The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemies.
Napoleon Bonaparte

Matt had slept like a rock. After the events of the past week, the small hotel bed felt like the best he'd slept on in years, putting to shame the bunks in the Braxis barracks or the racks on ship. He woke up sore from head to toe, but at least felt like he could finally think straight.

Wincing, he pulled himself out of bed and stood, hissing with pain as his head hit the low ceiling. He slowly pulled on the black body glove worn under his armor and pulled up the zipper along the left side of his body. Rather than bringing it all the way up to his collar, he let it rest near his shoulder, letting the flap of the right side hang over his chest to breathe.

Fully dressed, he set about cleaning his weapons and armor. They were caked with dust from the desert, mountains and plains. Matt was amazed his rifle could still emit the laser through all the grime. His armor hadn't fared much better; if he hadn't known it was supposed be a dark charcoal gray, he'd have thought it was ceramic-coated flat dark earth.

He'd finished cleaning his weapon and was busy on his armor when he heard a knock on the door.

"Sergeant? It's Dorylus."

"Come on in, door's open."

She entered, closing the door behind her as she trotted up to Matt.

"Sleep well?" he asked.

"As well as I could. Not as well as Stuart by the sounds of it."

Matt chuckled. Stuart snored like a chainsaw ever since he'd broken his nose during boot camp.

"Heh. Yeah, that sounds about right." He looked up from the half-cleaned breastplate in his lap. "Anyway, what's up? They serving chow yet downstairs?"

"They only started a few minutes ago, I think. I don't know, I just... wanted to talk, I guess. You know, now that we're not fighting for our lives at the moment."

"Oh? Anything in particular?"

"I just... want to think about something besides the Zerg, the war and all that."

"Fair enough, I guess, but I should warn you that I've basically been in the military my entire adult life."

She hopped up onto the bed and sat down next to him as Matt continued cleaning. "Well, what about before that then? You had to have been a hatchling at some point."

Matt blinked. "A what?"

Dorylus facepalmed - facehoofed? - and amended, "A child, I mean. Changeling term."

"Gotcha. Not much to say, just a cactus farmer from Mar Sara."

She raised an eyebrow. "You farmed cacti?"

"Prickly pear, to be exact. It's one of the few things you can get grow on Mar Sara without a greenhouse or hydroponics. Most of the planet is desert. Even the more habitable regions look like this place. 'Bout as populated too; it's one of the fringe worlds so there's only a couple hundred thousand people on the whole planet."

"That sounds... unpleasant. Why would anyone want to settle there?"

"You'd be surprised what we Terrans are willing to tolerate. Habitable worlds in the sector are few and far between, and we never really lost the pioneer spirit. That, and a lot of the people who live out there do so to get away from the central government."

"I see. Did you like it there?"

"Loved it. Most towns only have a couple thousand at most, so almost everyone knows each other, or someone else who does."

"Sounds a lot like my hive, actually," Dorylus said with a wistful smile. "Granted, I guess it was a bit different for me, being the heir to the throne."

"I take it you don't have any siblings then? No jealous half-sisters that want to stab you in the back?"

She laughed. "No, nothing like that. Though my mother would occasionally joke about wedding me off to another hive when I didn't behave. At least I think she was joking. What about you?"

"Heh. Oh yeah. Big family. Eight kids, me being right in the middle."

"Eight?" she sputtered. "And here I thought pony herds were big! Is that normal?"

"Not historically, no, but after the Great Wars the Emperor started encouraging families to have as many children as possible to get our population back up. They cut our numbers almost in half by the time we won."

She sighed. "There we go again, back to the war. Does everything in the Dominion revolve around it?"

"In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war," Matt quipped in a dramatic voice.

She deadpanned and slapped the back of his head, earning a laugh from the Terran.

"But seriously though, it was the defining event of the century. You can't blame us for having it live rent-free in our heads."

"I suppose... There must be more to your civilization though, right?"

"Well, yeah! Once this is all over I'll take you to Augustgrad on Korhal, show you some real Terran culture."

"Oh ho! If I didn't know any better, Matt, I'd say that sounded like a date proposal."

Matt's eyes shot wide as he realized what he just said. His face suddenly felt on fire as he buried it in his hands.

"... If you tell Stu what I just said, I'll fucking kill myself and then you two."

"Tsk tsk. Promises, promises."

"Whatever." He went back to scrubbing his armor with vigor. "You know, I just realized that's the first time you've called me by my first name."

"Well, I figured it's only fair since you keep calling me 'Dory.' I am a queen, after all, Sergeant." She gave her membranous mane a dramatic flick in emphasis.

Matt let out an amused snort. "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say your majesty."

They laughed and continued talking until Matt had finished cleaning all of his equipment. Once done he stacked everything neatly next to his ruck in the corner of the room.

"Welp, might as well go downstairs and get some chow, see if the boys are up yet."

"Oh! Before we go, let me give you the translation spell again. Can't always be at your side, can I?"

"What, already sick of me?"

"You'll note that I haven't turned down your offer yet. Now hush and hold still." Matt felt the same tingling in his ears and throat as before as Dorylus worked her magic. "There. Now we can go."

Locking the room door behind them, they walked downstairs into the main floor of the saloon. To their surprise, it was completely packed with ponies, buffalo, and undisguised changelings, all talking and laughing with each other.

"Huh. Looks like your hive's disguise technique worked out well in the long run."

"So it would seem. I have to admit, I didn't expect the ponies would warm up to them so quickly."

"'They enemy of my enemy is my friend,' I guess." Matt leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "No offense, but I can't tell any of them apart from each other."

Dorylus giggled at that. "Don't worry, if you're not a changeling yourself it's pretty difficult."

With a quick scan of the room, Matt spied the rest of the troopers sitting at the bar, surrounded by a throng of Equestrians, changelings included. Curiously, they all seemed to be speaking as if they could understand each other.

The other changelings must have cast that spell on them. Dory did say they all knew it, after all.

Matt's ears were assaulted by the sound of John strumming on an acoustic guitar he'd gotten from... somewhere and singing a song, to which the entire saloon was joining in on the last verse.

"The war's already over so let's go home,
I can't wait to go on leave so I can geeet stoned!"

Oh Sweet Mother Mercy, he's singing that song?

As he finished, John passed the guitar to a pony with, amusingly, the image of a guitar on her flank.

How the hell would something without fingers play the guitar? Whatever, I probably dont want to know.

"There he is, our fearless leader!" John shouted, eliciting a thunderous cheer from the saloon, and tossed a pair of beer bottles over their heads in Matt and Dorylus' direction. "Don't worry, it's non-alcoholic."

He couldn't read the label, but Matt easily identified the scenery of an apple orchard.

"Of course it would be apple cider..." Dorylus said with an amused grin, and popped the cap off with her green magic and proceeded to drink. After a moment she looked at Matt, who was staring dumbly at the cap. "Here, let me get that for you," she said and popped his off.

Taking a hesitant sip, Matt nearly choked on how sweet it was.

"Cough cough. Is this real sugar?"

"Of course it is! You don't have it in the Dominion?"

"We do, but it's fucking expensive on Mar Sara. And who would buy it when the synthetic stuff tastes 'just as good'?"

"Not sure a world without sugar is one I'd want to live in," she teased.

"Any more than living in constant exile?"

"Touche."

They worked their way through the crowd towards the bar. Once there they found a pair of open stools and plates piled high with steaming breakfast foods. Despite the warm welcome, Matt felt guilty about the idea of eating it when the town was fearing for its life.

John's words from last night rang in his head. "Folks need heroes. To give 'em hope."

Matt turned to the troopers as he sat down. "Getting acquainted with the locals, eh boys?"

"Well, I'm not much of a country boy," Stuart said. "Buuut I wouldn't mind coming back here when all's said and done."

"I know you ain't chasing tail already, Stu."

"'When in Rome'," he said with a wink. "Don't worry, I'll save some for you. But somethin' tells me that won't be an issue, right, Dory?"

Matt choked and coughed on his cider, unable to deliver a retort. The troopers all laughed as he struggled to catch his breath, finally managing a strained "Fuck you."

They ate their breakfast and chatted with the locals, finally able to relax after the trials of the past week. When they were finished, Matt checked his watch; it read 0750.

"Alright boys," he said, standing up. "Make sure your kit's clean and ready to go. We'll meet up outside the sheriff's office at zero nine with all our gear and see how we can help out for the time being, maybe see about arranging transport to Canterlot."

"Maybe something got stuck in translation, but can I point out how weird that pun is?" Mike remarked.

"Mike, with all the weird shit I've seen so far, I'm trying not to think too hard on it. I don't need a fucking aneurysm on top of the Zerg."

"Alright, first things first, where are the Zerg actually coming from?" Matt asked the Sheriff once the troopers and Dorylus were fully assembled.

Sheriff Silverstar pointed to the plains north of Appleloosa. "From this direction, though unfortunately we've no idea where exactly."

Matt sighed and pulled his hand down his face. "Well, it's a data point at least. Should be enough to work with as far as defense goes." But damn, what I'd give for some bunkers and siege tanks right about now. "How much dynamite do you have left?"

"A couple barrels. Thank Celestia for the mining company that moved in a few months back, otherwise we'd really be in trouble."

Mining company? A grin split across Matt's face as an idea formed in his head. "They wouldn't happen to still have any wire and detonators left over, would they?"

"I can go check, but they should, why?"

"We're gonna set up a minefield. Have them wire as much dynamite as they can together and bury them spread out just under the surface on that northern approach. If they can pile rocks and shit on them for extra shrapnel, even better. If the Zerg attack again, we'll wait for them to get right on top, then boom!"

"Hell yeah," Stuart said with a loopy grin. "Gonna light 'em up like the jungle scene in Spidermines IV."

"Hoo-fuckin'-rah," John said, fist-bumping a grinning Mike.

Silverstar blanched, clearly nervous of the Terrans' childlike glee when it came to devising improvised weapons. Still, he nodded in approval. "I'll see what I can do. Wouldn't be surprised if their foremare had a similar idea. She's been pretty upset with how we've been using them so far."

"Good. Let's make it happen," said Matt. "Any word on reinforcements?"

"Telegram came in last night from Canterlot. They've got a whole company of royal guards on the way. Should arrive this afternoon."

"Nice. Just need to hold out until then." Wonder what Dad would have to say. Man's lost count of all the holdouts he's been in against the Zerg.

"What about your people, Sergeant?" Silverstar asked.

"We'll be along the northern half of the barricade. Myself, Sergei and Stu will take the twelve o'clock position, and Mike and John will take the ten and two."

"My changelings and I will be spread out across the southern half," Dorylus added. "We'll make sure nothing sneaks up on us from behind."

Matt eyed her with surprise. "You sure, Dory? Have you been over this with them?"

"Of course. The Terran Dominion are our allies, after all. And besides, they came up with the idea."

"Long as they're okay with it. I don't like the idea of getting civilians involved in an active combat zone."

"Matt, I hate to break it to you, but this whole town is an active combat zone."

He sighed. "Yeah, thanks for reminding me..." If we can't hold out and these people get killed, Saint Peter won't even consider calling our names... "Alright. Let's make it happen."

The mining company fore-"mare" practically rejoiced when they told her the plan, saying "Finally, somepony who actually knows what they're doing." Matt, Stuart and Sergei watched from the ramparts as the mining ponies went to work. Within an hour, they'd set the dynamite up in a neat triangular grid with ten meter spacing three hundred meters from the wall.

They might be the most naive people I've ever seen, but damn do they work fast.

When they finished, the foremare passed the detonator, a black wooden box with a T-handle like something from a cartoon to the Sheriff. With a tone reserved for Matt's "kill hat" drill sergeant, she "instructed" him on the necessity of safety. By the time she finished, Silverstar looked like he'd shrunk by half.

And so they waited, counting down the minutes until the royal guard would arrive in force. Matt wasn't sure what to expect from them. Would they be coming by train? For all he knew they'd come riding in on a squadron of hot air balloons. He snickered at the thought, imagining them all shaped like horse heads.

At some point past noon Matt spied a small black speck on the horizon. He called it up to the Sheriff, who was watching the town from the rooftops. As it approached he was hopeful it might have been their reinforcements, but that was quickly dashed as it came into view.

It wasn't a pony, or airship, or anything to that nature. It was a single changeling.

An infested changeling.

Swollen, cancerous growths covered its black carapace. Sickled claws stuck out from random locations on its torso. Root-like tendrils laced through the holes on its legs. A pair of mandibles characteristic of the Zerg had grown out of its face on either side of its muzzle. Matt was secretly grateful that Dorylus was on the other side of town.

It came to a stop, several hundred meters from the wall, and over a hundred high. Matt was already taking aim at it to shoot it down when it spoke loud enough to be heard by the whole town from so far away.

"TERRANS!" thundered a familiar voice, dripping with rage, hate and malice.

Oh, FUCK.

"You dare defy my will!? To tread the lands that belong to me!? I do not know which foul god protected you on Braxis, but he will NOT protect you here! The bounty of this world will belong to the Swarm, and with it I shall see your pathetic Dominion reduced to ashes and biomass!

"Know the harbinger of your annihilation, Terran worm! I am the Last Son of the Overmind, returned from my exile to finish His work!"

Matt's world shrank to a pinprick as he heard the Zerg's words.

"The Last Son of the..." No. No fucking way.

The infested changeling's body swelled, revealing noxious green membranes between the pieces of its carapace. Then it dive-bombed towards the barricade, managing to avoid all the shots the troopers fired.

"Oh shit! Get back from the wall! Get back from the wall!" The troopers jumped off their perch and sprinted backwards, knowing what was coming next.

"... And this world is MINE!"

The changeling hit the wall and exploded in a cloud of acid with the force of an artillery shell, splintering and dissolving the wooden barricade. When the dust settled, the wall had a gaping ten meter wide hole. Beyond it, Matt saw the forms of a hundred zerglings and roaches burst from the ground where they'd been lying in wait.

"Aw hell! Open fire, troopers! Stu! Get the Wrecker ready!"

Stuart scrambled to unhook the RecR from his ruck as Matt pulled a high-explosive shell from his. The other troopers opened up into the swarm, firing lasers and grenades with reckless abandon. Stuart managed to get the weapon on his shoulder and dropped to one knee, aiming at the coming Zerg. Matt swung open the back of the RecR and loaded the shell, then slammed it shut.

"Gun ready!" he yelled to Stuart.

"Back blast area clear!"

"Clear!"

"Fire in the hole!"

An ear-splitting explosion shook the town, rattling walls and shattering windows as a gout of fire erupted from the back of the RecR. The 90mm projectile rocketed out of the barrel into the midst of the swarm. A second later an enormous explosion rocked the earth, sending scores of Zerg flying in tattered pieces.

Though it made a substantial dent in their numbers, the Zerg were already within the minimum range in moments. Unable to get another shot off, they were forced to drop the RecR and resort to their rifles, joining the rest of the troopers in the defense.

"Sheriff! The dynamite!"

Silverstar slammed down the T-handle of the detonator once the Zerg were over the minefield. The earth shook once more as the ground north of the town was launched skyward with a roar, taking huge numbers of the swarm with it. Matt switched to thermals momentarily and saw the heat signatures of scores of Zerg through the dust.

Matt keyed the radio. "Mike! John! Get your asses to the twelve! We are not letting these bastards inside!"

"Moving, sar'nt!"

Ten to one odds. We weren't even this mismatched on Braxis... Those reinforcements better get here soon or we're done for.

The troopers blasted their lasers and grenades into the fray, advancing until they stood in the gap in the logs. The Zerg were barely fifty meters and closing fast. Matt fell into the same laser focus that had saved him on Braxis. Scan. Shoot. Repeat. They dropped dozens before they reached their line.

But reach the line they did, and the troopers braced for close quarters combat. Matt was already reaching for his shovel when a familiar flash of green and silver sailed over his head from behind and slammed into the front line of zerglings.

They were sliced to ribbons as Dorylus' glaive darted left and right, staining the plain grass with dark red blood as the dismembered corpses of Zerglings fell around them. Matt glanced behind him, and saw Dorylus carefully approach on hoof until they stood side-by-side. With her help, they were able to keep them at bay, but each Zerg they killed fell a little closer than the last.

"Matt, look out!" Dorylus suddenly cried as a zergling pounced at him. His eyes went wide and he froze in place as he saw it's maw come within inches of his face, snapping and snarling. He raised his rifle, but he'd hesitated for a split second too long

Then, with a loud bong! it stopped like it had hit an invisible wall and collapsed to the ground at Matt's feet. Around him, a similar scene was playing out, with a dozen zerglings and roaches somehow held back by an invisible barrier less than a meter away. Matt saw John raise his marksman's laser to shoot one of the nearby roaches, but Matt motioned for him to stop. For some reason, he felt that whatever was keeping the Zerg back could just as easily reflect their lasers back at them.

Instead, they nervously backed away with weapons raised, shaking from the adrenaline coursing through their veins. As they retrograded, Matt felt his back hit something solid.

I don't remember there being a wall behind me... he thought, a pit forming in his gut. Slowly he turned his head, and his jaw hit the ground.

As if the brain-Zerg and changelings weren't strange enough, his eyes were assaulted by the most confusing thing he'd ever seen. Towering over him was a slender, serpentine creature without an ounce of symmetry in its body. It looked like a Frankenstein's monster made from animal parts, as if some mad scientist had gone to a zoo with a hacksaw and collected a single appendage from each exhibit.

"What... What the fuck?"

"What the fuck indeed," the creature spoke, and strode past them towards the halted Zerg. They stared at it just as intently at the Terrans, unsure of what to make of the new arrival.

"Hmmm... Curious. Most curious, indeed," the creature said, stroking its goatee with a furred paw as it inspected the Zerg from behind its invisible barrier. Then it raised its other arm, this one looking like the foot of a bird, and snapped its talons.

Nothing happened.

"Now, that is interesting. I don't suppose you would happen to be the ones responsible for all this mayhem, now would you?"

The Zerg responded with a screech.

"Yes, I thought as much. Well, much as I hate being direct, it seems you leave me no choice..."

The Terrans continued backpedaling away, leaving... whatever this thing was to its designs, and eventually made it back to one of the town's buildings. They continued keeping an eye on the creature, though, and watched in astonishment as it snapped it's claws again. This time, stone spikes burst from the ground, impaling all but one of the surviving Zerg where they squirmed for a bit before going limp.

Matt sat down hard on a sideways barrel. He ripped his helmet off and doubled over, struggling to catch his breath. Flashbacks of the attack on Braxis raced through his mind, but the words of the Zerg echoed through his thoughts.

Last Son of the Overmind... It doesn't seem possible...

Dorylus approached him, panting heavily and covered in Zerg blood once again. Her legs trembled beneath her before she finally collapsed to the ground next to Matt.

"I... I can't believe it... If it weren't for Discord-" Her words died in her mouth.

"I know what it is..." Matt mumbled.

"What?"

"The Zerg in control. I think I know what it is."

"You do? How? What is it?" Dorylus demanded.

Matt gulped and stared between his feet. "It's a cerebrate. One of the Overmind's generals. If what it's saying is true, then... I might know which one."

"Who's the Overmind? What's a cerebrate? Matt, please, be straight with me here, you're not making any sense!"

"I- I'm sorry. I need some time to think this over. I might be wrong. Fuck, I hope I'm wrong... If I'm not..."

Dorylus glared and made as if she was about to call him a jackass or something to that nature, but oddly enough her gaze softened. She stood up and wrapped her forelegs around his shoulders, having to rear up to do so.

She gave Matt a squeeze and said, "Hey, hey, calm down. So far we've handled everything this thing has thrown at us, right? Whatever it is, I'm sure we can beat it." Then Dorylus nuzzled his neck, eliciting an amused snort despite himself. He wrapped an arm around her withers and returned the hug. They stayed like that for several minutes, until the adrenaline left both of their systems.

"Thanks, Dory. Never thought you'd be the one giving me the pep talk."

She giggled a bit at that. "Hey, that's what you troopers do, right? Help hold each other up?"

"You've been talking to Sergei, havent you?"

"A little bit."

Matt chuckled. "Good to see his paternal instinct crosses the species barrier. Anyway, what was that about 'discord'."

"That's Discord with a capital D, my fine hairless friend," came that smooth, deep voice that came from...

The barrel?

The head of the barrel Matt used as a seat went rocketing off to the side, causing Matt and Dorylus to jump to their feet and hooves in surprise. Like a genie emerging from a lamp, the large, serpentine form of the chimeric creature snaked its way out. Once fully extracted, it stood tall and proud before them, towering at least twice as high as Matt.

How did it get in there? Hell, how did it fit in there? And how the hell is this still not the weirdest thing I've seen all week?

It spoke again with a lopsided smile. "I do sincerely apologize for interrupting you two. I must admit, it's mighty touching to see someone show such... unconditional compassion to a changeling of all things."

Then it bowed, long and deep until its goatee touched the ground.

"Discord, Lord of Chaos, at your service. And, you are?" He straightened up, then proffered his "hand," which actually appeared to be a lion's paw.

Matt looked at the paw, then the creature's lopsided face, then Dorylus who motioned to proceed with a wave of her hoof.

He cleared his throat and said, "Uh, Sergeant Matthew Hobbes, Terran Dominion Marine Corps scout trooper." Then he hesitantly shook "Discord's" "hand." "I have to say, you live up to your title, sir."

The Lord of Chaos threw back his head and laughed. "You flatter me, Sergeant, but in truth, you and your compatriots have proven to be the most delightful source of chaos I've felt in a long, long time."

"Welcome to the corps: If we don't know what we're doing, then neither does the enemy."

Discord's grin grew tenfold, then he draped his arm across Matt's shoulder. "Oh, you and I are going to get along marvelously, I think."