//------------------------------//
// Nine 
// Story: Fighting Back the Beast 
// by Mr Anomalous 
//------------------------------//


NINE

"What?"

"Uh...y-y-yes s-sir. Th-they're just outside the c-city."

"How?"

"T-they must h-have slipped p-past out sc-scouts...o-or-or kill-killed them.."

"Raah! Ready the defenses! We have some aliens to smash!"



"Stromm! If we get any closer, they'll be able to see us!"

"Good, that's what I want. Perhaps we can scare them into submission."

"Um..alright, sir."

Stromm rode atop a tank, them very same one, in fact that he had ridden during the assault on the dragon's cave back in Equestria. Now, however, he and his army were on their way to, quite frankly, storm a Gryphon stronghold.

It soon became obvious, however, that the Gryphons would not be "scared into submission" because, as soon as Stromm's forces rounded the valley's corner to see the mountain castle, a rain of arrows came down upon them.

"Take cover!"

Stromm clammed the tank's hatch shut and winced as he heard the taps and pings of arrows bouncing and breaking on his vehicle's armor. When he popped back out, however, he was glad to see that there were no casualties. 

"Move! Move before they get their cannons working!"

The sound of Helghast soldier hurrying through the tall grass and the rumbling of a few ground vehicles. Back at the top of the massive walls, arrows rained down upon the Helghast men, though not in concentrated waves like the first attack.

"Armor, halt!" Stromm shouted through the comm. The eight Walkertanks and three Heavy Hovertanks that Stromm had in his possession all did so and rotated their turrets toward the wall.

"Fire!" Stromm screamed, adrenaline fueling the volume of his voice. The following volley was one to behold. Almost an entire quarter of the Gryphon's walls was enveloped in flames and reduced to rubble. Stromm knew that the next part was entirely unnecessary, and probably a waste of fuel, time, and ammo, but, with a smirk on his face, Stromm activated his comm again.

"Call in...the MAWLR."

"Yes sir!"

This was going to be fun.  



"Pft, look at 'em. They hardly got any troops, how they expectin' to do any damage whatsoever?"

The unnamed Gryphon was given an answer as the entire wall to his left exploded in chunks of rubble and fire.

"Holy shit! Call in the cannons!" called a distant Gryphon officer.

Ah. That's how.



"Take cover! They're taking out the firepower!"

A volley of musket balls rained down upon Stromm's men, but, thankfully, most of them had made it to the wall, which had no moat, disappointingly. Or anything of the sort, really. 

Maybe no one has ever made it this far before. Good.

Then, sitting on his tank, Stromm felt a slight jolt of vibration. Then another. And then another.

Stromm grinned wickedly.



"What..is that?"

Silence reigned. No one on the walls spoke. They were doomed.

Off in the distance stood a massive, tall and proud machine of destruction. It walked on legs, and each step was accompanied by a tremor.

The Gryphons all just watching in awe. And then whatever it was launched a massive volley of flaming projectiles.



"Yes! Go, up the ramp!"

The doors had been obliterated, along with much of the walls. Soon, the ramp that led up to the gate was filled with Helghast soldiers, vehicles, and other things.

Stromm, his own tank lurching forward, pondered when his rebel friends would show up. 

Oh. Nice timing, friends.



Before the Gryphon defenders could re-muster themselves, a wave of other Gryphons, each one wearing blue, dove down from the sky. Each one drew a blade of some sort and descended upon the other soldiers. Soon, any survivors of the walls were being over-run by the resistance, who were also hold back any Imperial reinforcements. Stromm was extremely grateful for the rebel's help; it would help end this battle much quicker, he hoped. The battle itself was only about an half-hour young, and the Helghast troops were already inside. They were handing out weapons to the civilians, who were gladly accepting them.

Yes. This would be over very quickly.



Princess Celestia didn't like spying. Not one tiny bit. It seemed an extremely distasteful invasion of privacy. But she did it anyway; she wanted to know what was going on.

The magical probe which she had deployed to follow Stromm and his men, who were now apparently allied with a previously unheard of Gryphon resistance, who were now storming Dim's castle. Celestia was both mortified and interested with the efficiency with which the stronghold was being torn apart. It only served to show her how deadly these creatures were, and it also served to add fire to her fear.

But Stromm had seemed one-hundred-percent serious when he spoke of his code of honor. 

But Celestia had been betrayed in the past...would Stromm be any different?

Shining Armor, who was watching with Celestia, was constantly commenting on how brilliant Stromm's tactics were, and how effective the alliance between the Helghasts and the Gryphon resistance was. They could both sense how quickly this war would be over. And then Celestia could go crazy on him.