//------------------------------// // Chapter 40 // Story: Yes, My Lady // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Scootaloo kept her face to the mirror, watching the glowing Contract mark in her eye. As long as it was exposed to air and glowing, it sent out a continuous pulse along the Contract itself to let Sebastian know exactly where she was. That was their only hope of escape at this point, let alone carrying out her vengeance. Their breach of their cocoons did not go unnoticed, and entire swarms of guards were lining the halls. At first, Blueblood and Bluebottle were confident they could strike them down and fight their way out...until one of Bluebottle's blades was absorbed into the black rock armor the Changelings were wearing. As if anti-magic traps weren't bad enough...magic absorbing armor? What next? After that, Blueblood and Bluebottle took defensive positions to make sure they could watch all possible approaches. The Changelings, however, simply stood and watched. They stayed as still as statues, to the point it was difficult to tell they weren't statues. "Why aren't they moving?" Bluebottle demanded irritably. "They want to wear us down," Blueblood responded immediately. "We have to stay completely tense and alert for any possible attack, our nerves as taut as bowstrings. But keep a bowstring taut too long, the bow weakens. They can just stand still and watch us, perfectly relaxed while they wait for us to break ourselves. And we don't have enough of us to take turns on watch." He frowned thoughtfully. "Whatever else you say about them, they know what they're doing." "Here's hoping I know better-" Scootaloo began. Ka-THOOM! The massive explosion rocked the entire tunnel, causing all of the Changeling guards to jump and spin, looking towards the source as a fireball bloomed through a tunnel wall. A metallic tumbling clanking sound echoed through the hole as something began to emerge from the smoke. Ratatatatatatatatatatat! The rapid retorts punctuated by flashes of light heralded the Changelings being mowed down like chaff as something pierced through them rapidly, tearing body and armor apart. Blueblood and Bluebottle ducked as tiny metal spheres trailing green gore became embedded in the wall behind them. As the smoke faded, the shape became more clearly defined. Earth ponies had once built tanks in the pre-Unification era. The intention of these armored vehicles was to provide a means through which Earth Pony strength could circumvent unicorn spell casting. An armored vehicle that could launch metal projectiles to inflict as much damage as war magic...the concept was sound, but execution was not. Most pony tanks were large, clunky things that could barely move and required completely flat terrain to function, making them next to useless given unicorns almost universally built their strongholds atop high slopes. This was so different from the historical pony tanks Scootaloo wondered why she instantly knew the same word even applied. It was made of pure silver, with enchantments for durability, maneuverability, and cleansing so deeply engraved in the metal she was surprised plant life wasn't springing up around it as it rolled. Multiple rollers lined the sides of the tank at varying heights relative to the ground, surrounded by a tread that rolled continuously as it moved. The body of the tank was a boxy square, big enough to hold all the machinery within and presumably not much else...except for the fact the cockpit cover had a spatial expansion enchantment engraved into the metal, plainly indicating it could hold much more than exterior dimensions allowed. Small paintball guns jutted out at the four sides and the four corners, now visibly loaded with cold iron pellets. A massive turret swiveled around atop the tank, emerald flames visible in its depths behind a shell of some sort. The remains of a shell dropped from the hole in the wall, showing silver powder, iron dust, salt, garlic, and holy water alongside an explosive sunfire charge. This wasn't just a tank. This was a monster killing tank, and loaded to take on gods. The guns fired off several more times until all the Changeling guards in the area were either dead or scattered. The tank then swiveled to face Scootaloo and the others, the filly having put her eyepatch back on to face the tank. The hatch squeaked, lifted... ...and revealed five familiar faces. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS RESCUE SQUAD, YAY!" Scootaloo felt her jaw drop. "Sweetie Belle? Apple Bloom? Diamond Tiara? Silver Spoon? ...Spike? What are you doing here?" "Uh, rescuing you," Apple Bloom pointed out. "Duh!" Diamond Tiara added. "We kinda shouted it out just now." "But how did you find us?" Scootaloo demanded. "And where did you get the tank?" "We made it ourselves," Sweetie Belle explained. "I found the blueprints when we visited Diamond's house to play some of her games." "My Dad's a silversmith," Silver Spoon spoke up, "so I know my way around smelting and engraving." "Zecora helped me mix up th' ammunition!" Apple Bloom added. "I paid for everything we couldn't scrounge ourselves, and managed to get a rush on the materials," Diamond chimed in. "And I provide the fire that's making it go!" Spike concluded. "It's also got some sort of beacon spell to lock in on people," Diamond Tiara added, "but for some reason it's locked onto your butler. He's around here somewhere, teamed up with some crazy mare with a motor-blade." Scootaloo nodded. Motor-blade. That was a new landscaping tool that Equestria had developed, using a motor and chain to carve through wood far better than an ordinary saw could. It also worked well as a combat weapon. For some reason, Sebastian called them chainsaws. Apparently, Grell got the spell she needed, and somehow was now teamed up with Sebastian. "So what's the plan to get out then?" she asked curiously. "Hop in!" Sweetie invited as they pulled their heads back in. Scootaloo quickly clambered into the tank, closely followed by Bluebottle and Blueblood. While the interior was larger than exterior dimensions allowed, it was still pretty packed between the machinery to manipulate turrets and cannon, controls, five fillies, one colt, one dragonling, and one stallion. "Bit of a tight fit," she murmured softly. "Well we aren't staying long!" Apple Bloom insisted as she started steering the tank back towards the outside. "So...how are we going to get up the steep sides of the box canyon?" Bluebottle asked curiously. "Can this tank climb walls as well?" Dead silence reigned throughout the tank. Scootaloo's eyes went flat. "You gotta be kidding me..."