Psimare

Psimares are augmented female Unicorns, and considered one of the three new forms of Pony by the Pony supremacists known as ENDURE.

Psimares are capable of immense Psionic power, but their physical muscles are retarded and frail. While their outer body looks natural and unaltered, their internal muscles and bone structure are extremely weak, which means a simple light punch can shatter the Psimare's skull completely.

Older Psimares are so physically frail, some can barely withstand their own weight. Therefore they "levitate" themselves using their Psionic power.

Psimares are not born, but created. This is mainly due to the fact that Psimares are so weak they would most likely not survive impregnation or childbirth. A female Unicorn has her body and mind altered with the DNA of an Elder alien to accept and work with Psionic energy, giving them their mental strength. However, the mare loses her Magic and her body becomes weaker and weaker as her body slowly decays due to the genetic disease in all Elders. This disease was not foreseen by the original Psimares and there is no counter for it bar the restoring of the entire genetic structure of the Psimare.

The Psionic power inside the Psimare is visible when it's being used, as the Psimare's horn and eyes glow a ghostly purple. While using this power, Psimares also give off low levels of light which may give away their position if they're attempting to hide.

Psimares are an ENDURE-only unit. They are created by splicing Elder and Unicorn DNA, resulting in unprecedented Psionic power which seems to grow in intensity over time. As XCOM destroyed the Elders, their DNA became exceedingly rare as very few Elders remained in ENDURE's reach. They managed to secure one Elder, which was held inside ENDURE HQ in CHS to continue the creation of Psimares. This Elder was killed by Union Strike's CHS counterpart during Phase 2 of XCOM's final attack during their Enemy Reborn campaign, making Psimares impossible to recreate.

Psimares are high-ranked in ENDURE, usually acting as the field commanders for EXCEL or other ENDURE units. Despite how highly ENDURE thinks of the Psimares, only one has ever led them. Amnesia was the only Psimare ever to lead ENDURE, and that was only due to their internal leadership struggle which resulted in the strongest candidate taking control.

Due to their major muscle degradation, Psimares were forced to seek out new ways of survival. This search led ENDURE to create the "Avatar" project, which would use people from CHS to act as vessels for the Psimares. The only problem with these near-perfect Avatars is that if they are killed, the connected Psimare is rendered brain dead. Most Psimares are unwilling to risk their lives with Avatars, so deal with their frail bodies.

Even hours after death, the Psimare's mind is full of active Psionic power that can project a mysterious voice into the minds of any who dwell nearby, and in some cases the corpse has been able to place targets under Mind Control. This can happen even if the brain is removed from the body. For this reason, XCOM places Psionic Inhibitors on the few Psimare corpses they possess.

## Appearance

Psimares can have any colour coat a regular Pony can have. Their bodies look natural, making it hard to tell the difference between a normal Pony and a Psimare, but their bright white mane and radiant purple irises make them easier to identify.

During the Dimensional War, Psimares wore ornate armour and had cybernetic enhancers all over them to aid their movements.

During the Enemy Reborn campaign, Psimares wore concealing purple robes that hid their faces, making them look intimidating and mysterious. These robes were not accompanied by armour.

## Behaviour

During the Dimensional War, Psimares were used as more advanced foot soldiers than Riflestallions. They were usually accompanied by a MEC, which they could generate a Psionic shield for. As their power was weaker at the time, they were armed with a Laser Pistol.

During the Enemy Reborn campaign, their weapons and armour were removed due to their increased Psionic powers. Their position in ENDURE itself rose also, becoming commanding officers of all EXCEL and ENDURE units, giving orders Psionically. They were much more protected, usually accompanied by either a handful of Elite EXCEL Troopers or a MEC IV and an Archangel, as to symbolise the next step in Pony evolution.

## Trivia

Psimares, along with MEC IVs and Archangels, are what ENDURE thinks the Ponies should evolve into to "survive" and "avoid the great disaster."

Psimares, like all ENDURE and EXCEL units, speak in Ancient Equestrian. However, this is rarely heard as most Psimares order their subordinates Psionically. When telepathically communicating with non-ENDURE/EXCEL units, Psimares speak in overlapped whispers in English.

When killed, Psimares scream loudly and "explode" in Psionic energy, doing major damage to their surroundings and any unfortunate units who are close enough. Killing a Psimare causes a Psionic backlash that kills anything she's Psionically connected to, meaning XCOM soldiers take heed when someone's being Mind Controlled, usually making them wait for one of their Psi Operatives to utilise their Solace ability. Curiously, the explosion does no physical damage to the Psimare itself, but the robes she wears are destroyed.

Upon autopsying a Psimare, Dr. Blitz was incapacitated as the Psimare's spirit "attacked" her. This showed XCOM that Psimares are dangerous even after death.

The process of becoming a Psimare can be "reversed" by Fielde's Magic. This happened only once, and it was in bulk as Fielde "refreshed" all of ENDURE and EXCEL's units to make them natural, thus saving their lives. Sadly, the process killed Fielde, leaving him unavailable until he "Respawned" using his Magic.

Psimares seem capable of realising when they're being Hijacked by a Psionic enemy, as they change their behaviour and become a lot more alert. However, only Amnesia seems to have the ability to force the Hijacker out of her mind, and she suffers no negative effects from it.

## Quotes

Psimare: "Your mind is weak. My mind is strong."

Psimare: "You know not of our struggle to avoid the great disaster."

Dr. Blitz: "This is an extremely dangerous Pony, Commander. These Psimares appear to greatly outmatch those previously encountered by XCOM, but their bodies are notably weaker. Though they are a truly beautiful specimen, I don't envy anyone who has to go up against one of these Ponies."

Amnesia: "Now you witness the fruits of our labour. You now stand before the pure evolution for Unicorns, the legendary and all-powerful Psimare. This is the future."

Sunset: "Get... out of my... head!"

Union: "Oh no you don't, you bitch!"