Dan climbed into the MY-Wing. "Two minutes! You sure you guys got this?"
"We got this," Chrys said. She kissed Dan.
The human grinned mischievously. "And I'm getting that when I get back."
"Damn right, you are."
"Nicky! Get in the space truck!"
The lawyer looked back over his shoulder at the zebras one last time before climbing aboard. "Hey, Twilight?"
"Yes, Phoenix?"
"Do me a favor and make a note that most of those zebras are under the influence of hypnosis."
"In case they comeback?" Twilight asked.
"In case that comes up in court," Phoenix answered. He hopped aboard and they took off. The MY-Wing's four leg-like pylons flipped back to the aft of the craft and became the engines, throttling the ship up and to the north.
While they were talking, the battle was being waged. Waves of brown, black, gray and tan buffalo stormed towards a swarm of black and white. The armored buffalo in the front smashed into the zebras. The two massive armies collided in a clash of hooves and wood. Shoulder-to-shoulder, the buffalo pushed against the zebras.
"Together! Push them back!" Strongheart shouted.
"Heave! Heave! Heave!" The buffalo chanted. And they struggled to lift a single hoof and put it back down, every bit of strength to gain a single step. And a step is all they would gain.
*Klam-klam-klam-klam-klam-klam-klam!* The zebras behind the first line bashed their shields. And in a single unified step, undid the buffalos' progress. Step by step, the zebras drove the buffalo back.
"Hold! Hold on! Dig in, brace!!" Strongheart yelled.
"There are... there are too many!!" Chief Thunderhooves shouted. And his buffalo began to tumble. They fell into the ground as the zebras bulldozed into them, causing them to fall on top of each other. The buffalo behind them tried to dig their hooves in, pushed back against their own. But the tide was too great for them. The herd caved in on itself as opposing force became static force and then became no force at all.
"Ninety seconds to launch." Inside Knight, or perhaps on the digital plane of existence, the launch trajectory was being formed. Knight's processors calculated and recalculated, accounting for every variable they could. The holographic representation of the Zebra Capitol, a golden city surrounded by waterfalls, appeared in her eyes. Approximately twelve-million zebras lived and worked around that area. If the Sword had been live, it would have reduced half the country to dust. Fortunately, that was not the case, but the telemetry and data, all the factors had to be correct even though the bomb was a dud.
All they had to do was buy enough time to launch it. But even that was in jeopardy.
"Twilight! They're breaking through!" Chrys called.
She nodded, still resolute. The mass of black and white was plunging through the army of buffalo, pushing through them. From this distance, it would have been fascinating for a tactician like Twilight to examine. To be involved, it was a gut-wrenching disaster unfolding before her eyes.
"Artillery, open fire!!"
Braeburn and the cowponies from Appleloosa unleashed a barrage from their catapults. Massive spheres of molten toasted marshmallow were lobbed into the air. The burning orbs landed on the zebras, covering their mid and rear ranks in sticky goo.
"Go, my love," Spike said, saluting a pile of marshmallows he had sculpted into a replica of Rarity, complete with purple frills for her mane and tail. The small dragon's romantic-yet-creepy subplot continued, although it wouldn't actually be useful until like episode 22. Yes, we've written that far in advance and yes, I can do that. "Fulfill your purpose!" Spike launched the mallow-pile at the zebras.
"Look!" Chrys pointed. "It's working!"
"Sixty seconds to launch. Warhead priming sequence engaged. Targeting sequence locked." The "horn" of the Sword Spell opened outward like a flower. Its six "petals" focused the six energies of Harmony into a single point at the tip of the horn. The entire spell began to glow red and hot, a light that rivaled that of the setting sun.
The zebras had temporarily become a new type of s'more. Molten marshmallow stuck to their shields and spears, making it difficult for them to keep up the rhythm that channeled their energy.
"It's working!" Twilight said, practically jumping at the result. She flew up to get a better view. "It's working! Strongheart, rally the zebras! We can push them back now!"
"Do not think you've won!" Zecora yelled.
"What?!"
She pointed at the horde. "The worst of Zen Zeal is still yet to be done!"
Twilight looked to the back of the formation. Although the front ranks of the zebras had stunningly been stopped, the rear guards were reorganizing.
"Twilight, it's him. Look," Chrys pointed at the back. At the very back of the zebra horde, almost around the bend, was a zebra using a spear not as a weapon but as a walking stick. Unlike the others, he was different. And he walked upright. He pointed at a single zebra and gestured at the formations, which responded instantly to each new command. This was the truth of Zen Zeal. The zebra army reserves raised their spears.
"ZULU!!!!" The zebras let out a combined cry and threw their spears. The simple sticks blocked out the sunset as they crossed the horizon, momentarily covering Twilight's view of the world in darkness. They were aimed right at her.
"Chrys! Fluffle! Shield!!"
They reacted instantly, grabbing each other. The Barricuddlecade sprang up from them, absorbing the spears in fluffy, pink energy made of love. Loving energy strong enough to absorb anything. Or so they thought.
Twilight closed her eyes, focusing all her energy into her horn. Her limbs burned as they channeled magical energy and although she couldn't see them, she knew Chrys and Fluffle were doing the same.
"Thirty seconds to launch." The Sword Spell glowed. Sparks and crackles of lightning erupted on the length of the horn from the petals as the destructive power built.
"Hold on!!" Twilight gripped them tighter. The spears came, a torrent of hatred and force like a single angry fist slamming down. Wooden spears splintered and cracked endlessly as they exploded against the barrier.
"Twenty seconds to launch..." Knight couldn't help herself from watching the others. Twilight, Chrys and Fluffle held each other tightly, uniting their power to form a barrier between her and an infinite assault of magic spears. Every fraction of a second, more of her processors were drawn to the three of them. Her friends.
"Twilight!!" Chrys yelled, strain in her voice. The fluffy shield was beginning to cave. The tiniest tears became rips, and then finally started to split apart.
"Keep holding, Chrys, keep holding!!"
"Thpppthhhh!!"
"The shield...!" Spears pierced through the shield and began running down around them. They came close to Knight but none of them hit her. The shield began to shrink from its edges.
Twilight could feel it. Her magic was still there but it couldn't reform the shield fast enough. Every bit of her energy, Chrys' and Fluffles' energy combined was going to rebuild the wall that the zebras were constantly breaking down. But there were only seconds left. They had to hold on.
"Keep holding, girls, keep holding! No matter what! Knight, launch the nuke!!"
"Ten seconds... to launch..." An enormous amount of condensation, maybe hydraulic fluid, some kind of liquid formed in Knight's optical sensors. She couldn't see through it, though she didn't need visual sensors to launch the nuke. The fluid pooled until finally it formed a tear that ran down her cheek.
Warning: fire suppression system malfunction.
I am... I am crying.
Failsafes have been disengaged. Firing sequence in five...
"Five..."
The spears broke through the last bit of the shield. One hit the edge of Chrys' hoof. "Ahhh!"
"Chrys!"
"Four..."
"I'm okay!"
"Three..."
"The shield is breaking!!!"
"Two..."
"No matter what!" Twilight called. She huddled down as their last bit of shield collapsed. "No matter what, we can't let them through!"
No matter what...
"One..."
"LAUNCH!!!" Twilight screamed.The shield broke. Nothing was between the spears and Knight but Twilight and Chrys themselves. The last shield.
"Aborting launch sequence."
"NOOOOO!!!"
A new shield appeared to stop the spears just before they hurt Twilight, Chrys and Fluffle Puff. A green shield... to match Knight's new green horn.
"Defense mode engaged." Knight moved her metal bulk between the ponies and the zebras, absorbing the spears with her new shield. The Sword Spell had been converted into a new shield spell but even it was starting to fracture against the zebra assault.
"No! No, launch!!" Twilight yelled. Drained, Chrys and Fluffle Puff collapsed next to her. Twilight's own horn felt it was thin enough to be made out of paper. She limped exhaustedly towards the infernal machine. "Why?! Why didn't you launch the nuke?!!"
"My mission is to defend Equestria."
"That's our mission, too!" Twilight roared back. "What are you doing?! That nuke was supposed to get rid of the zebras, to save our kingdom!!"
"You would have been harmed."
"What?!" Twilight shook her head. "This isn't about us! We're fighting for our friends, our family back home!"
"This is my home. You are Equestria." The shield in front of her began to crack. Spears punched through and scraped Knight's armor. The wood was like a razor against her steel hide. Still, she stood.
Tears burst from Twilight's eyes and ran down her face. "You stubborn... how can you say that?!"
The massive machine turned to them. She was crying. "You are... my friends."
Twilight cried. She couldn't speak, but struggled to do so. She sobbed into her foreleg.
"Go now. Tell Jack I was wrong. Save yourselves," Knight said.
"What?"
"GO!!" Her shield began to collapse. The zebras came running, charging, still chucking spears. They pierced her horn, shredding it. Her mane was torn to bits. She fell forward as both her legs were punctured. The spears finally stopped as the mighty mechanical protector was brought down by the zebras.
Twilight grabbed Chrys and Fluffle and ran. Behind her, Knight fell to the zebra horde. Somehow, even as she galloped away, she heard Knight's voice. Not through her ears but... through something else.
"Tell Jack... tell Jack I was wrong. Heheheh..." she chuckled as her systems shutdown. "I was... a good... butterfly...ha! Beat you to this one, Hideo!" Her head hit the dirt, lights completely faded.
It didn't take long after that for the zebras to gather the prisoners. Other than Twilight, Chrys and Fluffle Puff, none of the others escaped. The pegasi, griffons, Dan, Tuxley, Reginald and Phoenix had gone to the zebra kingdom. Zen Zeal stood before the head of the downed metal beast, examining her. Little Strongheart, Zecora and Spike had been brought before him.
"Technology... magic..." he said, prodding the Magic Gear with his spear. "You have let your deluded ideology corrupt these things. It is your folly to lose because you have no focus for your faith, no goal. And to use these... perversions," he struck the machine, "is a testament to your corruption. You fail to realize the simplest of lessons."
"What would you know? You do not care to teach!!!" Zecora raged. "You would only take everything, you destroy all within reach!!"
He smiled. "It is nice to see you too, my dear." He smacked his shield. "But apparently, I can teach you something."
"And what is that?" Spike asked, tied to the back of a zebra.
"The bigger they are, the harder they fall," he said. He smacked his spear onto a shield twice. Blast Fuse and Blast Powder were carried in on the backs of another pair of zebras.
"Hey guys!"
"Hey guys."
"Blasties!" Spike exclaimed. "What happened to you guys?"
The explosive pony sisters stared at the dragon. "Do we really need to spell it out for you? Also, hi Dustin."
"Hi Dustin! We're prisoners of war!"
"Yay?"
"No Fusey, no-yay."
"Boooooo."
"That's the one. We can't wave because our hooves are tied behind our backs."
"I can wave at him with my tail! Hi Dustin!"
Zen Zeal smacked both of them. "Prisoner rule number-one: no breaking walls. Including the fourth one."
"Boooooo."
Zeal gestured towards the bomb. "Your new weapon. I will use it only to throw it back at you, to show you that this destructive force is not your salvation. It is not your master, magic does not obey you. And it can be turned against you." He had the Blast sisters released from their chains. The zebra captors threw them both on the ground. "You both- rearm this bomb."
"Or what?"
"Or I will launch your friends instead," he turned and walked away.
"You think that frightens us? You know nothing!" Strongheart yelled. "Dan is far more dangerous than any weapon! And he is marching on your capital with the rest of our forces right now!"
Zen smiled again. "Of course he is," he walked over to Zecora. "And when the conquest of Equestria is complete, I will bring you all back with me to Zebrapolis for my final battle on the footsteps of the capital itself," he rubbed under his wife's chin with his hoof, grinning into her eyes. "All these years I have spent conquering and gathering prisoners. They will now be the guests at the wedding you walked out on, my dear. My victory over Dan shall be the last battle before we take our vows... and the whole world shall watch."
She spat in his face. "I have nothing to say-"
He grinned, unfazed. "So save it for our wedding day." He walked off, leaving his army to clean up the mess.