//------------------------------//
// Wave 4: Broken 
// Story: Last Stand at Sweet Apple Acres 
// by The Blue EM2 
//------------------------------//

Surveying the chaos all around him, Swift Order wondered how on Earth they would hold for the next wave. Speaking of which, the complete lack of enemy activity rendered him suspicious. Where could they be, and what were they planning next? He checked his watch in frustration. It was now two in the morning. All about him personnel were moving sandbags and trying to get the searchlights running again, but it was a difficult and thankless task. The enemy surrounded them on all sides, and this made planning an effective defence very difficult indeed, as they couldn't fully commit to a defence of one side for fear of the enemy assaulting them from another direction. This would catch them off guard and unable to properly respond to a threat, and that threat and possibility had to be avoided no matter the cost. More civilians had fallen in the defence of this farm, and Swift Order had no intention of letting their sacrifice be in vain. This farm had to be held, and it had to hold until morning, which was now only five hours away, and then the army would be here. Then they would be relieved.

Assuming they were still alive, of course...





"Multiple successive attacks, and yet they still hold?" The Candymare demanded to a somewhat chastened Iron Fist. "We have the numbers and resources to break them! Logic should dictate to them that they only logical course of action is to surrender to us and let them take us prisoner!"

"That," said Jackpot, "is what I fear is the problem. They are human, and hence are not rational."

"What do you mean?" the Candymare asked him, looking him with a steely glare in her eyes. Jackpot stepped back and shook a little. They all feared her greatly, and this was something that at least united them.

"Humans are not rational and feel fear. Fear is an emotion that makes a man desparate, and the desparate man is the most dangerous of all. Furthermore, they have hope in that the army is coming, alongside the marines, and they feel that they have something worth fighting for. If the situation was hopeless, they would have folded completely. But it is also said that those without hope will fight to the bitter end, as they have absolutely nothing to lose. It is for these, small, albeit important reasons, why we have not broken them. They still have a cause to fight for, and they will defend their colours to the very end."

"Then we shall give them a show of force that shall break their spirits and shatter their optimisim," the Candymare grinned. "Ready a fresh assault. I shall lead the attack in person, and these pathetic humans shall give in to us and see the superiority of the Candy army!" She looked at her officers. "Of course, you shall also follow. March forth! March forth! These fools can only break before our might! Into the night, onto the fight!"





It seemed as if only a few minutes had passed, the way that time seems to flow slowly in times of intense tension and terror, before the siren suddenly sounded again. They were under attack yet again, but the enemy force seemed different this time. They were lead forward not by the previous field commanders, but a being seemingly made of multiple strains of skin awkwardly stitched together. She wore a dress seemingly made entirely of candy, and on her legs was dried blood. Her teeth were razor sharp. It was the enemy commander.

"Sir," said one of the men, "we have a confirmed sighting on the Candymare. That is the enemy leader. They must be confident of victory if they are sending her out front."

"Then it's about time we rained on their parade," Swift Order replied through gritted teeth. "Mortar team! Light them up!"

The first barrage of mortars flew into the air and smashed into the enemy lines, inflicting horrific casualties on the foe before the shielded ones deployed their shields above the enemy forces to block the mortar shells, tortoise style. The fire proved to have rapidly become useless, and the machine guns opened fire once more despite the fact that many of the crew members had sustained horrific injuries. The bullets flew through the air and tore open more enemy troops, who simply opened fire, taking down several of the remaining soldiers and knocking them onto their back. With a moment to spare, the enemy breached the compound and demolished the makeshift outer wall that had been built and stormed into the complex, and they were upon them.

Swift Order, despite his injuries, drew his revolver and continued firing upon the foe as they got closer and closer. Bright Mac lunged forward and swung his rifle butt into the approaching foe, knocking it to the floor whilst his wife finished it off with a shotgun shell. Facing up back to back, surrounded like they were in a gunfight as the enemy closed from all directions, Pear Butter and Bright Mac never ceased firing even as the foe continued to close on them.

And then it hit them. A burst of candy hit Bright Mac and tore him clean open, and he collapsed to the floor, deceased. Pear, barely able to react, swung about to see who had fired- only to be stabbed through the chest by another monstrosity. It flipped her over, and laughed. "We will prevail," it snorted.

"Really?" Pear replied. "Go... ta... hell... ya... bitch." With the last of her strength, she pulled the trigger on her shotgun, unloading both barrels into the monster, blowing its head clean off.

Across the compound, the sound of gunfire and violence echoed, the two cousins fighting back to back, only to pause when they saw Scootaloo be beheaded by another of the creatures. This pause was enough to give the enemy an opening. Candy pelted them, wounding Apple Bloom and killing Babs Seed outright.

Their job done, the enemy retreated. Apple Bloom looked about her at the devastation, and despite her wounds, ran over to her dying mother. "MA! NO! IT CAN'T END LIKE THIS!"

Pear raised her hand to comfort her child. "Ah'm proud of ya, Apple Bloom," she gasped. "No matter what, Ah will always love ya. Ah'll see ya in heaven." And then her body lay, still and cold, lifeless as the void.

The farm that hour sounded only to the noise of fire, the dead, and the sobs of the last of the Apple family.

Swift Order pulled himself over. "How many?" he asked.

"We only have 10 men combat effective," said the medic. "It'll be a miracle if we survive to morning."

Swift Order looked out over the terrain. "Where are they?" he asked. "How much longer?"