//------------------------------// // Chapter 24: Compromised // Story: The Ones From Beyond // by Lordvessel //------------------------------// Fate had been sealed. The one who set its course, distraught by her actions as it begun to set forth in motion a new era in history, one which would be dreaded by all. But the cost of one's mistakes was an almost "human" quality despite the difference in species. For how was she to know what was common practice for her would prove fatal to many........................................................... Silence. Utter, indomitable silence is what prevailed in the aftermath of Tim's death. Achmed cradled his friend's body, managing to catch it before it had fallen to the floor, the life within Tim snuffed out, gone. Both Celestia and Luna, the latter in a state of extreme distress, couldn't even fathom words. The guards were equally as shocked. Andrew had watched the events unfold before his very eyes, whilst not in a state of panic equal to either Achmed or Luna, his current state could be summed up to stunned. Achmed felt the warm sting of his tears flow from his eyes as he looked upon his friend, the burning hole still venting out smoke from his chest. Luna, tears swelling as well, attempted to say, something, anything, any gut-reaction she could muster. "I......I.................I'm sorry..................I didn't mean................." Her words were empty to Achmed however, and like a statue he stayed motionless, his gaze fixated on the friend he just saw murdered. At first he felt the natural sorrow one feels when someone held dear is lost, however unlike many times before, it did not linger. A new emotion took hold, one that in its very nature would cost a heavy price, for those at its mercy and on its bearer. Achmed stood up, head still lowered as something changed within him. Tim's death had been just one of many he had witnessed, though this would be the final straw. Like his friend, he had lost family, many at a young age, with each death doing more to cripple the very person he was. That was about to change. Luna, still attempting to find words that would justify just how sorry she was, suddenly stopped as Achmed's eyes locked onto hers. She felt their gaze pierce through her like a spear. Through the remnants of Achmed's tears she saw hate, she saw anger, she saw rage, each burning like an unstoppable fire that consumed all in its path. She found herself frozen, unable to look away as she became unaware of the world around her. Achmed's face scrunched as his narrowed eyes aimed at Tim's killer, and like lighting he reared his rifle around, flipping it to full auto and taking aim at Princess Luna. Luna suddenly came out of her trance at the realization of danger, but found it was too late. "You BITCH!!!" Achmed roared. With a consecutive concussive blast and a flash of light, bullets rained out from the end of the barrel with a thunderous clap of escaping gas deafening all else in the nearby vicinity. Luna reeled back in a vain attempt at defense but was utterly sure this would be her demise. But just as quickly as Achmed began firing, Luna noticed that a golden barrier had emerged between her and her attacker. Celestia was quick enough to realize the danger and summoned her protection spell around herself, her sister, and the guards accompanying them. Bright orange flashes began to blind her eyesight as round after round pelted the edge of Celestia's shield. Bullets chipped away at leaving slight cracks that quickly healed themselves. Others bounced off the surface, but this didn't deter Achmed in the slightest. When his first mag had been completely emptied, he quickly reloaded the second with pinpoint perfection, leaving little to no time for Celestia, Luna, or any of their guards to counterattack. He began his second barrage, letting out a ferocious battle cry that echoed down every corridor of the castle. His second barrage was now doing more damage, the cracks were growing bigger with each impact. Celestia strained her focus on the barrier, now kicking the full force of her iron will into protecting her sister. Her horn surged with a highly potent magical energy that extended to her shield. The cracks were mended immediately. Achmed had emptied another magazine and was about to reload when the sound of something metallic made a loud audible ping against the crystal walls. Everyone but Luna looked up towards the source, seeing a strange small metal cylinder covered in a series of small holes bounce off the side of the wall and directly in-between Achmed and the shield. Achmed's eyes widened and he immediately dived away in the opposite direction with his arms covering his eyes. Celestia and her guards looked at the cylinder, uncertain of what it was and how it landed here. Instinctively, Celestia was ready to turn around to see who had thrown it when it suddenly burst, letting out an ear-deafening ring and completely blinding her vision. She yelped in confusion along with her guards, inadvertently cancelling out the shield spell she had been maintaining. Knowing this, her panic grew on the loss of two her major senses soon turned back into the fear of her sister's life. "LUNA!" She cried out, though she herself was unable to hear herself speak. "LUNA! WHERE ARE YOU! LUNA!" Suddenly she felt something rush past her, pushing her already unstable self to the ground. At this time Achmed uncovered his eyes. Although his eyes were shielded from the concussive blast, his ears were ringing. As he got up from the floor and turned around, any plans of finishing what he started were put to an abrupt end with a hand pulling him up to his feet. He looked up, seeing no other than Commander Sawyer with an distressed look on his face. He saw the Commander verbally yell something at him, and though he was unable to hear, he knew what the words were. "FALL BACK SABBAG!!" Andrew screamed at the top of his lungs. Andrew let go of his tac vest and darted down the hall where Tim and himself had filed into less than five minutes earlier, motioning for him to follow. Achmed reluctantly followed his Commander's orders. As the ringing in his ears ceased and as he followed behind the Commander, he peered his eyes behind him, still seeing the recipients of his attack struggling to recuperate. Achmed's mind still lingered with thoughts of revenge for his friend, the fact that he'd never be able to speak with him, the way he never said goodbye, and the fact that he had no choice but to leave his body in the hands of these aliens only fueled his rage. But suddenly the thought of his friend reminded him of something that was vital. Achmed turned his head and looked at the room where Tim had resided the last few days, recalling the key item that was left in there. "Commander, wait!" Achmed cried out, stopping in his tracks. "Tim's-" "Sabbag! There's no time to recover the body!" "No! Not his body, his weapon!" Achmed tried to explain. "It's this room! We can't leave it!" Andrew, wishing to make a quick exit, actually stopped, realizing that leaving a gun for these things to tinker on could prove catastrophic. "Alright but make it quick Sabbag!" Andrew barked. "I think we just kicked the hornet's nest!" Achmed nodded and quickly bolted into the room, slamming the door open. With one quick look around he spotted Tim's AK and satchel--which no doubt stored his magazines--with ease. Achmed grabbed both items and was about to exit when something on the nightstand caught his eye. Resting atop the bedside table was Tim's dogtags and the hat he always wore. Achmed approached them both, taking both items in hand. Achmed could feel the grief building up inside, but his sudden and newfound will told him there were other priorities at the moment. Achmed tucked the hat into his vest and stuffed the dogtags down one of his now empty mag pouches, and quickly exited the room, slinging Tim's rifle around his shoulder and regrouping with Sawyer. "Good, you got it! Now let's move it soldier! Double time it!" Andrew shouted. Achmed nodded in acknowledgement and quickly began following behind his superior. All around him he could hear the loud clank of armored hoofsteps closing in all directions. Andrew's mind wanted to race with a million different thoughts all at once, mainly focused on what just happened and what would result out of Achmed's actions. Not that they could have been helped. Andrew saw Berfield killed right in front of his eyes with some sort of energy blast. It would seem negotiations were out of the question from the very start, granted what information Sabbag managed to get out of Berfield. At this point it would seem any hope for a peaceful negotiation was out the window, but they had yet to kill any of the natives yet by killing Berfield they had revealed themselves as hostile. Perhaps it was wishful thinking, but Andrew still clung to hope this could be salvageable, but realistically, he didn't foresee that happening. His mind now focused on making their way back to the stairs he used to get up here. No doubt everyone inside heard the gunfire. If he knew his friend like he used to, Viktor would no doubt take a few men to find him. With any luck, they already had an exit waiting for them. The remnant of the team that had entered the castle with Andrew had been waiting diligently for his return when a burst of gunfire echoed from upstairs. Everyone's mind raced to one conclusion. They'd been compromised. Viktor was the first to rally the forces. "Sergeant, Wolf 6, with me. The rest of you, stay here and hold this position! Wolf 2, you're in command!" Before Vik could rush upstairs, Hale added one final inquiry. "Alpha, do we have permission to engage?!" he asked. Viktor shouted to him as he and those he selected made their way upstairs. "Seems either Sabbag or Sawyer already made the decision for us, so yes! Neutralize any threats as they appear!" "Yes sir!" Hale acknowledged. The three had made their way to the second floor turning right and down the proceeding hallway, even as both the gunfire continued and his comms flooded with multiple incoming calls. "*Wolf 1 this is Wolf 4, we're hearing gunfire from less than a click out, what's you're status, over!*" "*Osaka 1, Wolf 1, this is Wolf 3, who just opened up? Over.*" "*Wolf 1, Osaka 1, this is Gateway, what just happened?*" Viktor set his headset to connect to all frequencies at once. "This is Wolf 1, we have reason to belief both Osaka's 1 and 5 position to be compromised, I'm taking two personnel and are en route to assess and assist! Gateway, we need an exit ready! NOW! We'll report back with any new information!" The situation in the room grew dire as it was evidently clear that shit had just hit the fan. Bradford, head racing in need of a clear answer to what was happening, made due with what was given. "Copy, Wolf 1, we heard from Wolf 4 and have all assets making that a priority one! Gateway out!" When the transmission cut out, Bradford addressed his science team. "Alright chaps, we need a new set of coordinates and we need them now!" He yelled. The science team acknowledged and quickly went to work on their new task. Lieutenant Bakowski then looked down at the soldiers still standing around, in particular, Francis and Nick. "Corporal Vanhart! assemble a platoon and get them armed and loaded, once they get that portal open we'll need to secure Osaka and Wolfpack's exit!" Francis' head nearly exploded. The thought of going into the other world with the high possibility of fighting aliens. A chance he couldn't possibly pass up. "Yes sir!" Francis replied with a smile. Francis turned to those around him. "Alright ladies you heard the LT! Time to lock'n'load, Sarge and the others are gonna need backup! Hooah!" "Hooah!" They all replied, quickly making their way to the closest weapons cache to get ready. As they made their way to, Nick caught up with Francis. "Is this really happening?" Nick asked dreadfully. "Are we really gonna fight aliens?" "You better believe it Barkley!" Vanhart replied eagerly. "Bet they didn't tell you'd be doing that in the job description did they!? HA!" Francis' overall eagerness and complete disregard for the safety of the lives on the other side didn't sit well with Barkley in a multitude of ways. "I gotta a feeling that this is gonna end badly, I just now it." Barkley said to himself. Twilight lay asleep and sound in her bedroom, her younger brother not far from in the midst of his own slumber. Then suddenly like the crack of lighting, the sound of gunfire awoke them both. Twilight was startled, Spike even more so. "AAH! Wh-What was that?!" Spike yelped. suddenly another succession of gunfire boomed forth, and from the sound, it was inside the castle. This factor sent a shock through Twilight's body, as the only one who possessed something capable of that sound no other than... "Tim!" She blurted out. Twilight rushed out from under the covers, much to the dismay of Spike. "Twilight where are you going!?" Spike shouted. "To find out what's going on! You stay here, lock the door and don't open it for anypony! I'll be back." Twilight shut the door close with her magic before Spike could even protest. She then raced to wherever the source was coming from as she wondered what was happening. Did something come through the portal in the night? Twilight wondered. No. Impossible, only a spell could open that thing and Tim's world is devoid of magic. So what else could it- Her train of thought was then cut off by the multitude of guards that were rushing down the hallway alongside her. One guard in particular, an orange blue maned pegasus colt wearing the golden plate of Celestia's guard stopped upon seeing her. "Princess Twilight!?" He hollered. Twilight turned to address him. "Guard, what's going on?" She asked. "We don't know your highness. Captain Shield rallied everypony to investigate." "Where's Princess Celestia, or Princess Luna?" "Princess Luna awoke her sister to attend to something, they were last seen heading downstairs, each with a small section of their guard. They may be caught up in whatever's going on." The mere allusion to the two sisters being in jeopardy increased the gravity of the situation. "I'm coming with you." Twilight declared. "What's your name?" "Flash Sentry, your Highness." he informed. "But I would insist you return to your chambers, the situation could be dangerous." "SENTRY!" A loud voice bellowed. The two turned their heads to see Captain Shield approaching the two of them. "I specifically remember giving the order for everypony to double-time it!" Stout Shield barked. "What are you doing just standing here?! And why is the Princess outside of her quarters!?" "Sir! I-uh-" Flash babbled before Twilight interjected. "I stopped him for information on the situation, Captain. Despite the danger, I request that I accompany you." "Not happening little lady!" Stout barked. "Excuse me?!" Twilight snapped "I got enough on my plate at the moment and I can't spare any more of the guard to watch after you should there be chaos downstairs, return to your quarters immediately and let us handle it! Sentry let's go!" The personality of Stout's assertiveness was well known within the ranks of the guard but to put one of the princesses in place stunned Flash. Unsure of who's orders to follow, he ultimately followed the command of his superior. Outraged, Twilight frantically looked for a solution that would grant her to accompany the two guards. And in the deep vaults of knowledge that she held in her head, she found one. Twilight stomped her hoof down. "Let me reiterate Captain!" She proclaimed in an authoritative voice. "You may be under my mentor's authority but given her absence in an emergency situation like this ultimate command is handed down to the next readily available royal in line, as outlined in the Guard's Oath Handbook, page 43 subsection D. That next royal just so happens to be me. I now have her command and I'm ordering you to escort me downstairs so that I can assist in the emergency." Stout stopped in his tracks with Flash soon following suite as they both turned to Twilight. Stout narrowed his eyes at the young alicorn. Twilight did her best not to cave in, putting on the strongest face of confidence she could muster. It must have worked, because Stout immediately followed it with a wordless sigh upon realizing she was right. "Yes Princess, but I request you stay behind us! Now let's move it!" Twilight let out a quick sigh of relief and immediately followed her escort downstairs to get a handle on the situation downstairs. Suddenly entire volumes of gunfire could be heard overlapping one another. This caught Twilight off guard when she noted the drastic difference, as unbeknownst to her, the guard had just suffered their first casualties. Achmed and Andrew we're hoofing it to the staircase, and though they weren't in their line of sight they knew they were close. "Just a few more feet away Sabbag!" Andrew called out. Suddenly up ahead a total of five castle guards stepped out looking around when they instantly spotted Andrew and Achmed charging towards them down the hallway. Failing to recognize either of them as the human the Princesses had been working with they we're quick to confront the intruders. One of Luna's Night guards lit up her horn, ready to fire off an immobilization spell. "HALT!" She cried out, her fellow guards raising their spears at the ready. Andrew internally cursed, hoping he and Sabbag could make it back downstairs before they encountered the castle's defenders. Still seeking to maintain the no kill status of the mission, Andrew quickly reached for another flashbang. But before he could even pull the pin, The guards were suddenly at the receiving end of a storm of tracer rounds. The bullets punched through their armor with ease, tearing at their insides, killing them instantly. Looking up from the pile of bodies that dropped to the ground, Andrew saw Viktor, Martinez and Humphrey emerge from the hallway to his left. Viktor spotted the duo and quickly regrouped with them. "God dammit Andrew!" Viktor cursed. "What the hell happened!?" Andrew once again took a look at the bodies' of the guards, letting out a drawn-out sigh resonating with regret. There goes any small fragment of a chance for peace. he mentally concluded. Andrew turned to Viktor to speak. "Well if you haven't figured it out already our position here's been compromised. Everything else will have to explained later once we're back on Earth." Andrew informed. "What?!" Viktor snapped. "What about Berfield?!" "Sir, did you manage to locate him?" Sarah inquired. "Did you-" "He's dead, Sarge." Achmed sullenly interrupted, pulling Tim's dogtags out and dangling them for all to see. Sarah was silent for several seconds before shaking her head in denial. "..............No, no that can't be true." Sarah refuted. "Did you see a body!? Did you-" "Sarge, I watched him die right in front of me. One of natives blasted something that shot through his chest." Sarah froze, staring at the pair of weathered dogtags engraved with Tim's name. Her heart sunk with rage soon following behind. Sarah clenched one of her fists, turning her rage towards one of the dead guards by kicking at it's corpse. "MOTHERFUCKERS!" She screamed. Andrew quickly stepped in. "STOW IT, SERGEANT!" He commanded. "Now's not the time! We need to exfiltrate, ASAP!" "Gateway's working on that this very moment." Viktor informed. "Given all that's transpired, I assume the native's have been confirmed as hostile targets?" Andrew looked at those affected by Tim's death. On outside looks alone, the Sergeant looked hellbent on hunting the one responsible down. If only she was granted that wish. Achmed on the other hand looked angry, but surprisingly collected for all that happened. Something about that unnerved Andrew, but any suspicious concerns would have to be put on hold. Andrew then looked back to Viktor. "They have." Andrew replied. "And for the job we're gonna do next, I'm authorizing lethal force." "Well that's a relief. I kinda went off on a whim and authorized for the men downstairs. But what job are you referring to, may I ask?" Viktor asked. "Taking out that portal." "Andrew, we never came to an agreement on that!" Andrew grabbed Viktor's vest. "Perhaps you didn't hear, Vik. Berfield's dead, killed by one of the native leaders no less. Considering both I and Sabbag witnessed it first hand, I can-" "I don't mean to be rude, sir, but it sounds like more of our friends fancy us a visit." Lewis noted. It was at that point that Andrew acknowledged that the sounds of their pursuers grew ever closer. "Dammit, sounds like they're coming in force!" Andrew cursed. "Fine by me! Bring em' on." Sarah boldly claimed as she loaded a full mag into her rifle. "No sense in meeting them head on Sergeant, we're outnumbered." Andrew reminded her. "We regroup downstairs and double back to that library. Let's move it people!" Twilight, Flash Sentry, and Stout Shield made their way through the hallway's of the castle with great haste. At the moment it was quite chaotic, with the sound of clanking armor echoing down the hall and those wearing them charging headlong to cover the entirety of the castle. When the trio turned a corner the sight that greeted them was one of relief yet also of concern. Several of the guards now surrounded the two princesses in an encirclement. The two thankfully seemed unharmed, but what was off putting was the fact that Luna was crying, with Celestia comforting her sister in a hug. Twilight immediately approached them. "Princess Celestia! Princess Luna! Are you alright!?" She anxiously asked. Princess Celestia didn't look away from her distraught sister, who had practically broke down, but addressed her student. "We're alright, Twilight, as far as injuries are concerned." she said in a soft-spoken voice. "What's happening, Princess?" Twilight asked. Celestia opened her mouth as if to say something, but alas none were spoken. She instead choked up, holding back her tears and recuperate for another attempt. "There's.........................been an incident, Twilight. One which I'm afraid..........................has taken the life of your new friend." Seconds passed, all of which carried silence with them. Twilight felt her voice fail, her heart sink, and her eyes water. "..W..What?" Twilight wept. Celestia looked away out of sorrow, unable to say another word. Twilight soon discovered the cold hard truth of her words. Twilight walked past her mentor and the Princess of the night, her gaze fixated on what laid behind them, and like her mentor, Twilight fell into distress and sorrow. For at her footsteps and surrounded by shell casings laid the body of Timothy Berfield, lifeless on the floor. Two guards oversaw the body and the wounds he sustained before death while many of the others simply watched from afar. Twilight placed a hoof over her mouth upon seeing the only wound, a small but smoldering golf-ball sized hole that went straight through the entirety of his torso. Twilight was at a loss of words when Stout Shield stepped in to gain a hold of the situation. "Your Majesties." He addressed. "Much seems to have happened but we need to get the three of you to safety, immediately." Some of the guards who witnessed what happened whispered among themselves. "*How?*" One inquired. "*I've never seen magic do something like that.*" "*Quiet!*" Another snapped. "*Now's not the time.*" Unfortunately for them, Twilight overheard and immediately pressed forward a questioning. "You saw what happened?" she asked with tear filled eyes. "Tell me what you saw. What did yous see?!" Seeing she was becoming off-balanced emotionally, Flash Sentry stepped forward to intervene. "Princess Twilight, I know you're upset, but now's not th-" "QUIET!" she snapped back at him. "Twilight!" Celestia snapped right back. Twilight ceased her anger at the sharp tone of voice of Celestia, who now glared at her with disapproving eyes. "Princess, I'm.......I'm sorry, you too Flash, I didn't mean to snap. I'm just-" "Devastated." Celestia stated. Twilight to her mentor to see that Celestia's look change to one of sympathy, seeing her student clearly heartbroken by the tragedy of Tim's death. "I am too, Twilight. I'm sorry for what has become of Tim, I too was fond of him, we all saw him as a friend." Suddenly another overlapping barrage of gunfire could be heard echoing through the hallways. Twilight, Celestia, and many of the guards found themselves taken by surprise by the sound. Twilight looked to Tim's body again, seeing that his weapon was absent from the scene, and that the strange casings that dispensed from it seemed different from the ones found after Tim's encounter with the Timberwolves. This lead Twilight to a frightening realization that Tim wasn't responsible for this and what Princess Luna had feared from Tim upon their first meeting might have come true. There was another human, or more likely by the sound of it, several humans letting loose in Equestria. "Princess?" she asked out of fear. "Who killed Tim?" Celestia said not a word as the gunfire didn't seem to let up, the very sound shaking her to the very core at the thought of her guards being at the receiving end. "Princess, are there other humans here?!" she asked pressing the matter forward yet again. As much as she wanted to stay and do many a things to help ease the emotions of her sister and faithful student, she still had a crisis on her hands. "Yes, Twilight. But I'm afraid clarity on Tim's death will need to come later" Celestia boldly stated. "I have an important task for you and I need everypony quick in pace and mind if we even have a chance at succeeding." Twilight hesitated, looking once again at Tim's body. As much as she clearly wanted answers then and there, her mind told her that now wasn't the time. "Al.......Alright Princess." Twilight responded. "What is it that you need?" Celestia wasted no time. "I need you to find Spike and draft a letter to a Commander Spark of the Canterlot Reserve, requesting immediate reinforcements. Explain the situation in full." "I'll get right on it, Princess." Twilight promised, warming up a teleportation spell. "And as an extra safety precaution, take one of my guards with you." Celestia ordered. Twilight turned to the first guard closest to, which happened to be Flash from earlier. "Flash, come with me." Twilight instructed. "We need to get to my room stat." "Right away, Prince-" Before he could finish the sentence, he and Twilight had disappeared in a flash of lavender, leaving Celestia to make an attempt to get Luna back on her feet. "Sister, I know what has transpired has left you distraught." Celestia stated sympathetically. "But as I told Twilight, I need everpony on board if we're to gain a hoof on the situation." Luna looked up to her sister, the tears still flowing profusely and beyond control. Making her best effort, she mustered enough strength to speak, albeit slowly. "He................................................he's...........................................dead........................be.........because of...m..me." she sullenly stated. "I've....................................I've..............I've doomed us all." Celestia could feel her heart wrench at those words. For all intents and purposes, Luna now saw herself as a murderer, who had just committed an act that drove Tim's compatriot, Achmed, to kill her in the name of revenge. Despite this, Celestia made another attempt to bring her sister back into a stable state. "Luna, you had no idea your spell would do that to him." Celestia argued. "But....................I should have." "Luna." "I should've have been more patient,.......................instead I let my own anger and impatience guide my decisions......................and now...........................and now Tim's dead because of it......................I'm responsible for all of this." Celestia for the first time found herself at a lack of words, unable to find any deep resounding wisdom for Luna to take heed from. But that didn't stop her in what she set out to do. She gave Luna a hug, and then looked to her sister. "The path set before us may yet be fraught with danger, dear sister, and whether or not it was guided by actions, either yours or mine makes no difference. One way or another we will get through it, together. The wounds it's caused are still fresh, but I know you have the willpower to set them aside and help those ponies whose lives are still in danger." Despite Celestia's assurances, Luna still carried much doubt. "How? I've already caused one catastrophic mistake, one which Tim lost his life for, one which many ponies will pay for, what if-" "What if you make another? You make the best of what your given. I know how you feel Luna. The day you we're banished made me doubt if I was fit to rule. As far as I knew, you were gone, consumed by darkness. I felt as if you were gone. But after some time on my thoughts and the pressing realities that followed, I learned to overcome my mistakes and resume the duties to those still by my side. Ever since that moment you were gone I promised myself to be there for those ponies I care about, no matter what. I chose not to spend most of my time reminiscing on my past decisions and mistakes, and instead chose to spend it setting things right for the future. Now it would seem is your time to do the same." Luna listened carefully to the words from her sister, and found that they once again held a grand amount of merit. They emboldened her as she realized that the situation had not passed, and that she would need to play her part to salvage whatever control she could from the Luna stood up straight, her demeanor and nerve built back up. she would mourn over those lost to this incident, but later. Now her people needed her to defend from the threat that now faced them, one which the likes of many Equestrians had probably never seen before. "I'm ready." Luna bluntly stated. Celestia, happy to see her sister back on her hooves again, quickly got back to the task at hand. "Captain! With me!" She commanded. "Nightguard!...........To battle!" Luna cried. The guards let out a hurrah! and quickly followed the royal sisters in a column formation. Captain Stout ran alongside Celestia. "Your Majesty, the only escape route would be the front exit." Stout informed. "It's most likely the intruders have set up a defense around that area." "Then we make haste to the intruder's defense!" Celestia stated. " I urge you and the others stay close behind me and Princess Luna, I have a feeling many of your subordinates may have already fallen." "If that be the case, then they'll be remembered as heroes. They knew the risks when they joined the ranks." "Still, enough blood has been spilled this night. But I fear these human invaders will have a thirst for more before night's end." Several Minutes Prior Andrew rushed in the direction his friend had come from, with said friend and company following behind. The distance to the staircase was thankfully short, 20 yards or less, and they group managed to reach it without further confrontation. As the view of downstairs emerged into Andrew's line of sight, he could see Harris, Lamond, and Hale engaging what little of the guard presence there was on the first floor. Shots echoed forth as the five of them ran down the staircase to regroup. The engagement lasted little more than half a minute as the last guard was neutralized by a headshot from Hale, who noticed that the rest of the tea, had returned. "Glad to see you alive an well, sir." Hale commented to Andrew. "Is the route to the library clear, soldier?" Andrew inquired. "It should be, sir. Think we just mopped up what little security was stationed here." Viktor once again stepped forward to dissuade Andrew from his current course. "Andrew, think about the consequences!" he urged. "I am!" Andrew asserted. "Whatever happened between Berfield and the natives isn't happening again! I'm not leaving it to be used against us!" "Rady boh! Andrew! Thi-" "End of discussion, Wolf 1!" Andrew commanded. "Wolf 2, you're our ordinance expert, right?" "Yes, sir." Hale replied. "You have enough explosives to take that thing down?" "I do, sir. I took the liberty of having them primed...." He responded, pausing briefly to pull the detonator out from his pouch. "...and planted." Viktor's eyes shot up and a irate glare came soon after, directed at the man who he thought he could entrust to lead Wolfpack in his absence. "When did you plant them?!" Viktor demanded. "When you we're inspecting the Obelisk." he replied. "Sorry to go behind your back like that but the Commander's right. We can't take that kind of risk." "Well. Glad to know someone on Wolfpack agrees." Andrew commented. "We blow it when we're a clear distance away from the castle." Viktor looked ready to shove a fist down Hale's throat, but the sudden interjection from Lamond caught everyone's attention. "Wait a minute. What happened between Tim and the Locals?" he asked. "Tim's KIA, Lamond." Sarah revealed. Lamond, was a little shaken by the news. "I'm..............I'm sorry Sarge, you to Achmed. I know he was your friend." Before even a minute could be spared to grieve, Harris stiffened his posture and aimed his rifle up towards the staircase. "Hostiles atop the staircase!" he shouted. Like lightning, every one of them turned around opening fire on the guards who had now finally caught up with them in full force. The guards' advance however was immediately stopped as soon as the bullets started flying. Watching their comrades be torn to shreds deterred many of them from moving forward. Those who possessed magic attempted to fire blasts of magic, but found their intended targets had taken cover behind either the half-columns leading to the exit or the edges of the two walls at the bottom of the stairs. Alas they weren't able to get a good shot. Sarah and Achmed found themselves on the opposite sides of the hallway, each laying down some suppressing fire at the enemy upstairs. Harris and Lamond had taken the more advantageous position behind the columns, giving them a better line of sight as they picked off targets as they appeared. Beside Achmed was Lewis, who took up a crouched position behind him, leaning outward to get a line of sight on the guards and firing a few shots on semi-auto with his SCAR. Meanwhile, Andrew, Viktor and Hale took positions beside the Sergeant. Viktor placed his left hand on the trigger to his grenade launcher, stepping out from behind cover to pop one off. With the sound of a thwump! The grenade was propelled upwards in an arch, but had overshot the bulk of the guard taking cover. Nonetheless it did some damage. Those closest to the impact point were sent flying back by the sheer concussive force of the blast, with those further away being pelted by the tiny bits of wood, crystal, stone, and shrapnel flying in all directions at full force. Some of the guards, suffered injuries where the joints were exposed, but thankfully the full set of heavy plate that made up their armor provided most of them with enough protection to withstand it. "Blyat! The frag knocked a few out but the shrapnel had no effect!" Viktor cried out. "Save your grenades and stick to your rounds, Alpha, they'll work just fine!" "And what happens when we run out genius?!" "That won't happen!" Andrew yelled at the two of them. Andrew looked to his vest, where upon a quick search, he found the tool that would serve best to escape their current situation. One M18 smoke grenade. "Tossing a smoke!" Andrew cried out. Leaning out of cover past the Sergeant, Andrew pulled the pin and tossed the smoke grenade at the base of the stairs. After a short second or two, The top of the canister burst open as a puff of thick white smoke began to quickly fill the room obscuring both party's line of sight from one another. This didn't deter the two sides from exchanging fire as the firefight still ensued. Andrew quickly went up to his comm-link, only to make the quick realization that it was still offline. "Fuck! Vik, my comms are fried! Get on the horn, tell overwatch we're coming out!" he commanded. "Got it!" Viktor replied. Andrew leaned in to fire off several short bursts at the unseen enemy while Vik made the call. A blast of golden magic suddenly came hurling towards where he was standing. He ad the Sergeant both ducked out of the way as the blast overshot them, hitting the wall to the rear. At that point, Vik was done and quickly informed Andrew of the fact. "Overwatch says we're clear to exit, but there's something I should tell you first!" Viktor informed. "Can it wait!" Andrew asked. "Not particularly!" Another blast of golden magic aimed right at the sergeant's head came charging forth. Sarah thankfully manage dto evade it in time, but the sheer intensity and nearby proximity sent bits of the floor flying upward. "Well it's just gonna have to!" Andrew shouted. With that out of the way, Andrew went to work getting his men out of the building. "Osaka 3! Osaka 6! Make for the exit! We'll cover you!" Andrew ordered over the sound of battle. Harris and Lamond quickly departed their cover and rushed towards the exit, ducking down from the stray blasts of magic. Next up, Achmed and Lewis. "Wolf 6, Osaka 5! Go!" Achmed looked to Lewis, and with a quick exchange of nods the two darted from cover towards the castle's entrance, making their exit safe and sound. "Sergeant, Wolf 2! You're up!" Sarah ceased fire, as she and Hale bolted for the door, leaving the two team leaders as the remaining friendlies inside. Unfortunately, the lack of covering fire had meant that the guards were now pressing the attack, turning their escape route into a killzone. "Well Andrew, it certainly seems you've gotten rusty in your old age!" Viktor jibed at, clearly angered by what had transpired. "Guess this means we're at war now, huh?!" Andrew fed up with Viktor's bullshit gave him an order to keep him busy. "Just shut up and launch a flashbang with that 40mm!" Andrew retorted. "And try not to miss this time!" Viktor begrudgingly complied as he removed the empty casing from his grenade launcher and replaced it with a 40mm flashbang projectile. Viktor leaned out, tilting his rifle down a little lower that his last shot. With a pull of a trigger, the projectile bursted forth from the tube, arching up and landing by the feet of one unlucky guardsmare. The blasts of magic stopped from behind the cloud of smoke. With the enemy disoriented, now was the time to escape. "Let's go." Andrew said. The two quickly ran from behind their cover towards the exit. The sight that greeted them was one that held its own cause for concern however, as literally hundreds of natives had heard the chaos coming from the castle. No doubt the gunfire could be heard across quite some distance, awakening nearly the whole town in the process. Many of the ponies fled at the sight of eight heavily armed humans leaving the castle, screaming for their lives. Many others however found their courage, albeit foolhardily. "Guessing this is what you wanted to talk about?" Andrew piped to Viktor. Viktor simply gave him a unpleasant look, wondering how exactly he and the others we're going to get through this. "-cess............." Flash looked around to see that he had been teleported into an entirely different room. A bedroom, to be more specific. More particularly, Princess Twilight's bedroom. "Flash watch the door while I write the letter." Twilight ordered. "Yes Princess. Right away." As Twilight raced to her quill, ink, and parchment, Spike came out crawling from underneath Twilight's bed, eager to know who was here. "Twilight?" he called out. Twilight looked to the young dragon who had addressed her. With all that had transpired, she found great comfort in knowing that he was still safe. "Spike." she spoke softly. Spike found himself in warm embrace as Twilight squeezed him in a loving hug. "I'm glad that you're still safe." This in turn caused Spike a great amount of confusion. "Twilight, you've only been gone ten minutes. But I keep hearing Tim's "gun" thingy go off! What's happened? Did another monster come through the portal?" Twilight wished she could sit down with Spike and explain what had just happened, this would be the first time he'd have to come to grips with the reality of someone he knew succumbing to death. Twilight had feared this eventuality, and despite her notion that this would have repercussions, she realized what Celestia had her set out to do took precedence. "I'll have to explain later, Spike. Right now I need you to send a letter to the Canterlot Reserves." Twilight went over to her desk where the necessary things to compose her letter were already laid out. Spike began to feel a little uneasy from this whole ordeal, as it seemed keeping him out of the loop did more to unnerve him than anything else. Twilight began her letter with the regular formalities.... Dear Commander Spark, I Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, hereby request aid from your reserve units with the utmost haste, for a matter most urgent requires your assistance. The lives of the ponies in Ponyville hang in the balance. We face a threat greater than either I or Princess Celestia know. My castle has been infiltrated by several intruders, highly skilled and extremely dangerous. Take every possible precaution when you face them. I pray you come swiftly, for I believe many who accompanied Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have fallen in the line of duty. ....and after a few seconds, the letter was ready to be sent. Twilight rolled it up quickly, tying a royal seal around it so the Commander could verify it as legitimate. She then handed it off to Spike who quickly sent it out with a blaze of emerald. Twilight stepped towards the door only to realize that she hadn't been instructed to do anything else. "Now what do we do?" she addressed aloud. "I don't know, you know more about what's going on than I do." Spike said, shrugging his shoulders. Flash had his own idea on what to do next and made it vocal. "We wait here. And pray Commander Spark reads that letter in time." The sound of a small blast could be heard amongst what seemed like the unending noise of battle. This encouraged Twilight to present another option in what role to play. "We can't just wait here. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are going to need all the help they can get." "Princess with all due respect, I'm certain Princess Celestia would prefer you stay here under my safety." Flash argued. "No disrespect Flash, but I can do this......................I hope." Twilight prayed. "Uh, you don't sound very sure of yourself on that, Princess." It was at this point Twilight grunted in frustration. Not that she was faulting Flash for anything of course, but she and her friends had managed to quell many dangerous threats in the past. At all of those times, Celestia had no qualms with Twilight offering her assistance in the safety. But now, it seemed as if Flash was right on this one, and that Celestia only implied her aid in sending a message for help. But alas, that wasn't enough to stop her from persisting the matter. "I can respect what you're trying to do Flash, it's your duty. But I can't just sit here and do nothing." Twilight stated. "Spike, stay here with Flash." Spike eyes widened and he began to panic. "Wait Twilight, No! Don't go!" he begged. "Princess. I'm not letting you leave the room. Just how do you plan to-" His sentence was cut short by Twilight teleporting the room, leaving a dumbfounded Flash Sentry to oversee Spike. A few seconds passed before either one of them said something. "Huh, you know, I really I should have seen that coming." Flash noted. "To be honest, she does that a lot." Spike sighed. "I just hope she comes back safe."