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                                            1.
                                            This is a side green to Manos: Hands of Fate by Human Superiority.
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                                            The first part was found here: http://pastebin.com/QBMRbrPv
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                                            Since Pastebin nuked it I'll also link the earliest thread I could find in five minutes looking in the archive: https://desuarchive.org/mlp/thread/24621019/
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                                            For the Manos threads. HEIL MANOS!
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                                            6.
                                            
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                                            7.
                                            >You are Sergeant Ivory Keys of the Vanhoover Port Authority Police Department.
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                                            >You looked out over the city from a clock tower as you strained your horn to maintain the shield over the port.
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                                            >Under the moonlight you could still see the broken windows, the craters, and rubble.
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                                            >You could see the orange glow of fires still burning.
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                                            >Vanhoover was in ruins.
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                                            >It happened much faster than you could have ever fathomed.
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                                            >It started with thunder.
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                                            >First from the distance then in the very city you swore to protect as larges portions of buildings and even streets just exploded.
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                                            >Then they came.
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                                            >Forces of Manos...
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                                            >Forces of this... Reich moved into the city like great waves crashing into a cliff side made of sandstone.
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                                            >They tore great swathes in what meager defense the Guard had set up.
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                                            >Resistance was laughable at best.
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                                            >There were just too many of them.
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                                            >The Chief had ordered all officers to headquarters to coordinate with the Guard to protect the city but by then it was too late.
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                                            >They'd penetrated too far into the city to really form a defensive line which only pushed you back further.
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                                            >So many were lost to the chaos while the ponies in charge scramble to gain a cohesive hold on anything.
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                                            >And by the time the port was secured the Reich owned everywhere else in Vanhoover.
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                                            >From a tactical standpoint it was genius.
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                                            >Using a train to sneak an army and pushing as hard and fast as possible to gain as much ground as you could?
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                                            >Brilliant.
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                                            >To witness it and be on the receiving end of it?
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                                            >Terrifying.
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                                            >You've not known terror like this at any point in your life.
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                                            >And now that the assault is over and you are safely behind the shield, all you feel is an overwhelming sense of dread.
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                                            >You can see there forces outside of the shield from your vantage point.
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                                            >Simply waiting.
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                                            >Much further away, you could see flashes of a distant battle.
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                                            >Those were ponies cut off from your group during the attack.
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                                            >They were desperately trying to fight their way to your position.
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                                            >But it was no use and you knew this truth in your heart.
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                                            >With the flashes you witnessed came that same sound of thunder.
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                                            >Fighting against might of that kind was hopeless.
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                                            >"Sarge?" a feminine voice asked behind you.
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                                            >You turned to face Sea Shower bathed in the pale white light of your horn.
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                                            >The police recruit's uniform was torn in a few places and was stained with soot and dust.
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                                            >You didn't even hear the little mare come up and that made you mentally slap yourself.
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                                            >If she were the enemy, you'd be dead.
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                                            "Yes?' you grunted in response.
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                                            >"I'm here to relieve you," she said with fatigue evident in her voice.
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                                            >You looked her over and frowned.
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                                            "Are you sure you can handle it?"
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                                            >There was a brief silence before she answered.
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                                            >"Not really, but I can't let the others do it by themselves and I can't let you sit here and suffer magical burnout because I didn't try. You've been up here for twice as long as you should have anyways and I'd hate to see you hurt, sarge."
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                                            >You heaved another troubled sigh.
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                                            >This mare didn't belong here.
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                                            >You stood up and stretched out.
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                                            >Sea was right however.
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                                            >If you kept this up you'd end up with burnout and be completely useless.
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                                            "Alright then," you say slowly. "If you feel like you can't hold it yell for somepony."
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                                            >"I know the drill. G'night, Sarge."
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                                            "Good night, Sea Shower."
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                                            >With that you released your magic as she activated hers and started on your way.
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                                            >You descended the stairs, the clock tower bathed in sea blue ow instead your pale white.
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                                            >Even with six other unicorns maintaining the shield you weren't too sure if she'd be able to manage.
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                                            >You had trouble with it yourself despite you magical prowess.
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                                            >Reaching the bottom of the stairs, you step out with broken glass crinkling beneath your hooves.
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                                            >There various ponies are inside this building around a fire keeping warm from the cool sea air.
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                                            >You step out through not a door but a hole in the wall to the port area under the dome of the shield.
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                                            >It's much more packed than it was when it was first erected since the Reich turned over civilians by the hundreds.
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                                            >You begin walking to the warehouse that was being used as sleeping quarters by making your way past the makeshift barricades of shelves, desks, debris and other assorted junk.
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                                            >You kept at it but stopped and backed up.
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                                            >You would have missed it if you hadn't have been looking around but you needed to get closer to be sure.
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                                            >The building was much closer to the edge of the shield than you would have liked but it didn't matter because in an abandoned building through a hole blasted in the brick you spotted an upright piano just sitting there.
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                                            >You climb in and take a seat in front of the lovely instrument and tap a few keys with you weakened magic.
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                                            >It still works.
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                                            >You breath out contentedly as you begin to play with practiced ease.
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                                            >As you go on, a Guard in gold plated armor pokes his head in.
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                                            >Your eyes meet for a moment before he enters and sets his helmet on a table and just listens, losing himself to the distraction.
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                                            >This is followed by a few more ponies.
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                                            >Guards regular ponies alike come to listen to you.
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                                            >And for once since the beginning of this mess, you crack a smile.
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                                            >You are a Black hand outside of the shield set up by the royalists at the port standing on a barricade.
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                                            >You look through binoculars at crowd gathering near the edge but the music you hear says all you need to know.
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                                            >You wave a hoof telling everypony to stand down.
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                                            >It's not a threat.
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                                            >Just music.
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                                            >Wonderful, innocent music.
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                                            >You look to your left and spot a piano propped against a tree next to the shield.
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                                            >That was oddly convenient.
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                                            >You hopped down from the barricade and made your way to the instrument.
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                                            >You tapped the keys with your magic.
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                                            >A bit stickier than you would have liked but it works.
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                                            92.
                                            >You wonder what to play for a bit but one look at the moon tells you all you need to know.
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                                            >You begin to play.
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                                            >The music on the other side of the shield stops and a police officer walks out of the crowd, looking to you with surprise.
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                                            >Your eyes meet and you know he was the one playing.
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                                            >You don't stop but you give him an nod to which he returns after a moment.
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                                            >He goes back through the crowd and you hear his piano again but this time he joins you in playing the Sonata.
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                                            >Its not exactly made for a duet but you appreciate the gesture.
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                                            >And so you play the night away on those dusty, ivory keys with the sound of thunder in the distance.
 
                         by Slowanon
                         by Slowanon
                         by Slowanon
                         by Slowanon
                         by Slowanon