The day was in its prime, high noon, it was cold though, a light snow fell from a few clouds overhead. The weather teams where under strict orders not to fly. All Pegasus ponies where grounded until further notice so the flying forces of both the Shadow and the Wonderbolts could keep an eye on things. Red stood looking out over the railing of Luna’s balcony, his scoped mosin nagant held up to his eye. Several warnings from villages far south of the Equestrian border where barely able to reach the Solar Empire before being silenced. Celestia sent her top flight crew from the Wonderbolts to investigate, their reports lead to one disturbing report after another. Nothing but a pile of ashes rubble and smoldering fires was all that was left of the towns that the seemingly unstoppable threat burned through. These reports placed Canterlot on high alert; Red had requested that all of his weapons be mailed to him in the case of an emergency. Pixel’s boots lightly thumped on the smooth stone floor as she walked up next to the ex-Soviet; his eyes which usually glowed a subtle grey where dim, by just looking at his face you couldn’t tell but through the brightness of the eyes it was clear that he hadn’t slept for at least a day, let alone moved from that spot.
“You’ve been staring through that scope for the past two days; if you don’t sleep you’ll shutdown. Hand me the Moscow Nugget, and I’ll keep an eye open for this, whatever it is.” Pixel spoke with concern for Red’s sanity.
“Wait, what did you say? Moscow nugget?” Red was confused.
“Yeah, you know it’s Russian so Moscow and it’s like a nugget, a little bit of chicken, little bit of pork, and a little bit of beef. It does a little of everything sniper, spear, or private’s rifle, it’s like a nugget.” Pixel joked about the rifle. Red just shook his head, handed her the gun
“You do know which end the bullets come out don’t you?” Red spoke condescendingly
“Of course I do, you don’t become a Navy Seal by baking pies… No wait, that’s pretty much exactly what I did. You know because I’m not alive most of the challenges where a breeze, like, making, pies…” Pixel tripped over her own defense.
Red face palmed, and retreated into the shade of the building, he leaned up against a wall, closed his eyes and took a few hours to recharge. Pixel played with the bolt of the Russian sniper rifle. It clicked and squeaked as it spun ninety degrees slid backwards and then reversed the process. There was no ammo in the gun so she had less caution while rapidly sliding the bolt. She made sound effects as if she was firing live rounds through the gun. Pixel then looked down at a box of bullets, she didn’t really know why but she had the creeping suspicion that she should get the rifle ready. She pulled several rounds out of the box and placed them into the clip chamber, and slid the bolt forward chambering the first round with a click. Down on the street several blocks away, Shining Armor was running a scheduled patrol through the restaurant plaza of the town. The Chrystal Empire had been allies with the Solar Empire since King Sombra’s defeat. As good allies do the Chrystal Empire sent military assistance to help secure the capitol city of Canterlot. Shining stopped, letting the squad of gold armored guards move ahead of him. He spoke to Spitfire, the captain of the Wonderbolts, gesturing to the sky; she saluted and took to the skies. He then turned toward a grey Pegasus sporting a hybrid Shadowbolt suit of armor from the Solar, Lunar war complete with wing blades. The Pegasus gave a cryptic nod took a few steps back then took off rapidly, despite the heavy appearance of the armor. The Shadowbolt then fell into formation with a squadron of Shadowbolts in similar armor.
One of the Pegasus guards was sitting on a roof top a few meters above where Shining Armor was standing; once again Shining was assigned the task of shield generator until the threat was identified. The guard on the roof Fluttered down from his post, landing behind Shining. The unidentified guard must have been moving quietly because Shining hadn’t noticed him. The unidentified guard drew his blade ready to strike. The guard pulled his blade back ready to swing with enough strength to decapitate the new Prince of the Chrystal Empire. The Pegasus was stopped just before the fatal swing; his head exploded showering Shining’s back with green blood. Shining turned quickly after hearing the sword hit the ground and feeling the hot blood hit his back. The guard’s form shifted and contorted until he was then revealed as a changeling. The body drooled green blood onto the ground staining the thin white layer of snow with the strange green liquid. Shining looked down at the corpse in shock, he was almost killed, by who he thought was a guard. A crystal guard ran up to Shining, she was a medic, she searched him up and down for injuries.
“Are you alright sir? Are you hit?” The crystal mare asked with concern clear in her voice.
“I’m fine he didn’t get me.” Shining replied trying to get his thoughts straight. A bang then echoed through the air. Shining looked toward the source of the sound, he saw the reflection of the Soviet’s scope, and he waved thanking the sniper. Pixel waved back, not taking her eye away from the scope. Red lurched out of his sleep with a jump, he turned to Pixel as she pulled back on the bolt sending the spent casing flying.
“What are you doing?!” Red shouted.
“Saving Shining’s ass from what I can see, caught a traitor just before he could take our little friend’s head off.” Pixel elaborated. Red retrieved his PPSh-41 and started down the stairs toward the castle gate, he was mentally kicking himself for not keeping the DP28 from the raid on the teleporter compound.
Shining then began to shout orders to the guards he knew to be real, the city was not secured the perimeter had been breached long before he arrived. Shining Armor moved his forces back to the castle gates, if his guards had the potential of being disguised changelings he wanted to keep an eye on as many of them as possible. Red joined the line of guards holding the barricade; he trained his PPSh on the street that lie ahead of them. Shining was doing his best to keep an eye on all the guards watching for strange behavior. Nobody moved, the only signs of life where the clouds of warm breaths of each guard, made viable by the cold winter air. With his attention on the guards infront of him he failed to watch for threats directly behind him. A changeling shifted from his guard form and attacked so quickly it didn’t even remove the armor, he bit down hard on shining’s neck injecting the paralyzing toxins. Shining fought back, standing on his hind legs throwing the changeling over his shoulder. The bug landed flat on its back knocking the wind out of its lungs. Red turned to see shining throw the Changeling off himself it hit the ground and gasped for air, Red opened up on the bug with a shower of bullets; they fired so fast it literally looked as if the gun wasn’t firing any projectiles and instead sucked the blood straight from the changeling’s body. Shining wasn’t bleeding too badly it was only two puncture wounds, nothing lethal but he felt his body beginning to lockup.
“Hold this line, nothing gets through, if it’s a bug, crush it. The castle is our last line of defense, if they get inside and reach the princesses its game over. Take out officers and commanders first if they lose order they’ll…” Shining couldn’t finish his sentence; the toxin was now in full effect, preventing him from speaking. The shield over the city struggled to hold up, but without Shining’s magic they buckled and fell. The city was now open to attack.
The assault didn’t come from the air like it had before, nor was it as random and uncoordinated. The distinct sound of synchronized marching could be heard coming straight up the main street of Canterlot. One figure lead the march on the city, it commanded the army to hold its position, not one of the soldiers moved.
“Zis is Panzer general of Ze Grand Hive Army. If you surrender I promise zere vill be no bloodshed, but I must varn you, ve have ze firepower to destroy zis city several times over.” Panzer stood up on a wooden crate, his MP40 in his hands, safety off. Red got up from his position and climbed on top of the barricades. He held his PPSh with his finger on the trigger, keeping it pointed away from the imposing army he began to shout to Panzer.
“Panzer, you don’t have to do this! These ponies have done nothing to you!” Red shouted down the street to the leader of the changeling army.
“Ah, Red how long has it been since you killed me? You still stand on ze side of the veak do you?” Panzer reopened the wound of red having to kill one of his own.
“You have no business here Panzer!” The soviet stood his ground firmly.
“Zen zis is war!” Panzer gave an unsettling smile and waved his hand issuing the order of attack. From the balcony of the castle, Pixel fired a round at Panzer’s head, denting but not penetrating the metal skull. The impact of the bullet made Panzer stumble backwards and crash into a wooden cart with a pile of neatly stacked cabbages in the tray. The weight of the metal body crushed the cart, and sent the vegetables rolling onto the street and the gutter. Inside the building just in front of the cart a brown earth pony fell into a sitting position reaching one hoof out in despair.
“My Cabbages! Why the cabbages?!”
The first shot had been fired and now the flood gates where open, all hell broke loose. The streets erupted in a loud clatter of gunfire, the changelings where the first of the ground soldiers to open fire; Red jumped down behind the barricades blind firing the Russian SMG in the general direction of the approaching army. Several guard from both the Crystal and Solar Empire charged forward with their swords drawn. Each one was promptly mowed down by the Hive’s guns, the guards in gold from the Solar Empire fell to the ground in a heap, bleeding into the street, staining the thin blanket of snow a crimson red. The crystal guards caught in the flurry of bullets shattered upon being hit by a round, the shards crystal littered the ground leaving only the armor they wore in their place. The changelings where coming up fast and seemed unstoppable. Pixel was taking out as many as she could from her position but soon found herself out of ammo. She left the bolt action on the balcony, turned to find Luna’s sword from her days leading the Lunar Republic. Pixel smiled and wrapped her hands around the hilt; it had good balance and was surprisingly light weight. Pixel took the stairs to join the fight raging just outside the castle gate.
The Wonderbolts tried all they could to distract the invading changeling army drawing their fire away from the royal guard. When the distracted platoons found themselves out of ammo, they took to the skies to fight the Wonderbolts on their own turf. Before the changeling soldiers could make it to Spitfire’s squad Warhawk’s Shadowbolts came down hard on them. The blades that ran the length of the outer feathers sliced quickly and cleanly through the necks, and wing joints of the attacking changelings; leaving the decapitated and dewinged bugs to fall to their deaths. Red managed to get ahold of some of the weapons dropped by the defeated changelings, and gave the weapons to the guards capable of using them. The guards would score a kill, take the weapons of the dead and use them against the rest of the army. From somewhere behind the front line of the changelings a group of grenades sailed through the air landing directly in front of the barricade.
“Get down!” Red jumped back grabbing as many guards as he could pulling them into the confines of the castle walls. The explosives ripped through the makeshift barricade clearing a path for the assault team. A few unicorn guards stationed on the castle walls where firing arrows, pouring oil and throwing stones at the attacking horde; trying to buy a little more time for a miracle. The soldiers along the wall began to fall as they were picked off. The fallback perimeter had been breached. Pixel burst out from the great wooden doors of the castle shouting something in Japanese as she charged forward, full sprint sword at the ready. She looked like a gladiator in ancient Rome as she sliced through changeling after changeling hacking away at the frontal assault. She was getting hit, a lot and her armor was beginning to fail. Pixel’s self-diagnostic systems where screaming at her that if she didn’t take cover she would fall to pieces. She had no choice but to fall back. The guards ran back inside the castle doors slammed them shut, and placed the large wooden plank in place, locking the door. Red pulled the mag from the PPSh, it was empty. He threw it aside and switched to his handgun, snapping the slide back making sure a round was chambered. The flight squads outside continued the best they could, picking off a few groups of straying changelings.
“What I wouldn’t give to have an Apache right now.” Pixel complained.
“I don’t see how Indian would help right now.” Red misunderstood what Pixel had said.
“Indi, no, no a gunship.” Pixel couldn’t get over how little Red understood about warfare of her time.
“How would boat.” Red still didn’t understand.
“Just shut up and take this.” Pixel had managed to get ahold of an MG42 with a belt of ammunition, she handed it over to the Soviet. She had an MP40 with two mags, it wasn’t much but to be fair it was being used before its owner was cut to pieces by the sword Pixel carried. Twilight and her friends where held up in the throne room, several of Celestia and Cadences royal guards stood ready to give their lives to defend the Princesses and the five elements of harmony that remained. The sound of gun fire, and explosions was resounding through the air; Rainbowdash was getting restless.
“Why are we just sitting here? Are we just going to wait until they come in here and kill us?” Dash was itching to get up close and personal with the invading changeling army. Rarity stopped Rainbow before she could get in the air.
“Rainbow! You have never been in a war before how would you know what to do?!” Rarity was shouting with tears in her eyes.
“So what? We can take em’ we have the Elements for buck sake!” Rainbow drew attention to the pendant hanging around her neck.
“Rarity’s right Rainbow, the only ones of us here or in Equestria for that matter who actually have experience in war are Red, Pixel, Warhawk, Celestia and Luna. There hasn’t been a war in a thousand years. And the Elements don’t work unless there all here and they have Applejack!” Twilight jumped in.
“Big deal we’ve beaten them before!” Dash was getting angry.
“Rainbow, they didn’t have guns before, they would shoot you before you could even reach the castle wall!” Twilight finally put an end to Dash’s persistence. Defeated, Rainbow turned to Celestia hoping that she would be on board with fighting back. Celestia spoke with a tone almost as cold as the air outside.
“They’re right Rainbowdash, without Applejack the elements won’t work. Though it is true I have fought in wars before I have never seen weapons like these before. The most important thing we can do now is stay safe and let Shining Armor and the guards do what they can to fight off the attack.” The solar Princess gave the final word.
“It’s okay Dashie, if even one of those ugly bug things comes in here I’ll get em’ with this!” Pinkie pulled her party cannon out from seemingly nowhere. But instead of it being loaded with confetti, Pinkie took out a large cannon ball and rolled it down the barrel of the cannon. Rainbow smirked, seeing that at least one of her friends was willing to fight. Twilight was glad that they weren’t defenseless but was taken aback that Pinkie Pie had no problem turning an instrument of recreation made for fun into a weapon.
Red looked over to Pixel who was rattled with bullet holes, smoke was beginning to slip through the armor plates rolling up into the air. He knew that he could keep fighting but she obviously wasn’t designed to take a hit like he was. From the corner of his eye he caught sight of several moving figures. He turned his head to see Princess Cadence, Applejack and the Cutie-mark Crusaders making a B-line for the throne room.
“Pixel, fallback to the throne room, make sure Cadence and the others get there safely. Then see what Twilight can do about that smoke.” Pixel said nothing, she grabbed ahold of a few spare guns lying around, then she began to run over to the stray ponies escorting them to the room where the Princesses and the other Elements where held up. Red sat with the MG42 trained on the door, each pound sent splinters of wood skittering along the floor, adding another crack to the already weak door. The hinges on the door would not withstand another heavy pound like the ones before.
Pixel knocked at the throne room door and shouted to let the occupants know who was trying to get inside. The door opened, the guards inside had their spears pointed at the ponies on the other side. Once they saw Pixel’s face they lowered their weapons knowing that changelings can’t take the form of something that isn’t alive. Applejack ran inside and embraced her friends in a hug; the crusaders ran to their respective siblings. Never had Rainbowdash been so happy to see Scootaloo, her number one fan. Twilight held up the necklace that represented the Element of loyalty. Applejack looked at it for a moment then put it around her neck. Twilight turned her attention over to Pixel, the smoke rising from somewhere inside the metal chest cavity was thickening. Yet she stood strong, rocking as if taking heavy breaths, her hands still firmly plastered to the rifle in her hands. She was full of bullet holes and scratches from blades. Her paint was buried under splatters of green blood, the tan camouflage only showing in a few places. She looked like a survivor in a zombie apocalypse.
“Pixel, come here let me see what I can do about that smoke.” Twilight offered. She had helped Red when he could not fix problems on his own and she figured Pixel couldn’t be that much different. Pixel limped over to the lavender unicorn, and leaned against a pillar so Twilight could find the problem. Twilight fumbled around for a few seconds trying to find the release levers for Pixel’s chest-plate, when the latches where located they gave a gratifying click and the plate easily lifted off. Twilight’s assumptions where grossly ill-conceived, Pixel was far more advanced than the likes of Red. She had holes in circuit boards, sheared wires, and the source of the smoke was identified, an exposed wire was burning the Kevlar that protected her battery. Twilight furiously re attached wires and wrapped the exposed wire in an electrical tape Red had brought in his backpack when they first arrived in Canterlot. While Twilight toiled trying to fix Pixel the distinct sound of shouts and loud banging could be heard on the castle’s main doors. Fluttershy was frozen in fear behind Celestia’s throne, Rainbowdash and Pinkie Pie where sat next to the cannon trained on the door. A slilence gripped the air and raised tension in the room to the point of snapping. From the other side of the door a loud crash was heard, the castle door had fallen, a large machinegun just outside the throne room door screamed to life. Red held the trigger of the machinegun down against the handle, not letting go for a second.
“URA!!” Red’s vengeful side was emerging. The barrel of the German LMG began to glow a brilliant orange, it was overheating, the heat shield failed to prevent the leather of Red’s palms from being burnt. Finally the gun’s barrel began to warp as it spat the last few rounds of the belt in the direction of the attacking swarm. Red threw the warped and empty gun into the crowd; it failed to slow down the swarm. He reached for his pistol and found it to be missing; he lost it after he took cover to get away from the grenades. He quickly drew his large army knife and charged forward. The knife sank into the chest of one of the changeling soldiers piercing his heart and covered Red’s hand in vitreous fluid. The blade came down on several more bugs before Red had no choice but to fall back. He turned to run but was jumped on by another changeling soldier. It placed a knife on Red’s neck, over a hydraulic artery, the Soviet machine picked up a pair of Lugers sitting forgotten in a pool of blood. He seized them and fired both, sending two bullets into the head of the aggressor. He got back to his feet, dueling handguns and retreated once more to the temporary safety of the throne room. The door slammed shut, Red then scanned the room trying to asses who was left in the defending army. Shining Armor was lying on the floor; a pair of Crystal guards had pulled him into the throne room to shield him from the hail marry of bullets. Twilight reattached Pixel’s chest-plate and ran over to her brother to see if he was okay. To her relief, he was still breathing.
On the other side of the door, there was no sound to indicate that the Hive Army was even trying to break it down. In fact there wasn’t any noise at all, for the second time in less the five minutes of battle the world fell silent. A silence that was shattered with the last door between the Throne room and the attacking Hive, the door had been rigged with explosives and was torn to pieces. The splinters littered the polished floor. Though the silence remained, not a single shot came from the outside. Pinkie and Dash where too shocked to fire the cannon. Through the doorway another metal man confidently marched in the room. Panzer stood before the last survivors of the royal guard, he still gripped his MP40; a smile crept across his face.