"So, Rosine," Steel said between his gritted teeth; his blood boiling to a peak amount of rage. He despised how this abomination carried such a youthful amount of whimsy and sweetness in her personality, despite having foal-napped and raped dozens of ponies as if they were nothing more than her personal breeding machines to use at her own leisure. It made him so fucking sick. It was similar to how guards would sexually abuse mares and stallions for shits and giggles, sometimes using their spears as makeshift tools for their devious desires. "What are you? You don't look like any of the other Changelings I have seen so far. What's with the wings? Actually, now that I think about it, why are you even here? Why have you been abducting ponies and using them as your sex slaves, you sick fuck?" Rosine didn't say anything right away, she just raised her hoof and revealed a brand on her front leg which glowed so brightly that Steel could see it clear as day even from the 20 feet of distance between them.

"I am merely a blessed disciple of my mistress Nightmare Moon; tasked with breeding a great army for her return," Rosine said with another giggle. "She saved me from a horrible death, and gave my spirit a brand new host body in exchange for a simple sacrifice!" As she said this, she whirled around like a ballet performer, wings glowing beautifully in the night sky with a pure luminosity. Wait, Nightmare Moon? The mention of her name alone could never be an omen of good things to come. And Steel, while he might not have been a particularly brilliant individual, had this bad feeling in his gut that what she called a "simple sacrifice" was something a bit more complicated or horrible than that. "Do ya like my wings, Mr. Steel? Aren't they just super pretty?"

"Oh, those wings look absolutely lovely," Steel said as his grimace turned into a twisted grin. "It's such an awful shame that I'm gonna have to rip them off. Slowly and painfully, too." The Changeling gasped; a look of shock and horror coming upon her youthful face. Tears welled up in her bright green eyes before rolling down her smooth cheeks and falling to the soft grass below her. Steel knew he was doing the right thing. Being upset and pissed off was almost certainly going to lead to Rosine making rash decisions, to making mistakes like a young foal.

"Why would you ever say such a horrible thing?" Rosine screamed angrily as tears continued to stream down her face. "I'll make you eat those words, damn it!" Moving far faster than Steel was anticipating, Rosine barreled towards the warrior; intending to impale him on her horn, and the stallion barely had enough time to twist his head out of the way of the razor-sharp spike. While the horn thankfully didn't hit its mark, the sheer force of her body colliding with Steel's knocked him back several feet. Fuck, why did everything he had been fighting so far try to ram into him? It was starting to get a little repetitive. However, being repetitive didn't stop it from hurting like crazy every time it happened.

As Steel struggled to get back up, he saw the eerie light of the abomination's wings piercing the night sky as she swooped up into the air above him with ease. There must have been something magic about her wings because there was no way Rosine could be so aerodynamic with wings that looked about as thin as a sheet of paper. Heck, Steel was pretty certain that most Pegasi would have severe difficulty controlling themselves as precisely as she was while maintaining the speed she was traveling at. As she dove back downward, ready for another pass, Steel knew he needed to be as mobile as possible. Without a second thought, he released his sword with a shift of his back, which landed on the ground with a firm thud.

And it wasn't a moment too soon because that gave him just enough mobility to dive to the ground as Rosine passed right over his head; close enough to brush against his soft black mane. He needed to find a way to ground his opponent and fast. He didn't know how many more lucky chances he was gonna have before Rosine got a lucky shot and skewered him like a wild boar on a spear. However, her tactics were thankfully very similar to how a young foal would fight. Any decent warrior would use any and all tools available, instead of just reusing the same primitive technique of trying to ram him over and over again. Steel knew that if she knew how to use magic spells, he would have almost certainly been dead.

As Rosine came around for another pass, Steel got an idea. He just needed to gallop straight towards the forest. It wouldn't be that far of a distance, just under thirty seconds if he moved fast enough. As Steel's opponent swooped down for another attack, he slid on his belly; evading his foe once again before immediately getting back up and breaking into a gallop straight for the woods that provided the outskirts of the hive. He didn't even grab his sword, he just starting galloping towards the woods. Thankfully, he was quick enough to reach the outer limits before Rosine spotted him. This was a good spot; lots of branches and thickets everywhere he looked. He watched in amusement as the creature swooped and soared all over the hive, looking desperately for her target in the shadow-covered darkness.

"Tell me, Rosine," Steel said with a cocky smirk tugging at his coarse lips, finally deciding to reveal himself. A quick jerk of her head and those unnaturally luminescent eyes were looking in his direction, though he wasn't totally sure if Rosine saw him yet. He wouldn't blame her if she didn't; it was quite dark out tonight, which was only made worse by the countless branches and leaves around him. Which was fine by Steel, made this a lot easier. "How does it feel to bare the knowledge that you got your worthless ass saved by the cowardly and traitorous Whore Princess of the Moon?"

Naturally, Rosine took the bait and came rushing straight toward Steel. And that was when the scheming stallion began to put his plan into motion. He backstepped and retreated further into the woods, and when Rosine pulled up to avoid hitting any trees, she only wound up worsening her situation. Her wings got caught in the razor-sharp branches that seemed to stretch for as far as the eye could see. It was like a classic hunter's trap; if her wings weren't so large she would have been able to ascend above the tree line without any problems. Steel, for once in his life, felt pity for an opponent as Rosine, in a desperate and futile attempt to escape, tore her wings apart on the branches; screaming and hollering in agony as the same wings she took such pride in were now the cause of her demise. Part of Steel wanted to help her down and finish her off, but she was far too high for him to reach. Rosine was stuck there, and even if she did manage to break free she would probably wind up snapping her neck on the fall back down to the ground. Actually, the more Steel thought about her situation, the less sympathy he felt. She saw ponies as nothing more than food and breeding hosts for her hives and was merely a pawn for a much more horrid force in the universe. Steel was doing the world a favor.

The Changeling's screams, wails, and sobs grew fainter and fainter as Steel turned his back to Rosine and returned to the hive, ready to finally save Black Flag. He couldn't wait to just grab the pony and get out of this damn forest once and for all. He was tired, the constant toils of battle were really beginning to exhaust his body. He stumbled into the breeding chamber, grabbed one of the torches, and began to search the large structure for his comrade. The whole building was rank with the unholy stench of rotting flesh and blood that Steel had spilled not too long ago. Every pony that his flame passed over gazed back at him with the same dead, soulless expression that sent chills down his spine. Thankfully, it didn't take too long to find Black Flag. What Steel wasn't too thankful for was the condition he'd found Black Flag in. He was just like the other ponies; a thousand-yard stare into nothingness and the awful aroma of semen choking the air around him. His belly was engorged as well, just like the...other colt that Steel split in half without mercy. Was he going to have to do the same to Black Flag?

"Come on Black Flag," Steel said lowly as he put down his torch and sliced through the straps that held the unicorn in his restraints, which caused the poor stallion to fall to the floor lifelessly. Steel knew there was no way he would be able to cut through the restraints with his sword; he simply lacked the proper finesse for such a thing. But he was beginning to come to the conclusion that it wouldn't really matter anyway. It was pretty clear that the unicorn and the other captives were all basically vegetables at this point, unable to think for themselves.
Steel picked up the torch off the ground and whirled around, swinging the torch to illuminate the darkness that enshrouded him and hindered his sight. As he looked around, he came to the horrid realization that there was no way he could lead all of these ponies out of this hive. At most, he was able to carry Black Flag out of this damn hive on his back, but would it be worth the trouble? Would it really be worth leaving that Pegasus with a mentally deficient stallion to take care of? Well, he still needed to keep his word and return Black Flag back home safely. After that was done, then maybe Steel could help Red find a nice psychiatric ward for Black Flag, along with a hospital to get those eggs surgically removed from his stomach.

But what was he supposed to do with the rest of the ponies? Steel sat down on the cold hard floor and began to think his decision over. Perhaps he could carry them all out one at a time. No, that would take too much time. Maybe he could go find help? That also wasn't an option; for the same reasons. He didn't even know how he would find his way back here. And what if more Changelings came back to the hive while he was away? There was no way Steel could take on a full hive by himself; he knew that they would quickly overrun him even if he brought some help. Perhaps it would be better to just...ease their pain.

Steel stood up and looked around once again, observing the cold and emotionless expressions of the ponies around him. Yes, maybe he should do that. It might be their only choice for escape. So, the warrior began the slow and painful task of beheading each and every pony. One slash was enough to send their heads rolling across the smooth floor; followed by a geyser of blood spewing from their necks. The crimson fluid matted down his fur like water; a morbid paint upon an organic canvas. By the time he was done, Steel didn't even have the energy to hold his sword anymore. It fell from his mouth with a loud clang and he followed suit; collapsing to the ground in an exhausted heap.

The next morning, Steel stirred awake to the rancid smell of decay. It was potent enough that it made him want to vomit, but he miraculously managed to avoid doing so. Powerful rays of the glorious sunlight poured in through the opening of the structure; bleeding out such a blood-red light as he came to the realization that the sounds around him were just as still and lifeless as the night before. Steel got up and harnessed his sword, slinging it over for the millionth time; a routine that Steel memorized flawlessly. Honestly, he could probably do it in his sleep.

Steel silently made his way to the back of the breeding room; brushing aside countless heads with every step he took. He didn't even notice them. It wasn't that he didn't feel anything or that he didn't care about the lives that he'd ended, he just didn't want to think about them. He carefully picked up Black Flag, slung him over his back like a sack, and began to make his way outside. It was going to be a long journey back home. As he made his way out of the hive, he saw the limp corpse of Rosine lying motionless on the ground; her head twisted almost completely backward. At least she died relatively quickly; especially when the alternative was dehydration or worse, starving to death.
And quite a long journey it was indeed. Steel didn't quite remember the proper way out of the forest, so he just started walking in the opposite direction of the hive's entrance. And with every step, his ears were perked and his eyes were alert; on the watch for anything that might have even resembled those insectoid monsters. He wouldn't let those fucks catch him off-guard again, not when he was so close to being free of this burden. So close, yet so far. He just kept walking and walking for several hours. In fact, by the time the trees finally began to thin out, it was almost dusk once again. Which, at that moment, Steel realized that he wasn't anywhere near the battlefield but instead on the outskirts of that field he and Flag passed through earlier on their travels.

"Well, this was a little unexpected," Steel said with a sigh as he began to make his way towards those familiar ruins. He was just going to sleep there for the night and make the rest of the way back to Red Ink in the morning. Simple as that. He hiked up around the tower until he reached the base of the tarnished structure, and by then the moon was high in the sky. Full, round, and fat. Steel carefully laid the stallion that he'd carried all this way down on the cold ground; hiding him in the shadows and wrapping him in his cloak like a blanket. Next went his sword, which he laid down beside Black Flag before Steel stretched out and began to watch the stars as he waited for sleep to overtake him, which came sooner than he thought it would; under an hour.

However, it was in the middle of the night that Steel felt a form kick against his side. He shot awake; unsure of what in the world could have possibly done that. Was Black Flag finally coming back to his senses? No, there was no way he would be able to move around with such a bloated stomach. Besides, Black Flag probably knew better than to kick Steel; lest he wanted to get a beating that would leave some nasty bruises after Steel was done with him. He looked over to his left and saw a stallion clad in thick armor from his head to his hooves. And while Steel couldn't see the soldier's face in the darkness, the moon was bright enough to reveal the long flowing locks of a mane as white as snow. And Steel was just about to bolt up and give this soldier a proper lesson in etiquette, but it was at that moment he saw the sword's blade pointed right at his throat.

"Where is he?" The soldier said with a voice as cold as ice. No, it wasn't some random soldier; Steel recognized that voice. It was a fuzzy memory, but he remembered. What was Red doing here? And where did he get that armor? Steel knew he'd seen it somewhere in his youth; perhaps on a guard or a...mercenary. No, there was no way that was the same suit of armor. But the polished white steel that seemed to gleam and shine like a mirror's surface was completely unmistakable. Apparently, Steel wasn't answering Red Ink's question quickly enough, so the Pegasus smacked him across the muzzle with the flat end of his blade; which was cold enough to send chills down the warrior's spine, and Red repeated his question once more.

"Black Flag is..." Steel paused for a moment to stand up; using those precious seconds to think of an appropriate phrase that he could use to break the news to Red Ink without coming off as too blunt. Now that he was a bit closer, he could make out the finer details of the Pegasus's face. "Black Flag is alive, but he needs to see a hospital as soon as possible." Steel could immediately see the shock and horror wash over Red Ink like a tidal wave as he processed the terrifying information.

"What did you do?!" Red Ink screamed; his voice cracking under the immense stress. However, that stress and fear quickly shifted to a fit of blind rage and hatred towards the Earth stallion mercenary. "I heard his voice; he told me he was here and needed my help! So you hurry the fuck up and tell me where he is right this second or, Celestia so help me, I'm gonna ram this sword through your guts hilt and all, you worthless sack of shit!"

"Damn it, calm down for a second and listen to me!" Steel screamed, not sure what Red meant by hearing Black Flag's voice. Surely Red must have been going crazy, but how did the Pegasus know Steel would be here? This couldn't have been right, not one bit. There must have been something foul at work, but Steel hadn't the faintest idea of what it could be. Honestly, this whole adventure reeked of something foul and sinister, but this was just the cherry on top. "Black Flag is still alive, but like I said he is gonna need medical attention as soon as possible. Here, I'll show you what I mean."
Steel hurriedly pulled Black Flag, who was thankfully fast asleep and hadn't been awoken by the screaming, out of the shadows still wrapped up in Steel's warm cloak. Red Ink dropped his sword to the ground and bolted over to the unicorn and began to shake the stallion desperately. The unicorn's eyes fluttered open, but they were as empty and clueless as before. The eyes which used to burn so brightly with joy and energy were now as dull and dim as the bleak nothingness of the abyss.

"Black Flag," Red Ink whispered, his voice trembling; barely above a whisper. Steel could see the tears that dampened the Pegasus' cheeks. The poor pony was finally beginning to realize just how hopeless Black Flag's situation was. How sad indeed. "Come on Black Flag, wake up. It's me, Red Ink! Come on Flag, come on! Please wake up! Chatter on about something, please do something to tell me you're okay and that this isn't some horrible nightmare!"

But alas, there wasn't a peep from the brain-dead unicorn. He just stared vacantly at his friend, seeming to not even notice that he was there in the first place. A line of drool began to drag down his chin; marring his fur before dropping off to the ground below without even the faintest sound. All was quiet for a few moments before the Pegasus slowly turned his head to lock gazes with Shattering Steel. He stood up, grabbed his sword, and uttered five words.

"I'm going to kill you!" The Pegasus roared before he broke into a charge straight for Steel, his blade aimed right at the Earth stallion's chest. Thankfully, Steel managed to roll to the side in time and evade the blow, which was lucky for him or else his life would have come to a rather painful end. Red Ink managed to stop in time, and kept from falling to his doom. He stopped there, and stared down at the shadowy ground below, before turning around to face Shattering Steel.

"So tired," Red Ink murmured quietly. "I am just so tired. Everything has been for naught," With these words, Red Ink began to fall backward and he went tumbling over the edge of the hill before plummeting down to the earth far below. Steel raced to the edge and watched in horror as Red didn't even try to break his fall with his wings, ending the descent with an audible snap as his neck was broken upon impact due to both the fall and the weight of Red's armor dragging him down, which even despite his experience in warfare still made Steel cringe in pain from the sound alone. What didn't help was the sight of Red Ink's neck twisted so unnaturally.

But just as Steel was about to descend the hill to retrieve the corpse, he began to hear laughter. Horrible and hollow fits of laughter coming from the bottom of the fill. He immediately turned around and looked down towards the earth below just in time to see Red Ink stand back up; his neck seeming to twist back into place with those horrid snapping sounds continuing with each movement. What in the name of Celestia was going on?

"I must thank you Steel," The reanimated carcass said as it flew into the air; bones shaking lifelessly even as it moved around. It clearly wasn't Red Ink talking through that body. Steel's first guess was an angry spirit, but even that didn't make sense. A possessed body usually didn't retain the ability to speak. What was he dealing with? "It took me such a long time to finally gain a body once again, but I have finally done it!"
"Who or what are you?" Steel growled like an enraged hound, ready to grab his sword and fight back at a moment's notice. In the light of the pale moon above them, which seemed to burn with an unnatural luminosity, Steel could see a pair of glowing yellow eyes behind that white helmet. No, this wasn't just some spirit who died in the field of battle. It was something far more sinister than that. But what could it possibly be?

"My name is Rising Sun," The mysterious entity said with a smile as it seemed to stare directly into Shattering Steel's soul. "I rejected my mortality for a new chance at life granted to me by the generosity of Nightmare Moon, and I shall return her blessing in exchange for playing my part to returning her to her throne and give her former glory back to her in kind. At last, this grand continent will be back to the ways of old, before regulation and laws took hold of everything! When Celestia is finally dead, the history books shall call me one of the greatest anarchists of our time."

"Anarchist? A fucking anarchist?" Steel gasped, having to try his very hardest to keep from begin bursting into a fit of hysterics. That was one of the best jokes he'd heard in a very long time. "An anarchist that wants to "fix" our land is to kill the current ruler...and replace her with another, even shittier ruler? Give me a break. If you're an anarchist, then the sky is yellow, the grass is orange, and the world has literally just turned upside down and we are currently rocketing towards space. And, dare tell, how many ponies did you sacrifice in exchange for coming back?"

"Tell me, do you know how many individual strands are in that hideous mane of yours? The amount would probably be a little bit larger than that," Rising Sun said, his smug tone pissing Steel off even more than the bastard already was.

"You know something, you worthless sack of shit and maggots?" Steel retorted, his voice burning with rage and hatred. "You are nothing but scum. Cowardly, repulsive scum that will be forgotten within a few generations. I promise you this: Your death will not be a merciful one. I swear on my life that you are going to suffer."

"Gah, how dare you insult me? I'll cut you to ribbons and use your blood to summon the Princess of the Night for saying that," Rising Sun screamed, clearly not very amused by the stallion's jest. It was almost like the behavior of a young foal who wasn't getting what he wanted. The Pegasus dove back to the ground to retrieve his sword, while Steel grabbed his own sword, ready to cleave that bastard in two. If snapping his neck didn't kill him, maybe a hunk of iron through his skull would. Honestly, it was beginning to make sense why Red Ink said he heard the voice of Black Flag. Spirits and the like could be crafty tricksters, so imitating a voice probably wouldn't have been that hard for a supernatural force like that.

But what Steel saw coming back up the side of the mountain wasn't Red Ink's body but merely a blur of white streaking up the sky before barreling straight for Steel. Fuck, that couldn't be good. Not wanting to get impaled by that broadsword Red carried with him even to his death, Steel dropped his sword and rolled out of the way to evade the strike. Where did that bastard get so much speed? Fuck, he must have been wearing some kind of magic armor. He needed to find a way around this problem and he needed to come up with it fast.

That blur of speed didn't hesitate for even a second, having not even a hint of a warrior's honor running through Rising Sun's veins. As Steel was getting up, the stallion rammed into him with full force. The sudden impact of the metal armor against Steel's ribs was enough to crack those poor bones, eliciting a loud roar of pain as agony washed over the stallion. He rolled for several feet before coming to a stop mere inches away from the edge of the hill.

"You cannot defeat somepony as perfect as I! Fighting me is useless! Useless useless useless useless useless!" As he heard these words, Steel staggered and slowly stood up, getting only a moment of relief before he saw the blur coming for him once again, aiming right for Steel's skull. He knew he didn't have the time to dodge this one. Was this the end for him? Just as the blade was about to pierce his flesh and put an end to this duel, Steel turned his head away to try and minimize the damage. A roaring fire of agony and pain shot through him as the blade was shoved through his cheeks, but he was still alive. However, that gave Steel an idea. He sank his teeth into the sword's blade as hard as he could, locking it in place.
Steel could feel blood pouring from his wounds into his mouth, but he didn't care. He kept that blade held firmly in place firmly enough that no matter how his opponent squirmed and yanked on the sword it wasn't going to budge. Now, it was time for phase two of his little plan. Steel yanked his head forward, which threw his foe off-balance and sent him tumbling to the hard cobblestone floor. Now it was time to put an end to this mess.

The large stallion, with the blade still jammed in his cheeks, lunged on top of the Pegasus before he had a chance to get back up, and placed his hooves on either side of his opponent's head. And that was when he began to pull. The stallion below him began to scream and beg for him to stop, to show mercy upon him, but Shattering Steel wasn't having any of that. It wasn't like the body that this piece of worthless shit had possessed could feel the pain. Nope, only the spirit inside of Red Ink's body would feel the flesh being ripped apart. And as such, those screams of pain, along with the sounds of tearing muscle and skin, fell on deaf ears until they finally stopped with one final shrieking wryyyyyyy that was put to a sudden stop when the head was ripped from the Pegasus's body. The neck was torn and bloody, but the battle was finally over. Stee looked in the eyes of the deceased stallion and no longer saw those uncanny yellow eyes burning under that helmet. Only the soft blue orbs of Black Flag's friend. Maybe at last he would be at peace. Steel carefully put down the decapitated head, before carefully pulling the blade out of his mouth and chucking it over the side of the tower; only satisfied once he heard it smacking against cobblestone.

Steel knew he didn't have any time to rest. He slung his sword over his back and grabbed Black Flag once more, hoisting him on his back. Now they both needed a trip to the hospital. At least the unicorn would have some company.