“Before we head back though, let's finish scouting the interior of this mine. There might be something they missed,” Twilight concluded.
“So, what's the plan, exactly?” Quick Buck asked, his weapon pointed skyward. “‘Cause I don't much like the idea of leaving our ride hanging out to dry, knowing there might be more of them zerg around.”
“Free Flier and you will join us inside, the rest of the marines will wait outside just in case,” Twilight ordered.
Quick Buck looked to the other soldiers and nodded. “Right. You lot better find a good position and hold it.”
“Roger that,” one replied.
“Affirmative,” added the other.
The two marines then tromped off, disappearing around the corner.
“Free Flier and Quick Buck, I want you two up here with me while Zecora and Applejack watch our sides,” Twilight continued, pointing to the people she was ordering around. “You may know something about this place, and I don't want to leave a single stone unturned.”
“What's the point?” Free Flier asked, kicking a corpse. “I doubt there are any more zerg round here, and we got what we came for, didn't we? Proof that there's something going on.”
“Yes, there might be zerg here, but there is more to it than that,” Twilight explained. “They were being ordered by something powerful, and they assaulted what seemed to be a cell of combine remnants.”
“How can you be so sure of that?” Quick Buck demanded.
Twilight kicked one of the unconscious zerg with a metal-clad hoof. “They may not be able to speak in the traditional sense, but that doesn't mean they can't tell me what I want to know.”
“More a’ that fancy mind stuff again?” Quick Buck shuddered. “That shit gives me the heebie-jeebies.”
“We managed to get some valuable information though,” Applejack pointed out.
Quick Buck snorted. “Still.”
“Regardless of your comfort, there might be a clue on what the zerg wanted and what was being smuggled through here. Two things we have yet to figure out,” Twilight declared.
“Probably just more food,” Free Flier remarked, drawing her sidearm. “Speakin’ a’ which, what are we doing with these two?”
Perhaps they could be of use, Zecora offered.
“No. We don't have the time to heal them and undo all the orders lingering in their heads,” Twilight answered, walking past them. “Just put them down so they don't become a problem later.”
“They ain't feelin’ a thing,” Free Flier exclaimed.
Two loud thumps echoed down the corridor, signaling that the zerg had been put down. Twilight didn't flinch, nor did Zecora, but Applejack jumped a little, though she soon relaxed. They were rejoined by the two uninfested a moment later with Free Flier replacing the spent rounds.
With a click, she closed the cylinder. “Anytime you’re ready.”
“Trigger finger’s gettin’ itchy,” Quick Buck remarked.
“Just don't shoot me or mine,” Twilight warned.
“I never make promises I don't intend to keep,” Quick Buck replied with a chuckle.
Twilight spun around and glared at the stallion. “Was that a threat, worm?”
“Hey now, was just makin’ light,” Quick Buck exclaimed.
“He don't mean nothin’ by it,” Free Flier added.
Twilight sighed and turned back around. “Let's just get this done.”
“Fine by me,” Quick Buck muttered.
Together the small group walked deeper into the mine, making slow but steady progress. Twilight continued to scan her surroundings every few seconds, ensuring that there were no surprises left for them. The effort turned out to be wasted, as what defenses there had been long since smashed to bits.
Only dead zerg and chunks of broken bone remained, with the odd equine skull sporting a good number of teeth marks on it. There wasn't even much trace of the mine’s former inhabitants, as only empty crates were left behind. Seemingly everything of value not nailed down had been carted off somewhere, leaving behind old, ill-used tracks.
The tracks were rusted and barely holding together due to their age. Forgotten and left to slowly crumble, they sported a few carts that had become fused to the rails. At the end of the current track, the group found that a primitive turning device waited, its machinery mostly escaping the ravages of time.
Used to send minecarts down separate tunnels that branched off from the large open room they now stood in, the machine was old. It likely hadn't carried anything in a very long time, especially since there was no reason to, given that nearly every other side passage had collapsed. Only two remained: a larger passage to the left and a narrower one that lay to their right.
Twilight peeked down the smaller of the two and found that it had likely been used as a latrine for the zerg. The smell was incredible, and she quickly backed away, a hoof over her nose.
“Didn't find shit, did ya?” Quick Buck joked.
Twilight snorted. “Har har.”
Applejack chuckled, but did her best to stifle the noise, lest her queen hear her mirth.
Walking back down the other side, Twilight led the way once more, her horn alight. She found no traps, enemies, or hidden entrances, only more broken equipment and bits of bone. That changed once they turned another corner and entered a much larger room.
Here they found another turning mechanism in the center of the space, along with a pulsing mass of flesh. Standing as tall as a pony, it seemed like something that had been half grown, with bones sticking awkwardly from the mass. Though alive, it was only just barely so, with the creature twitching occasionally when air moved across its exposed organs.
“What the hell is that?” Quick Buck muttered.
“Looks like some kinda zerg buildin’, only it stopped growin’ halfway through,” Free Flier reasoned.
“I think you’re correct,” Twilight muttered, stepping closer and extending a hoof. “Its mind is too malformed to gather anything useful from.”
Wait, a moment, Zecora interrupted.
Twilight stepped aside, allowing the infested zebra to approach the lumpy mass. Which gurgled faintly as the other zerg neared it as if detecting the other creature’s presence.
Zecora then knelt down and extended her tendrils from their hiding place, gliding the thin appendages across the flesh.
“You just had to figure out how to make it weirder,” Quick Buck muttered, only to gag when Zecora’s tentacles jabbed into the blob of skin and muscle. “Nevermind, I take that back.”
They had gathered enough biomass to produce a hive but were ordered to stop midway through, Zecora explained. The supplies it was going to use were then moved somewhere off-site.
“Let's put this thing out of its misery,” Applejack offered.
Zecora nodded and stepped away, her tentacles slipping back within her cloak once more. I agree. It has no additional information.
Twilight lit her horn and conjured another fireball, turning the mass of pulsating flesh into a pile of ash. The miniature explosion barely made a sound, detonating with just enough force to incinerate the malformed entity completely.
“Right, let's keep going,” Twilight urged.
The group did just that, with Twilight remaining at the head while they walked ever deeper into the hillside. Like before, there were more side passages, but they were mostly collapsed and hid no secrets nor contained anything of value. In fact, there was nothing save for more tracks, more rusted carts, and the odd piece of bone to mark where another pony had died.
That was until they reached the final room, which was far larger and had likely served as a warehouse at one point. Now, however, it was a graveyard of chewed bone, broken armor, and a scattering of spent bullet casings. The circular space was nearly as large as the city hall they had recently left and had three smaller side passages extending from it.
There were no zerg present, and a bit of magic confirmed this for Twilight, who couldn't help but be a little frustrated. There was nothing, just bits of dead pony, zerg droppings, and a few shattered, empty crates arrayed against one wall. A look into these side passages revealed that they too contained little of value, annoying the infested pony.
“Well, that was a waste of time,” Twilight muttered.
“Wait a second, Sparky,” Quick Buck exclaimed, stepping forward. “Those combine fellers sure loved putting the good stuff behind secret doors. Maybe you should put that horn of yours to use.”
Free Flier holstered her pistol. “Not much point in that. If the zerg haven't found it in the weeks of them bein’ here, then what chance do we got?”
“The zerg located here are mindless,” Twilight corrected. “They can't even read, never mind muster the brainpower to search for a hidden passage.”
“Do what you will,” Free Flier exclaimed. “I’ll watch our backs.”
“What's up with her?” Applejack asked.
“Bad memories, I guess,” Quick Buck offered.
“Regardless, let us continue our search. Quick, do you have any tips?” Twilight inquired.
The stallion shrugged. “There ain't much to tell, honestly. They liked fake walls, what with most of them being retired miners.”
“I can work with that,” Twilight remarked. “Fan out, search the walls.”
As her friends and Quick Buck, moved out, Twilight lit her horn and began running through a few scanning spells. A sonar pulse revealed nothing, as did a temperature sweep designed to find any unnaturally warm spots. A physical examination of the premises brought up nothing and took much longer to complete even with help.
“Anything?” Applejack inquired.
Twilight shook her head. “Nothing. None of my scans are bringing up anything useful.”
We have found no irregularities, my queen, Zecora added.
“Seems on the level to me. Weird, the zerg musta found it or the stash is in one of them collapsed tunnels,” Quick Buck offered.
“I don't…” Twilight paused, a faint tickle at the back of her mind stopping her in her tracks. “Hold on a second, I have an idea.”
The pony summoned her psionic power and sent out a different kind of pulse, this one intending on finding other minds. She had reasoned against this plan already, but a niggling feeling at the edge of her thoughts made her curious. That probe, once released, found little, but not nothing.
“There is someone else here,” Twilight whispered.
Quick Buck’s weapon raised and swung about the room. “What? Don't tell me there is some kinda invisible zerg lurkin’ about.”
“It's not zerg,” Twilight murmured. “Nor is it infested.”
“Then what is it?” Applejack asked.
“I don't know,” Twilight admitted. “But it's distant, like they are asleep or something.”
Twilight slowly felt out the source of the faint psionic signal and stopped in front of a section of wall she had already searched. A few more seconds of careful study revealed that this had to be the location, as the sleeping entity lay just beyond. Between them stood only a few inches of what felt like stone, though they would find out for certain in a few seconds.
“Stand back,” Twilight warned.
She pulled back her hoof and slammed it forward with all the strength she could muster. The impact was tremendous, cracking the stone and causing chips of rock to fly off in all directions. A second blow deepened the fissures, and a third caused an entire section to come loose, falling to the floor.
“Is that some kinda control panel?” Applejack whispered.
It looks like it, Zecora agreed.
“Stuff me in a dress and call me Sally. There was a secret behind there after all,” Quick Buck murmured.
“What? Really?” Free Flier called from the other side of the room. “I thought for sure you were wastin’ our time.”
Twilight snorted. “Just give me a second.”
The infested unicorn swept aside the debris, revealing a panel sporting some manner of scanner.
“They probably just waved some kinda key in front of the rock, and it opened up,” Applejack reasoned, scratching her chin with a pointed appendage. “But how are we going to get in?”
“The old-fashioned way,” Twilight muttered.
Stepping back from the wall, she lit her horn and activated her psionics. Reaching out and following the seam along the panel, she was able to feel out the door with her power. Then, after gripping it tightly, she braced herself and heaved with all of her might.
The pony grunted, her horn flaring brightly as unseen metal squealed and stone cracked. Then with a titanic crunch, the entire section of wall came loose and was thrown aside with incredible force. The concrete-covered metal door clanged noisily before coming to rest against the far wall, utterly forgotten.
“I didn't see that one comin,” Free Flier admitted.
Crammed into a narrow opening before them was what looked like a young minotaur female. She wore a loose set of white robes, marking her as a scientist, under which lay a plaid vest of purple and black. The space she was trapped within could barely be called a locker, as she only just barely fit inside despite being almost completely skin and bones.
She had a gaunt appearance and a see-through mask placed over her face. Her fur was a faint purple while the scraggly mess of hair on her head was a darker shade of the same color. She looked young at first glance, barely old enough to be an adult, and was completely unarmed, save for a pen protector tucked into a breast pocket.
“What the hay?” Applejack murmured. “Is she… alive?”
“I’m detecting thoughts, but it's distant, like she is in a coma or some-” Twilight was cut off by a sudden gasp.
The minotaur’s eyes snapped open, and she slumped forward, hitting the ground in a heap and beginning to cough. A weak and uncoordinated hand grasped at her mask, ripping it off of her face completely. That didn't seem to help her much as she continued to hack repeatedly until finally spitting a wad of blackened goo on the floor.
She then fell onto her side, wheezing and gasping for air while her body twitched randomly.
“This is going to sound like a stupid question, but are you okay?” Twilight asked.
“J-just fine, weird blob,” the minotaur replied, squinting at Twilight, the dark circles covering her eyes slowly clearing. “Might have some permanent nerve damage from using untested chemicals to put me into a coma, but hey, it sure beats getting eaten by z-z-zerg!”
Twilight looked around. “Where?”
“I think she means you, Sparky,” Quick Buck remarked.
Twilight looked down to find that the minotaur was pointing a shaky finger up at her.
“Cut it out,” Twilight barked, smacking away the other creature’s hand. “I’m infested, not a zerg. I am my own pony, thank you very much.”
“Best not try the boss’s patience, she's in a mood,” Applejack warned.
How odd. I wonder how she survived for so long. Perhaps a vivisection is in order, Zecora offered.
“Absolutely not,” Twilight stated.
Just an autopsy then? Zecora replied.
Twilight snorted and looked away, pointedly ignoring the zebra and looking down at the now less scared, more confused minotaur.
“So, you’re… not about to eat me?” she muttered in a slightly nasally tone.
“Not if you tell me everything you know about what happened here,” Twilight replied.
The minotaur released a sigh of relief. “I assume from the general lack of combine remnants and zerg, that you have cleared the mines of both factions.”
“One took out the other, and we mopped up the stragglers,” Quick Buck offered.
“Good, good.” The minotaur released a second sigh and fell back to the ground. “You have no idea how glad I am to hear that. I was worried I’d wake up to my overseer hauling me out of the smuggling hole and demanding to know what I had been up to.”
“What were you doing in there anyway?” Twilight asked.
“After I heard the zerg coming, I tossed out all the real pricey drugs they were smuggling, popped some pills I had been designing, and sealed myself up,” the minotaur replied, stretching out on the ground, her arms open wide. “I knew that such a surprise attack would take them totally off guard and didn't want to end as lunch, so here I am.”
“That's quite ingenious,” Applejack remarked.
“You mean lucky,” retorted the minotaur. “I made the stuff out of a mix of fertilizer and a couple of pharmaceuticals the boys stole from some confederate base.”
“Wait a second,” Quick Buck began, his weapon pointing down at her. “You’re with the combine.”
“Was,” she replied without flinching. “And not voluntarily, mind you. They caught me during a raid and were about to sell me off as a, uh… escort. When I revealed that I was fairly smart with machines.”
The marine’s gun swiveled away. “Them combine folk may be a lot of things, but altruistic ain't one.”
“Oh, it was purely calculated,” exclaimed the minotaur, who pushed herself up on her elbows. “They didn't exactly have many skilled technicians at that point and figured my brains were more valuable than my body.”
“Well, you’re free now,” Free Flier stated.
“So you’re confederates then?” she asked.
“I’m a marshal, these two are military. We’re on the trail of something big,” Free Flier continued.
“And we’d appreciate it if you told us more about what was being kept here,” Twilight added.
“Oh, and tell us your name,” Applejack exclaimed.
“Oh, uh, it's Tiny,” exclaimed the minotaur. “And I didn't know much. The combine were little more than glorified raiders at that point and were trying to offload a bunch of meds. That deal had weird written all over it though, so I prepared my little back-up plan well in advance.”
“Weird? How so?” Twilight pressed.
“A note just showed up outta nowhere one day. Just stickin’ on the front door to the cave and everything,” Tiny exclaimed, sitting upright. “Claimed they had the dough to buy everything and demanded a meeting only a few clicks north. Musta ambushed the guy they sent to negotiate, then came back here and cleared out the rest.”
“That is a might bit weird. Why would they go for somethin’ like that?” Quick Buck asked.
Tiny shrugged. “Same reason anyone does something stupid. Desperation, I guess. It wasn't like there were many buyers for stolen goods, and supplies were starting to run low.”
“Hmmm, interesting,” Twilight muttered.
“So, uh, how long have I been out for anyway?” Tiny inquired. “And are you guys going to arrest me or what?”
“Judging from what the zergling told me, probably close to a month and a half,” Twilight offered. “And no, we are not going to arrest you.”
“Over a month… wow,” Tiny murmured, falling back to the floor and staring up at the ceiling. “I didn't think my drugs would work that well. I’m going to need a long physical examination once we get back to wherever you guys are holed up.”
“Now hold on,” Quick Buck interrupted. “We haven't decided what we're doing with you.”
“She’s with us now,” Twilight stated. “Your testimony is important and will be useful in getting the local authorities on our side.”
“So long as I don't get eaten or arrested, I’ll do whatever the hell you want me to,” Tiny exclaimed.
Twilight nodded and turned towards the exit. “Right then, let's move.”
“And that brings us up to now,” Tiny exclaimed, the female sprawled out in a chair sitting across from Long Haul. “There is most definitely a queen working near town, and they are more intelligent than the usual rabble.”
Long Haul pinched his nose shut and gestured to his desk, which was covered by the still bleeding corpse of a zergling. “Why exactly did you need to bring this in here to make that point? The witness testimony would have been enough.”
“Because you're a dick,” Twilight retorted.
Jetstream stepped forward. “I’ve followed up on Twilight's investigations myself and have determined that everything Tiny has said is true. The only unverifiable bit of information was the note apparently delivered to them by this mystery queen.”
“Isn't that convenient?” Long Haul asked, stepping back from his desk. “The only hard evidence that would indicate this was anything more than a deal gone wrong has disappeared?”
Twilight gritted her teeth and was ready to lash out when Tiny raised a shaky hand.
“Actually, you don't even need that,” she offered. “The fact that none of the supplies ended up on the black market would be enough to imply that the zerg were at fault.”
“Or it could be that the daughters hit ya, and they are stockpiling it,” Long Haul pointed out.
“Can you cut it out?” Twilight demanded, throwing up a hoof. “Yes, we can't definitively say who or what was at fault, but the evidence points towards a queen operating in or around your city. If you do not, or will not respond at this point, it would imply a dereliction of duty on your part.”
Long Haul stood up straight. “I suppose you're right. I didn't want to make anyone panic, but as soon as this gets out, that's going to happen anyway.”
“Exactly,” Twilight stated. “So do you have any other leads for us? Or are you giving us some of your marines so we can start searching the hills?”
“I suppose there's one thing, but even knowing what I do now, I don't think it's important,” Long Haul muttered.
“Tell us,” Twilight demanded.
Long Haul sighed and raised his arms. “Alright, alright. Don't get your knickers in a twist. There is an old fort up on the hill a couple of miles out of town that hasn't checked in. It's got a skeleton crew with old equipment, so the discrepancy wasn't really note-worthy until now, that is.”
“I’ll check it out,” Twilight volunteered.
“And I’ll remain behind,” Jetstream added, turning to Long Haul. “You’ll need help organizing a sweep of the city and the surrounding area.”
“Right, I suppose there is a chance zerg has already slipped through the town gate,” Long Haul cursed under his breath. “This is going to really hurt our quotas, but it can't be helped. You’ll have the full support of my security forces.”
“I’m glad you’ve changed your mind,” Jetstream exclaimed. “This menace must be stamped out as quickly as possible. Who knows what that queen has planned.”
“Of course,” Long Haul agreed, a frown coming to his face. “And if you lot find something, then I guess I’ll owe you an apology, and one hell of a victory feast.”
“At the bare minimum,” Twilight stated.
Long Haul chuckled mirthlessly. “I still hope I’m right though. If there really is something nefarious going down here, then food production will suffer, and a lot of folk are going to go hungry.”
“But at least they’ll be alive,” Jetstream countered.
“True,” Long Haul agreed, rising back to his full height. “I’ll have my assistant send the exact location to your driver. Meanwhile, I’ll be working with your commanding officer to start the search here.”
“Good luck,” Twilight offered, clasping Jetstream’s shoulder. “Keep us updated.”
“I will, and happy hunting,” Jetstream replied.
Twilight nodded, and then walked away, passing through the doors to Long Haul’s office. A minute later, she was seating herself in the back of the transport, her squad looking at her intently. There was a nervous energy amongst the infested, while the marines were stoic, save for Quick Buck.
“So we got a lead, eh? Here I hoped we would have some downtime. It's been a long day,” muttered the stallion between puffs of his cigar.
“I know it's getting late in the evening, but we need to check out this fort,” Twilight stated. “It could be our only chance to catch this mystery queen in action.”
“Are you sure we have the numbers for that?” Applejack inquired.
Twilight nodded. “From what I could tell, the slug queen doesn't have many non-feral zerg under her banner, so we should be able to manage it. Plus we can count on the marines defending it to help us out.”
“Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's get at it already,” Quick Buck exclaimed.
“Right then, let's move,” Twilight declared.
“That looks like the place,” Twilight murmured, staring deeply into the scrying sheet splayed between her forehooves. “It looks like an old hill fort, only a bit wonky.”
Built on a plateau overlooking the hilly lowlands around it, the fortress would have been impressive for its time. Tall stone walls rose over the edge of the cliff-like sides, making the battlements appear ten times their actual height. With only a single sloping entrance, it would have been difficult to assault for any ancient force looking to attack it.
Modern improvements in the form of artillery pieces and outward-facing cannons added to that difficulty. Thankfully they were about the only new addition to the fortress, which still relied on several stone buildings to house personnel. Even the gatehouse had minimal changes, with a hastily overlaid metal barrier covering the entire front side of the structure.
“They got big guns, but no little ones,” Applejack pointed out. “They’d have a hard time fighting off an attack.”
Probably relying on their artillery, Zecora reasoned.
Quick Buck sat upright in his chair and peeked down at the scrying sheet. “Doesn't seem to be on fire either.”
“A good sign, but this mystery queen isn't quite so blunt as most zerg,” Twilight added. “We need to get inside before we can confidently state that it has not been compromised.”
“Should we send Free Flier ahead?” Applejack inquired. “She could get there quicker, and she's just following behind us at the moment.”
“No,” Twilight replied. “We should be getting into radio range soon, and I want to check in with them first.”
“Speakin’ a’ which, we should be close,” Quick Buck added.
Twilight reached down and tapped her leg before bringing the limb up in front of her mouth. “Fort Sandhome, this is special operative Twilight Sparkle operating under the command of your local magistrate Long Haul. What is your status, over?”
The line was quiet, save for the odd static-filled crackle.
“This is the right band, correct?” Twilight asked.
Quick Buck shrugged. “Hell if I know.”
Twilight grumbled and was about to complain when the radio sparked to life once more.
“This is Fort Sandhome, we see you,” replied a female voice over the radio. “We are green across the board, recommend you turn back the way you came, over.”
“No can do, Fort Sandhome,” Twilight continued. “We’ve been sent to inspect your base for possible zerg infiltration, over.”
“Funny, we were told something similar about you,” exclaimed the voice.
“Eh, boss, them guns supposed to be facing that way?” Applejack asked, pointing down to the still active scrying sheet.
Twilight cursed, disabling the spell and hopping up from her seat, a hoof changing channels on her radio.
“Evasive maneuvers!” she shouted. “Free Flier, fall back and stay out of the line of fire. We’re going in!”
“Going in? Damn, Sparky, we should be turnin’ around!” Quick Buck yelled back.
Right before the first shell detonated only a dozen meters from the transport’s right side. The explosion rocked the vehicle, which swerved to the left, avoiding a second round that briefly deafened everyone on board. The APC wasn't slowed by the assault, however, and began to swerve erratically, throwing off the artillery’s aim.
“They waited until we were in range, if we turn around now, we’re mincemeat!” Twilight shouted, shoving the marine back into his seat. “Just sit down and shut up. I’ll handle this.”
My queen? Zecora inquired.
“That goes for you two as well. I’ve got this,” Twilight declared.
The unicorn then yanked down the lever, activating the ramp and causing it to descend downward. Before it even reached the halfway point, the entire vehicle was thrown to the side, a nearby explosion causing the transport to nearly turn onto its side. With a thump, the heavy APC landed once again, losing only a bit of speed before rapidly accelerating.
Twilight was unfazed and waited until the ramp was a good three-fourths of the way down before disengaging it. She then leaped outside, using her unnatural flexibility to grip the top of the roof and flip up onto the roof of the vehicle. A magnetism spell adhered her metal hooves to the transport just as it swerved to avoid another artillery shell exploding near its side.
With her perch now secure, Twilight scanned her surroundings, quickly taking in her situation. Free Flier had managed to escape, her vulture having peeled off and slipped away while the guns focused on the transport. It made sense, as it was much larger and a lot easier to hit than the nimble jet-engined bike the pegasus drove.
Without having to concern herself with the safety of another vehicle, Twilight focused back on the fortress approaching in the distance. Though fairly far off at this point, the infested mare could pick out the gun swiveling along and behind its walls. The long, narrow tubes of the artillery spat fire into the sky, sending explosives into their path while the smaller cannons were more direct.
Twilight had little time to think or plan before the first shell whistled down at her position from high above. A lightning bolt caused it to explode prematurely, raining down tiny bits of shrapnel all around them. These metal fragments did nothing to deter Twilight as she continued to protect her friends with a series of quick spells.
A pillar of conjured stone blocked a cannon shot that would have hit the vehicle dead center and no doubt killed the drivers. Allowing those very same ponies to swerve around the mostly destroyed cylinder sticking straight up out of the earth. The debris from which was gathered by Twilight's magic and shot upwards like flak, hitting a shell that had been about to hit them.
The close proximity forced Twilight to conjure a barrier around the top half of the vehicle, shielding it from harm. The flames were mere feet above her head, and the concussive force knocked Twilight to her knees. Despite the power behind it, the unicorn remained standing and quickly dismissed the shield after it had done its job.
Looking up, Twilight noticed that the artillery was no longer firing and, after a quick mental calculation, figured out why. They were too close, which meant that only a trio of emplaced cannons needed to be defended against. Or attacked, as Twilight's anger demanded that she do more than just deflect or block their projectiles.
A powerful lightning bolt flew unerringly from her horn and slammed into one of the guns. The shell already loaded inside of it detonated, causing the entire battery to erupt in a fiery cacophony. Armored soldiers flew through the air and landed out of sight, revealing that they were indeed the magistrate’s security forces.
Twilight didn't pay them much attention, however, as the other cannons were already firing at her. A quickly conjured barrier placed almost directly in front of the barrel of one knocked it out of the fight. The other, however, couldn't be dealt with in time and spat its lethal payload at the oncoming vehicle.
Immediately Twilight realized that they wouldn't have time to dodge, so she picked up the entire vehicle with a herculean heave. Using her psionic powers, she levitated the several-ton APC up and over the shell which exploded behind them, having missed by mere inches. The driver, though no doubt shocked, continued gunning the engine the second the transport hit the ground.
Now close enough that she could see the individual ponies operating the cannon, Twilight lit her horn. She then tossed the armored creatures over the front of the wall, leaving the gun unmanned and unable to fire. With that done, she breathed a sigh of relief, though remained standing tall atop the armored box as it trundled up to the gate.
“This is Twilight Sparkle to Fort Sandhome,” shouted the unicorn, using her magic to open the radio channel. “Unless you want me to flatten this fort and kill every last person inside, I advise you to open up this gate, over.”
There was a moment of silence as the vehicle came to a stop, its engine idling loudly.
“Received,” muttered a defeated female voice. “Standby.”
The metal blast shield rose first, followed closely by the portcullis, revealing a motley assortment of soldiers waiting inside. Everyone was armed, though not all were armored in the thick articulated metal plates of the marines. Who they themselves numbered less than a dozen, with the majority of their forces made up of what appeared to be non-combat personnel.
“I’m assuming you got a plan,” Quick Buck explained over the radio. “‘Cause I don't really feel like killin’ all these folk, but at this point, I wouldn't mind gunnin’ down a few of ‘em just to send a messege.”
“Yeah, I’ve got a plan,” Twilight replied as the APC slowly rolled forwards. “Find out who started this whole mess and rip the information out of them.”
Quick Buck chuckled. “Hooah, Sparky.”
We are right behind you, my queen, Zecora added.
Twilight stood tall atop the vehicle, gazing down at the poorly coordinated security forces arrayed before her.
“Now then,” she began, voice loud enough to carry over the rumble of the engine. “Who's in charge around here?”