//------------------------------// // Chapter Ten: An Age Old Battle // Story: My Little Annihilation // by Word Wizard //------------------------------// “We are moving into position, I repeat, units are on the move,” Twilight’s serious voice was a welcome noise to the sweating general Jenkins. He always got like this during battles, nervous. Often he was ridiculed by his peers for his fear for failure and loss of life. “I hear ya, Twi,” Applejack responded, “Yee hah!” “Alright, scouts incoming now!” said Rainbow, determinedly watching as the data from the un-manned planes flew home. First the radar, then sight. Rows of Bulldogs, heavy assault tanks, lined the area. The strange shapes of Shooters, sniper Kbots, dotted a row behind them. Behind that, Lugers, artillery vehicles, pointed their weapons in the air, tracking the scouts as they passed overhead. The last piece of information that Dash received was a large amount of flak and a row of mobile flak vehicles. She whistled. “That’s one big army we’ve got,” she said, instructing a few more scouts to fly over the rest of the mountains, “And that’s not all.” A mass of Kbots filled the center of the valley, their armour glinted in the afternoon sunlight. The cold, lifeless eyes that stared out from them looked at the scout, their weapons raised as if poised to shoot, if only it would come into range. Zeuses, Peewees, Hammers, Mavericks, all these assault and artillery bots and more were lined up, they were the bulk of the ARM army. The scout planes crashed to the ground after a few swift shots from a Jethro in the crowd, the missile’s smoke curling as the projectiles flew upwards. Another scout revealed that a mirror image of the vehicle army was hiding in the radar shadow of a nearby mountain. “So that’s what they’re playing, is it?” general Jenkins muttered under his breath, looking at the new data. They were plotting flank maneuver, previously unknown because of the radar shadow of the mountain range in which the force hid. “Applejack, I’m going to need squads of artillery vehicles on either side of the forces, but set them on ‘hold fire’ will you? Escort them with some radar jamming Pbots just in case.” “You got it, general!” Applejack breathed from inside her suit. It had been about one hour since the commanders had been deployed on the field, and everypony was getting tired of the mundane, useless, army and base building that had been going on. “When are we gonna get to blow stuff up?” Dash asked eagerly, for the forty fifth time. Jenkins sighed, rubbing his face with a hoof. “Soon, very soon,” he said into the receiver. The dim light of the strategy room managed to illuminate his brown coat. The red beret he wore had a silver pin on it, in the shape of a pegasus, and it glimmered occasionally when struck with a beam of light. “Good,” Rainbow said huffing a little, “How are you holding up, Twi?” “Just fine,” Twilight answered from inside her control room. Her horn glowed as the various levers and buttons flipped around, surrounded in a aura of purple magic. “Spike!” Twilight called. A grease covered Spike popped his head out of the service hatch and looked at Twilight. “Yeah?” He asked, spinning a wrench in his hand. “Could you divert some power to sector S-13 for me? There’s something I need to try,” Twilight asked without turning around. “S-13, got it,” Spike stuck his head back in the hatch, quickly followed by the rest of himself. Twilight smiled a little as she went back to work. She spun her chair to look at the tactical display, then to her measurements. A small desk shaped area to the left of the command chair had quickly become covered with quills and ink. Lines and trajectories on pages and pages of physics calculations littered the desk as well. What Twilight was suggesting might aid in battle, and might even win the war. S-13 was the sector that controlled most of the communications equipment, talking to every friendly unit. Each side worked on different wavelengths to control their units, negating any possible interference. But since the commanders built by the ponies are of ARM origin, there might be a way to bypass that… “Diverted!” Spike called, his voice reverberating in the metal shaft. “Excellent!” Twilight clopped her hooves together in glee. “Let’s execute a test!” On top of the mech, a large dish rotated as it crackled with electricity, turning towards the enemy. Small arcs of blue sparks shot between each side of it as it hummed with the current. A growing rumble sprouted from it as it shook from exertion. “Let’s do this!” Twilight called, glee unmistakable on her face. She slammed her hoof of a lever, throwing the final switch. There was a loud explosion and then silence. “I told you that was gonna happen,” Spike said, rolling his eyeballs. He twisted some copper wire in his hands as he spoke, twitching his grease-stained tail back and forth. Twilight was quite, flying back over her calculations. “We need a high voltage dish!” she growled. “Can I get a high voltage dish mounted on this thing?” “Ya know Twi,” Applejack started, “We could just blow ‘em up all normal like.” “But- But that’s not-” Twilight stuttered from inside her suit. “Come on Twi,” Spike sauntered up behind her, “We don’t have to do it fancy.” A faint red glow seeped out through Twilight’s suit, illuminating the room. “Twi?” “Oh alright,” she braced herself against the control panel, breathing heavily. “You win. We don’t have to do it smart.” “Yeah,” Rainbow said, “Stupid is much more fun! I mean, well, non-egghead-y stuff, that is.” “FUN!” Pinkie erupted through the speakers, jolting everypony in their suits. “Did somepony say fun?” “Never mind that, sugarcube,” Applejack chuckled a little, “We’ve bigger things to fry than that.” “I’d say I’m a big thing to fry!” Rainbow said confidently, sparking groans from everypony except Pinkie. “CAN WE JUST GET BACK TO WORK?!” Jenkins shouted, rubbing his newly sprouted migraine. Silence fell on the other end, before a much relieved Twilight speaking up. “Right, how are we doing, general?” “Fine,” Jenkins reported, wiping the sweat from his brow, “Just do what I tell you to and you’ll be fine.” He downed a glass of water in one gulp, furrowing his brows as he turned back to the war room. “Rainbow, your fighters are a little close too enemy lines. Move them in a tad.” “Yes sir!” Rainbow said, swiftly redirecting her fighters. They curved in the air, maintaining formations as they veered. “Good,” Jenkins turned his attention to land units, “Applejack; you’re doing good with your land units, but could you advance the artillery a little?” “You got it gen’!” Applejack called as the artillery vehicles rumbled over the landscape. “Good,” Jenkins looked back over the base, “Twilight; I could use some cover fire from long range cannons.” “Alright,” Twilight said, “Rarity, could you get over here and help?” “Of course, darling,” Rarity’s pure white mech began walking towards Twilight’s. “But I would like it if you asked nicely.” Twilight sighed. “Alright; would you please come over and help me with this?” “Why certainly,” Rarity’s mech spurted nanolathe at the forming figure of a long range cannon, “And it was so nice of you to ask nicely!” ---------- A mere mile away, an ARM radar tower blipped constantly on a lone hill. It’s flashes lit up the evening air as its dish rotated silently. Below, a pristine landscape stretched, coming to halt to give way to jagged mountains. In the distance, the sun peeked out between the peaks, continuing its descent to the horizon. It was peaceful, almost, as the dusty wind slipped past the tower. The tower continued to blip, its information feeding into the ARM command unit and fueling the war. When all was quiet, all was still, the tranquil scene was shattered by a round of cannon shots. They ripped through the silence, shattering it like glass. Plasma shells flew into the air from behind the mountain, arcing high in the air before falling down. The fell, a perfect line of destruction, onto the radar tower. All that was left was a row of small craters and the twisted wreckage of the tower. “Yeehaw!” Applejack called, her breathing heaving inside her suit, “These fellas really do work!” “Be careful, Applejack,” Twilight cautioned, “They know we’re here now.” “I know, Twi,” Applejack nodded, “I won’t do anything stupid; just mark my hay bales if that ain’t pretty darn good weaponry!” “Yes,” Twilight nodded, reviewing the radar map, “It certainly is.” “You have company!” Jenkins’ voice called. A small battalion of blue specks progressed towards the site of the attack. “I gotcha, gen,” Applejack quickly selected her artillery vehicles and began firing on the incoming forces. Several ranks of tanks rumbled into position. “Get ready…” Jenkins clenched his teeth in nervousness, “FIRE!” The tanks let loose a barrage of plasma, hurling projectiles into the oncoming swarm. Twisted wreckage dotted the battlefield, craters were formed in uniform lines from the ranks of tanks. “They’re firin’ back, general!” Applejack called. “Don’t worry, just keep going!” Jenkins instructed. In truth, he was as nervous as the commanders, but he didn’t show that. “You say so…” Applejack leaned over the tactical display, watching the war unfold. “Tank down!” “Retreat,” Jenkins groaned, “They’ve brought in the big guns. Rainbow, I need gunships, NOW.” “You got it,” Rainbow said haughtily, “They’re on their way.” “AJ, target the big one with that artillery,” Jenkins half screamed as another bolt of purple energy vaporized a tank. “Got it,” the cannons adjusted, throwing their shots towards the slow moving dot. “Twilight, how are the Long Range Cannons coming?” Jenkins turned his attention to the base. “Good,” Twilight responded, “Almost done with the first one. Fluttershy! I could use some help!” “Uh, ok,” Fluttershy’s mech slowly hovered over to the construction site, “But I still think that there must be a better way to do this.” “Yeah,” Rainbow scratched her chin, “On the unit roster, there was this thing… nukes?” “Ballistic Nuclear Thermal Warheads?” Twilight prompted. “Yeah, that,” Rainbow said thoughtfully, “Except I like nukes better.” “Ladies!” Jenkins called, “We can use BNTWs later; your gunships are approaching, Rainbow.” “And not a might too soon,” Applejack said hastily as the last tank exploded into a pile of rubble. Plasma poured down from the sky, pummeling the confused tanks. The tanks’ cannons swiveled franticly, trying to get a lock on their airborne attackers, firing shells in all directions. One by one, each exploded in flame and shock, shaking the others. The Penetrator was last, producing a small mushroom cloud in its wake. “Wooee!” Applejack cried, “Those plane-y things sure did a nice job at takin’ down those’ tanks.” “Thanks,” Rainbow replied haughtily, “But the best is yet to come.” “Yes, it certainly is,” Jenkins’ voice interrupted seriously, “Applejack why don’t you- RAINBOW! GET THOSE GUNSHIPS THE HELL OUT OF THERE!” “What?” as she spoke, the gunships were assaulted by a barrage of plasma, shooting them down like ducks. They spun to the earth as the plasma struck them, burning holes into their hulls. With a loud crash, each struck the dirt, tumbling, sliding to a stop. “Flak cannons,” Jenkins downed a glass of water, “They’re playing dirty. Twilight, cannon status?” “The first is online,” Twilight responded, “Beginning work on a second.” “Great,” Jenkins said, sweat beading on his forehead, “Target the closes thing. Let’s give this thing a test run.” The towering cannon received its orders, lumbering the barrel into position. It turned, raising the gun at the same time,ending in precisely the right spot to hit its target. “Three,” Twilight was calm inside her suit, listening to Jenkins’ countdown, “Two, One, FIRE!” The cannon charged for a split second, sucking air into the barrel, but then let loose. The gun flew back on its rails, bouncing into a shock absorber and returning to position. A ball of plasma had left the barrel so suddenly, only the closes watcher could see it. It flew over the land at a terrific pace, out maneuvering any attempting spectator. Over the ice topped mountains it went, over the desert, and finally, smack into the outskirts of Appaloosa. An explosion engulfed the target, spewing bits of molten metal out like steam. It incinerated everything, leaving a puddle of molten alloy in its wake. “Nicely done,” Jenkins complemented. “Keep that up. Fluttershy, we need some fusion reactors and advanced energy storage, hop to it!” “Uh, sure,” Fluttershy said shyly, “But I still think we don’t have to melt them.” ------- A morning is crisp. An afternoon is soggy. And a night is thoroughly drenched. Of course, tanks can trundle through any of these time-imposed weather conditions, more or less compacting everything underneath its treads. And that is exactly what ARM detachment 701 was doing: trundling through bleak rain. It pounded on their visual receptors, constantly whipped off by giant window wipers, spraying into the air. They could hardly see a thing. The Phalanxes, mobile flak vehicles, followed behind the tanks. Their quad flak cannons drenched and dormant. And the one vehicle with perfect vision followed behind them: the mobile radar vehicle. While radar doesn’t give as detailed information as visual sight, it’s incredibly useful for times like these. The Seer’s dish rotated, flashing into the rain every so often. It ignored the sideways gush of water that slammed into it, continuing its constant motion. The little detachment rumbled into position, stopping at their orders. Windshield wipers flashed across the cameras. Fog lights pierced the rain. And the moon attempted to shine through the clouds overhead. It was a peaceful scene. Aside from the fact that said peaceful objects were two story tall war machines, it was peaceful. At times like these, war almost seems worth it. But in times of conflict, these moments never last for long. And when they shatter. They shatter hard. It was a silent approach. Radar jamming vehicles were intermixed in the force, blocking any possible detection. And suddenly they were upon the detachment. Rain hissed against the explosions, fizzling out the fires as they sprouted. Plasma flew from the cannons, erupting into the night a distinctive roar of destruction. Twisted wreckage littered the battle, still smoldering under the rain. The mud stained machines came to rest, looking down on the wreckage of the ARM detachment. Five hundred miles away, in a mech on the edge of the Crystal Empire, Applejack leaped for joy. Tried to leap, that is. The suit was heavy. “Yeehaw!” she exclaimed, a smile broadening across her face, “All them ‘detachment’ things are burnin’ on the ground, general!” “Well done,” the voice was scratchy over the radio, “Prepare the main attack force.” “Yes siree!” Applejack said excitedly. A few miles away, a sea of war machines began to trundle and fly to their destination. Plasma shot through the sky, small and sizzling. It smashed into the ground hundreds of miles away, shattering the mud. “We’ve got them both on the run,” Twilight said coolly, “Let’s finish them off.” The rain pelted down as the forces moved, their treads slipping in the mud. Above, airplanes laden with weaponry shot through the air, piercing the rain clouds like arrows. Soon they would fight. Soon they would die. But for a common cause: Freedom from the warmongers of the ARM and the CORE. Meanwhile, in Canterlot: The halls were quiet in the castle. A peaceful tranquility descended, the only sound that of rain. It was the kind of scene where a pony would stop to look on in awe. A nice scene. A deserted scene. But one pony was not going to have any of this ‘awe’ business. He stomped through the hallways, shattering the silence with every angered hoof step. He rounded corners suddenly, throwing his dark blue mane to one side as he trudged down the hall. A slight growling filled the room. Shining Armor stopped walking, looking up at the stained glass picture in front of him. It depicted the gods. In the center, Celestia and Luna crossed horns. Discord lay lazily above them. And down below, smaller, unknown gods puttered about motionlessly. Shining’s eyes were fixed on one thing. “Celestia,” he growled, “You have no idea what you’ve done to me.” He threw back his hood, revealing an angered face. “I loved my job.” The words echoed back to him, pounding their meaning into his already aware mind. He continued to glower at the picture. “I wish I could lay my hooves on you,” he said quietly, “AND EXACT MY REVENGE!” He lunged at the window. But instead of feeling broken glass, he felt something else. It was as though the air had solidified in a wall, blocking him from the window. Shining Armor fell to the ground, stunned. And a mischievous figure stood up in the painting. “Tut tut my good fellow,” Discord said apprehensively, “I know Celestia is boring but smashing a picture of me. Now that’s just a sin against interestingness!” Shining stood up, turning a wary eye at the scolding piece of glass. “You know, I really don’t mind you think Celestia is boring,” Discord continued, having a seat on the princess’ heads, “But don’t you think a death wish is a little strong?” “You don’t understand,” Shining turned away, only to find the god of chaos standing right behind him. “Oh, now you’re being boring as well!” Discord rolled his eyes. “Of course I understand! Celestia took everything from me, including my flesh.” He looked down at his arm, grinning slightly. “Which I hardly use anyway.” “But how about your job?” Shining said coldly, turning away from the god once more. “Oh, you call being locked in a statue of stone for a thousand years not losing my job?” Discord said, surprised, “Well, Celestia certainly didn’t give me a pension.” “But- but-” Shining spluttered, “If not death, how do you think I should exact my revenge, hmm?” “By being interesting, of course!” Discord said happily, snapping his fingers. A lamb appeared overhead, twirling in air. “Drives her crazy! My my, I may hardly ever find a better way to grind on her little royal soul.” Discord grinned, flexing his fingers in anticipation. “In fact, little Shining, you’re just the pony I’ve been looking for.” “To do what?” Shining asked warily. “To drive the royal sisters bonkers,” Discord said excitedly. “It’s a chance in a lifetime! How many mortals do you know that get to use chaos magic, even for a day?” “Uh,” Shining thought the apparent offer over. “I suppose.” “Wonderful!” Discord clapped his hands together. “We’re gonna have a great time, I can just tell!” “Right,” Shining said uncertainly. As much as he wanted to exact revenge on Celestia, this seemed to be stretching it. “Well,” Discord said, “Let’s get down to business!” With the snap of a finger, they were gone. The hallway returned to normal, the rain being the only noise maker. Except, of course, Discord was absent from the window. ---------- “Has anypony seen Shining Armor?” Luna asked hurriedly, gliding through a hallway. A chorus of ‘no’s rang out behind her. The castle’s hallways in this part of the building were packed with refugees. “Yeah!” the voice cut through the negatives. Luna turned her wings and flapped backwards, landing next to the speaker. The speaker was a short, gray pony with a mustache. He wore a rumpled bowler cap, and carried a cane. “Where hath thee seen him?” Luna asked. Her olden accent slipped out at times like these. “Well,” the broker started, “I was out for a stroll, see, this section of the castle gets very crowded an’ all.” Luna nodded sullenly. “Well, I was out in the Hall of the Sun area. And this whirlwind of angry pony sorta stomped through me, ya know, in a metaphorical sense. Back at the old bank stuff like this never ‘happened. Not without me knowin’ about it first hoof. “Anyway, point I’m tryin’ to make here is that Shining was stompin’ around in the Hall of the Sun area. At least I think it was Shining. Banker’s instinct never lies,” he said confidently, standing up. “Now I’ve got a date with a certain something.” Luna watched as the broker walked over to a silver tin, where he jabbed a key in. The key turned, and the box opened to reveal another box. There was a lock on that one too, and inside that a still smaller box. Until, after three boxes, a shiny pile of 10 bit pieces gleamed in the torchlight. The expression of glee on the broker’s face was unforgettable. Face stretched wide as if meeting a long lost friend. Luna rolled her eyes and charge out of the room. The hallways blurred as she ran, rounding corners occasionally. “Shining Armor!” Luna cried again and again. He had gone missing a few hours ago, and Luna couldn’t seem to find out where he went. Eventually she stopped, panting, in front of a stained glass window. She looked over it while thinking of what to do next. Except one part caught her eye. “I never remember my sister putting Shining on that window,” Luna remarked, inspecting the depiction of Shining Armor slammed against the glass. A muffled voice came through the window. “I’m. Not,” it said. “Not. Yet.” “What?” Luna raised an eyebrow. Suddenly, the depiction of Shining’s smashed form shrunk, a distinct popping sound filling the air. “That’s better,” said the picture. Shining Armor’s stained glass form scratched his neck. “Shining?” Luna asked, dumbfounded. “Ah yes, hello Luna,” Shining said, turning on the two dimensional plane to face the princess, “I see you were worried about me, no?” “Yes. But how-” Luna started. “Oh never mind that,” Shining laughed a little, waving a hoof in the air. “I quite like it actually.” “What?” Luna withdrew from the picture. Suddenly her face changed to a glower. “Discord.” “Fine fellow, isn’t he?” Shining said, popping a stained glass cake into his mouth. “Taught me everything I need to know about life,” he said through the cake. “DISCORD,” Luna bellowed, “SHOW YOURSELF!” No answer. “Don’t worry about him,” Shining popped out of the picture, landing next to Luna. He wrapped a hoof around her neck. “I’m all the fun you need.” Luna leaped in the air with shock, escaping Shining’s mischievous hoof. “Oh?” Shining raised an eyebrow, “You want to run?” “I-” Luna started, but it was too late. Shining grinned as he clapped his hooves together. Luna began running in circles. “Run.” “Shining Armor,” Luna huffed as she went passed him. “Please let me have my legs back.” “If you insist,” Shining said dully, clapping his hooves together. There was a crash as Luna ran into a nearby wall. “Happy?” “Much,” the princess picked herself up, reconstituting the wall from the dust. It reappeared with a flash, causing Shining’s teleportation to be more sudden than usual. “You’re no fun,” Shining said dryly, “Let’s make things more interesting!” He clapped his hooves together. They both towards the towards the ceiling, a grin on Shining’s face. “What is this?!” Luna demanded, picking herself down off the ceiling. “Gravity is just so boring only going one way,” Shining said lazily, “I just thought I’d liven things up a bit.” “But- But-” “It’s even more fun when you go outside,” Shining said maniacally. “In fact, we do need some fresh air.” He clapped his hooves together, teleporting them both outside the window. They fell upwards. “GET US DOWN!” Luna screamed over the wind. “What?” Shining cupped a hoof over his ear in mock deafness. He grinned. “I SAID, GET US DOWN!” Luna screamed again. “YOU’LL HAVE TO SPEAK UP!” Shining taunted, “I CAN’T HEAR YOU!” “GET ME DOWN,” Luna bellowed in full Canterlot Royal voice. Shining rolled his eyes. “If you insist.” The two appeared back on the ceiling of the Hall of the Sun. “And could you put gravity back the way it was?” Luna asked, looking at the ceiling tiles beneath her hooves. “Oh poo poo,” Shining said, “You really do NOT want anything changed in your boring little lives, do you?” They tumbled towards the floor. “If I have to fall,” Luna said, getting up, “I’d rather it be towards the ground, thank you very much.” -------------- “How are her vitals?” Dr. Reed asked, walking into the ICU. “Not promising,” another doctor caught up with him, explaining the situation. Dr. Reed nodded, looking over the injured alicorn. “The leg’s almost healed,” he observed. “Yes,” the other doctor sighed. “There’s about a ten percent chance she won’t make it. That’s a rough estimate, but you catch my drift.” Dr. Reed nodded. “Anything I can do to help?” he asked, observing the readings on a few monitors. “Not that I can think of,” the doctor thought for a second. “Actually, scratch that, we always need extra hooves in surgery.” In the center of the stretcher, a surgeon was performing open body surgery, removing pieces of shrapnel, carefully and slowly. A couple of assistants stood behind him, at the ready to give or receive tools. “Doctor Cross,” Dr. Reed’s escort asked quietly. The surgeon looked up from his work. “Do you need any help?” Dr. Cross thought for a second. “Yes,” he nodded, “You good at removing sixteenth inch life threatening shrapnel?” “I’ve removed foreign bodies before,” Reed said, slipping on a white air filter, “That good enough?” “Have a pair of tweezers,” a set of small tweezers floated over to Reed, “And don’t break anything in there.” Although an alicorn’s body can almost fully recover from injuries, foreign bodies are one of the most difficult to do away with. Usually, they are reabsorbed into the bloodstream over a matter of weeks, after the internal bleeding is stopped. But there are exceptions when doctors need to intervene. This was one of those times. Celestia lay motionless on the bed as the doctors worked. The leg was fully reattached, and the portion opened up for open body surgery was starting to knit itself back together. Still, red stained the sheets of the gurney. “She’s stabilizing,” a relieved Doctor Reed said, “The leg’s finished. The worst is over, ponies!” The doctors smiled. “Oh I don’t know about that,” a familiar voice filled the room, “Let’s liven things up, shall we?” ----------- Outside, a massive battle staged. The armies of all three sides were preparing to fight. Mud stained tanks, drenched Kbots, sopping aircraft. But despite points of saturation, each was ready to fight. And fight they will.