//------------------------------// // 27 The only way // Story: For science - Book three // by Znegil //------------------------------// “How many soldiers are a battalion?”, Chrysalis asked me. “A battalion can be anything between 300 and 800 soldiers.”, I replied in a grim tone. She stared at me in horror. “The whole of Canterlot has only eighty-two guards, this is an insane number.” “Why do you know the exact number of guards in Canter… never mind.” I took a few deep breaths and concentrated on what was important. “We can't allow any other soldiers to arrive here, my plan won't work with much more soldiers. This means we have to attack right now and can't wait much longer.” “So what's the plan?”, she asked. I closed my eyes and once again I ran the scenario in my head and tried to consider every possibility. “It's very risky, but I think it's our best chance to destroy the portal.”, I began. “It all depends on your shapeshifting ability. How well have you seen the soldier who brings the pieces to the turret?” “I think good enough to fool the other soldiers, he has his face partly covered, that should help a bit.” “Okay, when he brings new parts to the turret, he usually stays there for a few minutes and helps the other soldier building complex parts. That is the tiny time window when you can disguise as him and approach the soldier guarding on the opposite side of the turret. They can't know there are shapeshifters in this world, so they shouldn't be suspicious about tiny details.” I pointed towards the small room around the portal. “All you have to do is get inside this room. It's constructed as an emergency retreat, the door isn't locked but there should be some big panic button to lock it from the inside. Once you're in there, lock the door and you should be safe, the guards are way too close to the door to try this without locking it. Immediately ignite the Molotov with the Twilonium and throw it at an angle through the portal so it won't land on the conveyor belt on the other side.” I took another deep breath before I told her the next part. “I'm not totally sure what will happen next…” “What do you mean by that?”, Chrysalis asked concerned. “I don't know how fast the portal will collapse once the device on the other side is destroyed, so I don't know how much of the explosion will reach our side…”, I explained. She was silent for a very long moment before she replied to this. “What is your best guess?” “At least the shockwave will come through, so you shouldn't stand in front of the portal when the Molotov explodes, immediately jump to the side once you threw it. The door is right in front of the portal’s exit… it was designed to protect from any dangers coming from the outside, not to withstand the shockwave of an enormous explosion from the inside. I'm quite sure it will be the point of failure and will be blown open, releasing nearly all of the forces to the outside of the room.” “How sure are you?”, a concerned Chrysalis asked me. “About ninety percent…”, a silently replied. “What happens if it doesn't?”, she inquired. “Do you have any shielding magic?”, I asked her. “We changelings are all about disguise and surprise, not about direct combat.”,she replied. “I have the one I tried to use against you, it's enough to hold back a pony or two or to protect me against some magic, not to withstand a giant explosion.” “Or maybe an additional fireball.”, I added with a dry throat. She looked at me for a long time. “Since I throw the Molotov immediately after I entered the room, wouldn't it be better not to close the door then?”, she asked. “Can you use a fire spell without your horn?”, I asked back. “A fire spell is quite basic, I can do one without my horn.” “Well, in that case, it would indeed be better to leave it open, I leave this decision to you.” “What happens after the explosion is over?”, she asked. “I guess either way the door won't be able to close properly afterward.” “My plan is to wait at the edge of the clearing on the side of the back-wall. Once the explosion has occurred all the soldiers should run towards the door to… kill you. I will use this moment to run towards you, tap into your magic and shield you from them. Together we then run into the woods where you use your shapeshifting ability to hide us from them.” “This part of the plan doesn't sound as reliable as the first part of the plan.”, she stated. “Yeah, you're right about that.”, I admitted. “I'm sure we can destroy the portal this way, I'm far less sure we will get away with it.” Another long moment of silence between us. “What was your plan if I hadn't accompanied you?”, she asked. “To use a small amount of Twilonium as a distraction, then run for it to get close enough to throw the Molotov through the portal… and I hadn't expected this room around it.” “You would have died in this attempt for sure.”, she commented in a very calm tone, but I felt a wave of sadness from her. “Yes, but I would have had a chance to destroy the portal while doing it.” “Well, compared to that we have a great plan now.”, she replied with a small smile. “Let’s do it, time is running out.” “Are you sure?”, I asked. “This is your last chance of turning back.” “Don’t be stupid, like I would leave you alone now.”, she replied. With a sigh, I took the Molotov out of my backpack and used the alcohol to drench the cloth. “Stella…” “What is it?”, I asked. “How many humans do you think this thing will kill when I throw it through the portal?”, she asked me just loud enough for me to understand. I just stared at her for a moment, unsure what I should tell her. “The portal-ring on the other side is in a small room of a similar size to the one before us, but it was built to be able to withstand the temperatures in the center of a sun for the fraction of a second, just in case a portal would end up in one. So if we’re fast enough there shouldn’t be anyone inside it and the explosion is contained within it.”, I told her… even though it wasn’t true. An explosion like this was something completely different from ‘just heat’, sure the solid construction of the portal room should absorb some force, but it was highly unlikely it was able to withstand this giant explosion. This shouldn’t trouble her, it was my fault Equestria was in danger, I had to live with the consequences… and I feared she would hesitate to throw the Molotov. “Well, we should get into position then, there isn’t much time left to do it.”, Chrysalis whispered to me while she took the Molotov, our eyes met for a long time before I let go of it. I nodded and we both got into our positions. … I waited behind a bush watching the soldier Chrysalis was about to replace. He just got additional parts from the conveyor belt and was about to leave the room, it would be only a few more seconds before Chrysalis would start our dangerous plan. My heart was beating so hard I feared the soldiers would somehow notice it. The changeling princess emerged from the woods as a perfect copy of our selected soldier and headed straight towards the room. As expected the soldier on the rooms backside noticed her… I was holding my breath. He looked a bit puzzled and as she got closer he addressed her. “What did you do over there?” She stopped and hesitated for just a second. “I went for a pee.” The soldier just nodded and kept scanning the treeline. I was so thankful for her being a professional liar. She went on to walk towards the room until she nearly reached it, only then did she walk to the other side where the door was located. Just as she reached the door I noticed the soldier she copied was coming back right away, he didn’t help to build this time. He and Chrysalis noticed each other right the next moment. “What in hell…”, he shouted and raised his weapon, but she had used this little moment to open the door, slip into the room, and shutting the door behind her. Instead of shooting at her, he ran towards the door, confirming my guess the windows were bullet-proof. Chrysalis wasted no time, still disguised as the soldier following her, she took out the Molotov and ignited it with her magic. She lobbed it through the portal while she jumped to the side as much as possible. Her pursuer had just opened the door and lifted his machine gun again as the shockwave of the explosion lifted him from his feet and ripped his body into more pieces than I was able to count on my one hand. Just a fraction of a second later a beam of fire did burst through the portal, igniting the flying pieces on their way across the clearing before the portal suddenly disappeared. The soldier in front of my position ran towards the door and I ran after him, hoping he wouldn't notice me, thanks to all this chaos. My heart was pounding like crazy, I knew the next few seconds could mean the death of both of us. I reached the back of the room as two soldiers started to open fire through the open door. Chrysalis who had dropped the disguise pressed herself against the side of the room and was just out of reach at the moment, but the soldiers started circling to the side and would be able to shoot her within seconds. I concentrated as well as it was possible for me at this moment and tapped into her magic, it felt strangely foreign as it rushed through my body. Just in time, I was able to produce a shield in front of the room's entrance, protecting her from the deadly bullets. “The portal is destroyed and can't be opened again, stop fighting and we can find a peaceful solution!”, I shouted while Chrysalis used the cover to exit the room and joined me behind it. Bullets continued to hit the shield while they went on circling the room until they were only fifteen feet away from us. One of them was reloading his magazine while the other kept on shooting. I groaned from the incredible strain this put on me, I knew the shield wouldn't last much longer. The picture of our marefriends sobbing before our dead bodies appeared before me… We had saved Equestria but brought eternal pain to the ones we loved… I held on to my friend's body to prevent me from falling. “NO! I WON'T LET THAT HAPPEN!”, I screamed. My body trembled as my vision turned red and I channeled every bit of hate towards the soldiers attacking us. Flames suddenly covered my magic shield and I pushed it towards them. I heard their screams as it touched them and they fell to the ground, but I didn't stop… I pushed it down on them as hard as I could until I didn't hear them screaming anymore. I smelled their burning flesh as I fell down on my knees and the magic dissolved… I was breathing hard, this had brought me to the limit of what I was capable of. Without Chrysalis holding on to me I would have fallen to the ground, I was too weak to stand on my own. It took a few seconds before I was able to say something. “Looks like we made it against all odds. I wasn't sure we would… AAARGH!” Incredible pain paralyzed me as the blade of a huge army knife went through my body and appeared in front of my chest. ‘Of course… there had been four soldiers…’, I thought regretfully. While I screamed in pain, Chrysalis let out a cry of disbelief, anger, and pain; never before had I heard something as primal as this. Her magic transformed her hoof into a blade which she stabbed into the soldier's throat, she jumped onto him an continued stabbing bis body with her other front hoof which had transformed as well. The soldier's blade had been pulled out of me as the soldier fell backward and I rolled to my side. Seconds later the blood covered changeling entered my field of view again, tears streaming down her face. I slowly rolled on my back and tasted blood in my mouth as I tried to speak. “Please tell Twilight… *cough* I'm sorry.” She pressed against my wound trying to stop the bleeding in any way, but blood continued to exit my body on both sides. “I have no magical power left to help you!”, she cried. “It's okay…”, I whispered. “At least we were able to destroy the portal…” My vision started to get blurry. “I wished I *cough* had more time to get to *cough* know you better…” “No, I won't let you go! Stay with me!”, she shouted. I forced a weak smile. “I'm sorry…” One last time I remembered the wonderful life I had with Twilight in this world and how much I loved her, it brought a warm feeling to me that reduced the pain a tiny bit. Chrysalis kissed me. I was surprised, I hadn't expected she would… I wasn't able to breathe anymore as she pressed goo down my throat, I tried to use the little energy I had left to break free, but she held me in place as I slowly suffocated. The last thing I saw was her green glowing eyes.