//------------------------------// // Drastic Measures // Story: Tales of the Battle Foals // by Sirdubya //------------------------------// The Battle Foals all glanced towards the plethora of flora blanketing what horror must have been waiting to plague them. Within the shadows of the overgrowth shined a set of horrific eyes accompanied by a predatory growl. Kickback drew his guns. “Well heavens to Betsy! We can barely make a trip to the saloon without runnin’ into some kind o’ varmint, now can’t we?” Fire Fight ignited his gauntlets and smiled viciously. “No complaints there!” “Are you quite sure?” Quantum Tech asked nervously. “My scanners are umm….oh, how do I put this?” From the overgrowth emerged an enormous scorpion that seemed to standing on its lower body with its upper body reared up. It had claws that seemed too big for it to balance, but it managed wield them effectively. The only that made it worse was when six more of them followed suit. “Y-Yes….Yes, that.” Fire Fight gulped. “Oh boy…here comes fun….” Zebota drew his boomerang. “Arthrolids! Be careful!” Shrapnel roared at them as Zebota lowered himself from Shrapnel’s chest. “Zebota! Can’t you ask them to leave with your Beastcraft or whatever?” Spiral Galaxy asked. “I can try….” Zebota clutched his brooch as it glowed along with his eyes. He then stared down the arthrolids. “Wanyama wa porini, hapa sauti yangu na kufuata maelekezo yangu. Sisi si mawindo yako. Kuondoka katika eneo hili na kupata chakula mahali pengine!” The arthrolids’ eyes seemed to glow a little, as if to receive Zebota’s message. However, a mere moment passed before they returned to normal and hissed ferociously at the foals. “Doesn’t look like they’re in the mood to see reason.” Shadow Shroud said as she drew her kamas. Air Slash drew his swords. “Then neither are we!” He crossed his swords and launched a cross beam at the one in front. It hit its chest dead center, but only seemed to damage a large portion of its chitin. While the insectoid beast staggered, it barely managed to regain its composure and charged the foals along with its buddies. “HERE D’HEY COME, Y’ALL!!” Turf War slammed his hammer down, causing a tremor that made the arthrolids lose their balance, leaving an opening on the one that Air Slash damaged. He ran up to it and smacked its leg, shattering its carapace. The insect shrieked in agony as its exoskeletal armor was busted of it. Quantum Tech then took aim with her railgun and shot at the exposed flesh, blasting it into pieces. “TURF WAR, GET BACK!!” The crippled Arthrolid swung its claw down towards Turf War just as he raised his shield to block it. “DAMN!!” While the beast was undoubtedly shaken by its own strength, Turf War himself could feel from just one blow how formidable these guys were. He immediately fell back as per Quantum’s order. “SHRAPNEL, ATTACK!!” Zebota ordered. Shrapnel lunged forward at another arthrolid coming up from the left, bellowing an aggressive roar. The two titans collided before lashing out at one another. Shrapnel clamped his jaws onto the arthrolids head and tried to wrestle it to the ground, but the insect beast managed to hold its own using its enormous claws and multiple legs to maintain its balance. “DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE OTHER ONE!!” Spiral Galaxy focused a small meteorite and fired it at the one it front that had already been badly crippled. The controlled cataclysmic object finished off the armored beast, but it left Spiral having to regain her focus. “Ugh…..too early for that….” “EVERYPONY!! ATTACK THE LEGS!” Fire Fight shouted. Another arthrolid came charging at him full throttle and swung its claw down. He had to parry it away with a blast kick before making any attempt at the legs, but the other claw managed to strike him. “ARGH!” Thankfully, he avoided being grabbed, and his armor was just sturdy enough to prevent his bones from breaking. Before Fire Fight could retaliate, a flurry of wet rocks suddenly flew out of nowhere and slammed into the beast. “THE DUCKS!!.....They have taught me well…..” Crazylocks was at the river levitating more river rocks whilst in a meditative pose. She cackled manically as she continuously hurled every stone she could pick up at the small horde of horrors. “Well, that’s one way to participate in a shootout. Lemme help y’all with that, Ms. Crazylocks.” Kickback said. “YEEEE-HAAAAW!” He fired his trusty guns at the bugs trying to hit their eyes. While he seemed to be hitting them, it was clear that even the eyes had some coverage of their own that he’d have to break through. “Sound, Fury, we’re gonna hafta make these ‘ere pests turn a blind eye ‘r two!” Another one coming in from the back tried to charge at Kickback, but a sudden black shadow jumped down onto its head and exploded into a black cloud, distracting it. Air Slash swooped towards it and a series of violent slashes could be heard from within the cloud. After a few seconds, Air Slash and Shadow Shroud leapt from the scrap and landed near Zebota. “A finishing touch, sir?” Shroud said. The disoriented arthrolid could barely do anything to put up defenses as Zebota loaded his sling. He clutched his brooch as it glowed. “KNOW MY POWER, INSECTS!” he shouted before firing his rock. It glowed with the same mystic hue as his brooch as it flew towards the insect and exploded in a burst of the mystic energy once it impacted its face, exposing the flesh underneath. Kickback finished it off by shooting it out. Kickback blew out the smoke from his guns as the arthrolid crumbled to the ground. “Music to mah ears, boys.” He said to his guns. A couple more of the arthrolids hissed as the skittered towards them. Zebota drew his boomerang. “It will take more than music to soothe these monsters, my friend.” He threw his boomerang at the arthrolids. “FETCH, SHRAPNEL!” Shrapnel roared as he released the other arthrolid he was mauling and pounced towards the other two. He slammed into them and the beats went tumbling. Zebota looked at Shroud and Air Slash. “These two will fall to us. Help the others.” Kickback tipped his hat. “We got ‘em covered, y’all.” Air Slash nodded. “Fight well.” He soared off while Shadow Shroud disappeared in a puff of smoke. Zebota and Kickback turned to the staggering scorpions and Shrapnel. The beasts all looked ready to maul each other, and pretty got to business as Shrapnel swiped his claw at one of them. It blocked him with its own claw and tried to grab Shrapnel with its other one, but Shrapnel’s agility spared him some agony as he jumped back out of the way. He rammed his head into its abdomen and nearly knocked it over had it not been for the arthrolid’s natural balance. He had to jump out of the way of the other one before it got him and managed to leap over it as the big bug thrust itself down to try and pin him. Shrapnel then seized its arms from behind and held it up in a grapple as he clamped his jaws onto its head with its eyes just peeking out of his teeth. “Now there’s a good doggie!” Kickback said. He fired his guns at the arthrolids eyes and legs to distract them. The arthrolid that Shrapnel didn’t have in a chokehold was too distracted by metal pellets pelting him fast enough to damage its eyes and make its legs stings to attack the wooden titan. Zebota’s boomerang returned to him. “Your firearms serve you well, Kickback.” He said. His brooch glowed once more. “But it is time to end this charade!” Another glyph formed under him, but it was yellow this time, and his brooch glowed the same color. He held out his boomerang in an aggressive prayer-like stance. “Dhoruba za msitu huu, mimi kuita nawe uko hii moja wakati wa mwisho. Naomba kwa neema yako katika mashindano hayo ya kuishi. Kuhifadhia mnyama wangu, Shrapnel wangu wenye nguvu kwa hasira ambayo imekuwa adhabu ya hata miti yenye nguvu!” Bolts of lightning began flashing and flickering from within the glyph, and Zebota raised his boomerang into the air. Shrapnel’s eyes suddenly began glowing yellow and subsequently flashing with electricity. It wasn’t until lighting began building up in his mouth that Kickback knew that these arthrolids were about to have a real bad day. Shrapnel opened his mouth as the lightning congregation got bigger and let loose with it. He exhaled a stream of lightning at his two opponents with the ferocity of a storm god. It shred right through their armored shells and lit them up like fireworks. After about three seconds, the lightning petered out, and Shrapnel fell to his paws panting. Kickback looked on in absolute awe as Zebota ran over to check on his pet. “Well, that just happened….” Zebota stroked his tired beast. “I am sorry, my friend. I did not mean to push you so hard so quickly.” Shrapnel lightly nuzzled his master as though to forgive him. “Thank you. Try to conserve your strength. We have more of these scourges to vanquish.” Zebota said. Shrapnel growled fiercely with determination. On the other side, the other foals were holding back the other oncoming arthrolids that had attack from every direction. Turf War’s tremors did little to really distract them anymore, and he didn’t want to potentially topple Quantum’s mech either. “Man, where some damn bug spray when ya need it!?” he shouted as he parried an arthrolid claw with his shield. Quantum Tech fired her railguns and magic turrets at them furiously. It was a good thing that she recalibrated her targeting systems, because they were getting a workout. Her powerful shots made some dents and cracks into their carapaces, but it was doing little to hold them back. “We forgot to purchase any, so we’ll have to make due with our current arsenal!” An arthrolid charged toward her head on. “Engaging force field!” A series of hexagonal lights forming rotating walls around Quantum’s mech suddenly appeared. When the bug beast tried to smack her, its claw bounced off like a golf ball. “How about you and me have a little chat!?” Quantum switched her railguns into her beam swords and began dueling with the bug behemoth. They crossed swords and claws with ferocity in their eyes. Neither one backed down as they swung and parried for dominance. “BACK! BACK!! BACK, YOU CUR!!!" Finally, the two opposing forces found each other in a lock between their arms. The staring contest that ensued was the only calm before whatever storm would brew when they would eventually break off. That storm suddenly came in the form of the world’s most amazing locks…. “COME TO ME, MY LOOOOOOOOVE!!!!!!!” Crazylocks tackled the insectoid scourge off of Quantum and began flailing it around violently, slamming it into the ground repeatedly. “TOUGH LOVE! TOUGH LOVE!! TOUGH LOVE!!! TOUGH LOVE!!!! TOUGH LOVE!!!!! TOUGH LOVE!!!!!! TOOOOOOOUUUUUUGH LOOOOOOOOOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!” The poor arthrolid was helpless as the tiny terror tossed and smacked him around like the ragdoll of a sane child throwing a tantrum. Crazylocks then tossed it straight up above her and sprouted her wings to soar towards it. She caught it and morphed back into an earth pony, and flailed her mighty locks ferociously as she prepared to strike the beast with a finisher. That finisher came in the form of her mane maces striking its faces with meteoritic force, sending flying like a baseball into the overgrowth beyond. She then landed back on the ground. “AND DON’T EVER CALL ME AGAIN!!!!!......Eehee!” She suddenly showed some cute curtsy upon concluding her rampage. Quantum stared at her in fright. She had yet to witness Crazylocks’ full strength, and like Fire Fight said, it was nothing short of terrifying. “Well…I’m having nightmares tonight.” She said as she watched Crazylocks cackle maniacally as she assaulted another arthrolid. No matter the amount of magic slashes, fire blasts and punches, star lasers, seismic strikes or smoke bombs above all else, the arthrolids kept surrounding the Battle Foals. “GUYS, IT’S NO GOOD! NO MATTER HOW MANY WE DEFEAT, THEY JUST KEEP COMING!!” Spiral shouted just before causing a couple arthrolids to fall up with her gravity manipulation and blast them with a small supernova. “WE’VE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!!” Fire Fight shouted. The Battle Foals were surrounded by beasts and running out of stamina. While they were making relatively quick work of the arthrolids with their new arsenal and awesome new friend and timberwolf, they were liable to drop dead at any moment from exhaustion. “WE NEED TO DISORIENT THEM SOMEHOW, OR PERHAPS….DARE I SAY SCARE THEM AWAY!?!” Shroud said. She used her cloning technique to make one arthrolid dizzy to the point of nearly toppling and let Air Slash finish it off with a power slash to the neck. Upon hearing this, Quantum Tech mustered some determination and began pressing some buttons. “EVERYPONY, GET DOWN! I’M TAKING DRASTIC MEASURES!! OVERDRIVE LASER: INITIALIZING!” Her turrets stopped firing and began to fold into themselves to become antennae that glowed with intense magical energy. Her railgun then protruded their own antennae with the same magic radiating from them and held them beside her turrets so that they formed a hexagonal pattern. “10%.....20%.....” The magic between the antennae began conducting between each other and point into the center of the pattern where Quantum could see it from her cockpit. “40%....50%.....” The arthrolids were beginning to congregate towards her as she charged her weapon. The ground around her mech began to rumble as the magic from her antennae began to intensify. “80%.....90%.....almost there!...” The arthrolids began to cower away in fear of the impending magic storm awaiting them while Quantum Tech creased a nasty smile. “98%…99%……CHARGE COMPLETE!! FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRREEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!” She slammed her hoof down on the fateful button that would unleash hell. The magic in her antennae suddenly reached critical levels as it congregated into a big ball of light that then erupted into a huge beam of destruction that rivaled Spiral’s star beams. She could only turn her mech around as she fired it into the oncoming arthrolids. “OOOOHHHH S*************!!!!!!!” Turf War got everypony to hit the deck as Quantum fired her death ray. Shrapnel picked them all up and jumped over the river to a safe spot away from Quantum’s reign of destruction. Her death ray completely obliterated the arthrolids as they ran for the hills. “LEAVE NO QUARTER, MY MACHINE!!” she shouted. After about ten seconds, alarms from inside her cockpit started going off as her death ray deactivated to cool down. It was alright though, because those monsters definitely weren’t coming back. Quantum victoriously fixed her glasses and giggled as she kicked her feet up. “Pfft! ‘Bug spray’! Who ever heard of such a silly little novelty?”