pulled out a weapon that all Krieger's favored. A shovel. This seemed to amuse the canine who laughed. "HAHAHA! Very well! Let us dance!" The abhuman was the first to move to rush forward with his mace raised. "DIE!" Swinging down his mace only for it to be stopped by the engineer's shovel handle expecting this he tried to move for another blow but felt the mace slip out of his hands. The small hooks on the shovel's blade locked onto the mace's own handle and pulled it back taking the leader by surprise. This allowed the guardsman to pull back his fist and punch forward. Blood sprayed from the leader's lips as he flew through the air before falling back to the ground, ribs broke while the metal chestplate was bent outward. This caused all witnessing the event to go wide-eyed from the swift action, placing his foot down hard on the pawed hand of the leader who screamed in pain the Tunnelratte placed the tip of his bladed shovel on the fallen's throat. Before he could raise his other foot to push down the shovel, Apple bloom shouted. "WAIT DON'T DO IT!" Turning his head to the equine she walked up. "There is no need to kill him. You beat him. You won," The engineer just stared at her. "There has been enough killin' today sir," What was she asking? For him to do the one thing he could do without flaw. For him not to do the emperor's will. But... He wasn't ordered to kill this adhuman or those others from before. That was all on pure instinct... survival drive. Was he... hesitating? Moving his shovel away, this feeling that he felt was not one he liked. Not one bit. Yet... it felt... "Be the bigger person and let's go," The Krieg engineer thought for a moment before turning moving his foot off the crushed paw hand of the adhuman who whimpered like a dog. Smiling at him, Applebloom looked upon this strangely dressed being not knowing of his past and this very action he was doing could have very well cost him his life if he stood before a commissar. "Let's go," Spoke the teenager. With that, the four began to move forward while the mutants moved aside seeing there leader beaten. (Later) "Sweetie belle!" Rarity shouted seeing her sister who was currently being tended to by a nurse at the local clinic after learning her sister that she thought was captured by a tribe of diamond dogs ponynapped with her three friends. Yet here they all were a little beat up and dirty but mostly unharmed. The leading nurse, an earth pony by the name of red heart smile at the two sisters while explaining to the element of generosity that her kin will be just fine. Applejack ruffled her sister's hair with a smile on her face seeing her tough little sister made it out alright while rainbow dash gave her biggest fan a one-armed hug. As for the rest of the main six and their trusty scaly companion who saw their friends reunite with the young cutie mark crusaders kinda wondering how they escaped. Twilight then stepped forward. "Hey, girls... sorry to interrupt but how did you three escape the diamond dogs?" The princess of friendship asked. "Oh, that guy help-" Scootaloo pointed to an empty spot next to the door. "Wait... where he go?" (Nearby) Standing in the very colorful town of Ponyville stood the Krieger sticking out like a sore thumb in the vast sea of bright colors. 'Holy emperor forgive me for transgression on life but please... why in your holy name was I sent to this place?' > Part 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (???) His limbs screamed in exhaustion but he pressed on. He had to deliver this package to the Magos. Explosions roared around him while the auto fire from the heretic lines fired blindly in the darkness not able to see the Krieger rush for the allied lines. A bullet went past his trenchcoat's left collar only an inch away from hitting his unprotected neck. No... He had to press on... He can't die... Not yet anyway, he could see the trench line of fellow Kriegers firing at the enemy to try and provide cover support for the lone survivor. He was a few feet now. One of his 'brothers' reached out his hand to pull him into the trench but... Pain. He was flung into the trench in a ball of fire. During his training, he was taught to ignore the pain and push it back through all means. But this... This was a type of pain he couldn't hold back. He screamed. So loud he can feel his vocal cords start to bleed. Death wouldn't come to him so easily like the rest of his now down squad. Trying to grab his auto pistol and end it, yet his limbs seemed to cry out and pain not listening to his commands to end his own life. The flames covered his vision was blurred and covered his entire line of sight not allowing him to see the red blur. In seconds the burning was gone followed by the pain before the familiar touch of cold metal wrapped around his body but his body still screamed. Just as the fire was put out the Krieger quickly felt his entire body being to grow easy and relax, before his shredded gas mask was carefully pulled from his face and a new mask was placed over his face. The familiar voice of the Magos spoke in his ear. He had no idea what the priest of mars spoke but he couldn't keep his eyes open before passing out in the sea of mechadendrites that wrapped his entire body. (Present-day, Ponyville) The sound of rain lightly drizzling was the first thing the Tunnelratte heard when he awoke from his slumber. Moving his head up to look at the sky, the rain was coming down hard. Shifting the shotgun in his arms the Krieger moved his head back down looking at the puddle right outside the covered area where he sat. Closing his eyes he exhaled in his gasmask. This world... It wasn't a part of the imperium. Nor did it have any sort of vox system to reach out for a request in assistance. He was alone on this Feudal world with no orders. That was the worst part. He had no orders. A kriegsman with no orders is nothing. He was nothing before and now... He was a waste of space. That was when he heard the rain hitting an umbrella. Opening his eyes he looked up to see another equine adhuman, but this one was... different looked almost- "Oh my gosh, what are you doing out here in the rain?" She then held out her hand to him. "Please come inside you'll catch a cold," The Krieger looked at the hand then to the female who looked at him with a worried look on her face. Looking at the hand he then reached out... And took it. "Ah thanks," The adhuman stated before taking back the brown paper bag with the food goods in it. "Come on in forgive the mess I didn't expect to bring home any guests," Looking at the 'mess' the Krieger stood silently in the middle of the room looking at every detail seeing every point of entry and began to assess the layout. "Temp I'm home! I brought a guest over!" Passing by the Tunnelratte into a cooking area of the house she began take out the food supplies. "Oh please make yourself at home," Looking at the bat-like equine adhuman he turned to look at the large padded seat before walking over and taking a seat on the edge ready to move at a moment's notice. Looking at the small table in front of him he saw many books set out on top of it with dirty plates with dried food remains on them and a few empty wine glasses. Turning back to the hybrid creature the guardsman of Krieg looked back and took one of the books off the table and looked at the title. 'Scale and Fang by Fair light' was written in low gothic on the cover. This book had a strange art cover of a scale-like creature holding a feminine fur canine-like creature in his arms and seemed to be oddly fit for a reptile. Flipping the book open he began to read the strange book. "Alright all done there now... thanks for helping me get- OH NO!" The book was quickly snatched from his hands the bat-equine looked down at him with her face blushing, though that should be impossible due to the fur on her face. He just looked at her confused about why she took the book away from him, the two just looked at one another before the hybrid shouted. "Don't judge me! I have a right to like these kinds of stuff in my home!" If he wasn't wearing a gas mask she could clearly see him holding a confused look on his face. He didn't say anything making her think he was silently judging her but in reality, he didn't know what to say to her. The bat-like equine's blush grew deeper before the sound of a flush came down one of the many doorways, followed by an equine adhuman who walked through with a towel around her neck and barely dressed wearing a black top and shorts. "Sorry I didn't hear you... what were you saying Amber," The equine froze when she saw the Krieger and 'Amber' standing before him with a book in her hand. "Oh," "T-Tempest this our guest I found him trying to stay out of the storm," Amber stated to which 'Tempest' looked at the Krieger holding either side of the towel around her neck. ... A awkward silence filled the room before Tempest walked over to the Krieger eyed him while the Tunnelratte did the same but couldn't sake the feeling she was studying him... in a way similar to that of a assassin. Amber was the first to break the silence trying to lighten the mood. "Sorry I just realized I never introduced myself," Amber spoke. "I'm Amber Spark and this is my roommate Tempest Shadow... so what's your name?" His name? He didn't have a name. He was unworthy of a name. He was a son of Krieg... born of sin... undeserving of anything... even a name. All he had was a serial number. "Krieg Engineer #77-77," His muffled voice spoke taking the two by surprise. "That's a... unique name," Amber smiled awkwardly before speaking. "Um... why don't you take off your coat and... armor Mr. Krieg" He just looked at them causing Amber to be even more uneasy before Tempest walked over and looked at 'Krieg'. "There isn't any danger here friend," Tempest spoke up. Amber looked up at her roommate clearly confused about what she just said, Krieg only looked at her. "There is no war here... no one is going to hurt you," From how all these equines acted around him this one had her guard up ready to move if he were to do something unlike equines before. Then again she was different, scars covered her body, the strange horn coming out of her head like the one that Sweetie Belle had was broken and seem... harden. She looked like a Cadian in a way. Ready to stand her ground and die on her feet. Something that he respected in a way. It was almost as if he could... trust this adhuman. Relaxing ever so slightly though her sharp eyes saw this even though Amber didn't notice him move, Tempest smiled at the movement. "Why don't you take a shower?" Tempest asked the Krieger. "It'll help... it clears your head," A shower? He heard of bathing before but that was only available for the wealthy in the imperium. The only time a Krieger could 'clean oneself' is if they get to survive and only if they are covered in so much blood or mud that they are given a bucket of clean-'ish' water to dump over themselves and try and get the muck out of their coat and gear. Maybe he shoulder try and take a 'shower'. (Moments later) *Knock Knock* "Hey, Krieg! I got you some fresh towel to dry yourself off mind! if you unlock the door and grab them?" Amber asked behind the bathroom door. Hearing the door unlock over the sound of the shower she watched as the door open and moved her hand out with the towel not looking at the naked Krieger but saw... A wet gloved hand grab it. "WHAT THE-!" Pushing the door open more she looked to see the Krieger still fully dress dripping in cold water. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Krieg's wet gasmask kinda made it hard for her to see his face but seeing that not only was he still dressed but the shower curtain wasn't covering the tub and water was all over the bathroom floor. "What- I- How- EH!" "What's going on?" Tempest asked still in her workout clothes waiting for Krieg to be done with the shower. "Oh..." "OH?! Tempest look at the mess he made!" Amber shouted seeing their guest not understand the concept of how to correctly shower and most likely would cause water damage to the floor. "I can see that... it can be cleaned up before the water can damage the titles don't worry about it," Tempest stated before going over to a hall closet and pulling out some extra towels. "But he-" "Don't worry about it... no harm done we just have to throw in some towels with our laundry... speaking of which you really need to do when was the last time you wore something that you haven't already worn three times," Tempest asked. "I- don't remember," Amber stated causing Tempest to smile before looking to Krieg then to her. "I'll help him out with his shower," Tempest told Amber which caused the bat-pony to look at her. "Relax... he wouldn't do anything plus I need to take a shower too and it could save us some water," "Are you sure," Amber asked with a slight blush on her face. "I mean he's a stallion and your a mare and well you know-" "What's wrong with two soldiers taking a shower together... it happens all the time," "You're not wrong," Before going off Tempest entered the bathroom before closing the door behind her and setting out the towels on the floor before turning to look at Krieg who held his towel that Amber gave him. Looking to see his gear was neatly placed on the toilet and sink areas leaving Krieg only wearing his clothing, helmet, and strange-looking mask. "Alright Krieg strip," Tempest ordered to which Krieg flinched slightly, "That's an order," She couldn't tell what Krieg was thinking but saying those three words followed by saying it was an order made him think, she wasn't his commanding officer but she was the former High Commander of Storm kings army so she still had a commanding voice that made even the stubborn storm beasts not question or disobey her. She watched as Krieg began to remove the puttees at his legs, watching him carefully fold up the wrappings and then move to take off his boots. But the moment he did... Tempest went wide-eyed. His feet... They were metal. Then he pulled off his gloves, his hands were like his feet. Machine. Taking off his coat she was met with the sight of a white shirt under it but seeing the metal moved up all the way up below the shoulder. Watching him remove his pants to show off his legs were the same way... Was he even flesh under the rest of his clothing. Who did this to him? Why did they do this to him? Hearing his helmet strap clip, Tempest looked to see him remove his helmet which caused her to exhale at the sight of hair watching him move to the straps of his mask only to stop. Looked at her through the black lenses of his mask before looking forward. Moving the straps back he pulled off his mask. "Whoa," Tempest looked at the scared face underneath. "So you are alive under that mask," His face didn't really hold any expression but a frown came to his face. "Sadly," > Part 4 (special thanks to winter_confictura for the save!) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tempest was honestly surprised. Well kinda still in shock from seeing how many parts of Krieg's body were... metal. His arms, his legs, and even his spine were all metal. She was surprised that Krieg's machine parts didn't sort out in the water and Krieg seemed to move them like they were his actual limbs. But his eyes though... that was a different story. Turned back to Krieg watching him dry off his body with a towel, though Tempest couldn't help but see Krieg pull at his own body. Like he was disgusted with himself. "Krieg," On her voice, he stopped doing what he had been doing but didn't turn around, even though she was dressed already even after telling him not to turn around while they showered. "Who did this to you," "Tech-Priest Magos Dominus Vu-05," Krieg spoke in his ruff voice unmuffled by his mask. "Tech priest? Like technology?" "Yes Ma'am," Krieg answered. "So like those from a church?" "Yes, Cult of the machine god, Ma'am," Krieg answered with the same tone of voice as before. "Why did he do this to you?" Tempest asked looking at the healed scar tissue around his spine. "It was a gift, Ma'am," Tempest reached for the machinery grafted onto his spine but suddenly Krieg shot up causing the veteran pony to move back to her surprise, Krieg threw the door open and matched out. While still butt naked. "What the-" Tempest then noticed that something was missing from the bathroom. Krieg uniform. "Oh no," (Moments before) Amber hummed a tune slightly while ironing Krieg's short blue trench coat. Since Tempest and Krieg were showering which kinda weirded out she took it upon herself to clean up her guest's uniform that was covered in dirt and Faust knows what. Luckily her grandmother's recipe for an all-clean was able to get the stains out with little effort, placing the coat up on a hanger with the rest of Krieg's clothes that were nicely folded. Placing her hands on her side with her chest puffed out with pride seeing her hard work. 'Man Krieg is going to be so happy,' For the past few minutes, she not only cleaned his uniform but polished his boots, chest plate, and even his helmet. She wouldn't be a good host if she couldn't help her guest out. Turning her head to look at Krieg's mask that rests on the kitchen island, Amber then approached the gasmask before picking it up in her hands to look at the strange thick leather mask. Holding the strange cylinder attached to the strange 'button' via two tubes, looking at the black lenses the hybrid turned it around and looked on the inside and began to wonder what it was like to wear it. Her curiosity got the better of her as she brought it to her face but before she flinched feeling someone's breathing brush against the back of her neck. A chill went down her spine before she slowly to see a very naked Krieg standing before her causing her to freeze up. It was the fact that Krieg, her guest was naked. Amber hasn't really dated or anything and never has she seen a member of the opposite sex naked before. Sure she has seen Tempest naked before but well she was comfortable (slightly) about that since she was used to it after becoming her roommate. Look at Krieg, seeing him up and down before noticing him holding out his hand caused her to flinch thinking of a dark thought that came to her mind. Snapping her eyes shut expecting the worst but... Nothing came. Though the mask in her hand was taken and she opened her eyes to see him staring at her one last time with his eyes... Those eyes... they didn't look alive. Krieg then walk past her to his uniform and began to dress in front of her, as he did Amber finally notice the parts of him that were... "Amber!" Tempest shot out of the hallway halfway dressed but turned to see her roommate standing unharmed. "Are you alright?" "Y-y-yeah..." Amber spoke now filled with horror at the metal parts on Krieg's body. "Tempest... his limbs," "I know," Tempest held her shoulder while Krieg threw on his coat and buttoned it up. 'Thank the goddess that Krieg didn't do anything to her...' *Knock knock* All three snapped their heads to the door. "Hello anyone home? Tempest? Amber? Come on it's freezing out here! I forgot my key again!" A voice shouted from the door. Amber was the first to rush to the door while Tempest look to Krieg who looked at her... as if he was waiting for her to give him an order. "It's okay Krieg she is a friend," With that Krieg returned to masking up. Amber opened the door to the house letting the last roommate enter back into the house. "Woah! Man, I didn't expect the rain to get that bad... did the Weather team mess up again?" Pulling down her hood letting her navy blue hair to fluff out. "I was hoping to get home before the rain hit but the line at the bank was a nightmare and- Woah... who's the dude?" "Sally this is Krieg our guest," Amber told the third roommate. "Guest? I didn't know we were having anyone over today," Sally started looking back at Krieg. "Well I kinda found him in the storm and seeing how it's only getting worse I was going to let him stay till it passes," Amber stated causing Sally to give her famous shark tooth smile toward the bat pony. "Look at you finally going out of your bubble!" The non-pony then playfully punched Amber. "It's not like that!" Amber nearly shouted as a red blush came to her face, trying to hide the blush with her hands but due to her black fur, it was impossible to hide. "Sure it's not... so what it do big guy," Taking off her raincoat and placing it on the coat rack, the tall fit bipedal shark woman eyed the Krieger who just stood there finally finishing putting on his uniform. "Uh-huh... not much of a talker are you?" Tempest shrugged. "That's not always a bad thing," Tempest admitted before looking at Krieg. "Though your uniform does look a lot better now that Amber did clean it for you," Krieg just messed with his sleeve cuff, working on adjusting it. "Can't you at least thank her?" The former commander asked which caused the Engineer to stop and turn to Amber. "Thank you for the clean of my uniform, Ma'am," Krieg then turned back to his clothing before walking over to the chair with the rest of his gear and putting it on. "Huh... well where is he from? His accent sounds germane," Sally spoke while watching the Krieger get dressed. Amber and Tempest looked at one another not knowing the question themselves all they knew was his name which again wasn't really his name. "I think so... maybe? But-" *BOOM!* The bat pony nearly jumped air off her skin at the crack of thunder which made tempest go over to the curtain and pull it open. "Damn... I think your right Sally the weather team might have screwed up big time on this one," Tempest admitted seeing how hard it was pouring before going over to the radio in the side of the room. "Best turn on the radio for any news reports on the storm," Kneeling down Tempest began to try and get the radio to work. "By Faust's red mane this thing is still not wanting to work... Sally, I swear if we have to get a new one because after you dropped it this thing hasn't been work-" Feeling a hand on her shoulder she turned to see Krieg stand behind her, not saying anything he gently pull her back causing her to move aside while he got down to inspect the radio. "What you think he's doing?" Amber asked Tempest. "I think- *Krieg pops the back of the radio open* -he's going to fix it," "Didn't he say he was an Engineer?" "Yeah I think your right but I thought-" Before she could finish he popped the back on while mumbling something and then went to the radio and turned the dial. "An unpredicted thunderstorm has formed over the city of Ponyville. After an accident involving a mix-up with the local weather team, where a thunderstorm was formed. Princess Twilight sparkle and the element of loyalty rainbow dash are trying to find a way to clear the storm, citizens are advised to stay indoors till the storm passes, stay tuned for updates," "I'll be damned," Sally blinked in surprise at Krieg who began to screw in the back of the radio. "Nice work Krieg. I thought we really had to buy a new one," Tempest patted him on the back causing the Engineer to look at her with a nod. "Nice find," Sally bumped Amber's arm with her elbow causing the shy Bat-pony to get more flustered. "By the way where did you even find him at?" Amber looked at Sally before speaking. "W-well I found him sitting in an alleyway behind sugar cube corner when it was starting to rain," "Wait... what?" Sally was surprised by the answer before smiling. "Oh, sweet Amber... your too good for this world," "What do you mean? It was starting to rain and he was just sitting there in the open-" Sally grabbed her shoulders. "And that's what I love about you! You're so caring to others... even after-" Amber lowered her head causing Sally to hug her close. "Sorry I didn't mean to bring that up," Amber tapped the Landshark's hand with a smile. "It's fine... your right it is time to get out of my bubble," Sally looked at her with a smile before breaking the hug. "Remember take your time," Patting her shoulder she walked over to Tempest and Krieg who were now sitting around the coffee table while talking about the chessboard of all things. "What do you mean? It's called chess Krieg, not Regicide," Krieg shook his head before pointing to the chess pieces. "This is the chapter master, piece... not a king, ma'am," "Where are you getting that from?" Tempest explained. "That's clearly a king piece," "Does it really matter come on Tempest, Why don't you play a game with him to see where he comes from 'Regicide' is just Chess," Sally turned to Krieg before looking at Krieg. "How about it Krieg," This caused Krieg to shift slightly before nodding as if he was 'excited' to play. "Then it's settled..." Sally moved to Krieg's side and whispered. "...Tempest is a chess master she hasn't been beaten once," This caused Krieg to look at Tempest through his mask's lenses. "We'll see ma'am," (Meanwhile) Holding her rain cap from the strong winds Twilight looked up at Rainbow. "You can't you stop it?!" Twilight shouted her voice over the high winds. The daredevil dropped right next to her. "I... c-can't Twilight," When those words left Rainbow's mouth she felt a little of her pride deflate slightly but right now she ha to be honest with her friend. "The storm is way too strong! I can't stop it!" Twilight looked at her friend before an idea popped into her head. "What about a sonic rainboom? That should make the storm disburst out!" Twilight shouted. "What?! Twilight I know you are the smart one but even I know that is a terrible idea! Weather control isn't an exact science even for an egghead like yourself!" "Rainbow! I'm serious! This storm is only going to get worse if we don't stop it now!" "But what if doing that would make the storm worse!" "Rainbow! The last thing we need is a natural hurricane or a tornado! Rainbow please!" Twilight shouted to her friend, Rainbow looked at her for a moment before nodding. "Buck it... let's give it a shot!" Rainbow shot up into the air passing through the black storm clouds high in the air and looking down before she whipped off the rain off her goggles. "Let's do this," (Back with Krieg) "What! How!" Tempest looked at the chessboard seeing how she lost to Krieg, to which the dead man crossed his arms before his head snapped up. Turning to the window Krieg got up and walked over to it. "Krieg is something wrong?" Amber asked. Turning to her he spoke. "Don't you feel it?" "Feel what-?" Krieg turned back to the window but a flash of color blinded him causing him to flinch but turning back to the window seeing a ring of color began to shoot out throwing the storm away. Krieg was awestruck at the sight... Never has he seen such colors before. So bright and vibrant. "Well, I'll be damned... Rainbow did a sonic rainboom... that's one way to stop a storm I guess," Tempest spoke causing Krieg to look at her before back to the window. As the so-called 'rainboom' moved out, for a brief moment the sky was clear and bright but the storm clouds pushed back in ever stronger as the storm began to pour down harder. "That didn't last long," > Part 5 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (???) Krieg screamed... The pain even for someone like him, the pain was too much! His vision is still blurred, and the replicated human can only feel what was being done to his broken body. All he could hear over his screams was sound from the holy machine cut into flesh... His flesh. Even numbed the pain was unbearable... Feeling something begin to slice into the flesh around his melted mask, Krieg remembered seeing the shadow of the mask be removed and the color red. His vocal cords were strained by how hard he screamed before a tube was pushed down his throat silencing his screams of pain. As his screams ceased to where the dead man could hear the hym of the machine being chanted. He could barely make out anything, yet he could faintly make out the black robes of the tech-priest with his many arms moving around working on his body most likely. Krieg felt his mind drift while the machine's song whispered in his burnt ears. (Morning-ish) *BOOM!* Shooting up from the couch the Krieger drew his sidearm and pointed it up expecting to see an attacker or something... Yet... Nothing was there. Dropping back down on the couch's armrest, the Krieger gave a sigh behind his gasmask before looking down at the blanket that was covering him. Pulling the blanket off of him, Krieg moved up before looking down at his free hand. Even after so long. He can still feel it... The pain. Closing his hand Krieg stood up from the couch before walking over to the covered window and pulling back the curtains to see the storm still thundering and booming... Seems like the storm has only gotten worse from last night. Actually was it still night? Or was it morning? He still doesn't know of this world's time difference from his homeworld. "Did the thunder wake you up?" Turning his head Krieg saw a dark figure in the sunlight living room, yet Krieg could make out the figure of Sally. She walked over to him stepping into what little light the window gave. He nodded causing him to see her smile slightly with those sharp pointed teeth. "You know Tempest was the same way when she was first settling down here in ponyville when it was just me and Amber," Sally explained while looking at the storm. "Loud noises always like thunder made her jumpy... still do but not as bad," Krieg turned back to look at the storm. "Though..." Sally turned to the korpsman. "I've been thinking about you... who did you serve?" Turning to her the dead man looked at 'the navy-haired abhuman shark female', reaching for his helmet to the added armor plate that held the holy Aquila. "This isn't any griffon army or any germane army symbol I know," Sally asked but Krieg grabbed her wrist but not in a threatening manner almost gently. This abhuman didn't know about the glorious emperor of mankind and from what he has seen, this world knew nothing of his truth. He can forgive this abhuman for not knowing. "The emperor," Krieg's voice spoke muffled by his double-filtered gasmask while letting her hand go. "Emperor of what?" Sally asked. "The emperor of- *BOOOOM!* The two were blinked by the flash of lightning, turning their heads to the source, Sally's eyes widened for the neighbor's house was struck by a bolt of lightning and was now ablaze. "OH FUCK!" Sally shouted before running to the front door and opening running onto the front porch. "Fuck! STORM BLAZE!" Krieg followed after her while everyone on the block exited their homes to see the burning house. "Somepony get the fire department!" "They won't make it in time!" "Get some buckets we have to put out those flames before they spread!" Sally pointed to the burning house. "Storm Blaze and his marefriend are still inside!" Sally shouted before trying to get to the door but was grabbed by a freshly awoken Tempest. "The flames are growing too fast it's too dangerous!" The veteran commander told her friend. "But-" Before Sally could finish the engineer moved past them but Tempest couldn't stop him as he made it to the front door. "KRIEG DON'T BE STUPID THOSE FLAMES WILL COOK YOU ALIVE!" Not turning to Tempest, Krieg kicked down the front door using his bionic leg before walking into the smoke, luckily his gasmask was easily able to filter the fire's smoke. His eyes adjusted to the brightness allowing him to see in the bright flames. The layout of this house was different but Krieg wasn't at the time trying to find this Storm blaze and his 'marefriend' moving through the burning building. He ripped the door off one room but saw it was nothing but a storage closet before going to another and getting to the second to last door in a hall. Hearing coughing, Krieg broke down the door before entering the blazing room with two of the equine abhumans on the floor but one of them was a different equine than the one he saw. White with black stripes... must have been a different species, but that didn't matter he grabbed the two unconscious abhumans, throwing one over his shoulder and picking up the male by the waist he turn and left the house. When entering the hallway the ceiling support gave out before him, blocking his path with burning debris his first thought was to tackle through the rumble. Then again that could cause more internal damage and bring down the entire house on them turning to the guest bedroom window Krieg got an idea. ... "That pony is mad! He'll die with those freaks!" "Speaking of freaks did you see what he was wearing? Guess freaks attract other freaks," "Yeah guess what diamond said was right that-" "ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW!" Tempest shouted. "LIVES ARE ON THE LIKE HERE!" "Sure you would defend your fellow freaks," Spoke the mare. "Being a fre-" Before the pony could finish the window to Storm blaze's house was crashed through by Krieg with Storm Blaze and his mare friend xerene. Hitting the ground Krieg ran over to the sidewalk and put them down before turning his head to the flaming building and running inside. "Wait Krieg there is no one else inside!" Sally shouted but Krieg was already back through the hole before going back in. "Krieg? What kinda name is that? Sounds-" "YOU NEED TO SHUT THE FUCK UP RIGHT NOW!" Sally shouted while Tempest went over to the zebra and unicorn's aid. "How dare you... I have-" "IF YOU USE YOUR EYES THERE IS A FIRE! NOW IS DEFINITELY NOT THE TIME FOR YOUR FUCKED UP POINT OF VIEW ON THIS!" Before the pony could say anything Krieg came out of the fire again but this time clenching something to his chest, walking forward his armor steaming slightly. Holding onto a blanket wrapped in something Krieg reached down to the blanket, Amber looked at Krieg. "Holy mother of Celestia... they had a kid?" Amber asked before Krieg looked at her. "The Infant is not breathing... I believe medical assistance is needed," (A few minutes later) After helping with the fire the fire department arrived and stopped the fire from spreading while medical personnel put the couple and their child onto a medical cart before taking them away. Krieg stood in the middle of the sidewalk on another side of the street looking at the house but looked back up at the storm as more thunder boomed in the storm sky. "Alright everypony back to your homes! It's still dangerous to be out with this storm," A abhuman spoke in golden armor holding out his hand. As they began to disburse the crowd, Sally punched Krieg's arm causing him to turn to her. Luckily for her some time ago a Cadian did the same to him but quickly learning it was a gesture of respect before he almost punched the purple-eyed man's teeth out. "Looks like we got ourselves a local hero! Saving that power couple and their kid!" Sally stated with a smile. "Though how do you know they had a kid? I didn't even know that," "There was an empty room," Krieg answered through his mask. Sally blinked before speaking. "I... um... don't get me wrong Krieg props to you for going back into the fire and saving the kid but what if there was not a kid and the building went down. You could have died," Sally explained. Krieg looked back to the flames. 'Unfortunately... I didn't' Tempest walked forward smiling. "Luckily he did go in and found the kid... though I'm kinda confused why they never told anyone about their kid. Xerene moved in about a month ago and I highly doubt she got pregnant and gave birth all in a month," Tempest said, but before she could press on the equine in gold armor spoke to them. "Sorry to but-in but it's too dangerous to have a conversion out here," The guard told them. Tempest smiled. "Sorry Sentry we'll head back inside," The group then moved in before Krieg turn back to the burnt house, turning back his gaze was stopped when a pink-furred equine with a purple mane glared right at him. Feeling uneasy he turned back and walked into the house before Amber closed the door and the girls began to dry off, stepping onto the hardwood floor Amber pointed to his boots. "Krieg seriously! Your boots!" Krieg looked down at his boots before back at her like: 'what's the matter? they are fine' Making a strange look on her face she then pointed to his boots to the door and to his boots again. Confused the dead man looked to the door and then at her again. "You're making a mess!" Looking back down at his mud and ash-covered boots, Krieg then took notice of the mess he made. "Apologizes," Krieg said hanging his head before Amber sighed holding the bridge of her snout. "It's fine... I'll get a mop... but please take off your boot or at least whip them off at the doormat!" Amber shouted causing Krieg to walk over and make more of a mess causing Amber to turn red at him dirtying up her nice clean floors. "It's too early for this shit," Amber said to herself before going to fetch cleaning supplies. (Main six) "Twilight what are we going to do?! The storm only got worse after Rainbow's Rainboom!" Applejack asked. Twilight lightly bit her finger trying to think of something. "Twilight?" "I don't know," The princess of friendship said. "We might have to wait it out like with a normal storm," "But darling there has been a fire caused by this storm and with no end in sight," The white fur pony said. "I know rarity but anything we do will only make it worse!" "Isn't there a spell you know that can just zap the storm away?" Rainbow dash asked. "If there was wouldn't I have used it before we did your Rainboom?" "Fair enough," The six friends then went silent as the only sound was the storm outside the castle walls. "Let's be a least grateful it's just a big thunderstorm," Pinkie pie said trying to lighten up the mood, but this caused her friend to look at her. "Too soon?" They all nodded at the same time. "Well you know me... *sigh* I was really hoping to meet that newcomer today," This caused the five to turn to pinkie pie. "What? Newcomer?" Twilight asked to which Pinkie nodded. "Yep, my pinkie sense told ponyville had a gotten new friend that came in! I was going to meet them but we were with the crusaders at the hospital! I didn't want to leave my friends like that," Pinkie smiled. "Why didn't you tell us?" Twilight asked. "Pffph if I were to tell you of every newcomer you would say: *Clears her voice in her best twilight impression* 'Pinkie I'm doing this and this I'll meet them later," Pinkie said before smiling at twilight. "Fair enough but... you know the crusaders were saved by somepony," "Yeah," "That pony could be the newcomer," *Processing Pinkie.EXE* "Pinkie?" "OHHHHHHHHAHHHHHHHHHHH!" > Part 6 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Twilight!" Barely being able to hear her friend's voice, the princess of friendship held onto her rain hat while the winds howled around with water endlessly pouring down. "Rainbow Dash any luck?!" "We're not making a dent in this storm! It's only getting stronger!" Rainbow shouted flying over to the winds of the storm. "Well, I sent a letter to Princess Celestia she hasn't responded back yet so I think we may need to wait out this storm," Twilight shouted almost using her royal Canterlot voice to speak over the storm. "Twilight I might not be on the weather team anymore but I know a bad storm when I see one! There is no 'waiting it out' this storm is not natural! We need to stop this storm before it gets even worse!" Rainbow Dash shouted while the thunder boomed in the clouds above. "Then what do you think we should do Rainbow?! We tried everything! This Storm isn't like any I know about!" Twilight stated while Rainbow turned to another bolt of lighting. "Unless..." "Unless what?" "Rainbow do you know where Discord is?" (Meanwhile) Sally lifted a pair of weights while Tempest was running on the treadmill in their small personal gym, it may be raining outside but it wasn't going to stop the duo from partaking in their daily route. Besides it's not like they could do anything else, the guards shortly after the fire went around shouting over the storm with the help of magical vocal spells to inform the citizens of ponyville to wait inside until this storm passes. By the looks of it might be a while. Dropping the weights after finishing her set the Landshark gave a huff before grabbing the towel around her neck and whipping off the sweat from her face. The two watched while the light in the room flickered as the magical crystal powering their house was disturbed by the lighting from the storm causing the two to look at one another. "Damn is it just me or is it getting worse?" Sally asked to which Tempest stopped running and jumped on the side of the treadmill. Taking a breath for a moment she reached a hand to the curtain near the machine and peaked outside giving a nod. "Yeah it's getting really bad out there wonder what caused it to get so bad," Tempest stated while Sally pulled down her towel from her face. "Probably the weather team screwed something up," Sally answered causing Tempest to nod. "But wouldn't the weather team have dealt with this by now?" "I wouldn't know they never contacted me back about my application," Sally joked to which the dark purple pony rolled her eyes. Giving her famous sharp tooth smile the Landshark then reached down and picked up her water bottle before taking a drink. A sudden lighting boom caused Sally to almost choke on the water and Tempest flinched causing her to get off the treadmill and away from the window. "You good?" Sally noticed Tempest's reaction. "Yeah. Just give me a second," Sitting down from Sally the unicorn held the side of her head. Taking another drink Sally turned and jumped at the sight of Krieg standing in the doorway to the workout room. "SWEET LADY OF THE LAKE!" Dropping her water bottle with Tempest now notices Krieg. Sally panted after Krieg's sudden surprise before taking a breath. "Good goddess Krieg don't do that," The Landshark chuckled. "How long have you been standing there?" "About two standard minutes," Krieg answered. "Amber wanted me to tell you that breakfast is ready," Krieg walked back in with the two behind him when Amber noticed the two and she smiled. "Morning ladies... got both your usuals ready," The batpony stated while placing both plates of food that Krieg didn't recognize, going back to the couch Krieg sat down in front of the 'coffee table' that had his gear laid out upon it. "Krieg you hungry?" Amber asked to which the guardsman shook his head in response this caused Sally to turn towards him from her stool. "Come on it's the most important meal of the day tough guy and after what happened I say you deserve some of Amber's famous pancakes," Sally said to the korpsman who simply turned back to his gear not noticing Tempest shaking her head towards the shark Abhuman. Grabbing a cleaning cloth Krieg began to finish cleaning the head of his trusty pickaxe. It hadn't been a long time since he cleaned his gear but after he arrived in this strange world he decided it was best to make sure everything was ready for the tasks it was made for. Setting down the ax on the table he began to do another equipment check of his wargear and equipment that wasn't any he was wearing. Lucius Pattern Mark 22c semi-automatic with standared shells and altnrate shell types. Lucius Pattern laspistol with three extra power packs not including the one in the weapon. Three Siege Pattern melta charges Explosive trigger and wire roll (with how much wire he didn't currently know) Bolt cutters Pick ax Entrenchment tool A single Frag grenade Two Krak grenades And his basic guardsman supply kit There were a few things missing from his gear but most of it was on his Hades breaching drill which was destroyed during what he thought was going to be his final stand in the emperor's name. He silently prayed that the machine god would forgive his actions in destroying a tool that was gifted to him by the adapts of mars to do his task in cleansing the world of the heretical filth upon the hive world of the Imperium. He was going to miss that glorious piece of machinery. "What this?" Snapping his hand out Krieg grabbed Amber's wrist and reached for his entrenchment tool. Staring at her all were silent for a moment, looking at Amber for a moment who held a look of slight fear on her face which caused Krieg to sign and let her go. "Apologizes," Krieg had to admit that was a little uncalled for even for a guardsman of Krieg like himself. What was worse was he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings, which would cost him his life if some heretic or xeno would try to sneak up on him. He rather die with a weapon and fight than be killed by some assassin coward that would stab him in the back. "It's fine I shouldn't have reached for your stuff," Amber chuckled to which Sally knocked her fist against Krieg's helmet. "What's with you, dude? She was just looking at whatever all this stuff is," Sally pointed out. Krieg have a chance to answer before the lights went out causing Tempest to hiss. "Damn it the crystal blew out... I knew this was going to happen," (Basement) Tempest walked down the stairs while the light coming from Krieg's chest plate lit the way for her, the moment she noticed the basement floor was flooded caused tempest to groan. "Not again," Tempest got down into half of a foot of water before Krieg followed her. "That's probably one thousand in repairs right there," Shaking her head the unicorn walked over to a strange device on the wall before pulling out a burnt out crystal she then reached for a box that was on one of the shelves. Placing it higher up she pulled out a fresh blue crystal before placing it into the brass box causing the lights to flicker on upstairs. "Alright, where is the- Krieg what are you doing?" Tempest turned to see the house guest looking at the walls of the basement before turning to her. "I can fix this ma'am," "Wait like right now?" Tempest asked to which Krieg nodded. "But it's pouring down it's going to be impossible for you to fix all this during this storm," This caused him to freeze in place before turning towards her, he wasn't one to smile but under his gasmask, he had an amused smile at her comment. "Krieg?" Going up the stairs Tempest raced after her. "Wait! Before you do anything whip your boots off before you track more water in," > Part 7 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- This rain was coming down harder. The storm seemed to get worse by the minute, making the kriegsman wonder if storms like these were a natural occurrence on this strange planet. However, why were these civilians' buildings so unprepared to deal with such powerful weather if that was the case? Krieg didn't quite care about this, he returned to his task at had. Rain like this made his job hard however he's worked in far worse weather than this and he had already finished with the task he had taken to help his hoists. However, after he finished he couldn't help but notice something else wrong with the housing unit so he turned to that then he noticed something else and something else which was now led him to hammer a metal rod into the wet soil to help reinforce the fence he had built to replace that wooden one. Patting Krieg lifted his head to the sky while the rain pelted his helm and gasmask, he closed his eyes letting the water drop onto his mask's lenses before taking a deep breath of recycled air before standing up. Grabbing some of the remaining supplies he had 'acquired' from a building site near the housing unit, these abhumans wouldn't donate a few items to a servant of the emperor. Even though he was less than that. These hoists of his were too kind to him... After this storm passed he planned to leave, so he wouldn't be a burden to them. Krieg flinched, a rare action for him to do but the loud and bright bolt of lightning dancing in the sky did cause him to do a natural human reaction. Not wishing to be struck down by a stray bolt and find himself in a wasteful death, Krieg rose and returned to the housing unit of his hoists. Upon entering the room after whipping off his boot due to Tempest's request the guardsman heard the familiar static of the vox he had repaired. "...Weather teams have yet to break the ever-growing storm all citizens. All citizens are to remain indoors for the storm has now been classified as a tier 5 rogue storm which could lead to tornado formations. Princess Twilight and the elements of harmony are now seeking the aid of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to aid in the disbursal of the mysterious storm," The abhuman Sally stated at the vox with a worrisome look on her face while the machine reported on the storm, her attention was so fixated that she didn't notice Krieg walk up to the couch until his shadow cast over her. "Krieg!" She snapped up slightly in shock before turning down with a smile on her face with a hand over her heart with a smile. "I didn't hear you come back in... is it that bad out there?" Krieg nodded. "Damn. Must have been hard to fix the basement while in this storm huh?" Sally asked flashing her sharp teeth. "Not really," Krieg replied shrugging his shoulders. "However finding a way to pour and set the quick-cret was quite a challenge," "What you mean quick-cret?" Sally seemed confused by Krieg's words. "I noticed many different flaws in the structure integrity of this structure and found it fitting to give my thanks by fixing the problem followed by adding in other factors to make sure this housing unit will not be breached by any other factors outside of natural disasters," Sally just stared at Krieg for a moment. "What do you mean by that?" "I fortified your housing unit ma'am," Krieg answered causing Sally to open her mouth but didn't say anything when the familiar voice of Tempest shouting. "WHAT THE BUCK!" Tempest felt her eye twitch at what see was seeing, where only a few hours ago was there a flood basement but now it was something completely different. By the goddess, it looked like one of the many command bunkers she had been in from her time in the stormking's army. Sure all the stuff they had in storage was completely organized but there was stuff that she didn't know they had, she could swear the table in the middle of the room wasn't there before and almost looked freshly made! Her eyes darted around, only to freeze when she saw it. Her armor... She never wished to see that part of her past again, however there was something completely different about it. The armor had been repaired from her battle with the Storm King after she defected, the dents and scraps were all buffed out and seemed to be completely polissed. From the buckles to every single leather strap, the entire armor looked almost completely different since she last wore it. Hell, the stand it was on even had her helmet, she completely forgot about it since every time she wore the damn thing it was too big for her. Now that she was seeing the completely renewed armor she wanted to try it on for a moment. That was until three pairs of footsteps brought her back from her trance, one of them belonged to the one who had caused this complete redecoration. "Krieg!" The stranger snapped to attention by her voice. "Mind explaining this!" However, before Krieg could respond Sally and Amber were both awestruck at what they were seeing. "By the goddess! Krieg this is amazing!" Amber shouted rushing around her wings flapping slightly. "I never seen the basement so clean! It looks completely different," Tempest looked to the batpony who was oblivious to the actual manner at had. "Tempest way are you so upset he did amazing!" Amber pointed out while she flew over to the freshly made table. "Do you want to tell her or me?" Sally asked aware of what Krieg did. The former commander growled while looking at Krieg. "How were you able to do all this?" "I requisitioned some local building supplies from a nearby construction site ma'am," Krieg answered causing Tempest's jaw to drop. "You stole supplies from a construction site!?" "Negative. I had requisitioned them ma'am," Krieg corrected. "The construction site was in complete ruins from the storm. I was able to save some of the supplies before they were washed away or exposed to the rain," Tempest opened her mouth to say something but stopped as she slowly registered what he said. "What do you mean the site was in complete ruins?" "The site's main structure had been toppled over due to the winds and the concrete pits were flooded in ruin. I was fast enough to get a few remaining supplies before the main street power went out," Krieg answered. "Wait... the power went out?" Sally interrupted. Krieg nodded. "Then how do we still have power," Sally asked to which Krieg simply pointed to a magical generator tucked into the wall causing all three females' jaws to drop. "YOU STOLE AN INDUSTRIAL-GRADE GENERATOR!?!" Krieg shrugged while Tempest facepalmed. "By the everything good... why?" "It would have been wasted in this storm," Krieg simply responded. "Not... I... What else did you steal?" "Requisitioned," "Fine Requisitioned," Tempest asked, however, a thunderbolt cracked outside almost blinding everyone inside the basement. "WHAT THE-!" Krieg went over to the small window that was tucked away to look outside. "Storm is only going to get worse," "How can you tell?" Amber asked to which the kriegsman rubbed his bionic right arm. "It's how you say 'a feeling'..." (Twilight's castle) "Alright everypony calm down there is plenty of space for everypony come on now. There is no need for pushing. HEY! Diamond I saw that!" Spike spoke above the crowd of ponies that had come to take shelter in the castle of friendship as the storm grew ever worse. Meanwhile Twilight was sweating bullets at the sound of rain pounding on the magical crystal windows to the outside, this storm that she and many others thought was an unplanned rogue storm. But now it's growing into a powerful thunderstorm that was almost on the lines of a hurricane, yet when Rainbow Dash attempted to force the storm to dissipate with a sonic rainboom it only seemed to feed the Storm and make it worse. To the point that this storm has now taken lives... Two fatal thunder strikes from pony would be unfortunate to be outside when this storm passed over and one indirect fatality due to the storm. A poor filly died due to smoke installation from a fire that was caused by the storm, even though some brave soul ran into the fire to save the mother, father, and child it was in vain as the child died only an hour ago and the parents are left in critical condition. When Twilight was informed of these deaths she held the information from Rainbow Dash, knowing that the daredevil might blame herself for their deaths. Even though they weren't... The princess of friendship sighed holding her head while she landed on the banister above the main hall. Is this what Princess Celestia and Princess Luna felt when faced with similar situations in the past? What would they do? She stood there for a moment in thought to think... Maybe they would try to figure out what might have caused the storm to happen in the first place to understand how they can stop the storm. Yeah! That had to be it. Heck, she might not need the princesses' help after all! The storm wasn't that of natural winds so she can rule that out... Magical? Yeah, it's the only explanation for how the rainboom only made the storm worse. But what magical users knew weather magic outside of ponies? Discord? No, he wouldn't do something that could end in the deaths of ponies even though he had a past in chaotic magic. Dragons? Again no, there are currently two dragons in ponyville Spike and her student Smolder who was with her friends held in the school grounds for shelter. Who else... ... Then it hit her like the lighting outside. The local diamond dogs! They had foalnapped the cutie mark crusaders before some stranger rescued them. From what the three had said the diamond dogs were going to use them as 'bargaining chips' and maybe because of the stranger the diamond dogs had turned to magic to get back at them! It's the only logical reason for this storm! Maybe she will have to wait for the princesses... This could lead to something she was not prepared for... War.