"INKIE'S DOWN!! INKIE'S DOWN!!!" Blinkie screamed, quickly dragging her sister behind cover.
"Watch it! We're getting buck'n flanked!!" Rig yelled. Pirate forces were blocking their way to the cliff- and science faction forces have busted through and are closing in. They were caught in the cross fire.
Some of the pirates quickly took cover, but the next thing they knew their heads were no longer connected to their bodies. All they saw was a flash of black and white, and the shape immediately dispersed.
"Shuck! What the hay was that!?" One of the pirates yelled, and opened fire.
It was Neon, and all his bullets struck her. Blood splattered through the air, and the image of Neon faded- it was just an optical illusion cast over an unfortunate fellow pirate.
Suddenly he felt someone grab him by the collar and thump him to the ground, and his rifle was ripped away from him. The invisible claw closed around his throat, and he struggled for air.
The air shimmered, and the real Neon appeared. Her glowing eyes were unreadable, however they stabbed fear deep into the pirate captain's heart.
"Tell your troops to retreat. Now." She growled.
"But there's no where to-"
"LEAVE, WITH YOUR TROOPS." She growled again, and sunk a claw into his left leg.
"Gah! ALRIGHT!! LET ME GO!!" The pirate screamed as Neon's sharp claws drew blood and almost seared through to the bone.
Neon let go of his leg and threw him aside, sending him tumbling to his troops. She shook off the blood on her claws, and straightened up. She distinctly heard a distant cannon go off, probably from the science faction line of fighters and walkers.
She looked to her right where the walkers were marching in, saw a flash of orange and immediately felt a flak projectile hit her dead on the shoulder.
She went tumbling back, and slammed into the far cliff side. Instead of stopping dead before the rock, she slammed straight through and ended up lodged five meters deep in the cliff face.
"This has a pretty nice view." She muttered as she tried to free herself- but there was literally thousands of tons of rocks crushing down on her, as indestructible as she was- she wasn't THAT super powered.
"Albatross!! Concentrate fire on the science faction front line! The pirates are retreating to the sides! We have a clear path to the cliff- I repeat, we have a clear path to the cliff!! Over!" Asty yelled, throwing a grenade at the frontline of science troops. "Med team is a go!"
*
"Copy." Thunderlane said, turning the Albatross around for a second run. "Med team, you got that?"
"Ready to land!" Thyme replied.
"Copy. Friendly gunship inbound." Thunderlane said. "Stay clear of the frontline!"
"Copy!" Rig yelled.
Thunderlane had noise cancellers plugged in his ears, and even so he could still feel the constant pounding on his chest and hear the loud booms and cracks as the various cannons and launchers of the gunship went off. Within seconds the frontline had been flattened, although the word 'flattened' would be quite underrated as everything was hammered down a full two meters into the ground.
*
"Holy crap!" Rig ducked behind cover as chaos exploded across the science faction frontline. "Good run Albatross! Load up and get ready for another. We're moving!"
"I can still walk." Inkie said, resting a hoof on Blinkie's shoulder and indicating that she was fine. "Just hurts like hell though." She said, picking up her sniper rifle. She had wrapped it up with fabric, stopping the bleeding. It was nowhere near fixed though. Her mind was a bit dulled, but sharp enough to fight. She pressed the stock hard into her remaining shoulder, taking aim at the clouds of smoke from the destroyed science faction front lines. Soon more troops would be coming through.
She peered through the scope, then noticed an odd amount of shaking. It wasn't her- the earth was shaking.
"Damnit. Earthquake?" Asty looked around. There was a loud rumbling going on, but it wasn't the science faction nor the pirates. "Captain?" She spoke into the comms.
"Reinforcements." Spitfire said.
"Shuck." Asty looked around desperately. "The hay do we do now? We don't have a large enough fighting force!"
"Oh, I meant for you guys." Spitfire chuckled.
"Wait, we have reinforcements?" Rig raised an eyebrow.
"Well, reinforceMENT." Spitfire shrugged. "But I guarantee you he'll be enough to handle it."
"We'll just have to trust you on this one captain." Rig sighed, taking cover as more science faction troops emerged from the smoke.
"We've got anti-air! Can't go in for a second run until you take those bastards out- or else I'll probably be going down!" Thunderlane yelled as he peered at his scanners.
"Darn it. How the hay are we supposed to take down those damn walkers? We don't even have explosives!" Rig exclaimed as a fresh stream of bullets tore his cover apart. He fired a few shots back but to no effect, and quickly darted behind a huge concrete block that must've come off a building somewhere.
By the second the rumbling was growing louder, the shaking of the earth growing more violent.
Asty quickly rolled behind cover as a rocket struck the building she was hiding behind earlier, knocking a clean hole through it. Concrete blocks and bricks tumbled across the dusty streets, crumbling into pieces.
"Need cover fi-" she started, but then spotted someone striding in from the side. She frowned at the silhouette, cocking her head to one side. "Captain, that our reinforcement?"
"Correcto." Spitfire sang. "You know how you already have the warden of light on your side?"
"Yeah...?"
"Well then, let me introduce you guys to..."
Now Asty could see the figure a bit more clearly. A unicorn with blood red eyes, a light dusty coat and brown mane. His horn had a dim blue glow, and streaks and waves of electricity accompanied his each step, springing from his hooves. So that's what was causing the shaking and rumbling of the earth- it all matched perfectly with his steps, so it was probably that. He walked as if he were slightly drunk, but there was absolutely no confusion in his posture nor his eyes. They were certain- he knew what he was doing, he was just relatively relaxed about it. His front hooves seemed to have some sort of metal devices over them, making them much larger.
"Guys, this is Terra- Warden of Earth." Spitfire announced. "And do stay out of the way. Things tend to get very destructive when he's around. Or constructive, whichever works." She said, drawing several raised eyebrows that she couldn't see since she was speaking through radio.
Terra strode into the middle of the battlefield, and everything seemed to fall silent as the science faction assessed this new arrival. Then they open fired none the less, shooting off a single rocket directly towards Terra.
Terra rose and stood up on his hind legs, raising a metal encased front hoof. When the missile was right in front of him, and he slammed a hoof into it. Blue lightning flashed across the streets, temporarily blinding everyone watching. But when their eyes adjusted again, all they saw was Terra standing there as a random hunk of metal fell to the floor. He had completely reshaped the missile.
Then came the bullet rain.
"Cover him damnit! Come on ponies! LET'S GO!!" Rig yelled, fueled by new found confidence. They started firing back, bullets landing all around them.
Terra leaned back on his hind legs, and then launched forward, leaving nothing but a small dust cloud behind him. He leaped up and raised a hoof- when he landed he slammed it into the gravel road, and the earth rumbled. Electricity slithered across the floor and to the science faction troops, then everywhere that the magical electricity touched the earth completely shattered. Huge blocks of dirt and rock rose high up into the air, splintering through the surface and sending rock shards cracking up in all directions. The front line was completely blocked behind a huge wall of earth, sealed off from the main battle.
"Med team! Now's your chance!" Asty yelled.
*
"Copy ground team. Deploying." Thyme said as the drop ship touched down on the edge of the cliff, and the team hopped off onto solid ground. She waved the drop ship away, then turned to her team. "Alright meds, you know what to do! Let's go!" She yelled, and waved towards the edge of the cliff.
She plucked out a cylinder shaped device, which sprang out into a full meter stalk. She stabbed it deep into the rock, the digging mechanisms inside sinking right into solid matter. She pulled out the cable mounted to her back and hooked it onto the stalk. Checking if it were secure, she took in a deep breath and took out her rifle- time to put her fear of heights to the test.
"This should be interesting." She mumbled, and leaned forward on the cable. "Oohoho... This is freaky." She said as slowly she stepped onto the cliff face, her body parallel with the ground a few hundred meters below.
Her team did the same, and stood staring down at a hundred meter fall. They nodded at each other, and started rappelling down the side.
Thyme hopped up, her hooves leaving the cliff face- then the cable swung her back down again, and she landed on the rock. That's how the cable system worked- every time they jump it would loosen a bit.
"Watch it med team. Enemy infantry and some walkers have made it over the barricade. Other heavy assault walkers are re-routing- you don't have much time." Spitfire warned.
"Copy captain. Full speed ahead team! Let's get this over and done with!" Thyme waved, and continued rappelling down the side.
*
"Terra, you know what to do." Spitfire said, zooming in on the battle.
"Yes ma'am." Terra replied, his voice echoing in a robotic manner.
"Enemy heavy machine gun!" Rig yelled, rolling behind cover. "Take it out or they're gonna get to us damnit!"
"Watch your sides- the assault walkers and rerouting!" Asty warned.
Terra ran forward, drawing the machine gun fire. He slammed a hoof down into the earth, and the ground below him immediately sprung up as a rock plate. He was launched into the air, and the machine gun struggled to take aim once again- but once it did, it was way too late.
Terra slammed a fist into the stallion behind the turret, a flash of electricity slithering through the air. The gunner went flying back and tumbling across the floor with such force that his limbs were ripped right away from his body. Terra picked up the machine gun and threw it back at Rig, who quickly caught it, stood it up and took aim at the scurrying science faction troops.
Terra hammered the ground, a huge slab of rock rising up to his height in front of him. The bullets aimed for him hit the rock, chipping it but not reaching their target. Terra then smashed a hoof into the slab, and it exploded outwards from the point of impact. Only... It was still there.
Rock spikes, chains, cannonballs, columns, and every other conceivable item came shooting out of the rock slab in one unified column of destruction. It went curving up into the air, then slammed back down again on a small group of science faction troops that had no idea what they were doing whatsoever.
"You know, I have no idea why we're even here now." Rig remarked as Terra hammered literal fear into the science faction troops.
*
"This fight is quickly becoming a massacre." Val raised an eyebrow as she watched from a camera mounted on the COLOSSUS down at the battle. Terra was completely tearing apart her troops. "Alright, that was a tactical decision that was an obvious error. Clearly the assault walker should've used the infantry as bait instead of charging forward as the primary forward attack unit."
"Is this what they are to you?" Blithy cast Val an angered glare. "Mere toys to play around with?"
"Why? Are your troops something more to you?" Val asked, turning to Blithy with interest.
"Well, they're definitely not mere tools to be used on the battlefield. They're still living souls." Blithy said, eyeing Val with disgust.
"And? That makes a difference?" Val grinned, coming nose to nose with Blithy. "It makes them better. Machines are no fun, they don't writhe for life when it's ripped from them. When these 'living souls' of yours get killed, it's much more entertaining to watch."
"You're evil. That's as much as I can say about you. Foul, evil." Blithy snarled.
"And? I don't see a problem with that." Val leant on Blithy's shoulder. "To be honest, I quite like myself this way. Evil, foul, call me what you want. I like what I am." She said, grinning and flexing her fingers before her eyes in a way of admiration. "At least I'm not like you, weak and useless."
"Ponies like YOU are weak. We will defeat you- you can't win." Blithy growled.
"Ponies like me?" Val chuckled. "And look where we stand!" She laughed. "Hey! HEX- is subject 204 prepped for battle? Well, annihilation; but... Is the subject ready?"
"Adequate preparations are in place and ready to be launched. Subject is under containment in bay 56, ready for deployment. All requested equipment have been mounted." HEX replied.
"Good. Launch em directly into the middle of the battlefield." Val had an excited grin on her face, which disturbed Blithy.
"Note that friendly troops are in the local vicinity. Friendly casualties imminent." HEX warned.
"Fire." Val said definitely and indifferently.
"Firing."
"Now..." Val got off Blithy's shoulder and slumped back into her throne. "Let's see how your 'living souls' will writhe for their very existence against 'subject 204'." She said, what she was thinking unreadable- but her expression undoubtedly excited.
She stood up, and started walking around her throne in circles.
"Blithy- did I ever tell you about the story of the first ever princess?" She asked, and continued on when Blithy didn't reply. "Princess Penumbra, or more commonly known as Empress Penumbra. The ruler of Equestria, the sun and the moon at the same time... Back when science and magic were one. The original alicorn, the first ever. Wielder of the most powerful magical amplifier ever created, the alicorn amulet. The elements of harmony didn't have its destructive potential- it didn't have the freedom. But the amulet did- and that's what made Penumbra so powerful. You see, she ruled over her subjects with force. She was the peace enforcer. And then magic and science split, millions of years ago- her subjects rebelled, and she was taken down by sheer numbers. From what was considered to a god, she was degraded to a mere immortal earth pony. Pity- her powers were stolen away from her. She didn't have any magic left. And so that shows us, there will always be more powerful. There will always be BETTER." Val said, coming to a stop behind her thrown, and leant on it. "It is impossible to become the best. And one day I will be defeated- I believe and accept that. But not yet... I'm still in power, and the games still play by my rules, just like they did when Penumbra still ruled. But, Penumbra had no lessons to learn from. I have her lesson to learn from... And I will kill everything that tries to land a hoof on my throne." She said, and pointed at the holographic screen. "Just you watch. The wardens, one by one... They will fall. And it has already started." She said, watching the monitor as if it were some sort of highly addictive TV show.
"What is that...?" Blithy frowned. It was still the satellite image, but there was a nuke like device slowly dropping towards the center of the battlefield.
"The Dentist." Val grinned.
*
"All teams! UFO approaching from directly above your head- watch it. Wait- it's a quick deploy pod. Science faction reinforcements." Spitfire said. "Ignore it! Keep covering the med team. Let Terra hold them off- he can handle it."
"Copy command." Asty said, returning fire at the science faction troops.
Then came a loud whistling noise, and they all looked up. There was a bright spot in the sky, a burning comet. Then it slammed right down behind the science faction lines of troops, sending pieces and shards of rock flying up into the air. Smoke filled the air as the surface of the metal pod slowly cooled, and the science faction troops stopped to cover their new reinforcement.
"Haha! Damn right- bet you there's more coming. Time to fight these buckers back to wherever the hay they came from!" One of the infantry ground troops yelled, almost triumphantly.
There was a loud boom as the front door of the pod was blasted outwards, and tumbled across the empty field.
There was a dark figure in the pod, wearing dark blue armor with blinking white lights. It was a mare, and she didn't have a helmet on.
"Come on lady! Show em what you go- GAAAHH!!" The trooper screamed as the figure suddenly dashed out of sight. The next thing he knew he had a huge blade going into his back and out his chest, and he was being lifted up. Before he could say a second word, the blade slid all the way up and cut him in half.
"Holy crap! SHOOT HER!!" One of the commanding officers yelled, and held down the trigger with his rifle aimed at the figure.
The figure somehow weaved through all the bullets. It was like watching a laggy video- the figure would appear in one spot, and with a blur of color she'd be in a different place altogether in the next millisecond. She would stop for half a second, then do the same thing again and disappear. It was near impossible to shoot her.
Then before the commanding officer knew it, the figure was right before his eyes and he had an empty clip. His eyes widened, and with a blur of motion his body had already been sliced up into fifteen different pieces by two long reaper blades.
Then the figure was gone again, and somepony to the far left screamed as the blades pierced his chest seven times before he even knew the figure was there. He was left bleeding on the floor, his guts leaking out of the various stab wounds in his body.
"Son of a mule... What the hay did they bring in now?" Rig ground his teeth together, trying to keep track of the figure; but barely able to. "How the hay are we supposed to fight THAT!?"
"Dunno. 'Kill it with fire'?" Asty shrugged.