Engines Equestria's Ponyville branch had finished production for the evening, and the many mechaniks and engineers had gone to their homes to rest and prepare for another day's hard work. The campus was lit only by moonlight and the flashlight spells of patrolling Lunar Guard unicorns, and was as quiet as a particularly introverted mouse vying for Fluttershy's title as World "Shhh" Champion. The only exception was the over-sized building in which Project Red River was being conducted, though the silencing and light-blocking spells on the structure made it seem from the outside to be the darkest and quietest place on the campus. Inside, however, were Captain Shining Armor and his lieutenants, as well as Twilight Sparkle and all three Princesses.
"It's an excellent machine, Shining Armor," Celestia said. "Thank you all for indulging me in my little pet project."
"It's all thanks to this bunch," Shining nodded towards his lieutenants, who were inspecting the prototype, "and the Engines Equestria steamworkers."
"I'll be sure to express my gratitude to the steamworkers as well," Celestia rested a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Twilight, I would like you to field-test this machine, as well as the new arcane turbine Minuette has created."
"Are you sure?" Twilight asked nervously. "I mean, Minuette's turbine shouldn't be a problem, but I'm not sure I can handle a warjack like this."
"No pony has yet commanded a warjack like this, Twilight, but I have every confidence in you. We'll get you fitted for warcaster armor in the morning."
There was an air of excitement throughout Ponyville. Given that Princess Celestia was in town, this was to be expected. The general sense of anticipation throughout the town was only increased by the fact that the Princess was present to make an important announcement, and that nopony knew what it was. The rapid assembly of an open-air stage outside of the tall, off-limits building at Engines Equestria had many ponies assuming that whatever goings-on were going on in that structure had reached their conclusion. As the hour of Celestia's speech approached, shops closed, laborers and craftsponies laid down their tools, and Ponyville's entire population converged on Engines Equestria's campus. Pegasus ponies familiar with the off-limits structure noticed holes in the roof that hadn't been there before, through which billowed thick clouds of smoke. The roar of a steamjack's furnace was unmistakable to those who worked with the machines, although many of them suspected that this engine was the loudest they'd heard, even through the building's walls. Celestia stood at the back of the stage, flanked by Luna and Cadance. At Cadance's other side were Shining Armor and his lieutenants, and beside Luna were the small few engineers who had been entrusted to work on the mysterious project going on in the mysterious structure. Spike the dragon stood near Shining Armor, but Twilight Sparkle was conspicuously absent.
The crowd's general chatter died down as Celestia's assistant, the black-maned mare known as Raven, stepped up to the podium. The unicorn adjusted her horn-rimmed glasses.
"Mares and gentlestallions," Raven said in her most formal of formal voices. "Her Highness Princess Celestia, Bringer of Sunlight and Monarch of the Dawn Sky, has come here to Ponyville to personally deliver an announcement of utmost importance. Without further ado, Princess Celestia." With that simple introduction, Raven stepped aside. Celestia, smiling slightly at her assistant's fondness for inventing new regal-sounding titles whenever she introduced the Princess, approached the podium.
"My little ponies," Celestia said warmly. "My dear subjects, as Raven said, I have an announcement to make. I'm sure you're well aware that Engines Equestria has been working on a project of utmost secrecy here in Ponyville. The purpose of this effort was to create a warjack. A warjack of incomparable power and resilience which would serve as a shield to protect everypony from those who might threaten us!" Celestia's horn glowed as she used her magic to slowly open the building's giant double doors. Due to the sun's position in the morning sky, the structure remained largely in shadow, but it was clear that something massive was inside, partially backlit by its furnace's flames. "Fillies and gentlecolts, this is the culmination of Project Red River!" The great machine took single thunderous step forward, its massive foot shaking the ground. Then, another step brought it fully into the morning light. "Upon the steel shoulders of this great machine rest the hopes and dreams of all Equestrians! I give you... the Paragon!" The warjack towered over thirty feet tall, its massive armor was shaped into broad curves and slopes designed to deflect projectiles. Each leg was as wide as a light warjack, and its hands were broad enough for a pony to stand easily in its palms. Indeed, Twilight Sparkle stood in its right hand, clad in polished steel armor with a newly-made arcane turbine on her back. Built into the front of the Paragon's shoulders were a pair of long-barreled cannons. The shoulders, arms, and legs were carved with curved etchings centered around silver spheres that glowed with arcane force. With the exception of its knuckles and wrists, each joint was formed of a ball joint with two long pistons at the front and back. The wrists were ball joints without pistons, while the knuckle joints were moved by metal vanes through which coursed arcane force. Its legs were broad and heavily armored, their structure vaguely reminiscent of a pony's hind legs. The Paragon's armor was painted a muted off-white with a bright red stripe across the left shoulder, above which was painted 'Red River Prototype 001'. The number had been reserved for the first Paragon despite the fact that Red River's work had produced other products beforehand.
There was silence. Then, more silence, followed by silence. After that, there was only silence.
Then the cheering began. Shouts of joy and admiration, thunderous applause, ponies jumping up and down. The kind of thing that Princess Celestia had come to associate with her announcements of good news. She simply maintained a serene smile as the Paragon knelt down, lowering its hand so that Twilight could hop from its palm onto the stage. Twilight bowed low, raising her head only when Celestia rested a hoof on her shoulder.
"Twilight, let's bring the Paragon to the proving grounds. It's time for a demonstration of its capabilities."
"Of course, Princess Celestia"
It was midnight when the attack started. Bursts of steel spikes screamed through the darkness, ricocheting off of Shining Armor's town-shielding force field. Four-legged Leviathan helljacks trudged forward from the treeline, releasing another hail of spikes. Behind them came scores of helljacks of every description. bonejacks bearing arc nodes stalked among the helljacks, and more of them spread out to the formation's flanks, accompanied by bane riders and centaur-like soulhunter thralls. Behind the warjacks and cavalry came mechanithrall hordes with several brute thralls among them, along with bane thralls and knights, bile thralls, and warwitch sirens. Necrosurgeons followed the mechanithralls closely, their stitch thralls prepared to bring them fallen thralls or useful body parts, while several necrotechs scuttled close to the helljacks, prepared to improvise repairs or scrap thralls as the machines were damaged and wrecked. Also among the helljacks floated iron lich overseers, their gestalt consciousnesses entrusted to marshal most of the heavy warjacks.
In relative safety behind this grim horde were the three iron liches of the Withershadow Combine: Maelovus, Admonia, and Tremulus. While highly placed within Cryx's hierarchy, the Combine were present in a support role, as requested by the force's leader: Lich Lord Asphyxious, who stood (more or less) with his centipede-like custom bonejack, the Cankerworm. Also in Asphyxious's support were Wraith Witch Deneghra, protectively loomed over by Nightmare, and Master Necrotech Mortenebra, accompanied by her heavily modified skarlock thrall, Deryliss. Other skarlocks were interspersed among the hordes of lesser thralls, guiding and commanding the mindless undead. Also within the mass were several pistol wraiths, drifting almost idly along, wraithlock pistols at the ready. Behind the warcasters, deep in the shadows, the glow of burning necrotite promised further horrors.
"Thy evaluation of their force field would appear to be correct, Deneghra," Asphyxious said.
"Thank you, my lord," Deneghra rasped gratefully. "I would have preferred to mobilize before the ponies responsible for it returned, but Lord Terminus was late in replying to my requests."
"I am sure his delay was not accidental." Asphyxious commented. "The presence of Lord Tartarus and General Slaughterborn would have been beneficial, but they are not essential. As for the barrier, Admonia will penetrate it."
Twilight Sparkle had been pleased to find that the Canterlot Archives contained spells for seeing through natural and magical obstructions to vision, and was even more pleased with the speed at which she had mastered the spell that now allowed her to see through both the darkness of night and the occluding, anathemic clouds that typically surrounded bane thralls.
"If those things reach the barrier, I'm not going to be able to hold it," Shining Armor told her.
"It wouldn't matter," Twilight replied. "The Withershadow Combine is here. Admonia can break down most forms of magic without even trying. It would only be a matter of time before she worked out how to cancel your barrier."
"Then we'd better mobilize."
As Twilight opened her mouth to respond, a massive footstep shook the wall. "I think Princess Celestia's a step ahead of us on that." Both ponies turned to see that Celestia was indeed rolling out every single Royal Guard pony in Ponyville, and that she, Luna, and Cadance commanded large contingents of warjacks, including the Paragon. Celestia stood atop the colossal warjack, directing the soldiers as the mass of iron, steel, and ponyflesh hastened towards the southern gate.
Celestia had to fly from the Paragon to the wall as it moved through the gate, being barely able to fit through without her on top. "Twilight Sparkle, Shining Armor, what do you make of the situation?"
"What we see is a vanguard force," Twilight said, struggling to keep her tone matter-of-fact. "It's a blitz intended to soften us up." Twilight returned to her binoculars and continued. "There are two warcasters. Wraith Witch Deneghra seems to be communing with the skarlock thralls and iron lich overseers controlling the bulk of the force. Master Necrotech Mortenebra is also approaching, apparently in control of a much smaller force, mostly heavy warjacks. Bane riders and soulhunters are flanking, apparently without oversight. There's a third warcaster. He's past the treeline, so I can't see him clearly, but given that Deneghra is here, we can safely assume it's Lich Lord Asphyxious. He'll be bringing up the rear if he decides this force can't handle us on their own. But warcasters aren't the main issue here -I'm pretty sure you can take Asphyxious in a magic duel, and the others are weaker than he is. The main problem are those three iron liches Mortenebra's escorting. The one with the book can cancel spells, she'll shut down Shining's barrier if she gets close enough."
"I'll make it a point to stop them." With that, Celestia leapt into the night sky.
"Whatever you do, don't let them get a cortex!" Twilight called after her.
"What happens if they get a cortex?" Shining asked.
"They use it to teleport an active Cryxian warjack to their location," Twilight replied flatly. "And then it goes on a rampage. As they do."
"That's bad." Shining flinched as another barrage of Leviathan needles struck his barrier. "I can't fight and keep this force field up at the same time, so we'll form the second line with Cadance."
"Twilight!" Rainbow Dash shouted before either unicorn realized she was there. "What should we do?!"
Trying to act like she hadn't just jumped a good two feet straight up, Twilight realized that the rest of her friends were ascending the steps up the wall. Each was wearing her respective Element of Harmony. Spike came with them, carrying the Element of Magic. Twilight paused, considering the situation. Cannon fire began to thunder across the town as the Paragon's guns opened up.
"I have an idea," Twilight declared. "It's either brilliant or crazy, but we don't have time to lose. Come with me, girls!"