//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: The Final Assault // Story: The Descendants // by Gherkin //------------------------------// It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr High above Ponyville, Equestria 24th May 1002 C.R. 10:43PM “Well shit, now I know we aren’t gonna go crashing to our fiery dooms, I think we might actually have a chance.” Nathan Drake chuckled. “I can’t believe you didn’t have faith in me before, Cole! I know how to fly a plane, and this is the same thing. Sorta.” They had commandeered one of the abandoned shuttles left behind at Sweet Apple Acres, and were now rapidly approaching the huge, overbearing First Civilization ship that dominated the skies above Ponyville. Not your typical flying saucer, huh? Cole thought to himself as they approached. The ship was an unusual shape, with giant protruding spires dotted around the exterior. “Madre di dio,” Ezio muttered, mouth agape as he stared at the monstrosity. “Where the hell are we going to land this thing?” “Over there,” Drake announced, pointing a hoof to an opening in the hull of the ship as they flew towards it. “Looks like some sort of hangar, or landing bay.” “Drake, are you sure that’s a good idea?” MacGrath asked, stepping towards him. “‘Out of the frying pan’ comes to mind.” Ezio shot him a quizzical look. “It’s an expression, okay?” he explained, waving a hoof and rolling his eyes. Goddamn, I keep forgetting he’s the type of guy you usually read about in school history books. “Don’t worry, I got this,” Nate assured him, waving him off. “Do we even know exactly how we’re going to stop all of this?” Marston wondered. “Looks like this thing’s one tough son of a bitch to take down.” “Come on, it can’t be too hard, right?” The pegasus pulled at the controls, gently steering the shuttle towards his destination. “We just get in, find the control room, and flip whatever kind of self-destruct switch or button they have in there. Simple.” “So let me get this straight. You’re planning this whole assault on the basis that this giant-ass ship,” Cole pointed outside towards it as they rapidly approached, “is a giant damn cliché?” “Hey, hasn’t everything else been one so far?” Nate reasoned. “I mean, come on, Appleloosa? Canterlot?" “Well, yeah, I guess you got a point there,” Cole admitted. “Still, have you even thought about how much resistance we’re gonna be facing?” “Come on, we'll be fine. We handled them back there perfectly well, didn’t we?” “Yeah, sure we did, but you did get blown up,” John reminded him. “After we crash landed horribly,” added Ezio. Nate rolled his eyes and smirked arrogantly. “Like any of those were our fault anyway,” he scoffed. "Trust me, so long as we move quick and keep cool, we'll do okay." "If you say so, hotshot," MacGrath said to him. "Just try not to crash land inside this hangar, alright?" "I'll try my hardest, sparky," the pegasus replied. "No promises though." "Wait, did you seriously just call me 'sparky'?" "Uh huh." Drake smirked again, but his expression quickly became more serious as he guided the shuttle on it's final approach. "Alright guys, here we go. Moment of truth." He cringed as he heard the radio built into the cabin of the shuttle burst into life, playing nothing but static for a moment before a deep, disembodied voice came through. "Shuttle B-42C, you are on final approach to land. State your intention." Everyone looked at Nate as he hesitantly switched on his headset. "Um, we've sustained heavy damage," he spoke, trying his best to mask his accent and higher pitched voice. "Coming in for repair." There was a brief moment of silence, before the voice came through again. "Repeat, B-42C? You seem to be breaking up, and we can't recognise your vocal tone." "Ah, crap," Nate muttered, before speaking into the headset again. "Shuttle has sustained heavy damage. Communications are fried. Coming in for repair." Silence again. Nate looked back at the three of his friends, who wore concerned expressions similar to his. The radio sprang to life again. "Very well. Proceed to land," came the voice, before shutting off again. "Ha ha," Nate chuckled, throwing away the headset and looking back again. "What did I tell ya, it worked!" He looked forwards as he brought the shuttle into the landing bay, and saw a large squad of wingless aliens, all armed, rushing towards where he planned to land. "Oh, shit." “Simple, huh?” Cole murmured sarcastically. “Ah, damn it, hold on!” Drake shouted, before pushing a lever forward. The shuttle shot forwards, barreling towards the group of aliens on a collision course. They noticed his intent, but far too late, as the ship crashed into them in a shower of shrapnel and twisted metal. “Per l'amor di dio, Drake! You’re fucking crazy!" Ezio shouted, drowned out by the screech of twisting metal. Groaning, he desperately gripped onto a guardrail as the shuttle bounced across the hangar and slammed violently into the far wall, finally coming to a stop. Peering out the window, Nate saw that he had managed to wipe out all but a few of the group that had come to ‘greet’ them. The rest were confused and disorganised, obviously lacking their commanding officer. Still watching, the pegasus saw one shout something into an earpiece, before looking up at the crashed shuttle. Drake ducked down quickly and turned to the rest of his friends. “Sorry about that,” he said, flapping his wings to make sure they weren’t broken again. “Everyone okay?” “I’m okay,” Marston said, while Cole nodded next to him, catching his breath. “A little warning next time would be nice.” “Sì, I’m fine,” Ezio told him, finally releasing his grip on the guardrail and muttering to himself, “Sto diventando troppo vecchio per queste stronzate." Nate took a quick peek outside again, before turning back to them. “Heads up, guys. There’s still a few of them left, and they’re on their way over here.” “How many are out there?” Cole asked, unsheathing the Amp from it’s holster on his backpack. “Four or five, I think. Bowled most of them over back there.” “God, again with the puns?” “Be quiet, I have a plan,” announced Ezio. “Find somewhere to hide, and we will ambush them. “We’re more or less evenly matched. These aren’t like the winged ones, they’re just grunts.” They nodded in agreement, and all hid to the side of the cabin door. Outside, they could hear the aliens banging on the hull. “It’s sealed! You, get this door open!” “I acknowledge.” There was a quiet thud as something was planted on the shuttle door. “Breaching!” They all ducked as the shuttle door blew open, sending smoke and pieces of shrapnel everywhere. Immediately, the group barged their way inside. They looked around, as one shouted, “Clear!” Turning to the cabin, they began to approach. “Everyone ready?” Nate whispered quietly, looking around. His friends nodded. “Okay then, let’s do it.” A few seconds later, the first of the squad entered the cabin. Reacting immediately, Drake reached round, grabbing it and slamming it’s head into the wall, knocking it out instantly. Before the rest could react, the other three acted, leaping out from their hiding places and towards the squad. Ezio leapt onto one, jamming his hidden blade into it’s neck before it could put up a fight, while Cole slid underneath another, knocking it into the air before batting it away with his Amp. John hit the last with a brutal right hook, before shoving it’s head back into the wall. It slumped to the floor, unmoving. “Well, that was easy,” Drake muttered, brushing himself off. Looking towards him, Ezio replied. “Maybe, but there will be more on the way, surely. We should get moving.” “Hold on a sec, we don’t even know where we’re going,” Cole interrupted, trotting back into the cabin. “Give me a minute, maybe there’s schematics or something on the on-board computer here.” He pressed a few buttons on the console and a monitor sprung to life, displaying the schematics for the shuttle they were in, albeit in a much better condition. “No, that’s not what we want,” he murmured, pressing a few different buttons. The image on the screen changed to that of a layout the alien mothership. “Hmm.” MacGrath studied the screen for a few moments, while his friends looked over his shoulder. “Here we go.” He pointed a hoof at a small line on the screen. “Looks like a pretty open ventilation shaft. Should take us right up to the bridge.” “Ventilation shaft? Really?” Nate moaned as they made their way out of the shuttle and into the hangar bay. “You gotta be kidding me.” Marston rolled his eyes. “I ain’t fond of the idea either, but you ain’t hearing me complain about it. Besides, it’s a hell of a lot easier than trying to take on every one of those damn things on our way up there, ain’t it?” Cole led them swiftly across towards the opposite side of the hangar. “Here we go,” he announced, using the Amp to pry the grate from the vent itself. “Doesn’t look too bad, does it?” The vent was of moderate size, and was certainly able to fit the four of them, so long as they crouched down. In the distance, they could hear shouting and alarms blazing, so they hurried inside. “Everyone okay?” Ezio asked from the front of the group, glancing backwards as Cole slid the grate back over the vent opening. “We should hurry, I’d rather not be stuck in here for long.” “Yeah, ‘specially since the only thing I can smell in here is your goddamn tail, Marston,” Cole complained, as they began to crawl. “Seriously, when did you last wash that thing?” “Do you really think, with all this runnin' around we've doing, that I’ve had time to wash my damn tail?” the gunslinger rebutted. “Shit, I’m still getting used to having a tail in the first place.” "Will you all shut up!" Ezio hissed, glaring back at them as he shuffled forwards. "They're bound to be looking for us back there right now, and I don't need you two arguing drawing attention to us!" They all went silent as they heard one of the aliens shouting back in the hangar bay. "They're not in here!” Another brief silence. "I’m telling you, they’re nowhere to be found! We’ve searched the entire hangar!” The four of them held their breath as they waited for the alien to continue once more. “Perform a scan for unidentified life forms in every room and corridor of this ship. They can't have gotten far." "We should move," Ezio muttered, trying his best to shuffle forward at a faster pace without making too much noise. “Let’s hope that scan of theirs doesn’t cover the air vents.” They remained in silence for a few minutes as they continued onwards, the only sound breaking the silence being their hushed breathing and the light clip of their hooves on the floor of the vent. It was Nate who broke the extended silence. A smirk on his face, he murmured aloud, "Huh, now I know what a TV dinner feels like." "Oh, for the love of Christ," Cole groaned, closing his eyes and raising a hoof to his face. "I swear to God..." "How long is this vent supposed to be anyway, MacGrath?" John asked quietly, distracting the conduit from his annoyance. "Shouldn't be too far now," Cole answered. "This opens up into a larger chamber, where there'll be a ladder we can climb up to get to the bridge." He looked up and past Marston. "You see any light yet, Ezio?" he called out. "Not yet," the assassin whispered back to him. "Though there is a slight curve up ahead. I might see it then." MacGrath nodded. "Yeah, there's a curve just before, I remember. We're getting close." He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Should be smooth sailing from here on in." "Watch yourself," Marston warned jokingly. "You're starting to sound awfully like Drake." "Jesus, give me a break," Nate complained, eliciting a light chuckle from the gunslinger. "It's a bit of a tight squeeze," Ezio told them as they reached the curve in the vent. "Just a warning." Drake coughed and inched forward behind the assassin. "Shit, can't be any worse than it already is." "We really need to teach you something about tempting fate," Cole thought aloud, to the pegasus' chagrin. Finally, with relieved sighs and stretched legs, they emerged into the large, vertical chamber. Looking upwards, Cole noted that they had a very long way to climb, even by his standards. John and Ezio followed his gaze, and soon groaned at the sight they saw. Sighing, the three of them made their way towards a nearby ladder and began to climb. “Heh, yeah, you guys have fun with that,” Nate taunted, flashing a cocky grin and flapping his wings. He took to the air, casually floating beside the three stallions as they slowly began to ascend. “So, you guys having fun over there?” “Can it, Drake,” Cole warned the pegasus, glaring over his shoulder as he climbed. “Or I’ll zap you out of the air in an instant.” He grunted, gripping a front hoof onto the next rung of the ladder. “How far up do we gotta go anyway?” Marston asked, panting for breath. “I ain’t used to this kind of thing. Shit, you fellas don’t even need a ladder.” Slipping slightly, he cursed as his signature hat fell from his head. Thankfully, Nate swooped down and caught it in his hooves. Smirking, the pegasus put it on his head and floated back up towards him. “Goddamnit, you better give that back when we get out of here,” the gunslinger warned threateningly. “We’re near the front of the ship, I think,” MacGrath informed him. “The bridge shouldn’t be too far up. We just get up there, take out anyone unfortunate enough to be there, activate a self-destruct-” “And if there is no self-destruct?” Marston interrupted. “Then we just set a crash course for somewhere rural, away from any towns,” Cole answered. “Then, we run like hell back to an escape pod or something, and get the hell off this thing.” “There are so many things that could go wrong with this,” grumbled Ezio, hauling himself upwards on the ladder. They fell silent once again, pulling themselves up the ladder while a bored Nate effortlessly followed them in the air. This was soon interrupted, however, by a deep rumbling that came from somewhere above. “Uh, what is that?” Ezio asked tentatively, casting a quick glance upwards. “I haven’t the faintest idea,” Drake murmured, squinting as he craned his neck. His heart sank as he noticed something descending towards them. Suddenly, it dawned on him. Oh, you have got to be kidding me. “Cole, how the hell did you not realise this was an elevator shaft?!” “What?” MacGrath followed Drake’s gaze. “Oh, come on, you’re shittin’ me.” He pulled himself upwards once again, pointing towards an alcove just above them. “Nate, that’s the way out of here! Get it open! The rest of you, hurry the hell up!” “On it!” With a mock salute, Nathan promptly flew up to the doors in the alcove and wedged them open. Thankfully, they did so without much hassle. The three of them hastily climbed into the alcove and dusted themselves off just as the elevator shot past them. Shooting a glare towards the pegasus, Marston slapped him on the back of the head lightly before retrieving his hat. Peeking round the corner, Ezio spied a solitary guard, one of the winged ‘alicorn’ creatures, stationed outside what must have been the door to the bridge. Turning back to his comrades, he raised a hoof to his lips to signal silence, and ordered them to get behind him. Once they had obliged, he whistled loudly. Down the hallway, the guard looked up, hearing the unknown noise. Deciding to investigate, it turned and started to walk towards its source, which seemed to be the door to the elevator. It had almost reached it when a hooded stallion darted round the corner, covering its muzzle with a hoof while jamming something into its chest before it could get a chance to react. Life rapidly draining away, the creature could do nothing as they stallion dragged him around the corner and, having checked to make sure that the elevator was no longer above them, dropped its body down into the shaft. “Was that the only guard?” Nate asked as they quietly but swiftly made their way down the hallway towards the door of the bridge. Ezio nodded silently as the took cover on either side of the door. Turning to them, he said, in a hushed voice, “Alright, here’s the plan. Marston and I will handle any of them on our side of the room. Nate, Cole, you handle any on your side. Once they’re all dead, we’ll figure out a way to bring this figlio di puttana down to the ground.” “We got you,” Nate acknowledged, before looking at Cole, whose hoof was alright crackling with electricity. The pegasus nodded towards the door. “Open it.” There was a loud pop, and sparks flew everywhere, as the doors to the bridge slid open. Wasting no time mounting their assault, the four stallions charged in, guns at the ready. They counted about six or seven inside, including what looked to be the captain, wheeling around to face the commotion that they had caused. Heh, must have all the security somewhere else, Cole thought. No doubt still looking for us. In an instant, Nate and John had already gunned down four of the monsters, showering the command console with bullets in the process. Meanwhile, Ezio leapt onto another and stabbed him, subsequently, throwing a small knife at another one across the room. That left the captain, who could propelled into the air with a shockwave before smashing it into a wall with his Amp. “Take that, you son of a bitch,” Cole muttered, as John put a bullet in its head to put it down for good. Before they could celebrate, however, the entire ship started to shake and rumble. Alarms began to blare, and a mechanized voice come through over the intercom. “Alert. Alert. Commanding officer has been terminated. Repeat. Commanding officer KIA. Activating self-destruct protocol.” “Oh, well that was easy,” Drake commented, smiling. “We better get out of here, quick.” “No, wait a second,” Cole called out to him as he began to turn around. “What? What is it?” Come on, we gotta go!” “Just shut up and read this, will you?” the conduit shouted, beckoning Drake towards the screen he was looking at. “Ship estimated to detonate at force of five hundred thousand kilotons!” “Oh shit,” Nate breathed, going pale slightly. “That... that’d be a fucking nuclear holocaust.” He went paler as another realisation dawned on him. “One of us is gonna have to stay behind, get this thing away from the ground.” “Right.” Cole took a deep breath, before turning around quickly, pushing the three of them back with a shockwave and throwing up an electrical shield. “And since you fried the console, someone’s gonna have to stick around to give it some juice.” “Cole!” Ezio screamed. “What the fuck are you doing?” “Saving the ponies we’ve been fighting for the whole time! Doing what we came here to do!” he called out, before turning his back to them. “Now go! I need to get this thing as far up as soon as possible! Please, for the love of God, run!” They stayed there for a brief moment, pleading looks on their faces, before realising he had made his choice. They bid their last farewells, before turning tail and running for their lives. Sighing solemnly, MacGrath jammed the doors shut before gripping the console with his hooves, sparking with electricity. He thought of Twilight and her friends, desperately surviving in the warzone below. He thought of his newfound allies, desperately running for their lives through the armada of, no doubt panicked, alien creatures. Most of all, though, he thought of Zeke, Kuo, Trish, and all the others that he had left behind, but who he hoped would meet again. Goodbye. *** Appleloosa Ten minutes later... “Darn it, there’s too many of ‘em!” Braeburn shouted, ducking behind a wooden cart just as a dozen bolts of magic came flying his way, impacting the cart and sending dozens of sharp splinters into the air. “Guess I was right, huh?” Sheriff Silverstar said grimly, taking cover next to him. “Guess it was just the first wave.” The beige cowpony gripped onto his hat as the hordes of monsters advanced on their exposed position. He didn’t want to admit it, but this could be it. The end. The town had fought valiantly, and to the last mare and stallion, but they had been, slowly but surely, overrun. He clenched his eyes shut as the monsters shrieked once again, barreling towards him. Oh, sweet Celestia, this is it! Braeburn's eyes jerked open as a flash of light flashed across the sky. Almost immediately, all of the invading monsters stopped and dropped dead. Nothing but mindless husks, he thought. Connected to some sorta hive mind in their ship, I'll bet. Looking upwards, he saw a giant fireball, high above the clouds, and, in that moment, he knew they had won. "Are... are they dead?" Silverstar asked tentatively, peering over the overturned cart. "Yeah," Braeburn answered, breathing a sigh of relief as he stared up at the exploding ship. "I think we beat 'em."