//------------------------------// // Jack's Ace in the Hole // Story: Psycho // by Bishibosh the Shaman //------------------------------// Psycho Chapter Thirty Four Hovering in orbit before the celestial mass, the Hyperion moon base held a sinister gaze down upon the new planet. Jack sat at his desk, folding his hands together as he watched through the many screens before him. All of them showing live footage of his assault on the empire. Skimming between different screens and scoffing at each, the tall man stood from his seat. The screen gaining his full attention now was showing an interesting scene. A familiar black creature fighting along side a massive stallion wearing an interesting mask. Jack cocked a grin as he put two and two together. "Heh, can't believe they got me with that one. The big badass vault hunters parading around as sweet little ponies" Jack mocked with his best feminine voice, then snapping back after realizing how appalling it really sounded. "Not like that will do them any good." Jack walked over from his desk towards a console on the far end of the wall. The display was showing every constructor he managed to get into the city before the shield covered it. Most disabled, and the last one seemed to fall off the grid. Jack grunted as he theorized what he could do next, started to wonder if he should just finish this now or drag it out. The human shrugged as he rested his finger on a large switch. Moving his other hand to a button marked with a microphone, he spoke into the mic that lifted from the console. "Hey there boys and girls! Or is it mares and colts... Ah who cares! Point is I've got a present for you! Since you ponies have been kind enough to care for my fugitives, I have decided to reward you for all your hard work. Now if you could just pull down that nuisance of a shield I would be glad to deliver" Jack ended with a smart tone as he pulled off the transmit key. Several moments went by as Jack watched the planet below him. The large purple bubble remained visible even from his personal office. With a soft chuckle, Jack sat down in his swivel chair and spun around once or twice before looking at the planet once more. The shield still standing. Ample time had passed for him as he reached for the transmit button once more. "Well, it's obvious you ponies don't really want this gift of mine... but you know what? I think I'm going to give it to you anyways, just for being good sports" Jack leaned back in his chair as he flipped the large switch. "Oh by the way, you may want to take cover." The Hyperion moon base shifted in the sky, movement so sudden that nopony in view missed it. Strafing around the planet, the base lined itself up with the giant pink bubble surrounding the city. Many ponies across Equestria watched in wonder and fear as the eye of the massive ship seemed to absorb magical energies around it. Large red orbs slowly drifted into the eye for several moments before coalescing into a heavy red glare. The sound of thunder rolled across Equestria as the red beam of energy split the sky apart and ripped through the atmosphere. Pegasi were thrown from the air by the resulting sonic boom of the focused blast. The beam seemed to impact the shield for a brief second before everything exploded in smoke and dust. The castle exploded with sound; glass shattering from the blast, ponies shrieking in terror, but loudest of all was the bloodcurdling scream of Princess Cadence. The remaining ponies and vault ponies rushed to her aid, stopping as they watched her lay on the ground. Twilight was the first to approach, thinking of everything that could have happened. She fought back the tears as an unpleasant thought crossed her mind. She stopped, frozen in her steps as she felt a cold breeze flow past her. Before she could react, Zer0 stepped out in front of her and knelt before the fallen princess. The assassin lifted a hoof and placed it on the neck of the princess. Zer0 had wanted to sigh as soon as he figured he couldn't feel a pulse through his hardened hooves, but instead folded his hoof in and felt with the wrist joint of his leg. "She's alive for now... The blast reacted badly, Directly at her" The assassin summed up the damage in the best consoling voice he could. "It could have been worse..." Twilight still felt frozen as the assassin spoke, his voice remained cold even as he tried to speak with warmth. She felt a sudden warmth as her friends stepped to her side and comforted her. "Ah'm sure she'll be fine sugercube. She's been through worse, right?" Applejack forced a smile, even though she felt like breaking down herself. "Of course Applejack, I mean... She held off that awful character Sombra, I'm certain she will pull through!" Rarity chimed in with her best impression of optimism. "She has to! We are still here because she had to use that super magic shield thingy to protect us all and if she doesn't make it then how can we thank her for saving us!" Pinkie leaped in with tears streaming down her face. Fluttershy softly stepped up beside Cadence and knelt down beside Zer0. With a soft whimper, she laid her head on the princess' chest. Closing her eyes and listening. After a moment she stood back up and turned to her friends. "We really need to get everypony underground, and Cadence needs to be someplace cool... I mean... if.." "No Flutter, you're right. Don't do that second guessing thing now you hear?" Brick stepped forward. "Jack's gonna use that thing again, either that or send in his army of bots. We gotta get the survivors someplace safe, now." "Sound's like a plan to me, but what about our friends out there?" Applejack asked, filled with concern. "They will be alright. Axton knows what he's doing, and he has Maya." Zer0 added in to the conversation. "Aye, and they may not look like much but Krieg and Gaige can look after themselves. Trust me, I've seen em wreck it with the best!" Salvador chimed in with a cheer. "Not to mention, Mordy and Lil are survivalists. Isn't anything gonna stop them!" Brick shouted. "Well, sound's like everything should be alright then. Come on, I know a fast way underground..." Twilight felt what remained of her confidence drain as she trotted for the door. Last time she went there... it wasn't a pleasant experience... The three ponies and changeling watched as the beam charged. All four silent, two of them could figure what was about to happen. The other two could only watch in horrific amazement at the display of power. It wasn't until the sky split with thunder and screaming that everypony decided to stop watching and start acting. The four still watched as the beam impacted the shield, then watched as the explosion was repelled outward as the shield fell. "The buck was that!? How are we supposed to top THAT!?" Vinyl was the first to speak, although shout is the best way to put it. "Can that thing keep doing that!? Oh crap! We gotta find Octy and Criss and Care- er Carapace!" "VINYL!" Gaige slapped the dj pony across the face, snapping her back to reality. "Yes, we need to find them but panicing isn't going to help! Come on guys, let's get to searching!" Gaige began to trot in the direction they were heading, but stopped when she noticed two ponies not following. Or one pony and a changeling. She turned and saw Krieg pivoting his head around. "Everypony.... they need to go under... Gaige, go look for our friends. I need to warn everypony around." Krieg then shot through the hole he had crashed through only an hour ago. "Yes, and my child is out there somewhere. I am NOT leaving him out to die" Chrysalis was clear of her intentions, so much that Gaige just shrugged when she followed down Krieg's path. "Come on Vinyl, we gotta find our friends." Mordecai and Lilith were standing over an open cellar door guiding a small crowd of survivors into shelter. Crystal ponies cowered in fear as they were herded into the underground room. Mordecai had his doubts at the place holding up through a direct blast, but Lilith insisted in at least giving the ponies hope. She also needed them all clustered together if she was going to warp them all to safety, should it be needed. The last member of the group slowy trotted down the steps, Lil took a head count while Mordecai kept an eye on the sky. "Onyx, Saph, Ruby, Stone... Where is Sandy Stone?" Lilith shouted as she held a clipboard in one hoof. "I'm back here! Whats going on?" The pony in question responded with a shaky voice. "A very bad dude is... Well just being very bad in general, but everything is going to be alright. Me and my friends are going to kick his ass back into space and save everyone of you!" Lilith grinned and raised a hoof, forgetting she lacked hands for a thumbs up. Mordecai remained up top, taking a few moments extra to watch for stragglers who may have seen the group traveling. A few minutes passed and the hunter was about to climb down the cellar himself when... "Wooah! Get off my tail!" Mordecai recognized the spunky voice and turned back in time to see the rainbow hued pegasi bolting through the air with two Jet loaders following behind. The hunter sighed as he pulled his rifle off his back and took aim at the closest flier to his friend. With a flick of the trigger, the air exploded with sound and soon after the loader exploded in a burst of purple smoke. He watched Rainbow double take for a second at the noise but a whistling missile screaming past her shot her back into action. Mordecai took aim at the second loader, resting his hoof and ready to fire... "Cai! Whats going on out here!?" The hunter jerked his hand out as he took the shot, the bullet pierced the loaders's wing but barely damaged it otherwise. "LIL! I HAD THE SHOT!" Mordecai shouted as he raised the gun again, but the loader was out of sight. "Dammit! It was chasing Rainbow Lil... Wait there it is! Oh... crap..." The loader rounded a building at ground level and was charging the hunter and siren. Mordecai could see the front pods opening, Lilith however was standing tall before it. The siren pony began to glow with radiant blue light, ready to phase blast the incoming loader. Just as she was ready to blow, a rainbow pillar smashed down on the loader. A brilliant rainbow explosion expanded from the point of impact, causing both vault ponies to bunker down from the blast. "That's right, shield your eyes from the precense of PURE AWESOMENESS!" The brash pegasus boasted as she posed upon the smoking husk of the loader, wings flared and a cocky grin plastered on her face. Twilight led her friends and sister-in-law, carried on the back of the minuscule yet burly stallion Salvador, through the halls of the castle. Many pony survivors found their way to the castle hoping to find shelter. Twilight saw the masses gathering in the courtyard through a window, she assumed more found their way into the castle itself. Soon she found herself staring down the massive doors to the throne room, and remembering the last time the crystal empire was about to fall. She stepped into this very room, only this time instead of seeking way to defend the city... Now she was seeking refuge for the city. As the siren unicorn stepped into the throne room, her friends made to follow. Her hoof waved in the air to stop them. "No, not yet. I need to do something first. Salvador, just lay Cadence on the couch there then I need all of you to get everypony out there inside the castle" Twilight spoke as she approached the throne. The other ponies in the room all looked between each other and nodded. All except the slender stallion in the black jumpsuit. He stood still as everypony walked through, giving a silent nod towards Salvador and Brick. Twilight looked towards the assassin, her eyes filled with disapproval matched the cold black visor of the slender pony before her. She gave a defeated sigh at Zer0's stare as she turned to face the throne. "You may want to step to the side, I mean unless you enjoy long falls to your death" Twilight joked as she stared at the crystal above the throne. Zer0 stood still as Twilight braced herself. Interest grew within him as the her eyes glowed with dark purple fire. Her horn bubbled with dark power, the air grew dense with darkness from her spell. The dark beam shot from her horn and seemed to charge the crystal above the throne, casting a shadow across the room. The shadow quickly overlapped the floor towards the assassin, as it moved towards him he noted the floor disappearing beneath him. With an agile back flip, the assassin moved back to solid ground. Preparing to dodge again, Zer0 watched as the hole stopped right before his hooves. "Passage left over from Sombra's dark rule, only way to access it is with dark magic" Twilight explained with a feeling of dread in her voice. "It's where he hid the Crystal Heart so that no pony could end his rule. The path lead to the top of the tower, but I suspect there to be deep underground passages. It goes down several stories, and this room is only a few stories high. There should be ample room for everypony." "Suspect, should... You make a gamble, endangering everyone. death or death... tough choice..." Zer0 trotted softly towards the stairwell. The assassin kicked a stone from the top step down, then waited several moments before finally hearing the soft 'plink' below. Twilight sighed at the silent skepticism as the assassin's faceplate glowed red with three dots, as if he was waiting. She trotted over to the door to await the crowd of survivors coming.