Sergeant Dean felt as if a pit was developing in his stomach. He had eaten a vegetarian lunch earlier in the day, but now he was just feeling empty. His heavy footsteps rose and fell as he quickly jogged through the next piece of farmland. With his augmentations, the exo-suit, and his training, he was certain that he could keep this pace for hours on end. The only thing he didn't know was how far Ravenford was from Maritime Bay, he hadn't given Twilight a chance to tell him. At least he knew which direction to run.

Dean's thoughts were quickly interrupted when a black shape sped past over his head. Dean immediately skidded to a halt and unholstered his pistol, training the iron sights on the long figure standing in the shadows. After a second of pause, two eyes opened the being walked forward. Dean dropped his pistol to his side and gave a grumble of annoyance.

"You know, you really shouldn't surprise a hyper lethal soldier like that, Midnight." The shadow merely chuckled and stepped forward, revealing the Midnight black pegasus. The clink of metal and wood suddenly clinked together, causing Dean to look behind the Pegasus.

"I figured the hyper lethal soldier would need a ride if he were to get to Ravenford on time. I am your personal chauffeur, outfitted with the sleekest chariot in the Resistance." Shadow said as Dean stepped up to him, examining the wooden chariot.

"You sure it will hold my weight? I'm not exactly light." Dean took a cautious step onto the chariot and winced when it groaned beneath him.

"Yep, it's got a strength and stealth enchantment on it. It will hold you and make us virtually invisible to the Elves sky trackers. The Unicorn who accomplished the feat had a heart attack from to much mana exposure, so we only made one." Midnight slowly turned the chariot around and began to trot forward. "I suggest you hold on, Sergeant."

'The Elves have radar? Things just got more difficult.'

Without warning, the chariot suddenly lurched forward, causing Dean to lose balance. His hand shot out and grabbed the iron railing in a death grip.

'I forgot, I hate heights!'

After several seconds of Dean trying to control his breathing, Midnight looked back.

"Not a fan of flying?" He smirked as Dean violently shook his head.

"At least I couldn't feel the wind back home when I was in the air. This thing is downright dangerous!" Dean looked behind him at the awning drop into the forest. The chariot wasn't all that high up, probably due to the Elves 'radar,' but to Dean it seemed like a thousand meter drop. He got a sense of vertigo just by looking down.

"Humans can fly? I didn't see any wings on you when you came here, does that mean there are different types of humans?" Midnight adjusted his course ever so slightly before giving another mighty flap of his wings. The chariot leaped forward and Dean was forced to crouch down.

"Yes and no, Humans aren't physically capable of flying, so we used technology to do it!" Dean had to yell over the wind.

"Cool! Look, I'm gonna increase my speed here. If you stay seated, we will reach Ravenford in three hours. We have to avoid the sky trackers!" Midnight looked behind him and Dean gave him a thumbs up. The black Pegasus nodded his head before lowering his head and tucking in his legs. Dean took that as his cue to duck down and was just able to get behind the barrier before the chariot accelerated to impossible speeds. Dean silently praised the Pegasus for moving with haste; now all he had to deal with was making a plan and trying not to fall out of the chariot.

The device in question suddenly bumped lightly and Dean flinched.

'This is gonna be a long three hours.'

*****

Snap!

Dean winced as his foot landed upon another branch, his foot dampeners not being able to reduce the pressure enough to avoid the branch. He noticed Midnight Flow look over at him questioningly but Dean shot him a glare.

Lights danced through the forest from somewhere up ahead; an ominous feeling crept into the minds of the two rescuers as they worked their way towards the city. A light fog was building on the ground, lightly concealing their positions from any prying eyes. It was roughly four o'clock in the morning according to the Sergeant's HUD. Dean reckoned the Elves wouldn't set up sentries, having assumed they won the war. That's two things the Dark Elves had done wrong.

Dean suddenly held up his fist, signalling Midnight to stop. When the quiet hoof steps continued, Dean snapped his fingers. Midnight stopped and was instantly alert, causing Dean to roll his eyes in agitation. The Pegasus looked at Dean as he quietly moved to his side.

"You know the plan?" His whisper seemed to carry through the forest, causing them both to wince lightly. Midnight nodded his head.

"Get the kid, bring him back to camp. You lead the inhabitants of the city into the forest while I wait for you. If something goes wrong, fire this flare thingy into the air somewhere away from the rendezvous." Midnight held up the neon red flare with his wing tips. Dean nodded before glancing at his eye piece once more. The time read four thirty.

"Let's move out."

The two continued to walk and the fog continued to creep. Shadows seemed to dance every time one of them moved past a tree or a branch swayed in the wind. A chill raced up Deans spine as he shouldered his rifle and pointed it ahead of him.

After several minutes, the two finally exited the forest. The sight before the Sergeant nearly took his breath away, and not in a good way.

The buildings were laid out sporadically, seemingly without plan. Most where close to two or three stories tall and were made of wood and thatch. It was as if the world Dean was in had jumped back several centuries. All he needed was a Flux Capacitor and he would be all set!

"We need to find the big white house with the pumpkin patch. Take to the air and tell me what you see." Dean waited as Midnight rocketed upwards. His watch was reading close to five, meaning the sun would come up soon. They needed to get this done, quick!

"About one hundred meters, East." Dean jumped when Midnight suddenly appeared by his side. He gave the Pegasus a stink eye before moving in the direction provided, Midnight following beside him. Dean took three steps... then swiftly grabbed Midnight around the barrel and tucked into a shadow as two Elven guards unexpectedly walked around the corner of a house. Dean felt his heart rise into his throat as the clink of armour drew closer to their little hiding spot. His rifle was tucked against his chest with one hand while the other gripped around his combat knife. He forced himself to lower his breathing as the two guards slowly passed by their hiding spot.

"Hold on a sec' Marv, I gotta piss." Dean nearly groaned in irritation as he slowly placed Midnight on the ground. The one named Marv did it for him.

"Seriously? What in the bloody Tartarus did you drink? We have rounds to ma-did you hear that?"

The Dark Elf would get no chance to hear anything else as Dean drew both his pistol and his knife, plunging the latter into Marv's neck while placing the pistol against the other Elves head and squeezing the trigger. The prototype silencer did it's job wonderfully as nothing but a quiet snap sounded. Dean did wince though when blood splattered across the ground in front of him. Both Elves fell face first onto the ground at the same time, blood slowly seeping into the grass. Dean extracted his knife and holstered his weapons, his face a mask of neutrality. He felt rather than saw Midnight's shock and reckoned he would get his ears talked off once more when they got back.

The two reached the white house without a hitch, so Dean enacted the next step in his plan.

"Hey kid, you there?" He whispered into the walkie talkie as he and Midnight approached the basement window. He noticed that the rest of the house was boarded off and looked very rundown. Whoever had owned the place stopped caring for it a while ago.

"Y-Yeah, I'm here Mr. Dean. I don't know how long I can talk, there are Dark Elves upstairs." Dean stood up straight and peered through a crack in a nearby window. He was able to make out a kitchen table and a set of stairs just outside an archway. He pulled back when a figure draped in shadow suddenly crossed from one side of the arch to the other. Dean slowly reached for his walkie talkie.

"I'm outside the basement window kid, I'm here to get you to safety." Dean let go of the button and looked at Midnight. The Pegasus was analyzing his surroundings with a keen eye. Good.

"O-Okay Mr. Dean. I'll be right there."

After a few seconds, Dean's advanced hearing picked up the sound of light hoofsteps from below him, causing him to look down. A little brown Unicorn foal stared up at him through the window in awe. His mouth moved, but Dean didn't here what the little pony had said.

The Sergeant knelt down and placed his hands against the window pane before pointing towards the locking mechanism. The pony nodded his head in understanding before squeezing his eyes in concentration. The lock was to high to reach. Dean watched in amazement as the pony's horn glowed a dull brown. A second later, the lock glowed the same colour and slowly unlocked. A click sounded and Dean was able to move the glass pane to the side.

"Are you Mr. Dean?" The little unicorn whispered up at him. Dean nodded and smiled down at the pony, causing him to smile back. Dean lay upon his stomach and reached his hands through the now open window way. It seemed to him that the Unicorn would be able to fit through relatively easy. The only problem now was the height.

The little unicorn below him seemed to realize this as well and made his horn glow again. This time, a few paint cans drifted into view and where set down upon each other below the window. The pony then proceeded to clamber to the top of his little tower and balance on two legs. Their limbs were centimeters apart, Deans fingers brushing the unicorns hoof tips.

Then disaster struck.

The paint can tower became unbalanced and teetered, threatening to topple over with the pony in tow. The unicorns eyes widened as he flung his hooves wildly into the air. Just as the tower fell, Dean lunged his upper body through the window and latched onto the unicorns foreleg, causing the window to spiderweb, but remain together.

The same couldn't be said for the paint cans. The tower fell to the hard floor and created a racket loud enough to wake the dead. At least, that's how it seemed.

Dean heard Midnight jump from the loud noise and take off into the air, no doubt looking for any Elves coming to investigate. Footsteps thumped from the basement stairway and an almighty crack echoed through the darkness. The Elves were coming into the basement. Dean began to haul the little unicorn through the window; the poor things eyes were wide and his body shivered in fear.

"Hurry Mr. Dean, the Elves are coming!" The terrified unicorn squeaked weakly from below. Dean scooched backwards when footsteps began pounding down the stairs. He had seconds.

Three Dark Elves clad in forest green capes and holding longbows jumped down the last few steps and spread out across the basement. Their eyes searched every nook and cranny as they used their magic to find hidden shelters. One Elf noticed the paint cans laying on the floor and a window wide open.

"Seems we have a runner, should we pursue?"

"No, they won't survive out in the forest on their lonesome. There have been sightings of Manticore as of late. We already have the city population rounded up, no need to chase ghosts." The Elf analyzing the window peered around once more, the scowl decorating his face being hidden by his cowl.

"Report back to the Baron. Executions begin in a few hours." The Elf looked out the window one more time before sharply turning, his cloak billowing behind him. As he moved, his whole body seemed to meld with the shadows as he and his buddies moved back upstairs. Their wraith like forms disappeared completely, and the house was quiet once more.

*****

"Mr. Dean, where are we going? We still have to help the other ponies." Dean carried the little Unicorn in his arms as he and Midnight double timed it through the forest. His heart rate was finally winding down after the dangerously close encounter with the Elves for the second time. Dean cursed himself, the mission needed to be done with stealth. It was his mission to get every single pony out, and he would be damned if he didn't accomplish it.

"Were going back to our little camp where you will be safe! Midnight will look after you while I get your friends and family. Once I help them out as well, we are all going to go back to Maritime Bay and throw a party! How does that sound?" The foal giggled happily at Deans suggestion, causing him to smile.

"I love the sound of that, Mr. Dean! I wonder if we will get a big cake?" Dean glanced over and saw a dreamy look on the Unicorns face.

"What's your name, kid?"

The unicorn snapped out of his daydream and smiled a happy smile. "I'm Brown Ink, though my friends call me Brownie."

Dean nodded his head in response. They were almost to the chariot, then he would be able to move onto the next stage of his plan. The sky was relatively dark still, though Dean could feel more than see a bit of light appearing on the horizon. He had an hour at best to get the towns-people out and into the forest. If they were to succeed, Midnight would fly back to the Resistance and grab more chariots. It wasn't fool proof, but he didn't exactly have a lot of time to work on something better.

"Alright, Brownie. You are going to stay here and follow Midnight's instructions from now on." Dean set the little unicorn down beside the chariot before turning to leave. He stopped, however, when a fuzzy body suddenly wrapped around his leg in a hug.

"B-bring them back for me, okay Mr. Dean? I-I want to see my m-mommy and d-daddy again." He heard the unicorn sniffle and his face fell. Dean couldn't outright make such a promise, but he could give some reassurance.

"I'll do my best to get them back to you, okay? I'll make sure you see your parents again." Dean saw Brownie look up into his eyes. He saw hope, sadness, fear, and trust. The unicorn trusted him.

"Go with Midnight, Brownie. I'll be back with everyone soon. Including your parents."

After a second, Dean felt the pressure on his leg release. He looked at Midnight, nodded once, and began to run back towards town. The fog continued to seep around him as he flashed through the forest. It was already starting to grow a bit brighter out and he had no doubt that the Dark Elves would be waking up soon. He speculated that an execution would be like a day off for them, so he had a bit of time.

Dean's slowed upon reaching the outskirts of the forest once more, but instead of heading off to the East, he kept going forward. He was approaching a long pathway that seemed to lead towards the towns center, but he couldn't be sure.

His foot dampeners worked wonders as he jogged lightly down the road, being sure to stay in the shadows. He hoped that his bipedal nature would give the Elves the assumption that he was one of them. But the second they got a good look at his armour and weaponry, it was over.

After several minutes of walking through the silent streets, the pathway began to widen out. He recognized the beginnings of the market area and began to analyze above him as well as in front of him. His precautions paid off as he spotted Dark Elven guards standing upon raised upon raised platforms staring towards the market center. Dean followed their gaze and his eyes widened.

A massive pen was set up with metal chain link fences. The fences stood around seven feet tall and were topped with something similar to barbed wire, though Dean wasn't to sure. It was more the occupants inside that got his attention.

The ponies were in all sorts of uncomfortable positions. Laying down, leaning against each other, sitting in place... and the worst part was the smell. Dean noticed there wasn't a lot of room in the enclosure that was housing some two hundred ponies and put two and two together. His nose wrinkled in disgust, so he kept moving.

Dean raised his rifle towards the first tower and sighted a Dark Elven guard, making sure the semi-automatic option was selected. There were four towers in total and one Elf per tower. Another five guards stood around a fire near the pen's entrance. Dean smirked as the Elves head was aligned with the reticle of his scope. This was going to be the easy part. He breathed once, closed one eye, and pulled the trigger....

****

Crackpot was a middle aged unicorn and had seen a lot in his life. He had grown up in Ponyville and worked for a few years as a demolition expert. After a few years, he moved out to Ravenford, it being near the coast and all. He raised enough money to retire early and enjoy the rest of his life with his wife and kid, one of which he would likely never see again. His eyes drifted across the sea of ponies as he sat with his back to the fence. His wife lay curled up beside him, sleeping.

A crying filly suddenly walked in front of him, her volume piercing the morning air. Crackpot sighed and closed his eyes; he knew what was about to happen.

"Hey, you! Shut the fuck up!" One of the Elven guards clanged his spear against the fence, causing the filly to jump. Crackpot prayed she would stay silent, he prayed and prayed, his teeth gritting in anticipation. The filly did not stop sobbing.

Pew!

Any noise that was originally floating through the air stopped in an instant. All the air seemed to be sucked from the lungs of the ponies present. Crackpot, against his better judgement, opened his eyes. They dropped at what they saw.

The little filly, a turquoise Earth Pony, was laying on the ground, her torso smoking from a hole in her chest. The Elven guard responsible lowered his spear back to his side. Crackpot sighed, then blinked.

'What was that?'

Crackpot quickly rubbed his eyes as he stared off into the darkness. It had looked like a shadow had just bolted between two guard towers. His eyes drifted upwards, but he saw no guards.

'How odd.'

"Serves her right." The Elf stared into the crowd, his keen eyes analyzing every detail. His ears twitched slightly from the breeze.

Crackpot nearly fell over when the other four guards, who had been minding their business by the fire, suddenly collapsed. Their forms crumpling forward onto the ground. Crackpot's jaw hung open as his eyes widened. Something was very wrong.

"You, pony. What the fuck are you looking at, huh?" Crackpot slammed his mouth shut when he realized he was being spoken too. His gaze had been relatively close to the Elf at the fence, so he must've taken it as being stared at. "Do I need to teach you a lesson?" Crackpot violently shook his head, but his ears splayed back when a wraith seemed to rise from the ground a few feet behind the Elf. He couldn't voice his words, he couldn't move.

"Hey! I said do I- Grk!" The Elf was cut off as a shining, serrated knife pierced through the back of his neck, exiting out his throat. The Elves arms flailed helplessly for a second as he tried to reach for the blade, but it was for naught. A wet choking started to gurgle across the pen. The knife was ripped from the Elves throat, causing blood to spray out. The figure let the Elven corpse fall to the ground beside him.

By now, quite a few ponies had noticed what was going on. Their expressions where relatively similar to Crackpot's.

He watched as the figure, who he could now see had one dull green eye and was covered in metal, rushed towards the entryway and kicked it open. The lock gave away like it was made of butter, causing the ponies closest to the entrance to back away. With the ponies backing up, the body of the little filly lay by its lonesome on the ground, the hole in her chest still smoking. He heard someone cry out as the figure knelt down and pressed a hand against the fillies neck. he then proceeded to flip the corpse over and lean down.

'By Faust, it's going to eat the body!'

Crackpot, and many others, looked away from the gruesome display before them. Their bodies and minds told them to get as far away from the danger as possible. Crackpot got the surprise of his life a few moments later.

"Common kid, common!" The monster talked in perfect Equish, causing many to focus on it once more. Crackpot himself turned his head and stared as the creature seemed to be leaning over top of the filly, his arms pressing down rapidly on her chest. He also saw a small canister of some sort laying on the round beside them along with a large metal stick.

"W-what is it doing to Lucy?" A pony who crackpot assumed to be a parent stepped closer to examine the creature as it worked. She backed up however when the creature suddenly leaned down towards Lucy's face and placed his mouth on hers for about two seconds. He then sat back up and continued on what he was doing.

The whole town watched as the creature continued on for a few minutes, doing some sort of ritual on the little filly. Crackpot noticed that it was starting to slow down ever so slightly. What was it doing.

Everypony gasped when the filly suddenly started to cough and splutter. The creature rolled Lucy onto her side as a mixture of blood and stomach fluid poured out of her mouth. Nopony moved, nopony breathed.

When Lucy stopped hacking, the creature carefully picked up the little filly and placed her over his shoulder. He then stepped forward and raised his head, a collective gasp rang about the crowd.

Crackpot, and everypony else, were staring at the Demon in Metal.

*****

It had been close, to close for Dean's comfort. He didn't know much about pony anatomy, but he had to try. If the beam had missed any major arteries or organs, he had a chance of saving her. He looked at the little filly who was unconscious in his arms. The BAI foam had done its job wonderfully, cleaning the wound and mending certain tissues. The pony had stopped breathing at some point, so he had started CPR. Near the end, he had begun to lose hope, but the filly had miraculously pulled through. She would need surgery, but she would be okay.

Dean turned his head and regard the massive crowd of ponies before him. All of them were staring at him with various emotions. He hoped his new status as Demon of Metal would have spread this far in the country. If not, hisn job would get a lot harder.

"Demon of Metal."

"It's that Demon!"

The whispers inspired some hope that he was indeed recognized, so he stepped forward and made his announcement.

"Come with me if you want to live." Dean winced; that was to cliche. He then turned and began to walk away and at first nopony followed. But then an older looking pony, probably close to a senior, got off his behind and began walking after him. Then two more, then ten, then fifty, then the whole town.

Dean hoped that they would try to minimize the noise. It was a very high chance they would be caught within the next few minutes, and if that was the case, he was counting on speed and the unpreparedness of the Elves to work in his advantage. Once they got close to the edge of town, they would be able to sprint to the forest. Dean looked down as a pony tapped the back of his leg.

"M-Mr. Demon, may I h-have my d-daughter back?" Dean saw a unicorn mare and a Earth Pony stallion walking behind him. Both seemed deathly afraid of him, but he admired their courage in coming to ask him directly.

"Sure thing ma'm." Dean whispered back. He carefully lifted the filly off and held her near his waist. The unicorn mare grabbed the little filly in her magic. With the pony out of his grip, he was able to shift his SCAR into both hands. He kept the weapon trained forward as his eyes moved around the street.

They nearly made it to the edge of town.

A door about fifty feet away opened up with a groan. Several gasps went out among the ponies as a burly Elven male strutted out the door, a lantern in his right hand.

"What the hell? I swear I heard a pony out here a few-"

Dean didn't give the man a chance to turn around and face them.

Three shots fired, three holes appeared in his chest. He was dead before he hit the ground. Dean breathed a sigh of relief and began to move forward again. They made it ten feet before a females horrified scream pierced the air. It came from the house in front of them.

Dean looked back at the ponies, they looked back at him.

"RUN!"