"Oh horseapples...."
The Stormbringer fired a volley of cannonballs at the Ponyville wall. Assassins flew off the wall as the balls shattered the supports they were standing on. The tank kept firing, the circular base rotated so that a fresh cannon could fire at the wall. Pinkie was shocked, she had never seen such a machine before. The Templar really had these things? She felt Octavia drag her down as another volley soared over their heads. When Pinkie looked at Octavia, the Den Master was running away with many other Assassins. The wall was not safe. They had to make their stand elsewhere.
The Bearer got up and ran. The ground and buildings shattered around her as the tank did its devastating job. She saw Assassins taking cover behind anything they could find. She dove over a small stone wall. The rolling sound of the tank was heard again. It was entering the village.
"Where did they get such a thing?"
"How are we gonna fight it?"
"It can't end like this!"
The wails of the Brothers penetrated Pinkie's mind. No they can't be like this, they can't give up already. She needed to rally them. Pinkie looked around the area. There was a dropped sword on the ground in front of her. That will do nicely, she thought. The Bearer grabbed the sword and stood up on the stone wall. She began waving the sword madly about.
"To me! To me!"
Assassins gave her an odd look as they dunked under their pitiful protections. Pinkie continued to yell at them to come to her. She wish she had done this before that attack. Maybe that would have helped. Fluttershy ran out from her cover and beckoned others to follow. Even Octavia showed herself and joined the two Bearers. Cannons erupted behind Pinkie as she rallied her Brothers. The tank had not noticed her yet and was still simply destroying houses and shops. When enough Assassins gathered around Pinkie, she gestured at the enemy.
"We are Assassins! We do not run with tails between our legs! For centuries we have fought in the name of Harmony and Freedom. We fought the Templar and any who threaten our Empire and our home! This is our home! We have built this village upon the foundations of our Creed. We must not let it fall to some monstrosity that the Order has created. Fight! Stand up and fight! Not for me, or the glory, or yourselves, but for the Brother beside you. We fight as one, we WIN as one! Let's face the dragon and extinguish his flame! To battle!"
With that, she pointed at the Crystal soldiers. The Assassins cheered and charged. If the Assassins were like any other military, the charge would have been suicide, but the agility of the Brothers allowed them to dodge the attacks of the soldiers and the tank. Pinkie ran with them. Octavia was on one side of her and Fluttershy was on the other. The battle met in a violent clash as both sides met in the streets. The Stormbringer rained upon the town, taking out just as many soldiers as Assassins. Pinkie stopped and stared at the machine.
"C'mon Laughter, I'll need ya."
"Here you go."
Pinkie's vision blurred slightly. The Element took over her eyes and allowed her to see through the machine. The inside of the tank had ten soldiers operating the machine. Four of the men reloaded the cannons while six operated the steam engine that propelled the tank. From the information gathered from her eyes, Pinkie knew what to do. The Bearer ran at the tank. The machine turned a cannon at her. She dove to the ground as a cannonball flew by her. They had to reload after that. This was her chance.
The Bearer reached the Stormbringer and climbed up on is turtle-like "shell." The steel armor was slippery and she had to cling on as the tank rolled about. Every time a cannon fired, the whole tank would lurch back, creating even more struggles for the Bearer.
The battle raged on as she clung onto the tank. Musket fire filled the air as both sides fired upon each other. Pinkie had to dodge sharpshooters who aimed at her. One shot a hole through sleeve, barely missing her arm. The tank fired again. Pinkie grumbled in annoyance. She was not happy, it was time to let out some steam.
She repeatedly banged on the roof of the tank with unrestrained aggression. "Let me in dammit!"
"What was that?"
The Bearer could hear the men on the inside. The disturbance she had made alerted them about her presence on top of the tank. The lid on the roof swung open. A Templar soldier looked around. When he found Pinkie next to him, he aimed a pistol at her. The Bearer grabbed the gun and wrestled it out of his hands. The soldier cursed and pulled himself out of the tank. He stood up and faced the Bearer. Pinkie simply rolled her eyes at him. The soldier threw a punch at her. She dodged the fist and then pushed him. The soldier lost balance and fell off the tank. She proceeded to enter the Stormbringer.
The inside was hot and stuffy. The heat from the engine, the cannons, and the crammed space all added to its uncomfortableness. The soldiers inside took notice of her. She ducked under a punch that connected with a Templar behind her. She then sidestepped a dagger swing. The dagger-wielder continued to swipe at her. She quickly turned and grabbed a soldier and placed him in the way of the dagger. Blood squirted out of the soldier as his companion gutted him. With him dead, there were eight soldiers left in the tank.
The soldiers surrounded her. Daggers and pistols pointed at her. The tank was no longer operating as the operatives were distracted by the Bearer. Pinkie just looked around at the Templar. Their snarls were nothing pretty to look at. She started thinking of ways to remove their angry faces. However, before she could come up with one, a gray blur entered the tank and fell on two soldiers.
The other soldiers turned their attention to the Assassin that had just entered. With Octavia taking care of the soldiers, Pinkie turned to the engine. She needed to destroy this thing. A pistol shot was heard as Octavia fired into a Templar's face. The Bearer reached the steam engine. Coals were stacked around it, ready to refuel the tank. How could she destroy it? Pinkie's mind flashed with ideas.
"Blow it up?"
"Oh yeeaaahhh..."
Pinkie looked around. No explosives here. Well, there was gunpowder for the cannons, but that required a lot of searching and gathering. She checked on Octavia. The Den Master deflected a dagger and then retaliated with her blade to the soldier's chest. Pinkie's eyes shifted to Octavia's pouches. She probably had bombs. Bombs and this fire would nicely, she thought. Pinkie started to sneak over to the Den Master.
Octavia dodged a swing of a dagger. She quickly turned around to deflect an attack from behind. She grabbed the attacker and threw him into the other, causing them both to fall over. She then swung her sword at a soldier. The soldier angled himself so that the sword would hit his armored shoulder. Octavia followed up with her other hand, stabbing him in the neck. The Den Master noticed the Bearer of Laughter trying to reach in her pockets.
"Pinkie, I'm busy!"
"I know, jus' trying to find something."
Pinkie continued to search the Den Master's pouches. Due to Octavia's constant movement, it was no easy task. Octavia fired her pistol and a soldier fell right before reaching her. Finally, the Bearer reached in a pocket and pulled out a cherry bomb.
"Finally."
Octavia glanced at her. "Pinkie, what are you doing?"
"Octy, I suggest getting out."
The Den Master did not hesitate. She threw a knife into the last tank operative and climbed out of the machine. Pinkie threw the bomb at the engine. It was once that she threw she realized that she was still in the tank. The Bearer tried to climb out, but the bomb fell into the fire of the engine. The explosion ripped the engine apart. Steel splinters flew through the air. One impaled the Bearer of Laughter through the stomach, causing her to fall to the floor of the machine.
The world began to blur as she laid on the floor. She could see that the engine was almost completely destroyed. She looked down at hr stomach. Horror gripped her as she saw the spike that was lodged in her. Sweat began to build up and her breathing quickened. She had to get out. Pinkie fought the fear back and stood up. The metal spike prevented her from standing up all the way. She slowly walked over to the ladder that led out of the tank.
"C'mon Pinkie, ya can do this." She urged herself.
The first pull up was the hardest. The stretching of her limbs only caused more damage to her stomach. Her eyes began to blur as she climbed the ladder. Every reach and step was agonizing.
"Keep going..."
She finally reached over the top and pulled herself out of the tank. The whole village was roaring with battle. Crystal soldiers and Assassins squared off in the streets. She could see Octavia slicing down Templar left and right. The Den Master fought with such anger. Pinkie watched as the world around blackened. She stepped forward. Her foot left the tank's shell and she fell, rolling down the steel sides.
She gasped for air when she reached the ground. She couldn't move at all. Her ears picked up the faint sounds of war. She knew they were all around her, but it felt like they were miles away. Soon her eyes gave out and blackness took hold of her.
"Is she going to be alright?"
"I reckon so. Flutters did good like always."
"Do ya think she can hear us?"
"Maybe."
"I doubt it."
"Always on the negative, aren't ya Den Master?"
Pinkie opened her eyes. The first figure they rested on was not one she had expected to see. Applejack returned her confused look with a warm smile. Next was Den Master Braeburn. He had his arms crossed and simply returned her stare with indifference. Finally, Octavia was looking down at her. The black mask concealed any emotion the Den Master was having.
Pinkie blinked sleepily. "What happened?"
Applejack patted her shoulder. "Accordin' to Octavia, after the tank thing was destroyed, there was a long battle where no one gained the upper hand. That was, until Braeburn and I showed up with reinforcements. The 'Publicans fled before us. Sorry we didn't get here sooner."
"It's alright. Where's Fluttershy?"
Octavia answered. "In what's left of the Den. She healed you."
Pinkie's eyes widened. "Gah! That means she's in pain! She's in agony! We need to be with her!"
"It's alright Pinkie, I'm here."
All of them turned to see Fluttershy holding her bandaged hand. Applejack was quick to move and walked over to the Bearer of Kindness.
"It's fine, Applejack. Cheerilee took care of it for me."
Applejack gave her a smile. "Ya jus' hang in there Flutters. Ya did good."
"I know..."
Octavia turned away from the Bearers and began packing objects into a large bag. Pinkie glanced at her. The Den Master was packing food, water, some odd trinkets, a quill, ink, and parchment. Pinkie sat up on the table she was on. Her stomach ached in soreness.
"Where you goin' Octy?"
The Den Master continued packing. "Baltimare. I interrogated a Templar after the battle. He told me that the Wonderbolts were heading for Baltimare. I'm going after them."
"Are you going alone?"
"Yes."
"I can come with you."
Applejack grunted. "Uhh...Pinkie Pie? I don't think ya in good condition for traveling. Flutters healed ya, but that wound is gonna need to rest still."
Pinkie shook her head. "I'll be fine."
The Den Master sighed and walked out of the room with her bag. Pinkie got up and followed her. Octavia exited through the front door of the house. Pinkie caught up with her on the street. She was about to say something when she inspected the town around her. The whole place did not look the same. Every building, shop, or home, had some hole or roof missing. Many buildings were completely gone. The place was desolated and devoid of the life it had before.
"Uhh....Octy?" Pinkie mumbled.
"No. I'm tired of being with you Bearers. This is my mission. I will do it alone."
"OK, I think we've gotten off to bad start. The Bearers haven't been the nicest to you. So I'll speak on their behalf. We're sorry."
Octavia stopped and glanced back over her shoulder. "You think that will suffice?"
"For now, yes. Ol' Pinkie can make it all up to you. A trip together will be nice. You know, maybe we're be friends afterwards. Besides, to get to Baltimare, you'll need to go through Hayseed Swamp. That place is dangerous. It's like the Everfree, only worse. You'll need someone with you."
"I'll come with also!"
They both turned to see Fluttershy running up to them. She stopped once she noticed their stares were upon her. She faltered before continuing.
"I mean....yea...."
Pinkie beamed. "Great idea! All three of us shall go to Baltimare! We'll get to see Rainbow Dash."
Fluttershy brightened. "Oh yes, Rainbow. Octavia, we must come al...."
She stopped. The Bearer of Laughter turned to see the Den Master walking away. Pinkie's smile turned into a scowl. Why was she like this? She was just trying to make it up to her. No, she was not going to let Octavia go. Not without a fight. She'll make the Den Master a friend. Even if she has to go to the ends of the world.
Fluttershy pointed at her. "Should we follow?"
Pinkie nodded. "Yup. Pack your bags quickly. We're going to make a friend out of this Den Master. We're going to protect her in the Swamps. We're goin' to Baltimare."
~