• Published 19th Sep 2016
  • 1,149 Views, 157 Comments

Hecate's Orphanage - BlackRoseRaven



Cadence and other ponies from across countless parallel worlds work together to protect their universe from monsters.

  • ...
22
 157
 1,149

PreviousChapters Next
Highway To Hell

Chapter Fifteen: Highway To Hell
~BlackRoseRaven

The Kirin spirit in front of them was much different than the others: it was taller, more athletic, and almost cocky, Cadence thought. It also had taken eerily well to being trapped inside a little sphere of crystal, but it had already rationalized this: “My entire life was devoted to serving as the central node to a prison-city, immobile and servitudinal. This is a welcome upgrade to my former existence.”

The Irregulars had put some distance between themselves and the massive corpse of the Kirin before La Croix had called up the creature's spirit. So far, they had learned a lot from him: he was very eager to help. Although Cadence didn't entirely trust him for some reason: he wasn't just intelligent, but cunning. And that... bothered her.

Still, he was definitely an asset: as La Croix fumbled over the massive control panel at the back of the room, the Kirin explained: “Almost all of the systems are automated, as most of us are Splices. Clones, copies, call them whatever you will. We're all made from the same genetic base, although mutations in the genome do occur, and at times 'designer Splices' are created. But for the most part, they use the same formula: they create a simple, sturdy, and most importantly passive soldier. Little or no free will means that the behavior node's programming takes over more completely.

“The soldiers are very effective within their parameters. But the soldiers also cannot leave their designated areas unless ordered to by a superior officer, and this prison compound in particular has very few 'thinking officers.' Most of them are AI-powered automatons, and all of that has been shut down.” The Kirin smiled, the spirit's dark eyes glittering. “But if you reprogram those parameters and turn the AI back on, we should have some very interesting results.”

“We are all very thankful for your help, but... it seems strange to me that you seem so eager to turn on your own brethren.” Sombra said quietly, and the Kirin spirit looked at him almost mockingly even as La Croix grunted in agreement. “Do you have a name?”

“No. My PID is 112-N-5M. My codename was Auriculos.” the Kirin replied with a shrug. “And to answer your unasked question, I was a superior, free-thinking specimen before they turned me into the giant lump your friend killed. I was much closer to a born-Kirin than a Splice. And I would like to... 'voice my disapproval' for what the Jarsongildi has done in the strongest possible terms.”

Sombra nodded a few times at this, giving a brief smile before he said softly: “I will not question you, nor your reasons for helping us. But perhaps, now that you have freedom... consider focusing on what lies ahead, not what is behind.”

“I will take your advice under consideration.” the Kirin spirit said acidly, and then he looked towards Moonflower, who was gazing warily at the shade. “You. Pull the lever behind you to kickstart the emergency generators. We only have to worry about bringing the primary systems back online. By now Homeguard and Bushi will have begun cleaning up the prison, but this should create more than enough chaos for you to escape.”

“Wait.” Cadence said quickly, and Moonflower hesitated as the Kirin spirit scowled. “Auriculos, we're trying to find someone: an earth pony Benevolent, Rustproof-”

“I don't remember every name or face that has passed through these halls, but if he's important enough to have someone looking for him, then he's not here.” Auriculos stopped, then gestured after a moment, saying almost grudgingly: “But he may have been transported through here. If he has any usable skills, then he would have been transported to another facility.”

Cadence frowned a bit, and then she started: “He was an engineer-”

“And Fyrverǫld is a mechanical world. Hence it is logical to assume that engineers are in high demand.” the Kirin retorted with the faintest hint of condescension, and Cadence scowled a little: she really did not like this guy. “If he's too valuable for them to put a node in his brain, then he's most likely at Colloquium. Either way, you'll have to escape from here first.”

They looked at each other moodily for a few long moments, and then Cadence finally gestured at Moonflower and muttered: “Do what he says.”

Auriculos smiled thinly at this, studying Cadence warily before he turned his eyes towards Moonflower. “Hit the lever.”

Moonflower scowled a little, but then he turned around and reached up to yank the lever down, huffing a little as he grumbled: “Antecedes warned me about spirits like you.”

“Oh, leave him alone. 'Course he ain't no good with bein' social, he's been a big squishy brain in a tube for most of his life.” La Croix grumbled as he adjusted a few more dials, mumbling: “Although you do keep barkin' like an angry chien, mon ami.”

“Politeness is not one of my genetic traits.” the Kirin spirit replied moodily, and then he suddenly floated into the air, the shade rippling with energy as he held his hooves up towards a set of levers on a suspended bar near the ceiling, and several of these flipped with loud clanks.

La Croix was watching with his features tense, his eyes narrowing as the Kirin smiled contritely, before he frowned when the Loa said in a quiet voice: “You ain't supposed to be able to do stuff like that.”

“Oh please. Ghosts are nothing but living energy, psychic echoes. In this state, my mental powers are amplified and my free will means I am capable of great feats of psychic strength and precision.” the Kirin retorted, looking with distaste at the zebra as he slowly floated down from the air. “Anyway, it's not as if I've become unbound. I must still obey you, Loa. I am just much more powerful than you anticipated.”

“Aye, but you best be careful there, you cocodril wannabe.” La Croix said mildly, looking calmly at the spirit as he straightened a little, ignoring the sound of the machinery around them gearing slowly up. “You use up too much of your power, that crystal might break. And if the crystal breaks, you gonna end up banished, and that ain't gonna be good for you.”

Auriculos looked moodily at La Croix for a few moments, and then he simply vanished as the zebra rolled his eyes, before he said wryly as shutters slowly began to clank open all around them: “Well, at least he be honest so far.”

“I don't like him.” Cadence muttered, even as her eyes watched the shutters rise to reveal massive windows that formed the walls of the tower. The mare grimaced as she looked out over the prison sprawling below them, her eyes roving uneasily over the signs of battle and ruin: fires burned here and there, and a guard tower had collapsed on itself, it shattered ruins spread in every direction.

She could large flying machines circling the outer perimeter slowly, and as the mare leaned forwards, she realized this section of the tower they stood in had a sloped wall, sections of this raised here and there to reveal large, inactive turrets and cannons. She also realized that in the distance, it looked like there was some kind of massive rectangular bay, and a huge road supported by pillars fed out of this...

“Colloquium.” Cadence muttered, and then she shook her head before saying finally: “We aren't going to get very far on hoof, and I don't see a rail or even know how to get there... La Croix?”

The zebra grimaced, beginning to reach back for the satchel containing the crystals, before the Loa flinched in surprise as Auriculos said sourly, his voice echoing strangely through the air: “Oh, I'm already starting to loathe this. At least here I was in charge of everything and it was quiet. But since you all apparently need to be ordered around more than the Splices, I'll make it simple for you.

“If you can manage to make it to the Transit Hall, I should be able to interface with the docked ships. You can ride one right to Colloquium... which would not be a terrible place for our next stop, anyway. We can do a lot of damage there.”

La Croix scowled, then he snapped: “Hey, hey, connard! I'm gonna banish you myself if you keep up this bloodsport, you hear? Sang est sang!

“I do not see what biological components have to do with anything.” Auriculos replied moodily. “You should be happy I'm inclined to vengeance.”

“You know, there's only enough room for one God of Evil in this party and I'm pretty sure I've already taken that position.” Moonflower said grumpily, before he sidled quickly over to Cadence and muttered in her ear: “I don't trust this one at all. Tell La Croix to send it to... stripehorse hell or wherever he sends things. Kirin look enough like zebra, I'm sure no one will notice.”

“Stop being racist, Moonflower. Anyway, tell him yourself.” Cadence grumbled, bodychecking the stallion away before she added grouchily: “And La Croix? Keep that thing under control.”

“Don't you worry, Cygne, I got it. He just loud, like Moony.” La Croix replied, although he blushed slightly, a little embarrassed, not that Cadence could really blame him. She knew herself what it felt like when you thought you had control, and then your own powers seemed to turn against you...

“Just... be careful.” Cadence said in a softer voice, and then she shook her head before smiling a little over at her father as he approached her other side, asking quietly: “What are you thinking?”

Sombra looked at her for a moment, then he glanced out through the window, gesturing towards the large, rectangular outbuilding at the very edge of the sprawling prison facility. “Just as the train came to the station, so must the paths lead to the stable, or hangar, as I believe Hecate calls such places.”

“The Transit Hall. That's what I was thinking, too. It looks like there's still a few vehicles coming and going as well...” Cadence glanced up at the flickering lights, muttering: “Power seems unsteady. Maybe with the systems restored, though, the elevator and doors will work properly.”

Sombra smiled slightly, and Cadence frowned at the stallion before he gestured towards the window, remarking: “The closest distance between two points is a straight line.”

Cadence looked thoughtful at this, and then she nodded slowly before she gave a slight smile back to her father. Then she turned her attention towards La Croix, asking: “You learn anything about how things are set up, or what's going on?”

“I learned plenty, Cygne, but I don't want to go dredgin' that brain 'lessen I have to.” La Croix grumbled, eyeing the control panel over his shoulder moodily before he shook his head quickly and continued: “I'm thinkin' that we're gonna need a better crystal to hold this one. No offense, Papa Sérénité. He just a lot more of a renard than I thought he was.”

Sombra only smiled, and Cadence grunted before she asked: “Then can you tell me how long we should wait before those soldiers are scrambled, or whatever's going to happen to them?”

“I would guess it started already.” Moonflower said awkwardly, pointing towards the Dogmatists on the other side of the room, and Cadence frowned before turning and grimacing at the sight of the strange mechanical ponies as they stumbled back and forth, no longer heading between computers but instead walking into walls and other objects around the room as they sizzled and crackled.

The mare watched as one of these machine-ponies fell over and began to spasm, and she shivered a little before turning her eyes towards the window, saying moodily: “Well. Then there's no better time than now to get ourselves moving, in that case.”

La Croix grunted, then both he and Moonflower frowned as Cadence approached the window wall before the mare's horn glowed white. In one quick movement, she slashed her horn in a wide circle, shearing through the thick glass with concentrated magic before she simply booted the now-loose circle of glass hard, sending it flying out into thin air.

She smiled slightly, then looked over her shoulder at the pair as Sombra shook his head with a quiet chuckle, and after a moment both Moonflower and La Croix winced, shaking their heads vehemently. “You can't be serious!”

Cygne, I don't think this is...” La Croix halted as Cadence spun around and simply leapt through the window, and then he sighed and rubbed a hoof slowly down his face, mumbling: “Oh, there she goes. Fou, that one is.”

“A little madness always lends itself well to genius.” Sombra said softly, and then the stallion turned and leapt through the hole in the window himself.

The two stallions were left staring for a moment, and then La Croix shrugged before he ran forwards and leapt out of the window as well, Moonflower skittering hurriedly after him before he jumped, his eyes widening as he realized he was a little off mark-

The winged unicorn smashed bodily through the glass, yelping as he flapped his wings wildly and flailed at the air to try and regain balance before he landed painfully on the sharply-sloped roof, skidding back and forth on all fours as he yelled in terror.

La Croix winced, one hoof pushing his mane back out of his face as the other three remained planted firmly on the roof, the zebra doing his best to follow the path of Sombra and Cadence as he shouted: “Stop your damn squallin', Moony! You got wings!”

“As if that's supposed to help me right now!” Moonflower howled as he skidded back and forth, before his eyes bulged in horror at the sight of Cadence and Sombra both leaping off the edge of the slope, the unicorn breaking into a run in midair as his body thrummed with dark energy, while Cadence's wings spread wide. “No no no no nonono-”

La Croix flung himself off the roof as his body became ethereal, letting him charge onward through the air, and a moment later Moonflower yelled as he hit the edge and flipped wildly off, falling through the air and flailing all four limbs madly. But after a few moments, his wings spread and caught the wind, carrying him forwards in a rough zigzag over the burning roof of the compound as he shouted: “Who the hell's idea was this?”

Ahead, Cadence only grinned wryly as she shot over the rooftop, her eyes locked on the rectangular building in the distance. Her eyes locked on a window in the high wall, and the mare flapped her wings hard, aiming straight for this as she felt the Swan taking over, honing her body and her instincts.

Her horn flashed, and her body turned into a white comet before she smashed through the window and streaked down to the floor of the Transit Hall, crashing down with a tremendous boom of white light and energy that sent Kirin flying in all directions with howls of shock. The Swan leapt forwards immediately, seizing an armored Kirin by the face and slamming him skull-first into the pavement as soldiers scattered, yelling wildly to one-another.

The Swan spun around, her sharpened senses letting her take in everything at once as she gave a thin smile: she had landed on some kind of shipping platform. There seemed to be a few different platforms scattered around the hangar, some of them higher, some lower, some small and others large. But it looked like almost all of them had been damaged, and many of the armored Kirin and the soldiers that were visibly more heavily-enhanced were in the middle of bloody conflict with the Kirin she assumed were Splices.

Thirty-two hostiles. Many possible allies. The Swan smiled coldly as she ran toward the closest Kirin, leaping on top of the armored soldier and stabbing a knife down into his throat. All expendable. Kill them all.

Sombra dropped in through the window a moment later and landed smoothly, the unicorn looking quickly at the Swan before he turned and waved a hoof out, a wall of crystal exploding from the ground and blocking the gunfire from a mounted turret that one of the Kirin had leapt into. The stallion flicked his wrist as his horn thrummed with magic, an eerie, almost liquid glow appearing around his hoof before he lobbed this over the barrier.

The slime-like magic landed on the turret before spreading rapidly over it, turning to solid crystal that jammed the spinning barrels, rendering it useless. The Homeguard in the turret snarled, smart enough to immediately drop the weapon and instead yank his rifle off his back, leaning over the turret to try and fire over the barrier.

He didn't notice La Croix until the zebra was right on top of him, the Kirin looking up too late to react as the stallion slammed a hoof into the Homeguard's face with a wince. Green lightning shocked over the Kirin's body, sapping his life force and knocking him unconscious as he tumbled out of the turret, and La Croix wheezed loudly before he quickly clambered into the turret, whistling sharply.

Without looking past the barrier, Sombra held up his hoof in the direction of the turret even as he turned: as his crystal melted away from the gun, the unicorn was already casting another spell, sending a blast of black magic into one of the mechanical Kirin he assumed were Bushi.

Dark lightning shocked over the creature before turning to gemstone, but the Kirin simply snarled before flexing, shattering free of the gemstone as it spun towards Sombra. Unlike the Homeguard and Splices, it had neither armor nor uniform, but that was likely because of the sheer amount of machinery augmenting the cyborg, the Bushi's horn glowing with vile electrical energy as it charged towards Sombra-

It was crushed flat a moment later by Moonflower crash-landing on top of it, Sombra wincing slightly as the winged unicorn bounced off the cyborg and flipped once through the air before landing heavily on his rump. Moonflower grabbed at his butt, wincing and looking around before he sprang to his hooves, shouting: “The God of Darkness has arrived to destroy all that stands in his way, so you should all-”

Half a dozen Kirin took aim at Moonflower and opened fire, and the winged unicorn squealed and danced back and forth before he created a forcefield around himself, bullets freezing in midair around him as they hit this. Moonflower looked back and forth, one eye twitching before he shouted angrily: “Don't say I didn't warn you!”

The stallion's horn glowed brightly, and the bullets that had been absorbed into his shield immediately began to feed quickly in front of Moonflower's horn, firing off with a ratatatat of dark magic. The impromptu machine gun fire traced over several distant Homeguard, driving them into cover behind various crates and vehicles, before the noise was joined by the much-louder sound of the turret above opening fire.

The enemy was in chaos: even as exosuits began to punch their way into the fray and two small transport ships shot into the massive hanger to drop more soldiers into the mess, the raving Splices were distracting and confusing many of the Kirin, while the Swan tore like a whirlwind through their ranks and her stallion companions kept many of the enemies suppressed.

As the fight raged, the spirit of Auriculos flickered into being beside La Croix, the Kirin looking back and forth before his eyes locked on the office almost directly below. Then they roved up, and he grinned malevolently as they locked on a destroyer-class airship in the distance: massive, its hatches and loading bay open and cargo sitting half-loaded on its main ramp.

“Perfect.” he whispered, and then he looked over his shoulder at La Croix. “I need to get down to the control station. I can interface from there!”

La Croix grimaced, but then he nodded quickly before hopping out of the turret, leaping down without hesitation towards the platform below. He landed a little awkwardly, stumbling around in a circle-

A metal hoof smashed into his face, knocking him rolling backwards to slam into a crate with a yelp before he stared as a Bushi strode out of the control center. The Kirin scowled at him for a moment, covered from almost horn-to-hoof in metal molded to his body. He rose one steel limb, and then smiled thinly as a metal blade extended from his wrist before it sparked with electricity. “Engaging hostile.”

“Nope.” La Croix said blandly, and then he simply vanished. But the Bushi's horn glowed brightly, and a moment later the Loa reappeared with a gasp as lighting crackled over his body, his eyes widening in horror before he snarled as the Kirin pounced towards him, blade drawing back-

The zebra snapped a hoof out, and Grimsmoke appeared in front of him, the Kirin spirit swearing angrily as the Bushi slammed into the specter like it was a wall. It bounced backwards, blade automatically retracting as it caught itself, and Grimsmoke vanished with another curse as La Croix leapt to his hooves and quickly attempted to flank around the Bushi.

The Bushi sidestepped quickly, slashing its foreleg out as it turned, and another blade shot free from its wrist: La Croix barely ducked this, then weaved quickly backwards when it attempted to stab him before he shoved a hoof towards the cyborg when it jumped at him. Green light flashed in front of the mechanical Kirin's eyes, and it howled as it grabbed at its face, landing with a thud on the cement as La Croix jumped backwards.

The Loa slammed both hooves down, and Grimsmoke appeared again, dropping like a brick on top of the Bushi's back. The cyborg flinched, but then snarled and leapt forwards, his horn glowing brightly with electricity.

La Croix barely managed to stagger out of the way as the cyborg tore past, its whole body cracking with lightning before it spun on one hoof, charging towards the zebra again. But La Croix was ready this time, the Loa gritting his teeth as he backpedaled before leaping out of the way just before the Bushi could slam into him horn-first.

Instead, the Bushi crashed into a crate, smashing the front of the wooden box to splinters before it spun towards La Croix-

It heard the creaking too late, and the Bushi didn't have enough time to react, to do anything but start to look up before the crate on top of the broken box tipped forwards and landed with a tremendous bang on top of the cyborg. It howled, then glared hatefully at La Croix even as its body sparked and sizzled violently, its lower half crushed and its upper body spasming as it uselessly tried to yank itself free from beneath the cargo.

Grimsmoke and the nameless spirit both looked at La Croix from where they were standing on top of the pile of crates, and the zebra smiled briefly at them before they vanished, even as Grimsmoke's voice muttered: “Stop using me like a weapon.”

Pardonnez-moi, mon ami, but we all gotta do what we gotta do.” La Croix muttered as he turned to hurry into the control room, before he said quickly as his eyes roved back and forth over the panels and flickering screens: “Okay, I be here, but it don't look like this is runnin' all that right...”

“There's not enough power to run the user interfaces. That works to our advantage.” Auriculos spoke up, before La Croix felt his attention tugged towards a hoof-shaped indent. “Press my crystal into there. It should give me enough contact to access the systems.”

“Hope you know what you're doin'.” La Croix muttered, grimacing slightly as he reached back to pull the gemstone free, studying it uncertainly before he added quietly: “You cross us, you know I'll be sendin' you to the frozen bayou, right?”

Auriculos only laughed contemptibly, and La Croix hesitated a moment longer before he grimaced and plugged the device in, holding it in place as it started to glow eerily.

In the hangar, the Irregular Hunters had grouped together, Cadence forcing the Swan down as much as she could so she didn't leap out of the protection created by her father and Moonflower. The two were maintaining a powerful shield as gunfire focused on them from all sides: Cadence just hoped that La Croix was getting Auriculos to fulfill his end of the bargain, because they weren't going to last very long like this...

The mare grimaced a bit as she reached hesitantly up, grasping the butt of the rifle she had been given. She bit her lip: it still felt wrong to use this toy. But the Kirin were trying to push in on them from all sides, even as the maddened Splices continued to attack their former allies, forcing Homeguard and Bushi to splinter away from the group closing slowly in on the trio.

“Goddammit.” Cadence growled, and she yanked the rifle free, hating how naturally her hooves worked the switch to extend the barrel, how easily she brought it up to her shoulder as she dropped herself lower-

The rifle fired with a tremendous bang, and a silver stake tore through the helmeted head of a Homeguard, knocking him flying backwards to land in a broken, bloody sprawl. Cadence's hooves worked the lever of the rifle, loading another round in as she didn't allow herself the time to think: she just let the Swan guide her. To the Swan, after all, it was just another weapon, just another way to kill, and that wicked thing inside of her was delighted by the efficiency of the gun as she sent another lethal stake tearing through the chest of a Bushi, which gargled in shock before collapsing forwards, corpse sparking with electricity as if it was trying uselessly to revive itself.

Sombra breathed steadily as he kept his hooves firmly planted against the ground, keeping a spiked fence of crystal around them. Moonflower, meanwhile, had created a forcefield that was both blocking enemy fire and reflecting the smaller bullets back at their attackers. Still, Sombra could see that the enemies were closing in, and the Bushi had already stopped firing on them to instead begin moving eagerly to get in close: he knew that even with their combined strength, he and Moonflower wouldn't be able to maintain a barrier for long with the cyborgs all trying to punch their way in at once.

The unicorn began to tense, taking a slow breath as the purifier on his back started to hum, but then his ears twitched as he felt a rumble pass through the concrete beneath their hooves.

Sombra looked sharply towards the massive ship in the distance, an alarm blaring loudly as machinery started to gear loudly up inside the airship. The cargo door slowly began to close as the hatches sealed themselves, and shutters opened to allow automated weapon systems to rise free, turrets opening fire on the Homeguard and Bushi.

The crowd around the trio of ponies was quickly dispersed as they were peppered with automatic fire, and Cadence grinned a bit as La Croix appeared beside them, the Loa gesturing rapidly and snapping: “Come on, come on, ici, ici! We gotta go!”

Moonflower immediately dropped his shield as Sombra made a sharp sweeping gesture, the fence of corruption splitting in half and letting the trio of ponies hurry out and gallop towards the massive aircraft. As they sprinted across the platform, the hangar around them began to quake and tremble as the roof slowly began to rumble open.

Cadence leapt into the air, flapping her wings hard as she zigzagged between the hail of bullets from the turrets before her eyes widened as she saw a Kirin on the deck of the massive airship leap into one of the gunner seats. She swore as she lunged to the side, narrowly avoiding a shot from the enormous rectangular cannon, the mare wincing as the gunner tracked after her before he fired again, and even though he missed by more than a foot, she still felt the passage of the immense round as it tore by to punch a hole clean through another airship on the other side of the hangar.

The mare took aim with the rifle in her telekinetic grip, firing a clumsy shot at the Kirin: it went wild, but the Kirin still flinched away, his aim going wide. Then, before he could grab the controls, Cadence had already shot in, smashing both rear hooves into the crew-Kirin's face and knocking him in a boneless, broken sprawl out of the gunner's seat.

More Kirin were storming onto the deck from an open hatch, but a moment after Cadence touched down, Sombra leapt up onto the ship before slamming his hooves down, a spiked river of black gemstone ripping across the deck and parting the attacking Kirin like breaking water before a wall of dark gemstone spikes formed in front of the doorway, blockading it. Moonflower and La Croix both joined them a moment later, and some of the Kirin crew turned to flee, while the few who remained were quickly blasted into submission by Moonflower's spells and Cadence's rifle.

As the last crewmate fell, the airship slowly began to rise, Cadence stumbling a little towards the edge of the deck before she caught the rail and looked down in amazement: Kirin were shouting at them, firing uselessly on the armored hull of the massive battleship, but it was completely useless. All they were doing was attracting the attention of the turrets, which fired endlessly and relentlessly on the Kirin below even as several battlemechs marched out of another ship, and other, smaller ships started to rise into the air-

Something massive slammed into the airship, which rocked violently at the impact as one of the turrets exploded, and Cadence swore before her eyes widened in horror as she saw a massive machine on treads slowly rolling towards them. It was huge and rectangular, with a massive cannon turret on the back that a Kirin was operating, and a snarling dragon's head on the front, with gemstone eyes that seemed to be generating a powerful forcefield, strong enough to let it ignore most of the turret fire being concentrated on it.

“We need to do something about that!” Cadence shouted, pointing at the war machine as the others joined her. Then she was almost knocked off her hooves as the cannon fired again, tearing away another chunk of the airship's hull, another turret exploding and a third sparking violently and falling inert as the ivory mare cursed-

A roar echoed through the air, and the Kirin on the ground were distracted before Cadence's eyes widened in shock as a black, draconic beast rammed bodily into the tank, knocking the war machine over and sending the Kirin in the turret flying across the hangar with a yell of shock. A... a Tyrant Wyrm?

But before her eyes could fully register what was going on, in front of her eyes, the black-scaled beast became nothing but black mire as it leapt into the air, and what dropped free of the sludge was a stallion she recognized with shock as Scrivener Blooms, as he slammed one steel claw into the face of a Bushi, sending it down in a crumpled heap

A pillar-like blast of blue energy shot out from behind another ship, the laser of magic blowing apart the cockpit of one of the smaller flying machines and sending it whirling out of control to crash down into a battlemech, sending up a tremendous explosion. And then Morgan Heldóttir leapt out from where she had been hidden, fearlessly striking into a group of Kirin... which means...

Luna Brynhild streaked out of seemingly nowhere to slam into a Bushi, uppercutting it into the air before she punched it into a Homeguard with her other hoof, laughing loudly as she danced through gunfire from the panicked Kirin troops. One of Cadence's eyes twitched as she snarled down at the Valkyrie, the Swan roaring inside of her in fury and humiliation as she leaned forwards so far over the railing that her father had to grab her by the shoulders to stop her from going over the side.

“Valkyrie!” the Swan roared, and Brynhild glanced up even as she summoned her spear in a burst of blue flames to fling a Kirin high into the air, the soldier flying head over heels towards the open sky above.

“Swan! Damnation, we are supposed to be saving thee! Get down here so we can save thee properly!” Luna shouted in an equally-frustrated voice, before she swore as the airship began to rise faster into the air, the engines at the rear of the massive ship kicking into life. “Oh... double damnation! Scrivy, Morgan!”

Her partners both quickly nodded, the stallion leaning forwards and slamming one last punch into a battlemech to knock it sprawling as the core in Morgan's chest flashed brightly, disorienting the Kirin she was fighting, and both quickly withdrew towards Brynhild, who was already charging towards the open exit. Several Kirin in exosuits were marching in through the open shutter, all of them taking aim at Luna as she rushed towards them, but none of them had a chance to react before Luna attacked.

Her spear thrust through the chest of the first Kirin in line, tearing halfway through his body and out the back of the exosuit before she leapt into the air and slammed both rear hooves into the face of the second, then roared as she yanked her spear around with magic, hauling the dead Kirin with her and slamming both weapon and mechanical suit into the third soldier to send him crashing to the ground as the dead pilot tore free and bounced bonelessly away.

She sprinted out onto the highway beyond, ignoring the large transports that were parked around the front of the building as she watched the airship veer its way over the highway, clearly following the track: her eyes narrowed sharply at this, and then she grinned wryly as Scrivener and Morgan joined her, remarking: “'Tis never easy, but I suppose at least we are also never bored. I have a feeling we should follow.”

Scrivener sighed tiredly as Luna winked at him, and then he set himself as Morgan flicked her horn quickly towards the entrance to the enormous hangar, creating a solid barrier of energy to block any enemies from surprising them. “This is going to suck.”

The stallion closed his eyes as the ground around him turned to black corruption, bubbling and trembling before it quickly rose up around the earth pony, forming into a black dome. This vibrated for a moment, then suddenly collapsed as a large shape pushed up through the egg-like shell: a black-scaled, draconic beast with a white underbelly and a crown of horns standing proudly out from the back of his head. And not just his body had changed, but his armor had enlarged and reshaped itself with him, to better meld to his now-draconic form.

Enlarged Talons clenched at the end of his forelimbs as the six spike-like pistons of bone sparked along either side of the enormous beast's spine, his powerful, streamlined frame flexing before Morgan leapt quickly up onto his back. And the creature that Scrivener Blooms had become grimaced before he nodded quickly and turned, breaking into a rapid sprint after the airship down the highway.

Luna grinned after the two for a moment, and then she whistled loudly as her spear burst into blue flames and vanished. She began to trot down the highway, slowly gaining speed as she closed her eyes, even as gunfire chased her and war machines began to emerge from other openings in the massive hangar they had just attacked...

And then she heard it, and more importantly, felt it: the growing roar, the tingle in her bones. The armored mare's grin stretched wider as she galloped faster, her body tensing, readying itself, and then she leapt into the air as reality shattered behind her in a blast of sapphire hellfire, a shape shooting out of the hole in the air with a terrible roar.

Luna dropped into the seat of the living machine that shot beneath her, her hooves catching the handlebars and needlessly gunning the throttle to urge her chosen steed faster as it roared in the voice of the machine her war-brother was trapped inside. The motorcycle shot down the hallway, wheels and the eyes of the silvered demon skull mounted on the front of the war machine burning with blue flames, the ghostly shape of her companion steed Hex flickering over the armor-plated vehicle as it burned with heat and energy.

“Go, Hex! We cannot let Scrivy outrace us, can we?” Luna shouted cheerfully, and the living motorcycle growled in agreement as it streaked down the highway, the mare grinning widely before she frowned as something nipped at her senses, looking quickly over her shoulder before she scowled as she saw one of the trucks racing after her, Kirin leaning over the cab to fire at her with rifles as she said wryly: “Well. As I said, at least 'twill not be boring.”

Luna reached up and yanked Sting free from its holster before she spun herself around, grasping the back of the seat with her other hoof as she leaned against the handlebars, lowering her rifle with a dangerous smile as the truck swerved back and forth, but she easily followed the movements before pulling the trigger.

The head of one of the Kirin on top of the truck exploded, but the other armored Kirin ruthlessly shoved the corpse aside, letting another Kirin crawl into firing position from the bed of the truck. Luna whistled at this, then she lowered her aim as the truck began to inch closer, the mare ignoring the bursts of bullets hitting the road around her as she remarked: “I am not sure whether I should be impressed or horrified. What does thou think, Hex?”

Hex only growled in response, and Luna grunted before she fired another round: this one shattered the windshield, the driver gasping as he was slammed back into his seat from the force of the bullet entering his chest as he yanked hard on the wheel, and Luna grinned as the truck's tires screamed as it twisted sideways and rolled over with a tremendous bang.

Then the mare swore as gunfire opened from above, Hex zigzagging violently as bullets tore up the highway around them. Overhead, soldiers on turrets were leaning out of low-flying machines: Luna thought they were called 'planes,' if she remembered right. She returned fire with Sting, but only one shot managed to do any visible damage, shattering part of the windshield and making one of the vehicles retreat for a moment as the pilot got his bearings.

The other swept in lower as Hex growled and Luna swore, flicking her Kingmaker to the side to pop the gun open and spill the empty cartridges out. She grimaced as the turret turned towards her, her hooves fast, but she knew not nearly fast enough to reload and aim again before the gunner locked on to her.

A blast of blue energy tore through the air, the concentrated beam of magic smashing through the hull of the ship and knocking the plane into a wild spin as it dropped from the sky, and Luna sent her mental thanks to Morgan. The purple mare felt it in her mind as she spun back around on Scrivener, before she winced as the Tyrant Wyrm charged past some kind of checkpoint, the mare ducking her head as an alarm began to blare loudly and doors opened in the squat building as Luna shot past.

The sapphire mare's eyes sharpened as more enemies joined the chase, Kirin driving motorcycles that were smaller than hers, and lacked the large, armored sidecar hers had. They were simpler in design and had lighter armor, but they were gaining rapidly: living machine and powerful warhorse or not, Hex was still too heavy to move as quickly or gracefully as he had once been able to.

Luna finished reloading, then she rose her gun and fired a round into the front tire of the closest machine, the wheel all but exploding and sending both it and the Kirin rider flipping over. She grinned at the tremendous crash, but the other Kirin only swerved around the wreck, zigzagging their way in closer as the mare fired at them.

Out of nowhere, one of the motorcycle Kirin managed to get right beside her, attempting to kick her off the bike. But Hex swerved to the side with a growl before the motorcycle savagely checked the enemy, knocking it skidding off course before a bullet slammed into the Kirin rider and knocked him flying over the railing of the highway.

She swore under her breath, before her eyes widened at a mental warning she received from her partners, the mare checking sharply over her shoulder. Ahead, more war machines were merging onto the road from what looked like a larger base, and Kirin were already aiming at them from turret towers and moving heavy vehicles onto the road to try and block their passage.

Luna holstered her rifle and spun back around in her seat, swearing under her breath as she grasped into Hex's handlebars and shouted: “Cut either way!”

Scrivener growled in agreement as he felt Morgan grasping tighter into the collar around his neck as she concentrated, shielding them with her magic as they approached the military base. Scrivener feinted left as the turret began to fire on him, then leapt to the right instead, bullets tracing behind him as the draconic beast moved with startling agility, smashing his way through a platoon of Kirin before simply leaping over one of the tanker trucks blocking the way.

He weaved between two turret towers, their guns tracing after him and bullets bouncing off the field of magic protecting him before the dragon roared as a Kirin tank fired on him, the cannon round shattering the magic field, making Morgan Heldóttir gasp and knocking the beast to the side. But Scrivener caught himself quickly, snarling and running straight at the tank as the Kirin in the cannon turret panicked-

Scrivener ducked low a moment before the cannon fired, the massive round shooting over his head and instead blowing apart one of the turret towers just as Luna weaved sharply around it, bullets bouncing off Hex and nipping at her armor as she kept herself pressed low to her war steed, the mare snarling as she zigzagged through the crowded Kirin to confuse their aim.

She swore as a bullet tore through her mane, sending up a spray of ephemera as it nipped her scalp, and Hex swerved violently towards the soldier that had managed to shoot her before running him down, the motorcycle bouncing over the unfortunate Kirin in a burst of crimson. Luna grinned wryly in spite of herself as they zagged back onto the road, then shot forward, racing the bullets tearing into the ground all around them. “Overprotective as always, Hex!”

Hex only snarled as it shot up beside Scrivener, and Luna and Morgan both quickly checked over their shoulders before they both grimaced: tanks and motorcycles were roaring out of the base, and assault planes and other, larger and more-intimidating airborne vehicles were rising up from the buildings as well.

Morgan turned back ahead, grimacing: they were slowly catching up to the airship, but she couldn't help but notice a Kirin fly overboard, the mare muttering: “Looks like they're having their own problems, too. I don't think this was such a good idea, Luna!”

“Oh, 'tis far from the worst we have ever seen!” Luna scoffed, and then she heeled her motorcycle firmly as she said sharply: “Faster, though, both of thee! If we are going to beat that pack, first we must lure them apart!”

Scrivener nodded, lowering his head forwards with a growl as he charged faster down the highway, while Hex roared as he powered forwards, blazing along the highway.

Above, the airship rumbled as an explosion tore up part of the deck, Cadence hitting the ground in a roll before she flung a knife out into the throat of the Kirin soldier that was going for another grenade. He gargled and collapsed backwards, but he was replaced by two more crewmates with automatic weapons, machinegun fire peppering the crates in front of Cadence as she ducked back into cover.

Moonflower wheezed as he blasted an exosuit with a bolt of lightning, frying both the rider and the exoskeleton before he turned around and snapped his horn towards the Kirin suppressing Cadence, knocking them both flying into the air with a blast of force. One whacked his head into the railing, while the other flew over the edge and off the ship.

They had no control over where the airship was going or what it was doing: all they could do was try and stay alive, while Sombra sealed off as many hatches as he could to try and trap the Kirin crew inside. But the Kirin were tenacious, continuously forcing their way out onto the deck from every possible exit and tearing down barriers almost as quickly as they could be built. They didn't seem to be following mindless imperatives like the Splices, either: these crewmates were both pissed off and desperate to defend their ship.

La Croix grimaced as he ran forwards to grab another Kirin machinegun, raising it quickly to his shoulder even as they seemed to get a brief reprieve while Sombra sealed the main hatch – or rather, the large, ragged hole that had once been the main hatch – for the dozenth time. “Hey, Auriculos! How long is this gonna take?”

The Kirin spirit only laughed derisively, and then he said shortly: “Just hold on. Besides, you have your friends down below. But unless the Kirin scramble another destroyer or a Thundergod, they're not going to be able to bring this ship down before we reach Colloquium.”

“Yeah, well, we gotta be in one piece too, y'know.” La Croix growled as he hurried towards Cadence, where Sombra and Moonflower were regrouping as well. “At least we got some support from below, ain't that-”

“I hate the Valkyrie.” growled the Swan, and La Croix winced before Cadence grasped at her face, muttering: “I... I really do. But you're right. She's keeping fire off us. But I doubt it'll stay that way and we've still got plenty of problems to deal with right here.”

The others nodded, and Cadence looked quickly across the deck: it was already littered with Kirin corpses, broken machinery, and damaged crates and cargo. Part of the railing had given away near the bow, and the massive trapdoors that swung down into the cargo bay had caved in slightly. There weren't a lot of places left to give them solid cover, and they had already killed almost two dozen crewmates and soldiers...

The Swan twisted inside of her impatiently, and Cadence took a breath before she turned around and looked quickly over the top of the crate: there was no sign of any other Kirin, however, and the mare bit her lip nervously as she muttered: “Let's all just take a breather for a moment. I know none of us are stupid enough to think that was the end of it and they've given up, but we should at least be able to afford a few minutes of...”

Cadence broke off, frowning as her ears twitched, and the others looked up uneasily before the ivory mare's eyes widened in horror as a large blimp rose up beside the airship, its balloon casting a shadow over their entire deck as the enormous doors in the side of the vehicle rolled loudly open, and several enormous shapes leapt out of the machine.

They smashed down onto the side of the deck, the airship seeming to rock with the impact of the trio of battlemechs: two were silver, designed like heavier exosuits that had additional plating to protect the operator, while the third was a sharp metallic blue, gold symbols detailed over the square body of the much more advanced machine. Its armor was heavier and covered every inch of the pilot, and it had weapons mounted on either shoulder; one arm ended in a cannon, while the other ended in a circular blade that was already spinning with a threatening hum. And, perhaps strangest and most telling of all, this machine had stubby wings and large thrusters mounted on its back, and Cadence found it somehow horrifying that these battlemechs were so advanced they could even conquer gravity.

“You are hereby ordered to stand down! Failure to comply will result in termination!” ordered a voice from the faceless blue machine, and Cadence narrowed her eyes before she stepped forward as her team readied themselves behind her.

“I am Cadence Danzsöngr of Decretum! And in the name of Empress Hecate, I order you to stand down!” she shouted back.

The blue battlemech hesitated for a moment, before the pilot snarled: “Impossible. This is your final warning, surrender or you will be annihilated.”

Cadence smiled thinly at this, and then she scraped slowly at the floorboards with one hoof before she replied coldly: “I'm not afraid of any runt who hides in a tin can.”

Blue growled, and then he lunged forwards, swinging out with his spinning blade, but Cadence leapt upwards and flapped her wings hard. And as she had feared and hoped, Blue shot after her, chasing her into the air as Moonflower quickly created a barrier to block the barrage of bullets fired from the mechs in front of them.

Sombra's horn glowed before he snapped it forwards, sending out a burst of liquid corruption that splattered over the machinegun arm of one of the battlemechs before it hardened into crystal, and the mech's limb exploded a moment later as its gun jammed. It staggered to the side, but the other mech was advancing towards them, Moonflower gritting his teeth as La Croix rummaged wildly through his pouches before he finally yanked a potion loose and flung it at the machine.

It shattered loudly against the featureless face of the cockpit, the mech continuing to fire and advance for a moment before the liquid began to steam rapidly, and mech suddenly twisted back and forth as the acid began to eat rapidly through the front of the mech. It flailed back and forth, the operator howling in agony as Moonflower winced and La Croix gave a bitter grin. “Wish I could say I was sorry 'bout that, mon ami.”

The other mech was slowly climbing up to its feet, but Sombra sent another splatter of corruption over it, black crystal spreading into the joints of its other arm and one leg. It whirred loudly, fizzling and clicking as it uselessly tried to move, before Sombra looked up sharply as the barrier he had created over the hole leading to the interior of the ship exploded and more Kirin flooded out, and the situation worsened when several more battlemechs crashed down onto the deck from above.

The unicorn moved quickly, creating a wall of black crystal that merged into several of the crates to form a wider shield of cover. La Croix leaned out over one side as Moonflower leaned around the other, the zebra opening fire on the Kirin crew while Moonflower snapped his horn down, sending a surge of electricity into one battlemech that chained quickly into the next, the machines sparking violently as they stumbled back and forth.

Above, Cadence clashed with Blue, the mare dodging around the spinning blade before she rammed into the front of the battlemech, then slammed a vicious series of punches across its featureless metal face, the pilot snarling in frustration inside the machine before he attempted to lunge above Cadence as he kicked his legs out.

But the ivory mare rolled sharply under the battlemech, before she grinned savagely as her wings glowed bright white and she shot upwards, slashing one viciously through the jet boosters on its back. They exploded in a tremendous bang, the mech flailing at the air almost comically before Cadence rammed into its back, shoving Blue sharply back down towards the ship.

They smashed through the cargo doors, crashing into the ship's interior in a tremendous bang, one of the battlemech's wings tearing free and Cadence launched by the force of impact. She hit a stack of crates with a cry of pain, but managed to catch herself quickly as the white light faded from her wings, the mare snarling as Blue spasmed, but all the same pushed himself slowly back to his feet.

His mech was badly damaged, but his growl was clearly frustration, not pain, as he turned to face the mare. Cadence only smiled thinly at him, however: if there was one thing she understood how to use, it was anger.

The mare beckoned with one hoof, and then she said calmly: “I'm right here, and unlike you, I don't need to hide my face under half a foot of metal. I'm waiting.”

Blue snarled, and then he charged forward, his saw whirring to life before he slashed it towards Cadence. The ivory mare dodged to the side, then ducked under another vicious swing before her eyes widened as she dodged right into the path of the cannon.

It fired just as Cadence flung herself backwards, but the explosive round still launched her backwards into the crate before Blue pounced, swinging the sawblade down. The Swan took over Cadence's body even as she fell, however, her wings flapping once and the sawblade narrowly missing as it punched between her legs and cut only into the crates.

Blue began to pull back, but Danzsöngr dropped on top of its arm, horn glowing white before she slashed savagely through the exposed elbow of the limb. Blue howled, yanking his limb to the side even as the saw spluttered out, and the Swan launched herself into the air before she snapped her horn backwards, yanking forward on the stacked crates with telekinesis and sending them crashing in an avalanche over the battlemech.

It staggered to the side, then lost its balance and fell with a tremendous bang, one of the small guns on its shoulder exploding. Blue began to shove himself quickly free, but the Swan plunged forwards, slamming her horn down into the top of the machine before she yanked savagely to the side, and the machine screamed in denial as the cockpit sparked violently.

The battlemech sizzled brokenly on the ground, spasming for a moment before a faint alarm began to beep out of the machine, weak and tinny. The Swan smiled coldly, and Cadence slowly felt herself taking control back over her own body, even as Danzsöngr said contemptibly: “Still inferior.”

Then the mare's eyes focused, locking on to the tiny turret on its shoulder as this whirred towards Cadence, and the ivory mare winced as she quickly created a barrier as a tiny laser shot out of it, tracing uselessly back and forth over the magic shield. It spluttered out quickly, but it gave the pilot enough time to force his battlemech to roll onto it side as the cockpit hissed open.

A Kirin Bushi yanked his way out, ripping cables free from his bloody body: it looked like many of them had been plugged from the machine directly into his own form. Cadence narrowed her eyes as she let her shield drop when the battlemech powered down, and the Kirin snarled as he finished yanking himself free from the machine to limp around the device.

Without a word, he rose a foreleg, a blade extending from his wrist before it lit up with energy. The two glared at each other, and then the Kirin roared before leaping forwards to slash in at her face, and Cadence met his blade with her own horn, the two forcing against each other for a moment before they broke apart, trading rapid, violent attacks.

The Bushi stabbed viciously in towards the mare's face, but Cadence twisted out of the way before she slashed her horn down, cutting a deep wound through the Bushi's foreleg. He howled, his limb spasming as he staggered backwards, and Cadence leapt forwards to slam her head into the Kirin's, knocking him on his rump before she lunged into a savage, straight punch to the Kirin's face, his jaw snapping loudly as he was knocked in a senseless sprawl.

“So much for you.” Cadence muttered, looking down for a moment at the Kirin, before she grimaced as the Swan ordered her to kill him. But the ivory mare closed her eyes, taking a slow breath before she spread her wings and muttered: “No. Even if they're scum, we don't do that.”

The mare looked up, then she leapt into the air, flapping her wings hard as she shot up to the deck. And her eyes widened in surprise as she saw the last battlemech fall just as she emerged, Moonflower dropping back behind the half-destroyed barrier of corruption as La Croix shouted: “Yeah, y'all better run!”

Cadence frowned as he looked up, realizing that the blimp and other enemy ships were dropping back as well, beginning to open her mouth to ask why the enemy would be retreating, before her eyes widened, and she ran quickly towards the prow of the ship to stare at the colossal city they were approaching: and more importantly, the massive railgun that was slowly aiming at them from the center of the metropolis, the ivory mare screaming: “Everyone, get off the ship!”

Sombra's eyes widened, and then the stallion seized Moonflower and tossed him over his body, the smaller unicorn charging towards the rail of the airship and leaping over as La Croix vanished and Cadence shot into the air. She flew up towards the sky as quickly and hard as she dared, hoping, hoping that she would get far enough away-

There was a sound like reality breaking, a flash of light, and then a tremendous boom. Cadence didn't dare to look down as she felt the heat and hellfire as the airship exploded, the massive destroyer listing slightly to the side as explosions tore through its hull, the massive ship twisting back and back and forth through the air as it fell like a slow-moving meteor towards the gorgeous city of metal and glass.

The destroyer crashed into the city, exploding as it tore through the defense towers and smashed into the gorgeous metropolis, glass shattering with the sound alone, cement and steel turning to dust and splinters under the force of the massive ship. Explosions tore through the city, mighty skyscrapers pushed aside like toys, buildings collapsing in on themselves, the entire world trembling under the collapse of the goliath ship.

And a short distance away, Luna half-covered her face as she stared at the wreck, Scrivener and Hex both slowing their pace as Morgan whispered: “If Rustproof was in there...”

Luna grimaced, then quickly snuck a look back over her shoulder, but the enemy had halted for the moment. So instead, the sapphire mare shook her head before muttering: “Let us continue forward. Hopefully we will find the Swan Maiden and her team in the city. I highly doubt this was their plan, but now I have all the more questions for her.”

And high in the sky, Cadence could only stare at the burning city as the Swan smiled damningly inside of her at the carnage they had been an unwitting part of.

PreviousChapters Next