//------------------------------// // Big Problem, Bigger Solution // Story: Fallout: Harmony // by Foreverking0 //------------------------------// A helmet with a built-in light and air filtration system has benefits. When the Tunnel exit exploded, the resulting flash and cloud of dust stunned everyone else in the room. Six went to work helping everyone who had been downed in the blast, All the while the Alarms continued blaring, and lights flashed as the choir of coughing and groans began to die down "Is everypony okay, Was anypony harmed?" Celestia asked, receiving a collection of headshakes and verbal negatives. "Status report, We need information!" Luna ordered. "we're sealed in, some sort of explosive, but where were they hiding that much powder!?" The colonel commented. "The Sensors have confirmed, another anomaly has opened!" Argon shouted as she looked over a nearby control panel. "Impossible, the next one shouldn't have opened for weeks!" Grey countered. "We can worry about such things later, where has it opened?" Luna demanded. "Here, in the city," Argon answered. "We need to know what's happening, Is there another way out of here?" Celestia asked. "There is, but it's an emergency exit that leads down to the mountainside. It would take hours to reach the city," Rapid Fire groaned in frustration. "Well, whoever destroyed the tunnels did a thorough job. It looks like the entire tunnel roof was brought down, I'm surprised the foundations of the tower didn't give way," Farsight observed. "The tower foundations are secure? Could the rubble be removed safely?" Celestia asked. "I think so, but it would take days to clear," Farsight responded. "Everypony clear the entryway" Celestia requested. Six watched along with the others Celestia waited for everyone to clear the entryway. She then lowered their head and began to cast. Rather than moving the rocks with her mind as he had expected, six jumped when a giant beam shot out of Celestia's horn into the tunnel debris. Soon the rock began to glow red as it heated up, and eventually melt. Slowly the beam of pure heat began to bore through the blockage, as well as leave everyone uncomfortably warm. "I see the stairwell!" The Colonel announced. Celestia ended the spell, revealing a tunnel of quickly cooling magma. With the way now clear, everyone swept into action. Six grabbed the hunting rifle and clips he had left on a nearby surface, the other two humans grabbing theirs. "We'll stay here, it seems either the blast or the anomaly has damaged the electrical systems," Grey commented as he, Argon and Feathers head back down to the labs. The remaining ponies and humans left down the tunnel in a line. "Colonel, you are to take a chariot and head straight to polka. Tell the general staff to send anypony and everypony they can spare." Luna ordered, making her way up the stairs. "Yes princess, however, it will take time for anypony to arrive," The Colonel responded as they reached the Elements vault room. "Then we will have to hold until they can arrive," Luna answered. The Major gave a firm salute and bolted, aware that time was of the essence. The princess continued to the throne room, issuing commands as they went. "Sergeant Rapidfire, Head to the pegasus barracks and have every pony with working wings flying. They are to alert civilians of the evacuation, By chariot, train or airship. Afterwards, they will fly chariots to the nearest settlements, our priority is evacuating the areas closest to the hostilities." Luna ordered, with Rapid Fire launching off without hesitation. The princess then looked to Major Farsight who moved up to fill the space Rapid Fire had just occupied. "Major, Organise the Guard, every pony on or off duty needs to be assembled. We will inform the Royal guard that you have temporary authority to command them, The defence of this city is in your hooves. Whatever happens, we must contain the problem; or failing that, buy as much time as we can." The Major snapped a quick salute and then hobbled as she considered the daunting task. "Luna, How can I help?" Twilight asked. "The elements of Harmony are still our last and best hope for the kingdom, you and your friends must stay here," Celestia stated, firm in her statement. "Oh, Pony Feathers! Twilight, Fluttershy is still out there!" Rainbow dash remembered. Twilight looked back up at Celestia. Six noticed her demeanour soften to something of acceptance. "Go, keep your friends safe." Twilight gave Celestia an affirmative nod and stopped. Six watched as Twilight's friends surrounded her and then they all disappeared in a purple flash. "She seems to be getting better at that," Celestia noted. "Indeed" Luna agreed. Making it to the throne room, the commotion outside was becoming audible. The princesses slowed down as the afternoon sky bathed across their bodies, With the colonial racing off as soon as he was in the open. Six followed the rest of the ponies and humans present in walking past the sisters to join them in surveying the courtyard. The Royal Guards were on the move, organising whatever formations they could in a short time. Ponies were spreading news like wildfire, with new pieces of information making their way across the courtyard in ripples from the main gate. Princess Luna hailed a Stallion in purple armour, who seemed to be coordinating the mobilisation. "Captian Lancer!" The Gray Earth Pony locked instantly on the summon and cantered over to the Princesses. "Your Majesties, Creatures have appeared at the city's central plaza, they're tearing the merchant district apart." The Captain announced. "Do we know anything else yet?" Celestia asked. "Not much, they're big, green, and armed. No one has heard any news from the rest of the city so it seems they haven't left the merchant's district yet." The Captain responded. "Big, Green...ah fuck...Do they look like us?" Nate asked as he gestured to himself, Six and John. "No clue, it's just word of mouth at the moment." The Captain answered, then returned to explaining the situation to the Princesses. "We were preparing to hold the main gate until your whereabouts were known." "We missed the chance to defend Canterlot before and We don't intend to see it happen again." Luna lamented. Moving past the captain, she called out to the ponies in the courtyard as she marched towards the main gate. "Where are Our night guards, awaken them at once! They can live without a day's rest." Watching her sister take charge, Celestia took a moment to admire her sister in her element, before addressing the Captain. "Captain Lancer, As of now and until this crisis is resolved, Major Farsight has been temporarily granted authorisation of all military assets in the city. Where she goes, you will follow." The Captain looked as if he was going to say something, clearly not agreeing with the order. However, he seemed to have decided against it and acquiesced to the order. The courier, sick of waiting around, chambered a round in his hunting rifle and made his way towards the main gate. Jogging to the gatehouse, he talked to himself. "Big and green, Big and green. I don't want it to be supers, so it's going to be supers." Passing through the gatehouse and passing down the steps towards the city proper, Six saw a giant green man screaming as it charged with a sledgehammer towards a civilian at the bottom of the stairs. With Practiced aim and nerves, Six took the shot. With a crack, the sound slammed into the side of the mutant's arm and forced it to drop the hammer. "PAIN!" The mutant roared, grasping its bleeding arm with its other one. It recovered in time for a second shot to turn its left kneecap into bone fragments. The pony took the opportunity to flee, leaving the mutant furiously looking for the shooter. Spotting The courier at the top of the grand stairs, the mutant limped its way towards his enemy. "NOW TRY AND HIDE, FROM THIS!" The mutant yelled, throwing something at the courier. Six realised just in time it was a fragmentation grenade and dove to the side of the stairs onto the side of the hill the castle sat upon. The explosion rocked the front gate as the shrapnel zipped overhead, the descent on the hillside having shielded the courier. With nothing but a river that quickly dropped off the face of the mountain to meet him, Six clawed at the hillside. His hunting rifle continued to clack down the hillside before splashing into the river. Reoriantating himself, the courier found himself defenceless and holding on for life. Looking behind him, he saw the mutant pulling out another grenade. While the mutant's poor aim from using its non-dominant arm would mean he would be probably safe from the concussion blast, there was no way to avoid the hot shrapnel that would litter the hillside. Before the super mutant could toss the explosive, a yellow laser shot through its chest. The mutant let go of the grenade with a grunt and fell on top of it. Seconds later, the mutant would explode, leaving chunks of flesh nearby and leaving the pavement below it looking like cranberry sauce. Six looked up to see who had saved him, to find the local sun god in a fighting stance and her horn readied. Her horn lit up as the courier felt himself being pulled off the hillside and dropped on the pavement next to her. "What are they?" Celestia demanded. she was asking like a commander, she wanted a threat analysis. "We call them super mutants, They're big, tough and pack a punch. They're smart enough to talk to, but I've never seen them this mad before. I don't think they're going to sit down for cake and talk" Six Answered. "I don't intend to talk, What are their weaknesses?" she demanded again. She was pissed, apparently attacking her capital was something that got under her skin. "They don't have one as far as I know, but they go down if you use enough firepower." Celestia took to the skies before he could say anything more, She was out for blood. The rest of their company left the castle ground to see the carnage that had just taken place. Taking a moment to survey the situation, Six couldn't help but remember walking the colorado river. Gunshots rang out across the city as civilians were in a panic, plumes of smoke were beginning to rise from the city centre ahead of them. The Major slowly walked up beside them, also taking in the situation. "Any ideas would be good ones about now." Major Farsight announced. " What's out there?" Nate asked the courier. "Super mutants" Six replied. "Where's the rifle?" John asked next. "Lost it?" Six replied. "How, you just had it." John challenged. "Fighting a super mutant." six said matter-of-factly. "I don't think a hunting rifle is going to cut it here," Nat stated, pointing outward. From behind a three-story building emerged a monstrosity, big enough to see above the city skyline. It looked like a super mutant that forgot to stop growing. "What the mother of fuck is that!?!" Six shouted. "A behemoth" John stated flatly, glaring at the creature. The behemoth roared, taking out a building next to it. "Our weapons won't even tickle that," Nate commented. "Then go get bigger ones! Sergeant Levee, You know the Armory spell. Take Sergeant Batlle Bowler and escort these men, get them whatever they need." Farsight ordered. "No, We need to slow them down now, before they can spread out. We're your best defence against them, you need us here" Nate countered. "I'll go, I know what we need, I've faced mutants before, even the big guy" John volunteered. John walked over to six and held out his combat shotgun as he unclipped the drums on his belt. "You're going to need this," John said, then gestured to the two pony officers to lead the way. As they left, six turned back to see more super mutants stumble into the main street below. "We need to stop them from spreading out. If we can keep the big guy distracted, we can focus on stopping the rest." Nate thought aloud. "I can send pegasi to keep it distracted, if we can make enough noise in the plaza, the others might follow. But I don't see how we can stop the ones that have already made it into the streets" Farsight mused. "If someone can drop the ones in the side streets, will you be able to handle them in the plaza?" Six asked. "It's a matter of keeping them in the plaza, the guard can assault them from the ground and on the walls above. But every squad we have out trying to stop the chaos in the streets is one we don't have here trying them down." Farsight explained. "Then leave the outliers to me," Six said. "Twilight, are you sure this is the fastest way there?" Rainbow Dash asked, again. "Yes Rainbow, Believe it or not, I had to be taken to Canterlot general from the castle on more than one occasion," Twilight responded. "But I could be there faster, I could go right to her window!" Rainbow argued. " We need to stay together rainbow, what if something attacks you?" Twilight countered. "I would kick its butt!" Rainbow answered boastfully. "And what if something attacked us?" Twilight added. She hated manipulating her friend's sense of loyalty, but Rainbow Dash's overblown optimism might get her killed at this point. Her words seemed to get the job done, as Rainbow Dash let out a frustrated groan and flew closer to her friends. Twilight stopped when she thought she heard voices from a nearby alleyway. After a pause, Rarity piped up. "Twilight, what's wrong?" Twilight gazed into the alleyway but saw no pony there. "It's... nothing... Let's keep moving." Twilight said as she went forth. Never seeing the subtle ripples in the alleyway move. "Where are the scouts, communication is our greatest priority! Guards must be notified around the city, every bridge and gate must be contested. We must keep them from breaking out into the other districts, destroy the bridges if you must. And somepony get the arcane guards here, those book watchers can help the battle mages; we need everypony we can muster!" Luna's tangent of commands ceased as the Royal Guards Captain appeared beside her. "Speak quickly, Captain, we have little time," Luna said sharply. "Princess, your sister and the strangers have engaged the monsters at the city plaza. Their position is tenuous." The Captain replied. "Take over things here Captain, it is time for us to join the battle," Luna commanded, before attempting to take flight. Her body refused to listen to her request, shooting up her side. The injury from the morning's mission flared and her head began to throb with pain. "Princess, I must object to this. You're in no condition to-" Captain Lancer said, before being cut off by his princess. "You have your orders, Captain!...and we go to defend my ponies." Luna finished, bolting to the main gate. passing through the gatehouse, Luna was witness to a nightmare. smoke could be seen across the city, the plaza below becoming a centre of attention. Her sister could be seen in the distance, a brilliant golden sphere shielding her from projectiles from the surface. judging the situation below needed her attention more, she swiftly made her way down the stairs and over the bridge that separated the castle from the plaza. The Major and the human Nate were just on the other side of the bridge, constructing a barricade with a handful of other guards. Nate was pointing his weapon out into the plaza and shooting at any mutants who left cover. Battle mages from the castle walls assisted the battle below with offensive spells. A sole mutant was sprinting towards the barricade screaming as it threw a small object. Luna watched as Nate singled a unicorn to the objects. The unicorn's magic bounced the object off a small barrier, causing it to fly away from the barricade. The resulting explosion took out the side of a building, causing the stonework to crumble into the plaza. Small things, explosive. She would need to pay attention to those. Luna decided to try and assist with the defence. Drawing as little magic as she could from her reserves, she shot a beam that pierced the exposed mutant. The mutant dropped with a great hole in its chest. mild pain throbbed in Luna's head, but this pain was bearable. "Good to see you're recovering" Nate noted, moving further into cover as projectiles smashed into the piled-up walls of rubble they had constructed. "Indeed. Where are the others?" Luna asked. "The grouch, Levee and the one with the steel helmet left to find some heavier guns," Nate answered. "I see, and that courier?" It's truly amazing how many cities you can visit and still never truly know your way around. The courier could find all the basics, but navigating the back way was an adventure in itself. Some things never change, however, as the courier found himself being chased by a super mutant. "JUST, STAND, STILL!" The mutant cried, taking a shot at the courier. The man slipped around the corner onto the main street just in time as the mutant's assault rifle opened up on the brickwork. Around the corner, the courier waited until the mutant rushed around the corner. With the squeeze of his finger, the combat shotgun removed the mutant's head. Once the body crashed to the floor, the courier began looting. he only managed to pick up three grenades in his arms before another mutant spotted him from down the street. "Shit, shit, shit!" Six muntra'd to himself as he scrambled off to the bang of a hunting rifle. scampering back into the guts of the city, the courier looked behind him. He ducked just in time to miss the bullet of the mutant that was very much chasing him. Going through the twists and turns, the courier spotted an open door and ran inside. Putting his back to the wall, he struggled with the three grenades in his arms. He stopped when he heard a whimper beside him, beside him was a Stallion sitting against the wall. The Pony was frozen in fear, looking at the courier like he was going to eat him. "Hold this." The courier stated, thrusting the two extra grenades into the hooves of the pony. he pulled the pin on the last one and waited. "I'M GOING TO EAT YOUR LEGS WHEN YOUR DEAD HUMAN!" The mutant shouted as ran closer to the building. The courier watched by the door as Mutant ran past, deftly slipping the grenade into one of the ruined pockets of the mutant's pants as it went by. He then slipped back into the house and waited. The resulting boom shook dust lose on the building. The courier then looked down to the pony who still hadn't moved and grabbed the grenades. "Thank you!" He said as he rushed out of the building, leaving the pony in a yellow puddle. The castle's military complex was quiet, with most if not all guards sent to the city. John watched the smoke plumes rising into the sky as he followed Levee and Battle Bowler to the brick all that contained the armoury door. With a quick spell, the doors opened and the three entered the building. "So what are we looking for exactly?" Battle bowler asked, scanning every pile. "Something big enough to take down a building. Those suckers can take a lot of damage" John answered. He looked at every piece he could see, with no success. Every item was too small or too limited. "What about this thing, it looks big enough," Levee said as she pointed to a poorly maintained minigun. "In that condition, it's more likely to fall to pieces" John dismissed. "What about this thing? Looks like it might hurt the buggers." Battle Bowler offered, pointing to a light machine gun. "Even if this had enough punch to hurt that thing, there are barely enough rounds here. Most of this junk is broken or too small to make a difference. The only weapons that might be worth taking are that weird laser gun and the super sledge." John pointed out the objects and then ran his hands back through his hair as he leaned against a table. "what about this?" Levee asked, motioning to the Fat Man launcher. "That would be perfect if it still had any warhead to fire. But I don't see one, so it's just an over-glorified slingshot." John replied. " You said that the bombs were powerful, that they used some fusion material?" Levee asked, the tone of her question feeling like a lead on more than an actual question. "Fission, and yes. Nuclear fission was a source of power as much as it was a weapon" John Answered, curious to see where this was headed. "Well, maybe the science ponies have it, in the laboratory under the castle?" Levee further pondered. "There's only one way to know. Let's take these back anyway, they will at least with the super mutants. Bowler, can you carry the launcher?" John asked. " What do I look like, A unicorn? Load it on my back!" Bowler told john. John complied with his request and loaded the launcher on Bowler's back. Grabbing a bag full of fusion cells, John raced off with the musket. Levee snatched the hammer with her magic and followed pace. Battle Bowler stumbled towards the exit, loaded down with the launcher. "By Celestia, this thing is heavy..." "PONIES, WHERE ARE YOU PONIES? WANT TO SQUISH YOU, WHAT TO EAT YOU!" The lone Super Mutant shouted aloud, wandering down an empty street. Suddenly, something hit the mutant in the back of the head. "YES, A FIGHT. WHERE ARE..." The mutant Hollard as it turned around to see nothing. Grasping his chunk of rebar, the mutant walked forward. Suddenly something else hit the mutant on the head, enraged, the mutant scanned for the thrower. All it heard was someone laughing at it. "NO FAIR, NO FAIR, STOP HIDING!" The Mutant followed the sound of laughter, occasionally being hit by a stone or piece of trash. Slowly the mutant was led towards Canterlot General. The courier was sprinting for his life, as ANOTHER Mutant was pursuing him. With nothing left in his shotgun and two grenades, he was running out of options. He jumped a fence, only for the mutant to plough right through it. He tipped over trash cans only for the mutant to crush them under his feet. Finding an alcove, the courier picked up a long piece of wood. Upon seeing hearing the mutant approach, he stepped out and swung his weapon, only or it to shatter into pieces when it struck the mutant's chest. "OH Come On!" Six complained, dodging as the mutant tried to squish him. Thankfully what they had in raw power they lost in agility. "JUST, STAND, STILL!" The mutant cried out in frustration. The courier danced around the mutant, before dropping a grenade and sprinting for his life. Upon hearing the explosion, He turned around to gloat, only to see the mutant limping towards him. In a panic, The courier ran onto the main street, only to find two more mutants patrolling it. With little choice, He bolted to a nearby store and tried to open the door. The door was locked. He went to the next store and tried it again, this time the limping mutant had left the alleyway and forced the attention of the wandering mutant. "THE HUMAN, KILL, KILL!" Six tried the third door, giggling at the handle. This door gave, and he raced inside. Slamming the door shut, he saw a nearby chair and forced it under the handle. That would hold them for a moment, so he had precious time to find a back door. The Store was dark, so he turned on his night vision. Looking around, the Humans unseen face began to beam. Moments later, the Door bound inwards, once, twice, and finally broke. The two mutants forced themselves into the building, the dark room was silent. The mutants spread out, searching for their prey. "COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE..." The limping mutant chanted, he would have his revenge on the human. It ran and ran, and now it was trapped. He would kill it, and wear its bones around its neck. As the mutant carefully walked through the room, he saw no human. Seeing only one other exit, the three mutants left the storefront to search the back. It took one step into the second room, and there was a twang. The mutants stopped and frantically scanned the room as they heard something clanking. From the side of the room, a small round object rolled down some boxes of colourful tubes and stop with a clank as it hit a metal canister. The resulting explosion wiped the conjoined Mr sparkies firework emporium and friendly hanks propane store off the face of the city, as well as most of the block. Celestia's attention was once focused by another mutant when another projectile bounced off her shield. With a blast The mutant had been reduced to ash, her fury made tangible. The roar of the behemoth forced Celestia to ignore her nagging pity at the loss of life to deal with the present threat. Soaring through the sky, Celestia dived towards the Monster, firing a beam of pure solar energy at the giant. The beam hit the behemoth in the chest, knocking it over with a thunderous crack as it fell through one of Canterlot's marble spires. The action had grabbed the attention of many in the city and the tower came crumbling down on the creature. A new wave of projectiles barraged the Princess, forcing her to divert more magic to the shield. The onslaught was so intense that it seemed projectiles were coming from all over the merchant's district to assault her. Concerntraighting on strengthening the bottom of her sphere, Celestia's focus was broken when a great explosion that rocked the entire city, The fireball climbing into the sky. The sheer destruction being wrought on her city, what madness had clawed its way into Equestria? This train of thought blinded her to the Behemoth, who had grabbed a chunk of the tower it had fallen into and thrown it with all its strength at its flying foe. Celestia tried to refocus her shield but found her effort too late. The boulder shattered her shield, and from inertia alone, carried the princess into the side of the castle walls. "Remember, Don't stay in one place. If you keep peering over the barricade in the same place, they can wait for you to resurface. Keep your heads down, they only need one good shot." Nate alerted the unicorn guards stationed by the barricades. With no firearms and no means of flanking, all efforts to break out had ended in one-sided death. When the enemy tried to assault the barricades, the results were less one-sided. "This is fruitless, they have us trapped, with only the castle to go!" Luna asked "I'm afraid magic is your only weapon now," Nate added, throwing away his submachine gun that was spent. "Something has to give, We can't stay here much longer!" Major Farsight stated. "they will come, We will hold, Then they will rue the day they thought they could take this city!" Luna announced Farsight's face did not agree. "Major!" came a familiar voice. Farsight's optimism returned as from the bridge behind them, Sergeant Levee and John arrived. "Bring us good news" Luna requested. "Tin Hat is bringing the launcher, Levee thinks there may be mini-nukes in the lab," John answered the news was not comforting. "And what if there are none in the lab?" Nate asked. John dropped the bag of cells and handed the laser musket to Nate. "Use it to throw rocks at it" John replied. "Go then, you're our best hope now" Luna ordered, hiring at a mutant in cover. The Battle bowler finally made his way over the bridge and slipped the launcher off his back. "Ahhh, that's gonna hurt in the morning" He commented as he stretched his back. "Sergeant Battle Bowler, go with John to the lab, help him find whatever he's looking for" The major ordered. "Son of!... I mean... yes mam!" Battle Bowler saluted. The pony and the human began to climb the stairs. And levee settled in for the firefight. "This was not how I saw our debut to Canterlot going, but it is effective, no?" Levee asked Nate. The firefight suddenly slowed as the Doppler effect was heard flying overhead. Everyone watched as a large chunk o marble with a white alicorn on the front collided with the castle walls. "TIA!" Luna cried out, having seen her sister crash through the fortifications. She immediately attempted to fly to her sister's aid but collapsed in pain before she left the ground. "Princess, your injury is too much, you will not fly today," Levee said as she help her sovereign to her hooves. "We must.. help her!" Luna ruggedly pleaded. "You cannot, the castle guards will find her, we must defend this bridge," Levee argued. "She's right, if they break through here, then they can bypass our chokepoints" Nate added. Luna resigned to her situation, looking back at the hole in the castle walls one last time. "Then what do you recommend we do, that... thing, is no longer distracted. Without our sister, nothing is stopping it from simply crushing its way through the defensive lines" Luna asked. A familiar red and yellow pegasus swooped in and landed at the barricades. "Reporting in, evac of the neighbouring districts is complete. Civilians are making their way out by the main gate or the airdocks" Rapid Fire announced. The pegasus's arrival gave Nate an idea. "We only need to keep it distracted, if you can find enough fliers, you could keep it occupied and away from our positions," Nate suggested. "Great idea, except the moment we go flying around above the merchant's district, we're gonna be shot to pieces." Rapid Fire argued. "If we had a way of getting behind them, we could divide their attention for a breakout. but outside of you, we don't have anyone else who can get there" Nate said. "Not necessarily," Luna said, looking out at the gatehouse, where her personal guard's banner now sat. "What, this whole time you had a force of pegasi that were not scattered around the city?" Nate asked sarcastically. "Not quite, but I do have fliers" Luna corrected. Nate sat on this revelation, then picked up the Super sledge that Levee had left leaning on the side of the barricade. He then thrust the handle in front of Luna. "Ever fought with a hammer before?" Nate asked. Luna used her weakened magic to hold the hammer, the pressure of lifting the object seeming to cause less pain than her magic beam. "Have you not?" Luna shot back, swinging the weapon effortlessly with practised grace. "Not my first choice, but this..." Nate said as he cranked the laser musket, each crank adding more power to the shot. "This will do," He said with a grin, the red glow of the energy chamber casting on his face. The courier was on the hunt, his combat shogun long shed when its drums had run out. In his hands now stood a weapon of a professional, a weapon of standards, the DKS-501 Sniper Rifle. The weapon had been lying in the hands of a super mutant that mysteriously had its head removed by a ballistic piece of rubble after his escape from the now-missing city block. "IIEEEAAAAHHHH!" another mutant roared as it spotted him casually approaching, the mutant spinning its rusted mini gun. BANG, the minigun motor kicked it as a 308 tore the minigun to pieces. BANG, the mutant stumbled as a 308 lodged itself in its eye. The courier continued on his path uninterrupted. Walking down the street, he stopped as something caught the sun's light. "NOW YOU DIE, HUMAN!" came from a window, as the mutant shot at him with his hunting rifle. The shot hit home, striking the head and knocking the courier to the ground. The mutant laughed sadistically as it walked away from the window and out through the door. "HUMANS, SO STUPID... SO WEAK..." The mutant taunted as it lumbered over to the courier's still body. It stood there eyeing up the sniper rifle, deciding the new toy was better than his current one. It dropped the Hunting rifle and reached for its new prize. Only for the courier to aim straight at its face and pull the trigger. Then mutants body dropped to its knees and fell sideways as the courier struggled to his feet and grabbed his helmet. pulling it off violently, he blinked at the sunlight. Looking at his helmet, the right eye lens was cracked and the right temple had crumpled in. The bullet had failed to penetrate the helmet but destroyed the optics and bent the inside out of shape had also made it uncomfortable. The Courier threw his helmet on the ground. "You Son Of A Bitch, do you have any idea how hard it is to get one of those!?" He screamed at the corpse. He grappled with his anger before letting out a violent groan and began to storm off. he stopped to look at the mutant's headless body and fired the rest of his clip into the body before resuming his march while mumbling furiously. His volume had attracted the attention of another mutant. Standing beside an apartment building, the Mutant laughed as it aimed something at the courier that had just walked past its street. What the mutant was carrying was made evident when a rocket flew towards the courier. Diving out of the way, the thunderous boom behind him threw him across the road. He helplessly rolled as his head ringing head tried to pull itself together. Finally coming to a stop, the dizzy ragdoll listed his head to look at the mutant. His vision blurry and doubled, he could barely make out the mutant reloading its missile launcher and aiming it at where the prone courier lay. It laughed at the man. "I, AM A SUPER MUTANT! I AM UNSTOPPABLE!" The mutant announced triumphantly. The mutant then exploded into red paste, with a giant chunk of metal replacing the pancaked mess of the mutant. The courier concentrated on the object, trying to figure out what had happened. The object was weirdly shaped, with a flat top and a horn on the nose. Whatever it was had come from above, so the courier strained to look up. He saw two ponies on a balcony. "I told you passion, you said 'we should throw away your papi's anvil'. And what did I say?!" The stallion asked the mare. "...We might need it someday?..." She Painfully asked, knowing what was coming next. "We might need iiiit!" The stallion rubbed in. The courier chose this moment to reverse his policy of being conscious. Twilight and her friends stepped onto the floor where Fluttershy's room was located, none of them spoke as they darted straight to the pegasus's room. Bursting the door open, the very much awake pony inside jumped at the sudden intrusion. "Fluttershy!" The five ponies exclaimed in joy and relief that their friend was awake. "Girls!? what's happening? Why is there smoke, I heard explosions!" Fluttershy frantically asked questions. "The city is being invaded, we came here to make sure you were safe." Rarity clarified. "Then why hasn't the hospital been evacuated?" Fluttershy pushed. "The monsters have been kept bottled up in the merchant district, while the general public has been asked to leave, the hospital staff think that the problem is far enough away to avoid evacuation," Twilight explained. "Uhh... Twilight, what was that first part again?" Pinkie asked, looking out the window. "The medical staff said the monsters are contained in the merchant's district, why?" Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash hovered over to the window out of curiosity, Then away in panic. "I don't think that one got the memo!" Rainbow commented. Twilight rushed to the window and opened it. Looking down, she saw a lone Mutant wandering into the hospital. Screams could be heard from the ground floor. Doctor Argon smacked the side of the biomolecular scanner, trying to get it to work. Despite all the technobabble Doctor Grey spouted about electronics, it was amazing how many things could be fixed by hitting them. "Hello, anyone here?" came a voice from upstairs. Argon watched as The human John and Sergeant Battle Bowler came down the stairs. "Doctor Grey and Doctor Feathers just went to re-algin the crystal array, what's going on out there?" "Bad news, and hopefully in here is good news" John answered cryptically "Do you know of an object down in the armoury?" Sergeant Battle Bowler asked. "Which one? There's kind of a few" Argon responded. "It's a launcher, it uses a pneumatic recoil system. It fires small warheads." John described the weapon. "They kinda look like pineapples!" Sergeant Battle Bowler added. "What the hell is a pineapple?" John asked. "wait, wait, object three one four, The Catapult?" Argon assumed. "You know it?" John asked, optimistically. "Yeah, yeah, we thought it used some sort of self-propelled deliver system; Is that your after?" Argon guessed. "We have it, It's the warheads we need. Do you have any?" John asked. Argon shook her head. "No. We found it in a green case, the box was on some wagon. Inside it was laying on some kind of foam, there were holes that were missing stuff. Guess that's where your warhead would have been" Argon answered. The Answer seemed to hit the human and the Sergeant like a chariot, both of them falling into a sitting position. "Then we're doomed" Battle bowler commented. A pregnant silence filled the air. Argon looked at the two piles of depression in front of her, If they were all going to die, she might as well ask what's been on her mind. "So what's that stuff tastes like anyway?" Argon asked. "...What?" John asked in turn, looking at her in confusion and disbelief. "That blue stuff your friend tried, since we only have the one now, we didn't open the other one. I really wanna know what it tastes like. I mean it glows and it's bubbly, like a potion-" "That's it" John stated, staring into metaphorical space. "Excuse me?" Argon asked, watching the human get back up and walked past her. "Bowler, Go back up to the others. Tell them to buy us as much time as they can, and try to tell them to set up the launcher high up and with a clear shot. I have an idea." John told Sergeant Battle Bowler. "What if they ask what it is?" Battle Bowler challenged "Tell them... to trust me," John told him, a steel look in his eyes. The pony was unsure yet made off on a mission regardless. Argon, thoroughly confused walked over to John. "uh, so what's this plan?" Argon asked. "You said you were a chemist?" John inquired. "I have a Doctorate, why?" Argon asked, wondering where he was going with this. "Then let's go practice chemistry" John answered, holding the bottle of Nuka-Quantum. It had been a most glorious charge, one she had not experienced in a millennium. Luna had ordered her personal guard to fly behind the enemy and launch an assault after her vanguard had sallied forth. Her guards were exclusively recruited from a very special kind of pony. Serving as her personal guards since her ascendency, they were her children, the ponyfication of the night itself. Known by many names, Thestrals, children of the night, but commonly known as bat ponies. While the daylight would normally be blinding to them, a thick smoke now blanketed the sun. Luna herself had achieved first blood on the assault, using her new super sledge to swat a super mutant that was hiding behind the plaza fountain. With Nate's beam weapon, the plaza was blazoned by its light. The signal had been given, and all Tartarus itself has been unleashed. The mutant's defence crumbled from the onslaught. Luna herself was swept up in a bloodlust, She would vanquish her foe who dared challenge her might. It had also managed to draw every mutant in the city toward their location, including the behemoth. The giant was slowly making its way towards the plaza, with the pegasi efforts to harass it failing. the sound of conflict was too tempting of a target. "Princess!" came a cry, snapping Luna out of her haze in time to see her bringing her hammer down upon her foe, blood going everywhere. The mutant's head was missing, having been replaced by her hammer. She looked to the source of the voice to see it was the major. "Princess, When the behemoth arrives, we will be easy targets. we must retreat to the castle, we will have the defensive advantage!" The Major shouted over the ambience of war. "Neigh! We shall turn tail and run! Our vengeance shall be righteous and unforgiving!" The princess announced, in the ecstasy of battle. "Please Princess, When that thing comes, we won't be able to stop it. A lot of good soldiers will die!" The major refuted. Luna stopped, now taking in the situation. If they stayed, the behemoth would crush them all, without anywhere to hide or find cover. She had been so caught up in the fight, she had not seen the danger approaching. "Very well, Begin falling back. We shall stay with our children of the night, as a rear guard. A sombre nod was The Major's reply, then she galloped to relay the command. Luna searched the battlefield for her captain and Nate. Finding the human was easy, one just need follow the red beams of destruction. Nate was tied down behind the collapsed side of one of the plaza's building fronts, alongside Sergeant levee en mass. A mutant was shooting them with some rapid-firing weapon, unleashing a hail towards the two. Luna used her magic to fling her hammer at the mutant with as much might as she could muster. The resulting collision slammed the mutant into and through the wall. Luna then walked calmly over to the two who were crouching behind rubble. "We have done all that we can here, Soon the guards will fall back to the castle. The behemoth approaches" Luna explained. Breathing heavily, Nate just nodded once and removed himself from the cover. The mutant horde had thinned out considerably, but the losses were mounting. It seemed even he found the situation untenable. The three made their way back towards the bridge barricade, The Night Guard Captian having found their way there first. "Captian, Every member of the night guard is to fall back to here, we shall hold until everypony is inside the castle. Then take to the skies and join them" Luna Commanded. The Night Captain bowed and shot to the skies. "It's Bowler!" Levee shouted, pointing to the stallion racing down the stairs. "Sergeant, where is the human? did they find what they need?" Luna asked. "No, But he claims he found something else. He said to buy as much time as you can and to set up the launcher high, with a clear shot." Battle Bowler replied. "A clean shot, so he still plans to use the launcher. If whatever he's planning has the same power, we're going to need to keep the behemoth here. There's nowhere else open enough to guarantee a shot." Nate analysed. "Make way!" Came Rapidfires voice as she took to landing on a pile of fresh ash. "Ow, hot, hot... I'm afraid too many of my team were taken out by the big guy Princess. They carried whomever they could and made for the castle medical ward." Rapid Fire reported to the Princess "There was little more to be done, they bought us time. Is there anything else Sergeant?" "Affirmative, Airships have been spotted from Fort Polka. They should be here within the hour" Rapid Fire added. "If the human doesn't have the weapon then there's nothing more to be done, we should fall back to the castle and Await Fort Polka's reinforcements" Sergeant Levee offered alternatively. Luna was unsure. Indecisiveness was not something she was known for, but she was conflicted here. If they stayed here, many more would die. If they waited for the reinforcements, they could sally forth and overwhelm the creature. If they miss whatever opportunity the human had planned, however, who knows where the giant may go. Only the Merchant's district had been mandatorily cleared. "General, what do you advise, should we hold?" Luna asked the human Nate. Nate pondered the situation for a moment then asked Battle Bowler. "Did he tell you what he's doing?" Battle Bowler shook his head. "No, He said to trust him." Battle Bowler replied. Luna looked at Nate, waiting for his opinion. Nate breathed out slowly, as reasoned. "His life is in as much danger as ours, if he believes it's a solution, so must we." That was all Luna Needed. Luna sent up a small blue flare, summoning the captain. He reoriented himself to hover in the air and awaited his princess's orders. "Captain! Once all the other units are inside, We will stay here. No Matter what, We Must Hold!" Luna said, emphasising her point by stopping her hoof on the ground. The captain acknowledge her words and resumed his prior course. "Why here?" Battle Bowler asked. "Because if he needs a clean shot, this is where he will get it" Nate responded. "you should all relocate to the castle immediately, things are about to get messy" Major Farsight suggested. "No, I'm more use down here than up there. There are still mutants coming in from around the city" Nate countered. "Monsieur's safety is my responsibility, if he stays, so do i" Levee stated. "Very well" The Major replied, walking next over to Battle Bowler. "YOUR Human is not here, And as someone without both a weapon and magic, I do suggest you join me behind the walls." The Major pushed. "Unless that's an order, Then no Ma'am. I'm Levee stays, then so do I" Battle bowler responded. The Major moved on without another word. Stopping at Rapid Fire, the Major looked over The Sergeant up and down. "There's no point in asking you, is there?" "Nope," Rapid Fire chirped. The Major shook her head and made her way over the bridge and up the stairs. "If I was going to launch a warhead from the castle... where would I..." Nate mused, stopping when he hit clarity. "Can you find some more fliers?" Nate addressed Rapid Fire. "Probably, why?" She asked. "I have a job for you," Nate told her. Each of the ponies who stayed watched as a green mountain made its way towards the plaza. "This is Insane, you know that right?" Argon commented, pacing back and forth as John worked on processing the glowing beverage. "What Moron made a commercial drink that could be weaponised?!?" Argon further added. "I learnt how to do this from an addict who drank the stuff every day, I don't think it was common knowledge you could build a bomb out of soda" John added. "And we just had that thing in our lab, Were were subjecting it to experiments. We could have set it off and taken out the entire Tower!" Argon Announced in horrific shock at the realisation. "Not really. Besides the fact that making it unstable is a very complicated process, this thing doesn't have the same kick." John explained. "It doesn't?" Argon asked. "That's why I'm going to need the best shot possible. The only way this thing is going to take down a behemoth is with a direct hit to its head. It doesn't have the power to bring it down on its own. Too bad we can't just magic the sucker" John said. "Magic..." Argon pondered. She then seemed to have struck an idea, and instantly hated it. "This is insane, I'm insane..." Argon muttered. "What are you on about?" John asked, confused and annoyed. "We know that Radiation makes magic unstable and very powerful, wait here" Argon ordered, wandering off to scramble through desk draws. Finding what she was after, she returned with a basketball-sized crystal cluster. "This is a chunk of the Crystal array, it collects and stores ambient magical energy. When a charged piece is shattered, the magic inside is released. Without a form of lens to focus the magic, it will just release as wild magic. Energy without purpose, a blast that makes working with such arrays dangerous. If we were to put your bomb inside a charges piece..." Argon elaborated. "Then the blast would shatter the casing and mix the magic and radiation. An explosive, not a nuclear bomb..." John followed. "A Mana Bomb!" Argon finished. "But how do we put it inside?" John brought up. "You carve them, I'll hollow this one out and charge it myself," said Argon. John continued to refine the Quantum as Argon began to carve and then charge the casing. The two worked on their wonder weapon, hoping they still had time. Twilight's wings subconsciously wrapped themselves around her friends as the thumping got louder. The Monster wasn't mindlessly wandering, it was moving up the stairs. What's worse, it was one of those! The monsters from the forest. She couldn't stop them there, and now she was helpless. Her magic was blocked by her own horn, too powerful to release. "what about the windows?" whispered Applejack, who was trying to find a way out. "They won't open!" Rainbow Dash whispered back, her stress getting the batter o her as she tried to force the window open. "We could shatter them, then escape that way" Rarity suggested. "The sound would be too loud, with Twi and Flutters out of action, We would be caught before Rainbow could get us out." AppleJack said as she pointed to the door. "We could sneak out, make like ninjas and use the shadows" Pinkie Pie offered. "It's too risky, it could spot us..." Said Twilight, who was wincing every time she tried to cast a spell. "Maybe it will keep climbs stairs?" Fluttershy hoped. Those hopes were quickly dashed as a door was heard crashing open from the hallway. "YOU'RE HERE, YOU'RE HERE. STOP HIDING!" The Monster screamed. Twilight could feel Fluttershy Hyperventilating, Was was in the middle of a panic attack. "NO, NO, NO, NO!" Fluttershy was chanting, her pupils nearly unseeable. "Fluttershy, Calm Down!" Rainbow Dash whispered loudly, grabbing her friend by the shoulder. Fluttershy let out a panicked, Shriek. Silenced by Rainbow's hoof in her mouth. But the Damage was done. "THERE YOU ARE!" The Mutant Yelled. Suddenly, doors were being smashed in. One by one, getting closer, closer. It was checking each room, slowly reaching theirs. "Twilight, we could really use some of your awesome magic right now" Rainbow Dash suggested. "I'm Trying!" Twilight whimpered. Every time she tried to cast a spell, her brain felt like it was trying to explode. The pain was immense. "Come on, Rainbow. if this critter wants a tussle, it'll get one" Announced AppleJack. Rainbow steeled herself and nodded. The two Iron Ponies took up either side of their friends, ready to do what they can. Bang, Bang, bang, the sound was getting louder, and the monster was close. Her friends were going to die, and it would be her fault. One spell, teleportation, transfiguration, a spell that put it to sleep, ANYTHING. But Every Attempt was met with more pain. *Bang*, *Bang*, *BANG!* To Tartarus with the pain, She Would save her friends, even... even if it killed her. *BANG*, *BANG*, *BANG!* Twilight pushed through the pain, it was torture. Every part of her mind was screaming out in pain. Until Twilight herself was screaming in pain. "TWILIGHT!" Her Friends called out in concerned panic. Finally, their door slammed open "FOUND YOU!" The mutant shouted. The Flash of light was Blinding, the heat searing. The Pain had gone from torturous to unfathomable, with the pony brain designed to switch off when it reached this point. Finally, the intensity died down, as the magical beam thinned out and faded. Twilight's body became limp, like a puppet with cut strings. She couldn't feel anything, nor hear anything. The Last thing she saw was a perfect hole in the side of the hospital, big enough to fly a chariot through. The Door and the hallway beyond it were gone, with the tunnel banking off and out to the side of the building. The edges of the hole glowed white with heat and the clouds themselves had a great hole in them. Twilight's mind faded into darkness, with the last thought on her mind wondering if her friends were safe. The sweat on Nate's face was beginning to carve a path through the grime on his face; from the dirt, ash and blood that now defined the city centre. Cranking his musket over and over, he sprang from his cover. He surveyed the plaza to find his best shot and found it with Battle Bowler. The Earth Pony galloped as fast as he could towards a lone Mutant while lowering his head. The Impact of the ponies helmed head into the abdomen of the mutant causing it to keel over, providing the perfect window for Nate. The Mutant flung backwards and landed cold on its back, leaving the Sergeant to stomp away. Looking to the sky, Nate locked on to a Bat pony flying back first through a window. Following the source, Nate watched the Nightguard struggle to occupy the Behemoth. The maneuvers and dives were fascinating to watch but proved little effect. They simply didn't have the means to hurt the monster. He watched as one bat pony, who had lost their helmet, clung to the behemoth's arm and bit down. The Behemoth responded by smashing its arm into a wall, leaving the bat pony a crumpled mess in the ruin. Knowing this was pointless, Nate peered out for Luna. The Night warrior was using her magic to rapidly levitate pieces of broken stone and fling them at a mutant. The mutant stumbled backwards as it tried to defend against the barrage until it tripped over, knocking itself out. "Princess, get your people out of there. They're just getting themselves killed!" Nate shouted. "Then how would we contain the beast?!" Luna shouted back. "Stay here, and follow my lead!" Nate scrambled across the plaza, stopping occasionally to dire an assisting shot at the mutants attacking their forces. When he had reached the far side from Princess Luna, and the far end from the behemoth, he cranked his musket. Once it was fully charged, we held for an opening. The laser shot the behemoth in the face, infuriating the creature. It gave up on the ponies flying around it to attack the human that actually hurt it. "Captain, Pull back your guards. The Plan has changed!" Luna announced. The human didn't fire a second shot but melted into the streets. Leaving the Behemoth with its back to her. She then likewise shot a beam at the creature's head, making it turn around in a mad fit. Its focus was now on her, so she made like the human and found the first exit she could. Nate followed by sprinting into the plaza, reading his shot and hitting the behemoth. With the pull of the trigger, the beast had been struck once more. The behemoth let out a roar of fury, and its thunderous footsteps lead away from Luna's position. Nate leapt from his hiding spot and readied herself for another shot. However, a third beam had joined them, as Levee had joined in on the absurd tactic. With the Behemoth caught up in chasing mice, the Night guards refocused on the remaining mutants. "Carefully... Carefully..." Argon told John as he slip the Improvised quantum explosive into the Crystal casing. The device slid into space, the light from the quantum mixing with the pink crystal to produce a violet glow. "And your sure the radiation leak won't detonate the crystal prematurely?" Argon inquired. "The internal casing should limit the penetration of the gamma radiation enough to keep the explosive stable. However the longer we leave it, the more unstable it could become. I don't know shit about magic, but if this thing reacts the way we think it does, I don't want to wait around to find out" John replied. picking up the device. "This, thing, is, HEAVY!" Rapid Fire complained. She, along with three pegasi who had volunteered to help bring the Fat Man launcher up onto the gatehouse. "Why the gatehouse, why up there?" One of the Pegasus asked, rapidly beating her wings to counter the weight of the launcher. "Something, Something, clean shot, big boom. Just flap harder damn it!" Rapid Fire snapped. The four collectively groaned as they slowly made their way up the castle walls. "This Sucks..." One Pegasus stated. The Behemoth had resorted to throwing pieces of the ruined plaza building at anything that moved. With the Night Guard having slowly spread out into the city, that left a handful of choices to be targeted. The latest chunk collided with the ground and shattered into smaller pieces that rained behind the plaza's central fountain, where Battle Bowler was keeping low. *KLANG* *KLANG* *KLANG*. His helmet rang as debris bounced off, dazing him. Shaking off the dirt that came with it, Battle Bowler popped out of cover and glared at the behemoth. "Would You Stop Throwing Boulders At My Head!?!" He shouted, before rapidly ducking back into cover another was thrown in his direction. John sprinted with the impromptu warhead under his arm, bolting straight out of the castle. The courtyard was full of guards, with many in a bad state. The Pegasi had slowly trickled back from evacuation duty to help airlift wounded ponies behind the walls into hastily set up medical areas. He nearly tripped over a pony as he made for the gatehouse with all haste. As he approached the castle wall, what looked like something that was once a statue burst over the top of the walls. The collision with the battlements sent stone scattering in the yard behind, with the ponies stationed on that rampart slamming into the ground with it. John kept running, the warhead starting to feel warm. Slowing down, John's heart continued to race as he reached the gatehouse. Panting, he put his hand on the wall to steady himself. A guard pony was cowering a stone's throw away. "Hey *Gasp* do you *gasp* know how *gasp* to get up there?" John forced up, pointing to the top of the gatehouse. The pony rolled back and forth, staring out into space. "There's no way out. We're gonna die. It's game over man, Game over!" John rolled his eyes at the pony. Looking around for a way up, he saw another guard leaving through a door in the wall. "Hey, HEY!" John hollered, getting the guard's attention. "Where does that go?" John asked, closing the distance between them. "Up onto the wall, what are you?" The guard answered, annoyed and confused as it looked over John. "Can that get me to the gatehouse?" John pushed. "yeah, there's a door just over there, but the area is restricted. Your one of those foreigners the princesses found, aren't you" The guard asked. "I don't have time for this!" John grumbled, shoving the guard aside and climbing the stair against the protests from the guard below. when The city itself could be seen, it was a comfortably horrible sight. The entire central area was practically on fire, with random gaps where buildings used to be. The area now had more in common with the ruins of America than the city he had first glimpsed on arrival. The low sky had slowly bled red as smoke clouded the city, and many of the great towers had crumbled. Just Below in the city plaza, the behemoth could be seen as beams of light shot at it from every angle. John Pushed himself to continue his climb, kicking open the door into the gatehouse and climbing the next case of stairs. He reached the top in time to see Rapidfire and three other pegasi hauling the launcher from over the side of the battlements. "Can we get a little help here!?!" Rapid Fire demanded as the four pegasi began to descend to the floor. John made to assist be was stopped by a senior guard if the fancy armour was to go by. "Who let you up were? Get this thing out of here!" the unicorn officer barked. Several guards left their post to follow his commands, only for Rapid Fire to step between them. "Step aside Sergeant, that thing is in a restricted area without an escort" The officer stated. "Back off, here's on our side. He's supposed to be here" She asserted. "On who's Authority?" The Officer demanded. "Mine" Came a deep voice from the side of the gatehouse. Hovering in the air was a Bat Pony as Black as night, with purple eyes that seemed to glow beneath his majestic helmet. "Captain Belisarius" The officer addressed the Night Captain, who landed in front of the glaring unicorn. The Night Captain looked directly at John, then down to the warhead. "Is that the weapon?" he asked "Yes," John Confirmed. The captain slowly hovered towards John, his eye seemingly trying to piece his soul. He stopped inches from John's face. "Assist that thing commander, whatever its wishes" Captain Belisarius ordered the officer. "Captain, with all due respect, you have no authority over me or my platoon. If you have ordered from captain lancer then-" The commander told the Night Captain, being cut off by said bat pony when they dragged the commander into the air by his armour. "Now, Commander" The Captain growled, dropping the commander on his hindquarters. The Captain then flew off back to the plaza. After recovering from the drop, the commander stood up and approached John. "What do you require?" The commander asked bitterly. "Clear me an area at the front, if any of your men have strong backs, that would help too" John requested. Luna was starting to tire of this game of cat and mouse. The Behemoth had started to wise up, relentlessly chasing a threat instead of changing targets when attacked. Eventually, Nate was himself just scraping by in his attempts to elude the behemoth. He had resorted to just running into the ruined shells o the old plaza buildings and escaping out the side. Luna and Sergeant Levee could do little but try to slow the monster down. Her magic was slowly getting more potent, as if the use was shrinking the buildup that limited her. Now she was summoning chains to try and hold the behemoth down, with little success. "My Princess" Her Night Captain greeted, gliding in beside her. "Yes, Captain, what news do you bring?" Luna Inquired. "The explosive payload is in place" He informed her. "The General is too close, he would be caught in any blast... Evacuate the premise!" Luna announced, launching into a gallop. She stormed across the plaza, racing to catch up to the human. When she neared beside him, he became bewildered. "What are you doing?!" He asked befuddled. "Climb on!" She shouted, prompting a bemused look. When the Behemoth tried to swipe at him, his momentary amusement was replaced by urgency. He jumped with all his might and grappled onto her back. Giving him a moment to stabilise himself, and for her to get used to the weight, she once more picked up speed. "What are you doing? There clear, take the shot!" Rapid fire told John, her patients fraying. "Without the Mini nuke's self-propelling cap, the payload doesn't have the power to launch how it's supposed to. I have to manually estimate the firing arch. At this distance and the behemoth's movement, the chances of missing are high, and we only have one shot" John explained. "Is there any way to increase those odds?" Rapid Fire asked. "If they could somehow lead the behemoth on a path directly towards the castle and clear the blast radius, I could choose a spot and evaluate the trajectory beforehand" John answered. "What spot?" Rapid fire pressed. "I Don't Know, between the fountain and the barricade?" John guessed. With that information, Rapid Fire sprung into action and jump off the tower into a glide. "What the hell is your hair?!?" Nate asked, feeling the Etheral mane he was holding on to. "Is This Really The Time!?!" Luna shouted back, running for their lives. The behemoth had taken the game of chase, abandoning all effort to slow down and attack. Luna and Nate were currently heading to the far end of the plaza, the ruined government building marking the border. "Try to slow the beast!" Luna suggested. Nate had never tried firing from horseback, never mind a pony princess, but right now was as good a time as any. Instead of aiming careful high-powered shots, he defaulted to holding down the trigger and cranking the musket, firing a shot with every crank. The low-powered shots did less harm, but when aiming for the behemoth's eyes, were a fantastic way to slow it down. His ammo bag was running dangerously low, with his hand had to search for a fusion cell when he went to grab one. From behind the behemoth, Rapidfires orange and yellow could be seen approaching. The Pegasus flew up beside Luna. "Princess, John is ready, but he needs a clean shot!" She told Luna. "Isn't that why we chose to stay at the plaza!?" Luna shouted, the behemoth's crashing steps behind them. "It's not enough! He needs you to get that thing going straight for the castle, A straight course!" Rapid Fire explained. "There's no way we can stay close enough to keep its interest and get out of the blast radius!" Nate Argued. "There might be! Sergeant, tell Sergeant Levee to wait but the side of the plaza, somewhere I can see her!" Luna commanded. Rapid Fire split with the two and flew off. "Are you going to let me in on the Plan!?" Nate asked. "We turn around and have the beast follow us directly up the plaza!" Luna Explained. "Besides not explaining how we're supposed to clear the blast, how are we supposed to get behind it? If we try to go around it, the debris on the ground will slow us down if we go close to the buildings. If we try to slip past it, it will just crush us!" Nate argued. "We have a solution, but you will loath it!" Luna told Nate. Suddenly, Luna came to a stop and quickly reversed course. Nate was suddenly heading directly towards the behemoth. "Princess, What are you doing!?!" Nate cried out. "Something a friend once showed us!" Luna Answered. Nate saw as the behemoth took both of its hands and balled them into fists above its head. "LUNAAAAAA!!!!" Nate Cried out. Just as the car-sized fists came down, Luna's horn lit up. With a flash, they were suddenly behind the behemoth, heading towards the fountain. "What a trick!" Nate announced in excitement. "Indeed! We are glad it worked, We did not know if our magic has recovered sufficiently." Luna agreed "Wait... Glad It Worked!?!" Nate exclaimed. "Princess!" Levee's voice shouted, alerting the two to the unicorn's location. "You may like this next part even less, general!" Luna told him. "Wait, wHA-" Luna used her magic to fling Nate, his panicked scream could be heard as he shot towards the side of the plaza. "come on...nearly there..." John muttered to himself, carefully lining up the launcher. Luna jumped over the remains of the plaza, fountain. She was now at the marked location, Her magical limitations rapidly re-expanding. It was now or never. The princess ground to a halt and turned around. "What Is She Doing!?!" The commander screamed, a sentiment being repeated across the walls and by every pony that could see the scene below. The Behemoth was rapidly catching up to her, and Luna waited. Her two spells ready, she calmly waited for the exact moment. The Behemoth's arms stretched out, preparing to crush her as it charged. Once she could see the creature would have no chance to stop, she cast her spell. The Area around her exploded into smoke, completely covering her and the immediate area. John Watched as the behemoth crashed into the smokescreen, and Luna shot out of the top of it. Her wings were Etheral, much like her hair. Yet her real wings were squarely by her body, the magical ones being used in their stead. The guards cheered at the sight, and John waited. Rapid Fire slammed hooves first onto the ground next to him. "Everyone's clear of that thing, fire Already!" Rapid Fire screamed. "Wait..." John said calmly! "What are waiting for!?" She balked The Smoke that Luna had cast slowly began to dissipate, revealing the outline of the behemoth. "Gotcha..." John fired the launcher, and one by one, everyone watched as a pink crystal flew towards the creature. With a whistle, the crystal-covered bottle hit home and detonated. The blast rippled through the central district, a great blue fireball that blanketed the plaza in light. The smoky sky above the plaza bowed upwards as the air pressure pushed away the smoke. Every remaining window in the area shattered as the blastwave ripped through. Then there was silence. As the glow cleared, everyone could see the remains of the Behemoth. Its entire upper body was vaporised, its lower body still standing. Finally, they fell back and crashed into the plaza ground. Nate watched in awe from the side of the plaza at the aftermath, having like all others shielded his eyes from the blast. He stood there and took in the scene. Blue fire covered the plaza buildings, and the smoking remains of the enemy littered the ground. He could see The Guards on the walls cheering, Luna was gliding back down into the castle grounds. They had won. Then he heard stone crumbling behind him. "Look OUT" Cried Levee. He turned around in time to see the building he was next to collapsing, Burning wooden beams came crashing down from above. Then he felt himself being shoved aside and hitting the ground. Then there was the crash. Levee Screamed, Nate scrambled back up and over to Levee. Her left Hindleg was caught under the burning timbers, searing her flesh. Nate tried to lift the beam only to get burned by the blue flame. Her leg now burned, the aqua flame turning lime, her screams getting horse. Nate grabbed her by her forelegs and pulled. She moved forwards, the timbers shuffling. He pulled again, and again. "LEVEE!!!" Battle Bowler screamed, racing over. Nate finally pulled her free of the burning mess, Her leg was horrifying. It was charred in places, burnt black. it was twisted and broken in two places. Battle Bowler hesitated as he reached her, unsure what to do. Nate wasn't sure, but he thought he saw him tearing up. "MEDIC!... SOMEONE GET A MEDIC!... Don't worry Levee, you're going to be Fine!... You're going to be fine...." Battle bowler descended to reassuring her and stroking her mane and her cries grew quieter and quieter. Nate could do nothing but kneel beside her and wait... As the clouds began to rain...