Chapter 12: The Battle of Everfree
Applejack stood ready, prepared to lead the charge against the invaders. They were scared and outnumbered, but they had the advantage of knowledge. They knew how to hit their enemies weaknesses, and what their enemy was capable of. It was knowledge that would win the day for them. That being said, she was exceedingly glad that Sweetie was observing the battlefield with that hoof machine of hers. Her input would be invaluable.
She looked around at the awaiting army of ponies, each of them setting up makeshift rocket launchers, much like the one she manned herself. They were pieced together in a week by Jacob and that strange tiger in Canterlot. The tripod design let them stand with their deadly payload angled upward at a forty-five degree angle. They were crude and were only good for a single, unguided shot, but they would spread confusion and cause plenty of casualties in the enemy ranks. Hopefully, they would cause enough damage to some of the lighter vehicles to disable them, as well.
“Alright, we're in position,” came Midnight's voice in her ear. Everypony took position beside their launcher, out of the way of the dangerous backblast. “On my mark. Three... Two... One... Engage.”
Applejack's hoof, like those of every other pony around her, slammed down on the pedal trigger attached to their launchers. In a flurry of fire and sound, a wall of explosive rockets arced through the air. AJ rose to her hind hooves and drew her ax, bellowing the command to charge. The small Equestrian army burst from the treeline just as the rockets met the enemy. Explosions thundered out across the clearing followed by the screaming of soldiers.
As the ponies were halfway, five more rockets impacted the enemy. These much more precise attacks slammed into the back of two of the storm tank's turret and the knee joints of three of the quadruped walkers, disabling them.
The enemy's shock didn't last, and they rallied to face the charging ponies. The air was filled with magically fired projectiles as the humans opened fire. Another half second of surprise filled their ranks as their bullets bounced harmlessly off the ponies' magic shielding. They pushed their confusion aside, drew their swords, and charged to meet their foe.
At the back of the charge, Jacob activated his seal, calling on his brother's pocket dimension. Up from the glowing runic circle on the ground, a metal monster rose, skull-like head grinning maniacally as Jacob perched on its shoulder. Its triangular body, thick and armored, glowed with the heartstone core and twin diamond power cores. Massive, tree trunk-like legs held it aloft as it lumbered along, pivoting on its waist.
Drawing on this massive energy source, twin gatling lasers on its right arm spun to life, unleashing a barrage of burning beams of light. On the golem's left arm, a 120mm smoothbore cannon unleashed its powerful tungsten coated rounds at anything with armor.
“Come on, Ymir!” the human cried to his mount. “Let's kick some ass!”
The golem complied with the twin gatling lasers spitting fire. An unfortunate lancer took a 120mm cannon round dead center, erupting in a fireball that killed two nearby soldiers from shrapnel.
And then the armies met.
It was a clash of steel as the humans underestimated the smaller, but denser, equines. The ponies' superior weight hit like a bulldozer, crushing the front line underhoof. The second found themselves learning an important lesson; they had the numbers, but these ponies were exceptionally well trained.
Many ponies underestimate the Royal Guard. Most thought that, because they only ever see them standing around, they weren't anything special, but there was a reason the changelings took them through subtlety. The Royal Guard were highly trained warriors, capable of fighting off a half-dozen assailants alone. This was the reason Celestia assigned them to Dawn Shield. Add Midnight's training and runes, and you had a force to be reckoned with.
Unicorns and pegasi lashed out with sword, ax, and spear while earth ponies used their bladed hoof coverings. All unleashed elemental devastation with rune magic. In the midst of them all were five mares, fighting in an unusual upright stance. The Bearers of Harmony and Order were undergoing their trial by fire in this battle, but one would almost think they were veterans.
Applejack's ax shattered shields, both magic and mundane, and severed limbs. Pinkie Pie wove through the enemy in a mind bogglingly energetic manner, rolling, diving, and swerving, as her daggers cut tendons and arteries. Rainbow flew just over head, her twin scythes carving a bloody path as she rained down runic lightning. Fluttershy fought like the beasts that were her first teachers, ripping and tearing with her steel claws, punctuating her assaults with beams of light that melted through armor like butter. Scootaloo was an orange blur, severing heads and unleashing torrents of magic flames.
Fluttershy dove under a sword slash and struck out with her hind hooves, throwing her opponent back. Free from attackers, she closed the distance to a unicorn that had taken a blade to the gut. Without a word, she quickly lifted him onto her back and made her way through the fighting.
With a roar, a human swung a flaming sword at the pegasus. With her burden, she couldn't dodge in time. Luckily, before his blow landed, his head exploded in a shower of gore. Fluttershy gave a nod of thanks toward the tree cover and the unicorn hidden within and continued her trek.
Rarity smiled at her friend, even if she couldn't see it, and picked a new target. One of the earth pony guards was being overwhelmed by four attackers. Two shots took out the two without magic shields, leaving the other two to be handled by the stallion. Another pull of the trigger, another lancer with a busted engine. Two more former guards, and Applejack had one less problem.
“Rarity, check your two,” Sweetie's voice came through her earpiece.
“Darling,” Rarity called out to her husband below. “It seems three of them have gotten wise and are shielded. Take care of them for me, please.”
“Of course, my love.” Virgil Quickly dug underground, burrowing through the dirt.
Rarity watched through her scope as one by one, they seemed to be swallowed by the very ground. “We were going to need a good scrubbing after this anyway.” A smile found itself on her face at the thought of sharing a bath with her husband. An explosion from one of the big walkers brought her back to the battle. The tigers had apparently fired the last of their rockets and were charging the field, Applebloom at their side. “Well, this promises to be interesting.” The high class mare turned her attention to the six warriors, covering the more vulnerable of her allies.
Fluttershy and Blue Streak were busy carting wounded back to Redheart and the other medics, guided by Sweetie. Most of the injured ran right back into the fray after they were healed. At the moment, they had only lost three, but they were certain more would follow.
“Wounded, section four-two-two,” Sweetie informed.
“I'm on it,” Fluttershy replied.
“We'll keep you covered,” came the tomboyish voice of her oldest friend.
Scootaloo and Rainbow fought together, watching each others backs, as Fluttershy retrieved the wounded soldier. The lightning fast duo was quickly distinguishing themselves as a major threat.
“Hey, Rainbow, Scootaloo,” Sweetie said over the comm. “A couple of scary looking guys just came through. I think they're heading your way.”
“What do they look like?” Jacob asked.
“They're bald, wearing long red coats that go down to the ankles.”
“Shit. Those are Blood Guard. They're like Mage Guard, but they use lesser demons. Fluttershy, Applejack, go help them out. Rarity, give them cover.”
“Don't bother,” Scootaloo said. “We can take them.”
“No, do not engage them on you own!” Jacob ordered. “They're ruthless and a lot more skilled than you!”
Scootaloo began carving her way toward the gate, cutting down any who stood in her way. Rainbow's scythes and lightning followed closely.
“Scoots, maybe we should wait for backup,” the older pegasus said. “I mean, Jacob's gotta be scared for a reason.”
“Come on, mom,” Scootaloo replied as she incinerated three with a stream of fire. “We're tougher than he thinks. We can take the-” She was interrupted by the sudden need to duck a blade of ice.
“My, my, brother,” a soft voice said. “This one is rather slippery, it seems.”
“Yes,” a eerily similar voice responded. “I'll leave that one to you. The other is mine.”
Scootaloo turned to the two humans, unnerved by the strange sight of two different magic flows in each. The one closest to her had a pale blue aura, wrapped in a sickly yellow. The other had a red aura with the same yellow taint. The first took a step towards her while his brother sprouted mage form wings and took to the sky.
The blind pegasus took the initiative and surged forward, curved blade swinging faster than the eye could see. That just made it more of a shock when the sword failed to find its mark. Instead, it found the forearm of the Blood Guard, stopping it dead. Faster than even Scootaloo could see, his fist slammed into her face, sending her flying. She landed hard, sliding several hooves before coming to a rest, a single thought running through her head.
Maybe I should've waited for backup.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
The sensation reminded Twilight of her first teleport. It was the same sense of motion without moving. It was this experience with the disorienting effect that allowed her to keep the cloaking spell from failing. What almost made her lose it, was Midnight grabbing her by the hoof and dragging her behind a stack of crates by the wall of the massive room in which they found themselves.
Once hidden, Twilight released her spells, and they became visible again. She took a moment to take a deep breath, willing the small ache at the base of her horn away. That spell was difficult enough to maintain for a single pony. The unicorn pulled a small vial of blue liquid and drank it down quickly, replenishing her mana.
“Alright,” Midnight said, speaking softly, “from here, we're visible. Stay to the shadows and keep your ears open. Don't rely on the amulet to keep you hidden. Let's move.”
The amulets around their necks were a new development from EI. They used a spell that was developed based on the want it need it spell. Instead of drawing others too it, though, it simply made them less interesting. They weren't very strong, though, and anyone actively seeking out intruders would easily spot them. Also standing out in front of a crowd, or doing something too conspicuous would result in the same thing happening. They would have been made stronger, but Jacob warned them about the presence of magic detection devices, so the spell had to be small. Thankfully, the enormous magical output of the gate hid the previous invisibility spell.
The two made their way through the large room. Twilight's breath caught when they first stepped out from their cover. The room was a massive construction of steel and concrete, but that wasn't what frightened the mare. It was the hundreds of armed men and women that stood waiting to join the steady stream of soldiers invading her home.
“Come on,” Midnight whispered back, bringing his wife back to the present. “We'll head toward the courtyard.”
“I'm right behind you,” Twilight replied as they darted from cover to cover, making their way to their objective.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Corporal Martins and Corporal Lancaster made their way through the halls of the gate facility, down the same path they walked every day. Their shift at the armory had ended, and they were heading to the mess to get some chow. The walk was the same as it always was, past the bench, then the scuttlebutt, the ponies, the snack machine, around the corner...
Martins stopped, a confused look on his face. “Hey, Mike..?”
“What's up?” his friend asked.
“Did... did you notice something back there?”
Lancaster thought for a second. “I don't think so.”
“It's probably just my imagination. Come on, I'm hungry.”
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Midnight and Twilight sat panting in a storeroom.
“Well... I'd say... the amulets... work.” Twilight said between breaths.
“That... was too... close.”
They rested for a few more seconds before Midnight cracked open the door and peaked outside. Seeing the coast was clear, they continued down the corridors.
“Ah, here.” Midnight came to a halt in front of a double door. “The courtyard should be through here, and the archives building just on the other side. We'll move fast, staying off the paths. Let's hope these amulets keep up the good work.”
Midnight opened the door slowly, checking to make sure there weren't going to be any surprises. With a nod back to his wife, the ventured into the open air at a canter. They didn't want to go at a full gallop, worried it would be too conspicuous for the amulets to handle. Several times, they passed close enough to others that they were visible, but their enchanted jewelry held up, the only ones to notice anything did so too late.
They were about half way when a man stepped in front of them, glaring.
“I thought something was off,” he said. “Now what would you be doing here?”
“Twilight,” Midnight said, getting the unicorn's attention. “Get to the archives.”
Twilight turned to him, seeing his hardened expression. Something was different this time, though. He looked... afraid.
Twilight looked at the man confronting them. He wasn't very tall, compared to the other humans she had seen, but he was well built. He wore a simple white sleeveless shirt, olive pants, and black boots. His hair was a very short, chocolate brown and his eyes, a startlingly familiar crimson.
Suddenly, Twilight realized exactly why Midnight was afraid.
“Go, now,” Midnight repeated. “I'll handle this guy.”
The man took a step towards them, adopting a combat stance. “Yeah, sorry, but I'm not letting you go anywhere. You see-” Stopped dead at the flash of light as Twilight disappeared. “Well, that's a neat trick.”
Midnight stood on his hind legs and opened his pocket dimension, pulling out his sword and shield. In a flash, he summoned his Element and stood to face his former comrade.
“It's been a long time, William,” Midnight said.
The man narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the pony before him. Their eyes met and realization dawned on the human
“Now isn't this a twist,” he said, mirthfully. “I've heard of going native, David, but this is a bit extreme, don't you think?”