"Tiger II! Tiger II! Everyone, concentrate fire!" Blade 1's commander shouted. A thunderous boom could be heard from miles around when the tanks fired. This was followed by the gratting sound of tens of projectiles failing to penetrate armor. The Tiger II began crawling menacingly towards the tanks.
"Ah crap, all rounds deflected!" Blade 2's commander declared.
"Even the side ones!?!" Blade 4's gunner exclaimed.
"Even the side ones!" Blade 2's commander responded, "We cannot get through that armor!"
"Move!" Blade 1's commander yelled. The hulled-down tanks tried to abandon their defensive positions quickly; staying would only make them a stationary target. The Tiger II fired-it hit a E2 as it tried to escape the ditch that was supposed to protect it.
Luckily for Chalkboard's crew, it wasn't theirs.
"What to do, what to do..." Chalkboard said to herself as she drove her E2 out of the ditch it was in. Another shot from the Tiger II impacted one of the Tiger S'.
"AW FFFUUU-" the driver managed to yell before the turret was blown off.
"Well we're dead," Far Shot said, "If those Royal Guard tanks can't do anything against it, then what will? Can this get any worse?"
A distinct sound of clacking gears was heard. It was not from a friendly tank.
"Uhh..." Carry said, holding up a hoof.
"Don't tell me, we missed a few invisitanks," Far Shot deadpanned.
The sound of a cannon was heard. The crew flinched from the sound. A Panzer IV just to their right materialized out of thin air, a shell jammed into its engine compartment. The source of the shell was a StuG IV that sat a good distance away from the two tanks, towards Ponyville.
"I had my eye on ya the whole time!" Loudmouth shouted.
"Thanks for the assist, Loudmouth!" Chalkboard said gratefully.
"Any time!" Loudmouth replied.
Two regular Crusaders and a very odd-looking red Crusader zipped past his vehicle. The red Crusader then crashed into the rear of a invisible Panzer IV, causing the Panzer to fire. A high explosive shell slammed into the turret of Chalkboard's E2. The Crusader then fired. The swarm of six-pounder shells ripped apart the backend of the Panzer IV.
"I HATE it wen dey try an' go all sneaky-like," the Crusader's gunner said. The Crusader backed up and then drove around the newly created wreckage.
Following behind the Crusaders were several Panzer IVs with ERAD insignias. One crashed into a invisible cultist Panzer, revealing the cloaked tank and breaking both of their guns. Another Panzer IV finished off the cultist tank. More vehicles and troops started coming out from Ponyville. Amongst them were several seventeen-pounder guns.
"Woahoho, that's going to be the biggest catch of the day," one of the AT gun loaders said, looking at the Tiger II. Several seventeen-pounders were set up and began firing at the Tiger II. None of them penetrated the Tiger II's armor.
"Bounced off! Switch to APDS!" another loader yelled. After switching shell types, the seventeen pounders fired again. The shells still did not penetrate its armor.
"What is this thing made of, diamonds?" one of the gunners said annoyedly. No matter what they tossed at the Tiger II, nothing seemed to do more than cause very minor dents. As the Tiger II was moving closer it shot a Crusader that failed to avoid moving in a straight line, annihilating it. By then several GW Rieters arrived to barrage the Tiger II.
Most of the shots were direct hits. Several meaty cracks were heard and the Tiger II was blanketed in a dust cloud. When the dust cleared, the Tiger II was still approaching, albeit somewhat slower. The suspension did not take to the sudden addition of weight so kindly-a few roadwheels were dented and cracked. Yet the Tiger II still crawled menacingly closer and closer to Ponyville despite the metallic protests from its damaged suspension.
It then turned its gun on Chalkboard's tank. She veered just as the Tiger II fired. The shell flew into the E2's angled side and penetrated.
"AARGH!" Alastair screamed in pain. The shell had sent spalling flying right into him. It knocked him right onto the floor of the fighting compartment. Far Shot had flipped around on reflex right as it happened. What happened next startled him. Small amounts of blood had been splashed into his face as Alastair fell. It was red.
It took him several more seconds to register that it was not his own, but from Alastair. Sure, he was from a replacement for him specifically, but he's not going to let something like that stop him from aiding fellow crew members. Far Shot quickly grabbed a medkit and applied field dressing after removing the most obvious metal fragments.
"The engine's not responding, we're stuck!" Chalkboard declared.
"Grr...piss! We need to bail out before that monster fires again!" Far Shot commanded. He reached for the hatch and tried to push it open. At first it was not budging for some reason.
He punched it hard, which cracked open bits of melted metal that had been blocking the hatch from opening. He winced from the pain. The doctors are probably not going to like what I just did, he thought.
"You first, Carry!" Far Shot commanded. Carry nodded and attempted to get out of the tank. He had to jump due how small and young he is, and had trouble climbing out the hatch. It took a push from Far Shot to get him out. Merry then climbed out. Far Shot held out the wounded Alastair for Carry and Merry to pull out. Chalkboard then attempted to climb out before a stray shell had hit the tank, sending her falling back into the tank. By then Merry and Carry were able to drag Alastair a safe distance away.
As the Tiger II was about to fire again, a M7 desperately rammed into its side. This cause the Tiger II's suspension to collapse from the impact and also crumpled the M7's front. The Tiger II fired.
Far Shot, seeing that there was no time left to bail out, covered Chalkboard with his body in an attempt to protect her from the blast.
The shell hit dead center, ripping the E2 wide open. What remained of the turret was launched high into the sky.
"Ouch! That went up good!" Loudmouth commented. "I feel really bad for whichever one of our guys bought it, right Chalky?"
No response.
"Chalky? Oh no..." Loudmouth was struck with a horrific realization.
"Sis...?" Dartboard said weakly, refusing to believe what just happened.
Still no response.
"Sis, please respond...it's not funny. Ch-Chalkboard? R-respond..." Dartboard started to cry.
While she was lamenting, the combat was still happening around her. Vehicles and foot soldiers went past her tank to engage the now immobile Tiger II. Even though it was unable to move, its gun and turret were still largely undamaged. Along with having to contend with a still active Tiger II there were still several cultist tanks hiding in plain sight.
-----
When the group approached the tower they were ambushed by shadow ponies. The sound from the fighting also alerted the guards in the tower, which poured out to prevent the group from entering. While the escorts had rifles, the guards seemed to be able to dodge the bullets and close the distance while the shadow ponies simply were not affected at all.
The escorts had to resort to using knives, clubs, and entrenchment tools to defend themselves. This was a bad situation as hoof-to-hoof combat was taught as a last resort, thus most of the escorts were less experienced than their enemy in using melee weapons. Fortunately they ponies they were escorting are capable of holding their own. Sergeant Noteworthy had just noticed this in the middle of a fight with one of the guards-both quickly glanced when two shadow ponies were blasted away with cake batter. This momentary distraction gave Noteworthy enough time to smash the guard in the head with his entrenchment tool.
"We can't stay here!" Noteworthy yelled.
"Right!" Lucky responded, "Frosty! Sundowner! With me! Let's clear a path! Everyone else, try to keep up behind us!"
Frosty and Sundowner nodded. The three tried to force a path to the tower. Despite being a sapper, Sundowner carried a dueling sword in addition to her engineering equipment and was good at using it. The extra reach allowed her to fight more offensively in contrast with the other escorts. Although the sight of a sapper presumably fresh out of training in possession of a dueling sword (which is normally reserved for officers) raised a few questions, Lucky and Frosty simply didn't care as long as it gave them a fighting chance.
One particularly large guard pony holding a halberd tried to crush Lucky with his weapon. Lucky, with his rather diminutive combat knife, wouldn't have been able to parry the attack due to the sheer weight of the weapon. Sundowner quickly blocked the descending halberd. With a grunt, she force the halberd away, throwing the guard off balance. Frosty then rammed the guard, knocking him over. Lucky, charging towards the entrance into the tower, narrowly dodged a pike. He quickly slashed the offender's face as he ran by him. The guard lost grip of his weapon as he covered his face due to the wound inflicted.
As Lucky get closer to the door though, he saw a problem. Two guards blocked it. They didn't look like they will budge easily.
"Incomin'!" Applejack yelled. The three looked behind them before quickly jumping out of the way of the guard that had just been bucked by Applejack. The guard was sent flying into the two blocking the doorway, their combined weight smashing in the aged wooden door.
"Inside!" Lucky commanded. Fluttershy was the first to run in, utterly terrified of the shadow ponies and guards. Rarity and Applejack were the next to enter. Pinkie came in riding a shadow pony.
"YEE-HAW!" she yelled. The shadow pony tried desperately to shake her off. So concentrated in getting her off that it did not pay attention to a hoof-sized rock in front of it. It tripped over the rock, slamming into the ground face-first and disappearing. Next came each of the escorts. Noteworthy was the last to enter the tower. Lucky took a quick head count. It wasn't long before he saw that there was still one missing.
"Hey, where's Rainbow Dash?" he asked.
"Come on! You can do better than that!" somepony taunted outside.
"Get inside! You're the only one left!" Noteworthy shouted.
"Really? ...Uh-oh." Rainbow Dash realized that she IS the only one still outside. She was so caught up in fighting that she didn't notice the rest entering the tower. The remaining guards and shadow ponies concentrated on her in an attempt to overwhelm her.
"I'll go get her," Sundowner said. She went back outside and proceeded to knock away enemies using her sword.
She managed to make it to Rainbow Dash just as she was dogpiled by a bunch of shadow ponies. Rainbow Dash had attempted to fly away beforehand, but the shadow ponies had leapt on to her before she could have gotten out of their reach. Sundowner swiped the shadow ponies away, freeing her.
"Ehehe...thanks," Rainbow Dash said sheepishly.
"You might want to get inside now. Your friends are waiting," Sundowner said. Rainbow Dash nodded and ran to the tower as fast as she could, ignoring the enemies in her way. As Sundowner ran back to the tower, more shadow ponies materializd around her. She sighed.
"Being a soldier is not easy..." Sundowner wearily said to herself. She spread her legs out and flared her wings-she was ready for whatever the shadow ponies could toss at her.
"Huh? Where's Sundowner?" Noteworthy asked. Rainbow Dash, surprised by the question, looked behind her and saw that the pony that saved her was now surrounded by shadow ponies and guards. She immediately tried to go back. Applejack grabbed her by the tail.
"Woah there, pard'ner!" Applejack said through her teeth.
"I have to help her! Let me go!" Rainbow Dash protested.
"You need to get to Twilight! The Elements are our only hope!"Sundowner managed to yell while fighting. Rainbow Dash hesitated.
"Now go! Before it's too la-oof!" Sundowner was struck in the stomach by a wooden club. She hastily swiped at the offending pony only to miss. She caught a glint off to the side of her eye and dodged a battle axe. She was then slammed in the back of the head by a war hammer, almost losing consciousness. Still, she refused to be put down and continued to fight.
"Sundowner...." Rainbow Dash said solemnly. The rest began walking up the stairs, climbing toward the top of the tower.
"Come on," Noteworthy said, "We don't want her sacrifice to be in vain." Rainbow Dash took one final look at the one-sided fight, and then followed the rest.
-----
Some ponies wonder what does the afterlife looked like.
Far Shot now knows. It's just...nothing. A white void stretching out for all eternity.
For the first time ever, he's truly scared.
Not the "teen in a cheesy costume burst out of a box" kind of scary, because that's just being startled. You're scared for the first two seconds of the surprise, and that's it. Not the "tense moment of silence in a horror movie" kind of scary, because while you're on your seat up until the moment someone gets decapitated it does not stay with you. You know it's not real. It's not even the "real life war in all its horror" kind of scary, because staying alive takes priority over showing fear.
But this, this is truly something to be afraid. Far Shot was expecting something along the lines of high up into the clouds, angels singing, and a gate with a saint at it. Saint Petters was it? Or was that Patton? Palmer, maybe? Anyways, he even had the soldier's poem recited for this very occasion:
"And When he gets to heaven,
To Saint Peter he will tell;
One more Soldier reporting, sir.
I've served my time in Hell!"
Ah yes! It was Saint Peter. He looked like a Ancient in most of the depictions of him. And then maybe he'll finally meet Celestia in person after he goes in.
But that's just it-there just simply wasn't anything like that or anything at all for that matter. There's not a single discernable feature in this empty world. The only thing he could hear was his own breathing-there wasn't even any white noise. The ground is cold and hard. Even the air is empty-devoid of scent and of substance.
His father had at least two decades of active service before deciding to retire and become a drill sergeant. His grandpa was a Royal Guard. The military way was in Far Shot's blood. Yet here he is, not more than a week and a half out of training and already dead. Real shonky work that is. Maybe he could have went down in a blaze of glory, in a brave last stand. But he knew Chalkboard wouldn't have wanted that.
"It's better to run and fight another day than die pointlessly," Chalkboard would have said. While the running part did not seem like such an attractive idea, Chalkboard did have a point. That and he would never let his fellow crew members die. They were like a second family to him.
Speaking about Chalkboard, did she survive? That was what Far Shot wondered. Would his body have been enough to shield her from the blast? The fact that he felt nothing as the shell detonated was not a particularly comforting fact. It meant that it killed him instantly. Had he felt excruciating pain for about ten seconds, the chances that she is alive are much better. He might even have enough life in him to say a sad farewell before he finally kicked the bucket, as sappy as that sounds.
Thinking about all this is the only thing Far Shot could do to keep himself from going insane. Walking would eventually tire him out. Sitting there doing nothing actually started causing him to hyperventilate after ten minutes (or at least he percieved it as ten minutes) because the only sound he could hear was his own breathing. He felt very naked-and that's not just because his uniform was gone. Curious thing was that he still had his bandages and his forelegs still felt very sore-though it's not as painful to walk as before.
He paced around in a small circle, revisiting memories. He was born to the earth pony Arc Shot and pegasus Bright Sky. His dad had served in the Royal Army as a Sapper, his mother was a sailor. Eventually they moved to Ponyville where his sister, Quick Shot, was born. It was a nice place to settle down. His dad would still occasionally go out to serve in the Army. His mum liked to take him and Quick Shot out on cruises out to sea on at times.
He then thought about his crew. Crazy, isn't it? About eight months ago the only friend he had amongst the crew was Trail Blazer. Really, they only knew each other because his mum and her dad were close friends.
He never thought he'd get used to his crew, much less actually befriend him. But working with them for a while as comrades in arms helps, even if it was just training for most of the time.
Eventually he grew tired. How does that happen? He wonders, I'm already dead...but I guess I'll take a rest anyways...
-----
He had a dreamless sleep. Or at least he thought he did. When he woke up he was still in the same white expanse. He had hoped that maybe this was all just a nightmare and that he'll wake up in a nice hospital bed with his mum, sister, and crew at his side. Disappointed, he went back to thinking.
That's when he heard something.
It startled him. It sounded like the wind. Suddenly, he felt the wind too. This only unnerved Far Shot-something is approaching, and he didn't like it. He turned towards where he felt the wind was coming from. There was something off in the distance. He squinted his eyes. Its shape was a vague half-circle. It was still too far to properly discern, but it was growing bigger. That could only mean it was moving closer. He briefly thought about running away from whatever was approaching him. He then doubled back on it.
Nothing risked, nothing gained, Far Shot thought. He starting walking towards it.
As he got closer, he got more nervous. Eventually a little part of his mind is telling him that it is starting to look like a REALLY good idea to go the other way. Still, he persisted. He got close enough to spot details. It was still a descent distance away, but then again he didn't get his cutie mark for being short-sighted. It had two holes, with another hole below and midway between the two holes. There was a black mist surrounding it. And at the base...was pony teeth.
It was a skull.
"Ahh!" Far Shot screamed. He turned back around to run, but instead ran into a wall. Luckily it was not a dead end-he could immediately turn left. He ran down the corridor that materialized. Everything looked like the inside of a dilapidated building. At the end of the corridor was two turns; one leading straight ahead, the other leading right. He turned right. Immediately ahead was another turn, which led to a ramp. At the top of the ramp was another long corridor that led to a flight of stairs going downwards.
When he got to the stairs, he took a quick look down. It was a very long fall-more than certain to break his legs and possibly his ribcage. Sure, Far Shot wasn't alive anymore but he did not want to take the risk. He just took the stairs like most sensible ponies would. Except for pegasi.
Pfft, pegasi. Always defying gravity with their wings, Far Shot thought as he went down the stairs, too bad I rolled Earth pony. I wish that I had inherited mum's wings. He shook his head as he ran down-now was not the time to dwell on things like that. Not when that...thing...is chasing him. It'd be the end of him if he winds up tripping down the stairs.
The bottom of the stairs led to what looked like a large basement. Far Shot looked around quickly-the less time he used to find a way to escape, the better. He finally saw another corridor to go through. He then noticed a bunch of moths flying around him. Odd, he thought.
The corridor lead to another turn, this time left. The path ahead was slightly interrupted in flatness by a small set of stairs, leading up to a door on the right and to the corridor straight ahead, which was down another short set of stairs. Before continuing on, he tried to open the door. The handle did not budge. Locked, Far Shot thought to himself. He proceeded Through the corridor. More moths had gathered around him. At the end was another turn to the right. He made the turn.
Around the corner was another skull wrapped in black mist. It was huge, being almost as tall as Far Shot. It approached him.
NO NO NO!
Far Shot ran back the way he came from. His heart was pounding, feeling like it would burst open. He then came back to the turn he made before.
IT WAS STILL THERE.
He ran back the other way, then stopped when he saw what came around the corner at the other end.
Do you know what is the only thing you can never run away from?
Oh no...
Looking back, Chalkboard saw that tHe otHEr skULL haD come AROunD THE CorNER.
Look at it.
No...
Far Shot fell back onto his behind. He desperately tried to back away, sliding across the floor. He came to a stop when he touched the set of stairs.
LOOK AT IT
GET AWAY YOU WANKER!
He quickly stood up and went up the stairs.
DEATH IS ETERNAL.
GO AWAY!
DEATH COMES FOR ALL.
I SAID GET AWAY!!
There was only one way of escape. The door. Chalkboard grabbed the handle and tried to open the door. It still would not budge.
WHAT'S THE PROBLEM, MY LITTLE PONY? AFRAID? ACCEPT OR STRUGGLE, IT MATTERS NOT.
Far Shot tried to force it open with all his might. It still did not give.
The skulls were almost at the stairs at either end. tHey tHEn staRTed MoVInG Up thE StaiRs.
PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO GO!
Tears were streaming down Chalkboard's face.
YOUR TIME IS ALREADY GONE. PREPARE TO FACE OBLIVION.
Far Shot screamed out against fate.
I DON'T WANT TO DIE! I WANT TO LIVE!
THe skULls weRe nOW jUst IncHES awAy FRoM Far board. thEy cAMe cloSEr AnD closEr. tHeRE wAs NO ESCAPE. Chalk Shot dID thE oNly THinG they couLD do.
She closed her eyes and braced for the inevitable.