//------------------------------// // 31: Opening Shots // Story: Bear, Scribe and Paladin // by Speven Dillberg //------------------------------// Aboard the airship Harmonious, the three Wastelanders had gathered, in preparation for the upcoming battle. Despite their experience, nothing they had gone through could really match up to what was going to happen. The Knights were set up within as well, along with a large number of unicorn and earth pony guards. The pegasi and griffins would arrive by commandeering giant cloud formations as mobile, nigh-unassailable aerial bases of operation. The tactic was an ancient one, from the time of the Celestine Junta, designed to deploy wave after wave of hardened fighters in a short timespan, as well as providing somewhere to rest and resupply. “This is the craziest thing I have ever done,” Thomas muttered, looking over the railing and trying to ignore his fear. “Yeah,” Dom muttered, uneasily rubbing at her Metal Blaster’s scratched paint-job. “Beats that thing with the aliens hands-down.” Veronica looked at the ghoul, head tilted in confusion. “Aliens? You’re kidding, right? Please tell me you’re kidding.” “Wish I was,” she muttered. “Getting anal probed ain’t fun.” Thomas and Veronica turned to each other, both trying to determine if the ghoul was just joking or being deadly serious. “I don’t want to know,” the Courier muttered carefully. “Yeah, the less said the better. God I need a drink,” Dom rasped, stowing her rifle back in its sling. “There any alcohol on this thing?” “Only medicinal,” an earth pony replied, walking past with a stack of folded white sheets balanced on her back. “Shit.” “Are the chariots ready?” Knight-Commander Shining Armor asked. “Yes sir, they’re being kept on the cloud bases.” “Good,” he nodded, glancing at the armoured stallion next to him. “Make sure they’re ready to perform medevac and casevac after the main force has touched ground.” “I’ll get somepony to relay that, sir.” “What about weapons?” “Lances, swords, spears, maces and javelins. The griffins and a number of pegasi are also taking crossbows to provide fire from above.” “And the Harmonious?” the armoured unicorn asked, glancing at his subordinate. “The reserve magazines have been cleared out to hold medical supplies, but the main magazine has enough powder and balls for half an hour of sustained fire.” “Good. Hopefully they won’t need to use any of it.” Trixie was a proud mare. A little too proud at times, and it had cost her both her home and livelihood in the past. So it was to no-one’s surprise that she tried to hide how scared she was about the upcoming battle. None were fooled, though. So she had holed up in closet in an attempt to calm her nerves and stay hidden. “Trixie?” a voice called out, She looked up, almost smacking her head on a mop. How had they found her? She was sure that this hiding place had been a perfect choice! “Come out, Trix.” The voice belonged to Blink, she knew that. She didn’t want him to see her like this, scared out of her mind. “I’m not mad. Please?” When the voice didn’t get an answer, it sighed. “Shade? Can you make sure she’s in there?” Trixie let out a squeal as the pale white unicorn poked her head through the still-closed door. “Shade!” “Yeah, she’s in here!” the seemingly-disembodied head called out. “Do you have any idea how terrifying that is!?” “That’s sort of the idea, Trix,” Blink said, opening the door. It phased right through Shade’s body, stopping to a rest when she stuck out a tangible leg. “Why are you hiding in a closet, anyway? I definitely didn’t see a stallion in there,” Shade commented wryly. “Shade, be serious about this, would you?” Blink asked, shooting his compatriot a flat stare. “Just trying to lighten up the mood,” the mare shrugged. “Why were you two looking for me?” “It was his idea, I just tagged along because I wanted to scare somepony,” Shade answered, not giving Blink a chance. “Shade! I am trying to be serious!” Blink yelled. “If you’re just going to be a nuisance, leave!” “Fine. What’s under here, one of the medical bays?” she asked. Without waiting for an answer, she stuck her head through the floor. Then she slowly sunk through the deck, eliciting a few screams from whoever was unfortunate enough to see her fall from the ceiling. Blink just rolled his eyes. “Why were you hiding?” he asked again. Trixie looked down the corridor, making sure nopony else was there to hear her. “Trixie is... I mean, I’m scared.” “What, about the battle?” the stallion asked. “That’s natural.” “I was a performer,” she continued. “I mastered my stage fright when I was a filly. I shouldn’t be so - ” “Trixie, there is a big difference between performing on a stage and what we’re going to be doing.” Blink eased himself into a lying position before gesturing to the mare to join him. “Fear is the right thing to feel.” “I’m meant to be a Knight!” she exclaimed. “Fearless and courageous!” “Courage is not the absence of fear. That’s stupidity,” the purple unicorn explained, sounding a little angry. “Courage is being scared and fighting through it. You can’t be courageous and fearless at the same time. It’s not possible.” “Well Trixie is still scared!” “That’s good, though. Fear is the appropriate response.” The sun’s light seemed subdued upon the dawn, almost as though it was disheartened by what it knew would come. The Harmonious and the numerous cloud bases flew west, where the Diamond Dogs’ native lands were. The Dominion’s borders lay many miles from any Equestrian settlement, nothing but rocks, dirt and barren wastes. The Dominion itself was a rocky, unpleasant place, with very few place to farm or form settlements. Due to that fact, the majority of the Dominion’s population was actually underground, something which suited them just fine. A small number of outposts were maintained above-ground as a mere formality and to keep potential squatters away. “How much longer?” Shining Armor asked, his golden armour gleaming in the dying sunlight. “We’re above their lands now,” Captain True Sight replied. “We should be in position within the hour.” “Sir?” Gambit asked, the mare without her helmet. “Something about this whole thing feels... off.” Shining glanced at his tactician for a moment. The next second, his horn glowed with an intense light-purple light and the Harmonious was enveloped in a giant bubble. “Sir?” the airship’s captain asked nervously. The rest of the crew looked around, muttering to themselves. “If she has a bad feeling, then - ” He was cut off by a tremendous boom! and he winced. “We’re under fire!” somepony shouted out. “Gambit, get Astral!” Shining shouted, his eyes closed in concentration. “Get him to determine where those shots are coming from!” There was a second explosion, another Diamond Dog shot impacting harmlessly on his shield. “I’m already here,” the stallion said suddenly, eerily calm compared to the panic around him. Nopony had heard or seen him arrive. “Give me a moment,” he added, his horn glowing. There was a flash and a bang, and when everybody near them could see again Blink, Trixie and Shade had all appeared in the formerly blank space, each one of them completely armoured. “What the hay is going on!?” he shouted, making himself heard over the explosions. “The Diamond Dog’s cannon emplacement is to the north, approximately half a mile,” Astral said. “They appear to have a shield of their own around it.” “Like this wasn’t hard enough already…” Shining groaned. “It’s primitive, and being sustained by crystals that are outside its protection,” the blind stallion continued. “They didn’t expect us to come from this direction, it seems.” “Would a full salvo knock it down?” True Sight asked. “My crew can have the guns ready in two minutes.” “Possibly,” Astral Gaze answered uneasily. “It may take more.” “Okay, why the hell is the ship shaking, and why is there a giant shield?” The ponies turned to see Thomas striding towards them, frowning as his Pip-Boy ticked away. “The Dogs are attacking us, and their guns are behind a one-way shield,” Shining hastily explained. “Aye, but the commander reckons we can punch a hole through it,” True Sight added. Thomas stood there for a moment before developing a very unsettling smile. “Let me get my high explosives,” he said before he disappeared. A minute later he had returned with the large, somewhat unwieldy contraption that was the Red Glare, some of the other Knights coming up as well. “What is that?” Martial Glory asked, pointing a hoof at it. “A pre-War masterpiece.” Thomas calmly loaded a pod full of high-explosive rockets before marching to the side of the airship and putting his eye to the scope. “I think I see it,” he muttered. “True Sight?” Shining asked, grunting as another blast impacted against his bubble shield. “Loaded and waiting for the order!” the earth pony responded enthusiastically. “The moment the shield drops, give the order,” the unicorn calmly commanded. “Astral Gaze?” “They appear to be reloading,” he replied in his flat, emotionless tone. “They’re firing.” Another series of blasts slammed into the shield before it vanished. “FIRE!” True Sight roared. He was soon joined by the sounds of a dozen 68-pounder cannons firing in succession. Their payload found their target, the enchanted projectiles exploding spectacularly on impact. “The shield still holds,” Astral muttered. “Fire in the hole!” Thomas shouted, pulling the trigger on the Red Glare. Thirteen crimson rockets shot out, soaring at the shield, while the weapon itself glowed an eerie red. Martial Glory took a step back and coughed, having gotten a lungful of rocket exhaust. There was a moment of silence as they all waited for something to happen. There were a series of small explosions, barely visible. “Well that was a letdown.” “His weapon destroyed one of the generator crystals,” Astral said, sounding a little surprised. “The shield is down.” “Sir, next volley is ready!” an earth pony called up. “Fire.” “FIRE!” True Sight yelled, echoing Shining Armor. The guns roared again, and the area they had been aiming at vanished in a pillar of flame. “Their magazine was hit,” Astral stated, confirming their suspicions. “The emplacement is destroyed.” “Send a message to the cloud bases,” Shining commanded. “Have them prepare the chariots for landing.”