Eclipse, now Seth approved(I think. Saying she looks 'straight up awesome' kinda counts, right?): http://www.equestriadaily.com/2013/08/drawfriend-stuff-885.html
"Welcome back." Eclipse said emotionlessly, standing tall before Nightshade.
"Sorry about ruining the party." Nightshade replied, sliding three throwing knives apart behind her back.
"Was going to end it anyway."
"Then I shall escort your guests away." Nightshade said, ducked down, and disappeared with a flash. The only thing that remained in the air where she was a second ago were three safety pins.
Eclipse's eyes widened, and she quickly conjured up a shield behind her.
Nightshade had teleported over her troops, and with three quick slashes had thrown the explosive knives into three key enemy commanders. With another flash she was gone, leaving the explosives to do their work.
Eclipse trained her incinerator cannon on her as she arched through the air, but then was shot in the back by a green energy bolt from Sweetie Bot. Her armor absorbed most of it, and she went skidding across the floor.
Then Nightshade was there, grinning down on her. She leapt up, the energy bolt having done next to no damage. She swiped a hoof across the air before her, sending a wave of glowing orange matter slicing through the air.
Nightshade ducked under it, a few hairs of her mane grazed by the blade. Then she teleported behind Eclipse, a knife already going for her neck.
The knife hit her flesh, but was stopped just as it touched her by a glowing orange circle. It didn't even go deep enough to draw blood.
Then an orange tentacle closed around Nightshade's arm, keeping her where she was while Eclipse turned around and prepared a disturbingly big sword.
She jabbed the sword at Nightshade's neck, but with a flash she instantly felt almost every bit of her body being pressured. She was forced to let go of Nigthshade, and for several seconds all she could see was darkness.
Nigthshade had teleported her into the side of a building.
Her sudden mass in the wall broke it apart, and everything shattered explosively. She was sent flying into the building itself, bits of concrete clunking down around her.
Nightshade landed with a light thud by the opening, a completely dark silhouette all but her one good eye. With a bright flash she closed the ten meters or so between her and Eclipse, already throwing away a safety pin.
Eclipse reached out, an orange mass tearing the knife away from Nightshade's grip.
Nightshade teleported away just as the explosive went off, temporarily disrupting Eclipse's ability. She didn't have time to draw another knife, so just grabbed hold of her waist and teleported.
*
"Dash! I think you're gonna want to see this..." Terra said, and Rainbow raised an eyebrow. She pushed aside a few holographic blueprints that she had been working on with AL, and walked over to the console.
"What is it?"
"Sweetie'll give you a recording." Came the reply.
A second later a file finished transferring, and Rainbow opened it. It was a video recording of what Sweetie Bot saw, and at first it was just a battle with Eclipse when-
"What the buck?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow as an asteroid slammed down on the enemy troops. "Who-?"
"Nightshade's back."
"How?" Rainbow was only half believing this, despite the fact that she was watching Nightshade fight Eclipse single hoofedly in a recording right now. "This... What?"
"Damn if I know. We're- well, she is taking care of Eclipse. Should we proceed with the plan? We have a large number of science faction troops outside!"
"Yes, proceed." Rainbow replied, then opened up the comms. "Silver! Proceed with the next step of the plan."
"Copy, we're getting ready. Am I the only one here that's excited?"
"If only we had cameras to record their faces huh?" Rainbow grinned, both excited that the final part of the plan was coming and that Nightshade, through some miracle; was back. That lifted some of her guilt that had accumulated.
"The night guard back?" Magnum cocked her head to one side, slinging her rifle over her back and standing to attention.
"Yes she is." Rainbow grinned.
"Uh... Dash? I think we may have a problem." It was Zealo.
"What is it?"
"Well, I just scoped in and... Eclipse has an army."
Rainbow paused. Of course Eclipse has a bucking army!
"Yeah, not helpful." She muttered.
AL conjured up a live feed of Main Street, and showed Rainbow; who just stared.
"What. The hell. Is that." She studied the screen- ants?
"We don't know!" Zealo replied, his voice frantic. "They move super fast and we barely got away in time! They don't even seem... Pony..."
"Dash!" Terra.
"What up?" Rainbow shoved away the holographic screen, sending it sliding through a wall.
"There's an army of mutated ponies swarming in- they're being controlled by the science faction, they've got suits on. Neon and I encountered one of these in Manehatten, that thing was bucking tough to fight. I suggest a full retreat, any one of us in the open means certain death!" Terra yelled, followed by a loud crack as he conjured up a wall.
"Retreat to the Tunnels and await further orders." Rainbow said quickly, shutting off the comms. She stood still for a second, waving back the other screen and watching the mutated as they swarmed into Haven.
"What the hell..." She watched the swarm overrun a small squadron of troops as they tried to get away. The mutated seem to have large blades of some sort attached to their hooves, and were reaping through the Haven soldiers like a tsunami through town.
"I know what that's about." Magnum said, remembering something. She walked closer, peering at the screen. Then the electric doors behind them slid open with a hiss, and a steady clunking followed as Octavia walked in with her crutches.
"I've got the lure room set up- what's going on?" She cocked her head to one side, limping into the room.
"We're getting attacked by our own ponies." Magnum said simply, turning away from the screen.
That only made Octavia more confused.
"Whilst I was on the barricade, I saw their twisted experiments. Mind control, they have microchips implanted directly into their brains. I don't know what else they did to them, but if you look closer-" she reached behind her head and unclipped her hair for the first time in front of anyone, letting it drift to her shoulders. "-maybe you'll see what remains of your own parents too." She said, and walked out.
The doors hissed shut behind her, and Octavia and Rainbow just stared at the door.
"AL, ready the lure room for the ambush. Give the order to clear the path, and divert these new enemies elsewhere however you can- and best if you can keep them out." Rainbow said, striding out the door after Magnum, trailed by Octavia.
*
Nightshade back-flipped away from Eclipse's lashing blades, skidding across the concrete roof.
Eclipse fired off a few rounds from her incinerator rifle, melting holes in the floor as Nightshade leapt to the side.
Nightshade teleported, and Eclipse turned around to greet her. Only that she didn't teleport behind her, instead she was right up against her face with the explosive knife.
Eclipse's eyes briefly read 'shi-' as she was struggling to turn back around, shortly before her nemesis sunk the knife into her side.
Fresh pain burst through her body, pain that she hadn't felt since she was created.
"Gah!" She cried out, stumbling. She tore the knife out and conjured up a shield just in time as it exploded, but the force knocked the ground out from under her and sent her sprawling into the floor below.
Nightshade appeared before her with a flash, ready to finish her off.
Eclipse snarled, suddenly conjuring up a huge ball of orange matter whilst raising a shield around herself.
Nightshade's eyes widened, and she teleported away.
Everything went as it normally would as she blinked- but when she opened her only good eye, she was still here.
Well, something along those lines happened. Part of whatever Eclipse conjured up had somehow managed to follow her through her personal portal.
Nightshade felt a blast of heat and a shockwave, then was launched across the sky and towards a wall. Reflecting on the situation quickly however not understanding it, she teleported again just as she scraped the wall.
Then she was somewhere else, still carried by the force of the blast as she crashed into the snow.
"Good to be alive." She coughed, getting up. Just a few scratches and bruises, nothing much- "Holy what the hay...?" She looked up at the building she was in a second ago with Eclipse. A good chunk of it was missing from the top and the sides, blown out and now being carried away as ashes in the wind. Parts of the building was still melting and burning.
Eclipse walked(whatever happened to hovering) onto the edge, looking down on Nightshade below. She was unscathed all but for the wound Nightshade had inflicted upon her. Her enhanced armor had already stopped the bleeding, but proper healing could take weeks.
But despite that, worst of all; she was still as indifferent as ever.
"It's a shame that you came all the way here just for me to send you back to hell." She said, and Nightshade smirked.
"No gates of hell can keep me locked in." She grinned, winked, and disappeared with a flash.
*
"Retreat to the Tunnels! We're exposed out here!" Zealo yelled, waving at his squad mates. "We've got reports of enemy reinforcements!"
Then they heard the screaming. It wasn't the screaming of dying troops, of battle, but a much more animalistic sound...
"What the hell is that...?" One of his squad mates pointed across the clearing at a gap between two buildings.
It was like a swarm of insects, a wave of individuals moving in such a way that they seemed like one. And they were tearing through everything that wasn't on their side.
"Run..." Was all Zealo said. There wasn't much left to do but that. He started turning back towards the nearest Tunnels entry point. "RUN!"
*
Colgate led her brothers and sisters as they ran through Haven in that twitchy fashion of theirs, huddling around any group of Magic faction ponies and completely devouring them. By the time they were done tearing up their bodies, there were nothing but flesh ribbons and severed limbs left behind.
They carved their bloody path down a street, the screams of their victims like music to their ears. There was a colt, she remembered for some reason, that was amongst the the older soldiers. She remembered seeing him being torn in two by two of her brothers. It was a favorable sight.
She heard yelling, and looked to her side. Down a different street, there was a clearing. And there was more blood to be shed.
"Heheheeeh!" she giggled to herself, leading a branch off to chase after these new victims.
*
"Crap. They spotted us! Run faster!" Zealo waved one hoof in the air, his sniper rifle in the other- but there were simply too many targets for it to do much good.
They were running as fast as their legs would allow, no one bothering to speak as to save their breath. The mutated and modified ponies were closing the gap at a terrifying speed- already they were halfway across the clearing.
"Damnit-" Zealo fired a shot blindly behind him. He was sure it hit something, since there was a whole wall of ponies there. "Damnit...!"
His ears rung from the screams and the thuds of hooves coming from the swarm, but soon the noises got a whole lot louder.
Magnum stepped out from behind one of the Tunnels openings, dual-wielding machine guns and landing head shots everywhere in the crowd without even trying.
The effect was less obvious than hoped, however. They weren't slowing down. Sure, they were getting mowed; but it wasn't stopping them. They were mindless creatures now, with no logic but the one thought implanted into their heads: kill everything else except for the friendlies(and a few accidents are okay).
"Hurry it up, Zealo!" She growled, her shoulders sore from the recoil as the machine guns hammered into them.
Bullet shells were flying all over the place, their clatters inaudible in the noise.
Magnum kept her concentration on the horde and fending them off Zealo's team mates, standing her ground firmly before the entrance.
None shall pass.
"We owe you one ma'am!" A stallion was about to go into the Tunnels, but stopped and stood by her side and started assisting her. Magnum gave him a quick glance- he outranked her, and yet, here he was.
"I'm out! Hurry guys!" Another Haven soldier ground to a halt beside them, putting away his assault rifle and pulling out a pistol backup.
Magnum was starting to run low on ammo too, but she wasn't fazed by the oncoming horde, because there were others by her side. Others that she didn't even know.
They were all here, fighting under the same goals.
"Run! Come on!" There were only a few more soldiers left out on the field as Zealo came skidding to a halt by the entrance, his rifle releasing shot after shot.
"This is Echo one, packages are secure and inside the Tunnels. Require any aerial assistance?" A voice through the radio.
"Echo one, this is Squad leader six!" Zealo yelled. "We're in a clearing by the CMC tower remains- requesting assistance while we retreat inside!"
"Copy six. En-route." The voice said. "Hurry it up, Duster."
"Quit calling me that." A different voice growled, and the channel was directed elsewhere.
"I'm out of ammo! Zealo!" Magnum yelled, tossing Zealo her backup pistol as Zealo passed her his rifle.
She pulled the clip out and slammed it into the ACPW, the weapons system registering the clip and morphing into the appropriate shape.
"Work on keeping them away from our soldiers!" She screamed, busting an enemy's head before she could reach one of their troopers.
"Somepony called for backu- Cheeses that's a lot of... The hell are those?" Radio silence was broken as Lightning Dust frowned at the sight below, the Apollo gliding over the battle.
"AL, mark the friendlies on Dusty's HUD." Magnum said, swapping clips.
"Done."
"Weapons free!"
The Apollo let loose a blitz of prism beams, rainbow colored light exploding across the battlefield and punching craters in the ground. Bits of pony were flying into the air, blown to pieces.
Then a figure atop the aircraft fired off a large blue beam, the energy doing double the damage of the Apollo's powerful primary cannons.
"The hell is that?" Magnum raised an eyebrow. Then a wave of heavy bass music washed over them, explaining the weapon.
She grinned.
"Want." Was all she said.
"Six, I'm seeing Science Faction troops closing in from your right. Concentrate fire on them, we can take care of the horde." Noteworthy said, firing from the Apollo's cockpit.
"Copy Echo one." Zealo replied and tapped Magnum on the shoulder, pointing down the road.
Magnum moved to aim her rifle down that end, but was a second too late. A bullet clipped her in the shoulder, the force sending her sprawling into Zealo.
"Buck!" Zealo cursed, yanking Magnum behind cover and ducking down himself.
"Return fire!" One of the soldiers yelled, turning his attention to the approaching assault units.
"Take cover behind the gate!" Another yelled, opening the Tunnels entrance wide and using the thick nuclear-bomb proof gate as cover.
"Magnum- you alright?" Zealo lifted his snow goggles, peering at Magnum's bleeding shoulder. The blood was soaking through her cold weather gear. "Damnit- here." He tore off a sleeve, and wrapped it tightly under her arm.
"Eep!"
"Sorry! Did that hurt? Where does it hurt?" Zealo frantically checked his bandaging work.
"That.. Tickles..." Magnum smiled, however painfully. The frost wasn't doing her injury any good. Her breathing was irregular, and she looked awfully tired.
"Hey- hey! Sleepy head!"
"Shuddyup." She muttered.
"What's going on?" Rainbow and Octavia stepped out into the open. "Oh, shi..."
Without needing a second thought, Rainbow whipped out her cleaver and Octavia pulled out her tommy gun.
A blast from the cleaver sent snow particles curling up around it, a shockwave clearly visible as it rippled through the air.
"The storm's getting worse everypony!" Noteworthy yelled.
"Yeah I reckon..." Rainbow muttered, pulling her snow goggles over her eyes. She could feel a chilling new southerly cutting into her face now. It was getting colder.
"Get Magnum inside! Her wound is gonna freeze if we don't do something about it. Zealo, take her to the underground clinic!" Octavia pointed back into the Tunnels.
"You boys leave too. We've got this covered." Rainbow said, turning her attention to the distant assault units and firing her shots there.
"Commander-"
"Get your men and leave!" Rainbow yelled. "Move it soldier!" She slammed the cleaver into the ground and shoved Zealo into the Tunnels. "Magnum, you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm good." Magnum said, but her expression said otherwise. "It just... Hurts, is all."
Rainbow chuckled. "Take care." She gave her a light pat on the back as she followed Zealo. "Well then? Come on!" She pulled the cleaver out from the ground and fired off a few more shots.
The remaining few science faction soldiers made it into the entrance, firing behind them as they went.
"Come on Tavi! Dusty and whoever you are- clear as many enemies as possible! Don't stay out here for too long- they've got more reinforcements closing in!" Rainbow yelled, losing three shots into the crowd before swinging into the Tunnels with Tavi.
She slammed the gates shut, the locks clicking satisfyingly. Nothing's getting past these.
Eclipse, now Seth approved(I think. Saying she looks 'straight up awesome' kinda counts, right?): http://www.equestriadaily.com/2013/08/drawfriend-stuff-885.html