Zaephir pulled his spear back, crouching behind Thomas' shield as the devouerers fell on the fallen. He wished he'd been able to pull more of his kin into the fight, zebras were always better in a group. Each of the attacking creatures was bigger, better armored, and stronger than they had been when the battle started. A few had grown an extra set of forelimbs and were clawing aside shields and parrying attacks.
"If this keeps going, I've little doubt, this battle will end in our complete rout."
Reggie grimaced as he touched the long wound where a devouerer claw had taken his left eye, tracing down to where it cracked his beak slightly. "Are you always this cheerful when you're about to die?" He ruffled his wings and reloaded a crossbow.
"My father would pray for holy spirits to sing us to our eternal rest." Thomas huffed, bashing a creature back with his shield and smacking it with a morning star for good measure. The minotaur swung again and took a large chunk of a creatures skull out.
"What would you do?" Red asked, raking a pair of claw like blades down the side of a devouerer.
"I would pray the spirits play for these things first."
"Ha!" Red barked, "That's a good one! I'll have to... hey, do you hear that?"
"If you are hearing spirits, keep it to yourself," Reggie said.
"No," Red said, perking up her ears and turning her head. "It's more like wheels and a hum and-"
"YOU ABOMINATIONS WANT A PIECE OF THIS?!!!"
The devouerers fell away as a cart packed full of electronics came barreling down the hill. On top was a grey earth pony leaning on a post and holding a bow. She drew the bow across the post and-
WaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
A single low note slammed into the side of the devouerer line and lifted it like tumbleweeds in a tornado. The cart rolled to a stop in front of Thomas and Octavia looked down at them.
"Well, don't just sit there! I can't aim this thing and play!"
Reggie laughed and ran up to the cart, leaning hard on the harness supports to spin the auditory weapon towards the bulk of the enemy.
"For glory! For friendship! FOR VINYL!!"
Red clasped her claws over her ears as wave after wave of sound started to push back the enemy line. Zaephir just grinned. They might just win this after all.
Starlight grinned at the confused monsters milling about, glad her little plan was working. Instead of letting them back her deeper into enemy lines or wear her out running in circles while they kept growing from her kills, she was simply staying put. Four dead devouerers lay in a single pile at her hooves, and she was going to make it an even ten before they brought her down if she could help it. With any luck, a unicorn magic attack or a pegasus with more of those bombs would hit the pile before it got eaten. Maybe I can stack the corpses high enough that the pink pony can get them with her cannon.
The way she was currently situated the dead piled together kept the monsters from swarming her. To survive long enough to get to her, the monsters needed to be bigger than they were. To get bigger, they needed to eat from the ones she had slain. As one tried to crawl forward and take a bite of a fallen creature, Startlight leapt off the pile and drove her short dagger into its spine. She swung her blades wildly to hold back the otheres while she bucked the still dying body onto the pile.
Star jumped back on top of the pile, glaring at the monsters and daring any to try their luck. The red beam flashed by overhead, reminding her that the alien general hadn't forgotten about her. I'm probably pissing him off.
The beam flashed twice more, in rapid succession, and was then followed by a loud boom. A new type of weapon?
One of the devouerers took advantage of her diverted attention and pounced on the pile of corpses. Star readied her blade and aimed for the killing blow.
With a resounding thud and a sickening crack, a pony landed on top of the helpless little spawn, crushing it under hoof and leaving it a gooey mess on the battlefield. The pony was a unicorn, not pegasi, but had just dropped from the sky like a ton of bricks. The steel plate had to be an inch thick, but it shifted and moved fluidly with a whir and a hiss. Four spears held in glowing magic danced around the newcomer, trailing ribbons of blood as a half dozen more devouerers fell.
Star marveled at the deep black armor, etched in glowing lines and letters of magic. Some of it hurt to look at, like it was twisting something in her brain. As alien as the armor appeared, there was something familiar about it.
"Lance?" Star asked.
The pony grabbed her and jumped. Some magical force detonated under them, and they rocketed skyward like a cannon shell, arcing overhead before slamming into the ground behind friendly lines. Only then did he let her go.
"Stay here," he said, his voice heavily distorted by the helmet. "Don't move."
"What? Lance, what are you-"
"I need to go fight. Stay here and wait for me." He turned to leap away.
"Dammit, Lance, where have you been? I've been worried sick!" She grabbed him, turning him around and pulling the helmet off. "What do you mean stay...what.... why are you..."
Lance looked at her, grimacing. His face had a network of scars, his left ear was gone, blue and red lines seemed either painted or carved into his flesh. Dark green smoke seeped from his eyes, and when he blinked his right eye it took a moment for all three pupils to stop moving.
"Lance, what have you done to yourself??"
"What I had to do. What I needed to do." He turned from her. "I took Sombra's path, I walked in dark places to defend the light."
"But Sombra-"
"The dark king was seduced by his own power because he didn't have any reason to return to the light. That is why I need you to stay here. To stay safe." He pulled the helmet back on. "So I have something to come back to."
He jumped into the air, and Star watched him go, wondering how the bumbling paranoid guard from not so long ago had become so foolish and so brave.
"What do ya mean ya can't enchant the bolts?" Apple Bloom demanded of Bright Bolt, one of the unicorn students who had come to assist with the ballista.
"If you wanted the bolts to be sturdier or give them armor piercing enchantments, then they need to meet certain prerequisites. Anything more than that is pushing into theoretical."
"How hard can it be to make the bolts explode?" Scootaloo asked.
"Explode? Easy," Bright Bolt replied with a wave of his hoof. "Explode when you want them too, that is a lot more difficult. Anything I charge is likely to blow when you try to fire it."
"Well, can't ya at least make the big crossbow set fire ta the bolts when we launch 'em?" Apple Bloom pleaded.
"You can't do that now!" Button Mash cried out, pausing from dragging a bolt into place. "The weapon has to be Masterwork to start with and then you need at least a +1 modifier before you can add the Flaming special ability-"
Sweetie Bell smacked him. "This isn't Ponies and Castles, Button!" she yelled. "Pick up the bolt and MOVE!"
"He's not far off," Bright Bolt said. "Enchanting a weapon to confer magic onto fired ammunition requires strict control of materials and manufacture."
"Well, if ya can't enchant the bolts ta explode or get through those stupid guards and ya can't make the big bow any better, what in the name of my aunt Fanny are ya doin' here?!" Apple Bloom yelled.
"Oh, I came to drop off malfunctioning spears our graduating class failed to enchant properly," Bright Bolt said, pointing to roughly three dozen spears strapped to his back. "We tried to imbue them with low level elemental abilities, but we failed."
"You are bringing us broken equipment?!" Scootaloo screamed. "What do you want us to-"
Apple Bloom shoved a hoof in Scootaloo's mouth. "Failed how?" she asked, one eyebrow raised.
Bright Bolt picked up one spear and turned it over. "This one was supposed to let out an electrical shock when it hit a target, to stun them. Thirty shocks to a charge, and we can recharge it easy," he said. "But I think Volt Amp, the pony who made it, forgot the regulator spell. I'd be surprised if it didn't drop all thirty charges into the first creature it hits."
Scootaloo's eyes went wide with possibility. Apple Bloom chucked and put a hoof on Bright Bolt's side. "Partner, my friends and you are about to have a lot of fun."
They were out of cakes. They were out of pies. Two of the catapults had suffered serious malfunction and would not fire again. Even the party cannon was showing cracks. All of these things were meant as novelty items, they should never have seen combat.
Mr. Cake tore a wheel from one of the broken catapults and dragged it back to his own, using it to replace the broken crank wheel. The local hoofball team was piling up stones, anything larger than a pony's head. An impressive twang was heard as another of the larger beasts fell to the Crusaders's ballista.
Children are fighting he thought, working hard to get the wheel on. Children! Right behind the front lines. He glanced over and saw that little orange pegasus and white unicorn, and in them saw his own children sitting at home, waiting for him to return. If the front lines fell, those children would be devoured.
If the line fell, his own children would be next.
Finishing his repairs, he wound the catapult as his wife wearily loaded it. The catapult lurched and three more monsters were crushed by rocks.
The line will hold, he swore. As long as I have so much as a pastry knife and my life, It. Will. Hold!
Luna's focus was split three ways as she watched the battlefield. The first part was a simple process of shifting and powering an energy shield that held many of the monsters at bay. It did not stop them for there were too many spread over too large an area, but it slowed them so the front lines were not completely overwhelmed. The second part of her mind focused on tactics, tracking the rise and fall of combat and directing the incoming guard units to the best places. These duties she shared with her sister, who was likewise directing the battle and defending the front. Both had, on occasion, pulled power from the shield to strike at a larger enemy with a magical blast. For the most part, they killed with blade and spear, leaving the magical blasts to the other unicorns.
The last part of Luna's mind was on the contingency plan. She and her sister each controlled a stellar body, and with each came the ability to unleash incredible power. Celestia called her ability the Solar Lance, the ability to call down a fraction of the sun to destroy her foes. It was a weapon of last resort, and in her long life Luna had only seen the lance used once while she was imprisoned in the moon. But drawing down that power was flashy, and it would have painted a giant target on Celestia. Luna's ability was a little more subtle, she did not need the entire moon, only the smallest sliver of it. Even better, her Star Fall could be set up in advance. As it was, the Star Fall would hit between the battlefield and Ponyville in a little over two hours.
If the battle went well, it would take but a moment to push the stone off into space and back to her moon. If she fell, then the Star Fall fell with her. Princess Luna knew it would probably take Ponyville and much of the countryside with her, but such a quick death might be preferable to suffering at the hands of a madman. Besides, the spot Celestia had hit so long ago was starting to recover.
In another two hundred years the badlands might even be habitable again.
Celestia's sword cut a beast off at the ankles, and her shield pushed them back while the minotaurs took a short rest and tended to their wounds. Things were not going well. The eastern flank had been successfully defended, and where she and Luna stood was definitely fairing better, but there were just too many of the damned things. Luna had proposed a strike at the leader, but after the wedding and her failure to defeat Chrysalis, Celestia was uncertain of her ability to defend her ponies. For now, she and Luna were restricted to shielding the front lines and allowing the wounded to retreat.
We have cut the enemy numbers in half, she thought, and we are still outnumbered nearly two to one. Many of the monsters now on the front lines had reached truly monstrous proportions from feasting on the dead. A few even towering over the minotaurs.
Worse still, she could see at least another two or three dozen gathering beyond the tree line. They were mustering together, waiting for some unknown sign to charge forth. She did not know if their lines could take a charge. She wasn't sure it could take much more of the assault it had already sustained. Luna turned and looked at her sister sadly before stepping back and closing her eyes.
She knew they could beat this monster and his army. They had power over the sun and the moon for Faust's sake, it would be next to nothing to call that power down. A small Star Fall from Luna or a Solar Lance from her would wipe the battlefield clean. That was of course the problem. These solutions were not tactical weapons. Pulling at even the smallest fraction of their abilities would be devastating for everything for miles around. She had done it before once, long long ago. Luna was doubtlessly calling upon her own power to line up a Star Fall.
Something in the battle shifted, the demons assailing them pulled back slightly. Ponies and others readied their defenses. The charge came, and Celestia pushed as much power into her shield as she dared. "Soldiers!! HOLD!!!" she cried, trying to instill bravery by sheer force of will. The red light flashed across her shield once and she winced from the strain of holding it up.
The light flashed twice more, but this time it didn't touch her shield. In fact, it didn't seem to touch any shield. Celestia looked up to see twenty fiery green meteors streaking out of the sky towards the oncoming army. She cast a glance to Luna, fearing her sister had struck too early, but Luna appears as confused as she was. The blast threw the oncoming charge into disarray, halting it and granting hope to the defenders.
The hope vanished as the smoke cleared. Not a single devouerer had been killed. The reinforcements swarmed together into a wave of teeth and claws, readied for a charge.
And then turned on one another.
"I- they- what?" Luna asked.
"Ah," a buzzing female voice said nearby."Your majesties."
Luna turned to see Celestia caught completely by surprise as an alicorn sized insectoid pony landed next to her. Queen Chrysalis bowed low. "I wish to discuss potential trade, as well as payment for mercenary services." The queen stood and grinned. "Once the battle is over, of course. My disguised soldiers will stay away from the front lines, so feel free to swing away."
Applejack blinked unbelieving at the front line. "Is- is that Queen Chrysalis?"
Rarity nodded slowly. "Yes dear, I'm fairly sure it is."
Twilight closed her eyes. "Okay, this is officially the strangest day of my life, and I've fought Discord."
Fluttershy nodded at that. Everypony seemed speechless at the development.
"Can we attack now?" Dash demanded.
Well, almost everypony.
"He's too far from the front lines!" Twilight said with a huff.
"Nuh, uh. I could hit him with a Sonic Rainboom! Like I did to Applejack's barn that one time."
"What one time?" Pinkie asked.
"Ya know," Rainbow said, "The day Twilight, um, cast the spell on the doll-"
"We don't talk about that day," Twilight hissed under her breath.
"COME ON!" Rainbow Dash said. "I never thought I would say this but there is a massive battle going on right in front of us and I am bored out of my skull!"
"You know-" Twilight started.
"WE KNOW!" her five friends shouted in unison.
"I understand why you don't want me to hit him with a Sonic Rainboom. If- IF he survives, I'll be a sitting duck." Rainbow gripped. "But you don't want me up with the weather team because of that red beam thing. That's my weather team putting their wings on the line Twi, and I can't be with them!"
"Ah know what ya mean," Applejack said, putting a hoof on Rainbow's back. "Almost my whole family are on the front lines, and Twi won't let me stand with them."
"Not to mention Applejack's sister and mine are over there with that amazing contraption," Rarity put in.
"WE CAN NOT RISK ANY OF YOU!" Twilight screamed. "If we want to use the Elements, we need all of you safe and sound. We can't get close enough right now to use the Elements on him without risking us to all those monsters. If I thought we could pull it off I'd have us circle around and try and hit him from behind, but he keeps calling more and more of those monsters from the woods."
"Come ooooooooon, Twilight," Pinkie moaned. "Can't we at least use the Elements on the army? I bet we could blast a line right to the bad guy!"
"We do that and we lose any element of surprise," Twilight said, waving a hoof at the mess the battlefield had become. "And I think that Chrysalis has just shown how powerful that element is."
Octavia crouched behind the cart, digging through the supplies and taking a short respite as the monsters attacked each other for a change. Her rough handling of Vinyl's gift had nearly broken her bow, and the strings on the bass were already becoming worn. They were just the cheap strings it had been sold with, not the kind of quality she would usually insist on.
Thomas slouched next to her, reaching out to tie a strip of cloth around a cut on her shoulder. The last charge had nearly destroyed them when Red's defensive actions accidentally pulled the audio cable connecting the mixer to the cannon. Zaephir and Red had left for medical attention, leaving only her, Reggie, and Thomas in an advanced position.
"How's the music maker?" Reggie asked, double checking the connections.
"If we have to fire this thing more than a dozen more times, I fear we may have to resort to singing." Thomas replied
"We could try beat-boxing," Reggie suggested.
Octavia shook her head. "Thomas is the only one with a deep enough voice for it, and we need him on defense."
The cart shook and shifted.
"Did somepony call for a band?"
Octavia looked up. Perched on top of her cart were six changelings, each carrying an instrument and parts of a drum kit. One appeared to be less than thrilled to be there.
"This is a job for warriors! Not infiltrators, and certainly not musicians," he said, shrugging off the drums and his bass guitar.
Two others smacked him in the back of the head.
"You will play," they said in eerie unison. "Or we will feed you to the enemy. Tail first. Slowly."
"What are you doing out here?" Octavia asked as the band began connecting their instruments and tuning them up.
"Well, somepony was pretty insistent we get out here," Pio said, pointing back towards the friendly line. Octavia looked and was surprised to see two pegasi air lifting another pony out to them.
A certain white unicorn.
"VINYL!" Octavia yelled, running over to the DJ as she landed. She had white bandages wrapped around her barrel and was a little unstable walking. "What are you doing out here? You're hurt, you should be-"
"Tavi, you are a bucking great musician," Vinyl said, hugging her friend. "But you can't work a mixer to save your flank, and if you think I'm missing out on this you are out of your mind. I am about to become Equestria's first and only Combat DJ!"
"Ms. Scratch," one of the pegasi addressed her, "I must insist you return to the medics and rest. You are in no condition to be out here."
"Yeah, yeah," the DJ huffed. "You've been saying that since I bullied you two into carrying me."
"Yes, but I'm required to try one last time. Are you sure I can't get you to return?"
"No!"
"Right then." The nurse pegasi turned to each other. "You tend to the minotaur, I'll realign the speakers." The other grinned and nodded.
"What the-" Octavia stated.
"Front row seats to DJ Pon3, Octavia Melody, and a changeling band rocking a battlefield?" the nurse asked with a grin. "Enraged Ursa's couldn't drag us away!"
Lance danced back and forth as he eyed the massive spawn before him. He'd realized his error in leaving the large pile of corpses Starlight had made unattended. This thing looked like a bear and a dragon had a blind baby and spent the first few years of its life whaling on it with the ugly stick. It was better armored and bigger than almost anything else on the battlefield save those two bodyguards. The only reason the thing hadn't landed a serious blow on lance yet was the way it telegraphed every attack. Even still, it was armored enough that Lance was having trouble lining up a vital strike.
The smaller spawn couldn't bite through his armor, and he could kick hard enough to drop one in a shot, but they were still annoying. It came to him that he was now trapped similar to how Star had been. The beast before him could not be easily slain, while the ones around him could be killed like flies. If he tried to focus on the large beast the smaller ones would swarm him and drag him down. If he tried to clear back the small ones, the large one could line up a strong attack. If he killed too many of the little ones and didn't defend their bodies he'd soon be facing two or three of the massive beasts at once.
The red beam flashed overhead, and something going very fast flickered past his peripheral vision. He spun to face the attacker, only to watch in awe as a line of smaller spawn fell, their throats and chests cut wide open. A gurgle drew his attention back to the largest spawn, and he watched it topple over, grasping at the hoof sized hole ripped in its massive throat.
Starlight stood over her kill, stripped of all armor save a simple breast plate. Bloodied blades lined the edge of her wings, and a pair of gryphon war talons were strapped and buckled to her fore-hooves.
"Starlight! What are you-"
She pounced forward, hooking his collar with her talons and pulling him close. She pulled up the face-plate and kissed him hard on the mouth.
"You ever tell me to sit still and wait while you go off to fight and die again, and you won't be able to build an armor thick enough to save you from my wrath," she growled.
"What? You- I-"
She pushed the plate closed and moved to stand back to back to him. "And don't think this counts. I want a real ring and an honest, on the knee proposal when this is over."
"WE COULD DIE OUT HERE!"
She flared her wings and raised her talons against the monsters. "You do," she said with a viscous smirk, "and I'll kill you,"
The fighting came to a sudden stop, almost every spawn freezing in place. Most of them dropped to their bellies, leaving roughly two dozen looking around confused.
Celestia looked over the suddenly still battlefield with a worried expression. Starlight and Lance looked cautiously at a medium sized spawn before them. A moment ago it had been trying to rip their faces off. Now it was lying flat on the ground like a trained puppy.
Twilight watched as Pio and the band started to scramble down behind the cart, dragging Octavia, Reggie and Red with them. "What are they-"
"DOWN!" Luna yelled in her Canterlot Voice as she raised her shields to full power. Three bright red beams arced across the whole field, and a sickening smell of cooked meat filled the air.
Thomas clutched at his left foot, severed clean through just above the ankle. His shield had taken most of the other two beams, but it broke in three when he dropped it to the ground. The speakers started to spark and hiss as damaged electronics caught fire.
Starlight pulled away from Lance, and gasped at the three deep cuts that scarred his armor. He staggered, and blood leaked from the face-plate.
Changelings lay scattered over the battlefield. Some lucky ones were only maimed, missing a wing or a leg. Many were missing a head or had been cut in half. Those that could were limping away, dragging their friends with them. One was talking encouragingly to another he was dragging, oblivious to the fact that his limp partner stopped half way down, and his guts were dragging behind them.
"There we are," the raider said, grinning at the carnage he had unleashed. "Much less confusing."
The few changelings still walking made it back behind friendly lines, and Fluttershy was there with the rest of the medics, wrapping and bandaging as best she could. Chrysalis glared across the battlefield with a cold hatred in her eyes. Red and Pio pushed on the music cart, while everyone else pulled, dragging the damaged equipment off the field. Starlight supported Lance as best she could in his heavy armor, trying not to think about the amount of blood he was leaving with each step.
"Well, that was a nice rest," James said, waving his hands. As one, his army rose. Many began to turn and eat those who had fallen. There was a certain snapping crunch mixed in with the meatier chewing as the changelings were eaten as well. "Now, you have a choice. You can surrender, in which case I promise to only kill one in every ten of you, or you can keep fighting, and I'll make this place your grave."
Twilight turned to look at her friends, each worn and weary. Rainbow Dash was talking encouragingly to a pegasus who was missing a wing and most of their right foreleg. She had long since stripped off what little armor she had, trying to be faster at delivering supplies or recovering wounded. Rarity's armor was gone, the layers of cloth having been cut away to make bandages for the wounded. She and Fluttershy were tending to several creatures nearby, and Twilight watching in sorrow as Fluttershy used her wing to close a gryphons eyes for the last time. Pinkie's hair was straight, and there was a far off look in her eye that worried Twilight. Applejack was doing her best to rally any troop near to her, calling out to her family to stand strong. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were busy keeping a gryphon and Queen Chrysaliss from killing each other. The gryphon wanted to surrender and Queen Crysaliss wanted vengeance for her fallen.
"Well?" the raider yelled, his mocking tone grating on the army. "I'm waiting! Tell you what, I'll even be generous. You can choose who I kill."
"How can any creature be so cruel?" Fluttershy whispered, tears shining on her cheeks.
"I'll give you to the count of three!" He yelled.
"ONE!"
"TWO"
A massive red dragon landed on the western side of the field. A small white dot fell from its massive claws and hopped quickly over to where Fluttershy stood stunned. Angel came to a stop in front of the bearer of Kindness and bowed.
"You brought a dragon?" James asked, staring at the massive beast without comprehension.
The dragon fell on all fours, crushing half dozen of the spawn under claw as it positioned itself. The invading army began to retreat in a large swarming mass as the dragon took a long deep breath.
"YOU BROUGHT A FUCKING DRAGON!!" James screamed.
And turned a third of the battlefield into an inferno. Spawn burned as they ran, twisting and falling. Smoke rolled up from corpses reduced to cooked meat. Some of the spawn closest to the dragon were little more than bone and ash.
The great beast sat back on its haunches, taking a few slow deep breaths as a hush rolled over the blackened battlefield.
Clap
Clap
Clap
The weather pegasi, using this opportunity to move some of the storm clouds closer, blew away the smoke. A massive shell of bone and meat stood at the far end of the field. Behind it the raider was clapping slowly, completely unscathed by the blast.
The damn raider was clapping! He stood there applauding the destruction of his own forces in such a fashion.
"Amazing," he exclaimed, sounding genuinely thrilled. "That was fantastic! I have to say, that was truly a masterful show of force. Well done."
"Still," his right arm came up, the red light emitter folding back and away as the arm seemed to expand outwards. There was a sound like a sonic rainboom, and the dragon lurched backwards. A deep bloody wound like a crater formed his left breast, showering blood and scales over the battlefield.
The dragon roared and reared up to retaliate, and the red light slashed across his eyes blinding him.
"Now now, no more of that fiery nonsense," James' voice called out, his voice echoing from several locations at once. The dragon swung his head back and forth trying to pinpoint the source. "Not unless you want to cook your little friends as well." The raider grinned. "Actually, that's not a bad idea at all."
James touched one hand to the wall of meat and bone that had shielded him. The mass of flesh squirmed and stretched, it shifted and drew in pieces of other creatures who had fallen nearby. Soon its shape became apparent, a mockery of the dragon who had come so close to winning the battle. Like the spawn it had no eyes, but unlike them it had massive wings and was easily a quarter the size of the dragon itself.
"This has been fun, really it has. But it is time to say goodbye," the raider said, waggling his fingers and grinning at the ponies. "Bye bye now!"
The great spawn took a deep breath, the scales under its chest starting to glow with deadly power.
Then there was a loud bang the top of its head exploded, showering blood and brains over the army. It staggered once, then fell.
With great care, its attacker pulled a metal fist from the remnants of its skull and stood.
Sarah Jordan had arrived.