Equestria Fortress 2

by nightelf37

The Second Union (a.k.a. Creature Fortress 2)

"We're at Mann Manor."

"Good. Slow down, Rarity. Shift to first gear. …Good. Now we have to find a good place to park. Someplace safe. Now where did they—"

"There's something coming from behind!" gasped Twilight as she looked at the rear-view mirror on her side.

"Uh oh."

Whatever was behind them brushed against the right side of the trailer and as the front windows came into view, time seemed to slow to a crawl for a moment as Chronicle and Twilight saw just who was driving the vehicle. It was a familiar white pegasus with blue-and-purple hair, and the vehicle was none other than the LUNA semi. But what were they doing here?

Time returned to normal as the semi crashed into a wall. Thankfully, both vehicles were made of tougher stuff than most, so no real damage to it was done. But because of the distraction, the EqU trailer crashed through a fence before Rarity had the sense to push on the brakes, bringing the vehicle to a bumpy stop.

The nine members of EqU, all geared up (in standard uniforms, all extra accessories removed since Pinkie toyed with their Customizers en route), shortly exited the trailer, just in time to see the members of LUNA disembarking their semi, none of them geared up. And it sounded like two of them were arguing, and one of them was fretting.

"I told you to push the brake, Trixie! That wasn't the brake!"

"It's difficult to see them with your hooves in the way, Blue! Besides, it's not like we have these things back home!"

"Hey, somepony had to drive, and I'm the only pony who at least knows these things. Unfortunately, my legs can't reach the pedals."

"Hey, brother. We meet again."

All nine combatants of LUNA turned to see the nine combatants of EqU.

"Chronicle!" Blue greeted. "Did he take them too?"

The blue unicorn gulped. "By them, do you mean our human companions?"

"I guess that means yes."

"They took Dinky too!" cried out Ditzy Doo.

"That hideous headless hoodlum!" cursed Pinkie.

"The Horseless Headless Horsemann took them, didn't they?" deduced Cheerilee.

"Well, that much is obvious." Twilight Sparkle.

"So what's the plan?" Bonbon.

"Easy!" Rainbow Dash. "We get in there, make the pumpkinhead give our friends back, and never come back!"

"And who's to say he'll give them up so easily?" Raindrops. As it was, LUNA had also fought the HHH and RED, and lost.

"The jasmine winged pony has a point, you know," another voice pointed out. Everybody turned to see that, against all logic, the Horseless Headless Horsemann was at the side, looking at them all, but without his signature axe. "I see you all came."

"Give our friends back!" the cyan pegasus demanded. At the same time, the nine members of LUNA tapped their cards to gear up.

The Horsemann just ignored the spectacle and wagged a finger. "You're stupider than I thought if you think I'd just kidnap them, invite you over to my manor, and let them go just like that."

"So what's your game, then?" asked Trixie Lulamoon.

"I'm glad you asked the right question!" the Horsemann boomed. He then snapped his fingers, and a jack-o'-lantern seemingly fell from the sky and into his right hand. "The objective is simple: each of the three Capture Points here at the manor will have one jack-o'-lantern on it. To win the game, you all must simply smash each one." He then crushed the carved pumpkin, sending bits and pieces and juices flying.

"But it won't be that easy, will it?" snarked Blue.

"Right-o! I will be guarding the jack-o'-lanterns, trying to stop you all from smashing them. And I called in some friends to help me!" With a grin, the Horsemann brought a hand to his mouth, and somehow let out a shrill whistle.

Coming from all directions, but mostly from the manor, were six humanoid creatures, all of them at least seven or eight feet tall.

The first was a green-skinned humanoid with green skin, pointy nose, warts, a black classic wicked witch's outfit. "Ke-he-he-he-he! I'm the Wicked Wiccan Witch!"

The second sauntered up from the left, revealing itself to be a mummy wrapped in dirty and ratty gauze, some of it loose at the arms. "Malicious… Mummy!"

The third came through the wall of the manor came a barely humanoid but facially featureless translucent being, who had long dangling chains somehow attached to its wrists. "I… Perilous Phantom!"

Fourth was a male humanoid that had many features pertaining to wolves (down to fur, claws, fangs, and so on) jump down from the rooftop to crash right next to the HHH, a glare in his face as he growled at them. "I'm the Wild Werewolf, and I hunger for new flesh!"

"Sad news, my friend, but I'm afraid you won't get a chance of that. Not unless we win that is," interrupted the Horsemann. "You see, unlike the REDs and BLUs I've been talking about, those ponies disappear like poof when they are just about to die, rather than leave a body and make a new one."

"Damn!" The Werewolf slashed at the air in front of him in frustration, making most of EqU and LUNA jump back a bit.

Fifth came what seemed to be a scarecrow, complete with straw body, farmer's apparel, and painted-on face on a paper plate that seemed to move on its own. "Scrappy Straw Scarecrow, pleasure to meet you!" He finished this greeting with a bow.

Sixth was what was evidently a rotting corpse that seemed to be able to move on its own as it moseyed on from the right of the Horsemann. It could only be a zombie. "Zoned… Out… Zombie…"

Seventh was a bat that came out from the folds of the witch's robes, then in a poof of smoke revealed itself to be a vampire. Not one of those sparkling overly-perfect ones thankfully, but one from the classic variety; old-fashioned gentleman suit, near-old age while still looking handsome, long white fangs. "Good evening, young ones. My name is—"

"A-hem!" interrupted the Horsemann.

"Silas Mann would rather I call myself Vicious Vampire." The bloodsucker said with a scowl.

"Thank you." The Horsemann turned to face the Equestrians as his fellow monsters grouped up near him.

"D-d-d-d-do you really want us to fight all of you?" stuttered Spike.

"Yes, there are eighteen of you, and only eight of us! Seems fair to me!" The two teams didn't need any further hints to understand that EqU and LUNA will be working together in this engagement. "And it looks like you might actually do well. The last time my friends joined me in screwing with RED and BLU, before Merasmus opened up Ghost Fort, teamwork with each other was a foreign concept. And worry not about killing my friends; they'll come back just like me. They wouldn't risk themselves otherwise.

"Oh, and two more things: No guns allowed, except for Medi Guns and arrow-launchers, and no copies of anybody, just you eighteen. So you better not bring any in for the match, or your friends get it!" All eighteen contenders gulped. The Witch cackled as she cast a spell with her hands and a portal (more like a magic window) formed, showing the six hostages gathered inside the room where Redmond Mann was napping. They seemed to be doing their best to keep themselves discreet from the living pretty-much-corpse before the Witch closed the portal.

"We'll give you one hour to strategize and choose your weapons. After that, it's game time! And then, you only have until she sky is blue, or else… And why not until sunrise? You came a little late, and I want to play with you guys as long as I can. Sure, the sun would pose a problem to some of my friends, but some of us here could still roam in the day. We just choose not to because it's boring and dangerous. Ta-ta!"

And with that, the monsters departed, leaving the eighteen to plan. That's when the nine of EqU noticed something different. It looked like Carrot Top, Cheerilee, and Pokey Pierce somehow managed to exchange classes. The farmer was now an Engineer just like the other farmer. The school teacher was now a Sniper. And Trixie's one and only assistant was now a Demopony.

Applejack was quick to point this out. Blue was just as quick to respond. "Well, turns out some of our class choices were mistakes, and so Tony decided to give some of us a chance to change our minds. The LUNA clones haven't been updated to match this change, though."

"What do you remember?" Chronicle suddenly asked.

"I'm guessing you realized our friends, for some reason, locked away the memories of our previous encounter. Seven of us here met with you guys even before our meet-up at Granary and our bout with Saxton Hale."

"I figure the two excluded are me and Miss Bonbon?" quipped Pokey.

"Of course. But we can ask them later. Right now, we need a plan. Let's get our Customizers, and then huddle, everypony."

The seventeen ponies and one baby dragon gathered in a circle as they opened up their Customizers to change their loadouts, discussing with each other as they went. The Customizers have since been updated from their simple button-and-joystick-and-hologram model to accommodate their increasing number of accessories and weapons. LUNA and EqU were even making weapons of their own, and not just to substitute and accommodate for their smaller size. Instead of a simple preview of the weapon/accessory, the new Customizers' holograms now showed a screen with menus for greater convenience and a comparatively more user-friendly interface, and automatically update their databases with every other Customizer nearby, which means whatever either team has acquired, they now both have it for their use.

After having been explained on how their Respawn system works long ago, the teams were able to set their respawn point from inside the vehicles to the battlegrounds' RED and BLU spawn points. Sharing one point wasn't practical, so LUNA decided to have their spawn point at the BLU area, and EqU at the RED area.

Next was the basic lowdown of the Horseless Headless Horsemann's friends. The Witch seemed to use her broom for flight. Knocking her off it would help, though who knows what spells she has. Aside from what they were told in passing and small talk by their human companions, nothing else was known about the Vampire. The Phantom's chains would make for formidable weapons, and there's the issue of what could hurt it, and whether unicorn magic might do the trick (since the other two racial pony magics aren't as readily available). The Zombie and Mummy looked to be very slow, though supernatural strength as compensation isn't out of the equation. The Scarecrow looked to be very mobile, though fire seemed to be the obvious counter to it as he was made of hay. The Werewolf would be a real challenge next to the Horsemann himself, and looked strong and vicious.

And given the pseudo-"Medieval Mode" limits, that eliminates most of their arsenal. Not quite a problem for EqU as they have done this before, but it would be a little difficult for LUNA.

Fire would be needed to take the Scarecrow out of commission. But the only weapons they had that were allowed and could emit fire are the Sharpened Volcano Fragment, and Spike's fire breath. He, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Ditzy were selected to take care of that speedy straw man. On a side-note, the Sun-on-a-Stick deals more damage on a burning foe.

If she had time, the EqU Scout would also help in handling the Witch with the two Snipers, who would take the high ground; an easy task for Twilight given her teleportation. The mech-arms were coordinated with the wearer's mind, so Cheerilee would have no problems aiming with the Huntsman, nor would anypony else with their guns, if they were allowed them right now.

Throughout all of LUNA's battles, Lyra was often inseparable from Bonbon, always coming back to her once she's taken care of another friend in need, and always prioritizing on getting back to her whenever possible, even when a deployed Medic clone was already on the case. So it was a bit problematic that she might have to focus on healing the others while all the other earth ponies are delegated to another task.

Chronicle, Blue, and Pokey decided to take on the Phantom, and hope that their magical weapons would land hits. The former two entrusted their marefriends (and Derpy) to handle the werewolf.

The Vampire will be dealt with when he takes action, and Rarity was tasked in roaming around and searching for the bloodsucker while helping the others whenever possible. Trixie will also be roaming, given her knife-throwing technique could come to use in any situation.

The remaining earth ponies were tasked in dealing with the pumpkins, as their lack of guns limited their availability to support the team. Out of all of them, Applejack had the most combat ability, greatest bucking power, as well as range with her Rodeo Wrangler (i.e. lasso), though that still wasn't of much help against the Horsemann and his friends.

After the deliberation, as well as plotting out who goes where, the eighteen moved out.

Rainbow Dash's Loadout:
1° Weapon - None
2° Weapon - Bonk! Atomic Punch
Melee Weapon - Sun-on-a-Stick
Cosmetic 1 - Standard
Cosmetic 2 - Element of Loyalty
Cosmetic 3 - None

Derpy Hooves's Loadout:
1° Weapon - None
2° Weapon - None
Melee Weapon - Disciplinary Action
Cosmetic 1 - Standard
Cosmetic 2 - None
Cosmetic 3 - None

Pinkie Pie's Loadout:
1° Weapon - None
2° Weapon - Party Cannon
Melee Weapon - Sharpened Volcano Fragment
Cosmetic 1 - Standard
Cosmetic 2 - Element of Laughter
Cosmetic 3 - None

Spike's Loadout:
1° Weapon - None
2° Weapon - Chargin' Targe
Melee Weapon - Persian Persuader (Fire Breath)
Cosmetic 1 - Standard
Cosmetic 2 - None
Cosmetic 3 - None

Chronicle's Loadout:
1° Weapon - Magic Shot
2° Weapon - Daffodil Daisy Sandvich (works like Buffalo Steak Sandvich)
Melee Weapon - Magic Horn Blade
Cosmetic 1 - Standard
Cosmetic 2 - None
Cosmetic 3 - None

Applejack's Loadout:
1° Weapon - None
2° Weapon - The Rodeo Wrangler
Melee Weapon - Wrench
Cosmetic 1 - Texas Ten Gallon (colored Muskelmannbraun)
Cosmetic 2 - Ironbuckers
Cosmetic 3 - Element of Honesty

Fluttershy's Loadout:
1° Weapon - Crusader's Crossbow
2° Weapon - Kritzkrieg
Melee Weapon - Amputator
Cosmetic 1 - Standard
Cosmetic 2 - Element of Kindness
Cosmetic 3 - None

Twilight Sparkle's Loadout:
1° Weapon - Huntsman
2° Weapon - Dragon Shield
Melee Weapon - Kukri
Cosmetic 1 - Element of Magic
Cosmetic 2 - None
Cosmetic 3 - None

Rarity's Loadout:
2° Weapon - Magic Shot
2° PDA - Cloak and Dagger
Melee Weapon - Knife
Cosmetic 1 - Standard
Cosmetic 2 - Element of Generosity
Cosmetic 3 - None

Blue Diary's Loadout:
1° Weapon - None
2° Weapon - Bonk! Atomic Punch
Melee Weapon - Justice and Retribution
Cosmetic 1 - Standard
Cosmetic 2 - None
Cosmetic 3 - None

Raindrops's Loadout:
1° Weapon - None
2° Weapon - None
Melee Weapon - Sun Drinker
Cosmetic 1 - Standard
Cosmetic 2 - Necklace of Honesty
Cosmetic 3 - None

Ditzy Doo's Loadout:
1° Weapon - None
2° Weapon - None
Melee Weapon - Sharpened Volcano Fragment
Cosmetic 1 - Standard
Cosmetic 2 - Necklace of Kindness
Cosmetic 3 - None

Pokey Pierce's Loadout:
1° Weapon - Ali Baba's Wee Booties
2° Weapon - None
Melee Weapon - Scotsman's Skullcutter (Drill Aura Charge)
Cosmetic 1 - Standard
Cosmetic 2 - None
Cosmetic 3 - None

Bonbon's Loadout:
1° Weapon - None
2° Weapon - Sandvich
Melee Weapon - Hooves (moderately weaker but faster than Heavy's Fists)
Cosmetic 1 - Standard
Cosmetic 2 - None
Cosmetic 3 - None

Carrot Top's Loadout:
1° Weapon - None
2° Weapon - None
Melee Weapon - Eureka Effect
Cosmetic 1 - Standard
Cosmetic 2 - Ironbuckers
Cosmetic 3 - Necklace of Generosity

Lyra Heartstrings's Loadout:
1° Weapon - Staccato Blasts (Sonic Lance tauntkill)
2° Weapon - Medi Gun
Melee Weapon - Vita-Saw
Cosmetic 1 - Standard
Cosmetic 2 - Necklace of Loyalty
Cosmetic 3 - None

Cheerilee's Loadout:
1° Weapon - Huntsman
2° Weapon - Dragon Shield
Melee Weapon - Shahanshah
Cosmetic 1 - Standard
Cosmetic 2 - Necklace of Laughter
Cosmetic 3 - None

Trixie Lulamoon's Loadout:
2° Weapon - Magic Shot
2° PDA - Cloak And Dagger
Melee Weapon - Black Rose
Cosmetic 1 - Tiara of Magic
Cosmetic 2 - None
Cosmetic 3 - None

Everypony dispersed to their planned positions. Applejack led Bonbon and Carrot to the third control point. She reasoned that the narrow spaces would allow for better places to hide and less room for (some of) the monsters to attack efficiently. The LUNA Heavy couldn't complain, and the new LUNA Engineer didn't either; Applejack was apparently Twilight's "number two" when it comes to situations like these, just as Cheerilee is Trixie's (though it's more like they share the role equally). Blue Diary more or less just does his own thing, which thankfully often coincides with theirs, and if the 'briefing' told her anything, his brother was all too willing to follow the plan but would rather do his own thing as well. Both were willing to lead as well when it came to it.

The two Snipers watched them go as they looked for a prime sniping spot. At present, they were also talking about whether they should go to the first control point or the second. Before they could come to a conclusion, Cheerilee noticed something come. With no time for words, she pushed Twilight out of the way before getting out of the Witch's path as she flew right past them.

"What—" Twilight was cut off as the new LUNA Sniper pointed at the cackling flyer, who was coming 'round for another pass. "Thanks, Miss Cheerilee."

"No need to call me Miss," she replied. "Can you take me to the shed?" A teleport there was her reply as Twilight then teleported to an opening at the manor, somewhere one would normally jump out from or snipe from. As the Witch came in range, the two loosed arrows, but the broomstick rider was just too agile, even as they attempted to lead their target.

At one point, the Witch attempted to ram into Cheerilee from behind, but the LUNA Sniper spun around to narrowly evade the hit, then with the Huntsman ready she loosed an arrow that hit the Witch on the leg, eliciting a cry of pain as the broomstick rider took to the sky.

The team taking on the Phantom was doing well, all things considered. Magic did affect the ghost, but it was aware of that and was using its chains to keep them back. The chains were sturdy enough to withstand the 'horn blade', and the Phantom was skilled enough to match Blue's swordplay. And because Pokey's plan of attack was to charge at the target with his horn, albeit with his magic flowing outward from it over his body akin to a drill (his axe was stowed away due to it being useless at the moment), the ghost was able to thwart him easily with a side-'step', though it made fending off the other two difficult.

"You really should learn the magic shot spell," Chronicle advised Pokey as Blue circled Retribution around the Phantom's left chain. "If Trixie won't teach you—she picked it up from me during that incident—I could." The pegasus proceeded to do the same with its right using Justice, then began to engage the specter in a tug-o-war.

"Chronicle, now!" cried out the LUNA Scout.

"On it!" Magic horn blade drawn, the EqU Heavy proceeded to slice the Phantom with it, eliciting wails of pain. He only managed to deal two more when the ghost seemed to regain its second wind and tugged its chains, pulling Blue towards—and through—it, and colliding him with his brother.

Despite his pegasus coat supposedly shielding him from the cold, Blue couldn't help but feel the chills when he passed through the ghost. And then it began to throw him upward and on the ground. "Oww…" Before it could throw him again (Curse this small body!), he stood his ground and pulled with his swords to throw it off, then turned around to face the Phantom. Because of its position, it twisted itself around so that it faced the pegasus.

The two them began pulling against each other and moving to the side to dodge obstacles/Chronicle attacking from behind. Eventually, the unicorn decided he was done playing around and grabbed his brother from behind, serving as further weight that the Phantom had to pull against.

"Pokey!" Blue howled. "Hit it with all you got!"

The new LUNA Demopony charged his horn with magic power, then charged at the Phantom just as his aura enveloped his entire body. Taking into account the foe's ethereal form, Pokey instantly stopped just as his magic penetrated its body. Thankfully for him, this "Drill Charge" spell doesn't require constant momentum for maximum effectiveness, allowing him to stay where he is and do continuous damage on the ghost.

It was, in a word, devastating. The Phantom gave a long, painful screech as it skidded to the ground. As it started to disappear, the chains fell through Blue's swords, and the entirety of it melted away, turning into white smoke that was dispersed by the breeze and the force of Pokey's spell, which he hasn't stopped casting.

"It's okay, Pokey! You can stop now!" Blue called out, and was promptly heeded as the drill-like aura faded.

"It better not come back so soon," Chronicle grumbled to himself.

Before Pokey could get a word in edgewise, Blue zipped right past him to intercept the Witch about to ram into him. To her credit, she immediately swerved out of the swords' way, but one of them managed to bump into the Huntsman arrow in her leg by its blunt end, eliciting a little more pain from it bending before breaking.

At the highest floor of the Manor, the anti-Scarecrow team were overlooking the third control point, which was where their target and the Horsemann himself were, guarding the jack-o'-lantern that sat between them. The latter was talking away at the former, regaling the former with some story or other pertaining to his battles with RED and BLU. After assessing the situation, all four stepped back.

"If only the Horsemann wasn't there, I'm sure we could take on the Scarecrow easy," muttered Rainbow, the team's leader. She may be a little headstrong, and maybe most of her ideas boils down to charging forward, but she had what it takes to lead, and even has experience in the field.

Sure, weather management is significantly different from the other situations Twilight (and Applejack) made plans for, but Spike had zero potential as a leader (at present), Ditzy's mask inhibited vocal communication and she wouldn't want to anyway, and while Pinkie can be brilliant at times despite her craziness, it was best that she be the 'second-in-command' at the very least.

"Before we begin, there's something I'd like to take care of," said Pinkie.

"Mpph mpph?" asked Ditzy.

"First of all, that." She pointed at the mask.

Before the LUNA Pyro could protest, the EqU one began to…do things with her mask. Nothing naughty though, just…weird. Once she was done, Pinkie pulled back, and motioned for the other two to ask her something. Nothing seemed to be different with Ditzy's Pyro mask, however.

"Say, why did you decide on Pyro, anyway?" Spike asked.

"Every other class was already taken by everypony else," Ditzy explained. "And I don't have the speed of a Scout, or the keen eyes for a Sniper, and—" She immediately paused upon realizing she can hear what she's saying clearly.

"You're welcome, Ditzy!" Pinkie beat her to the punch just as the derp-eyed pegasus turned to face her.

"I'll admit that's nice and all, but what are we gonna do about those two?" Rainbow has long since stopped bothering with the details behind what Pinkie does. "Someone's gotta distract the pumpkinhead while the rest of us take care of the Scarecrow."

"Hmm…" Pinkie looked over to the Scarecrow and the Horsemann again and put a hoof to her chin. "Leave him to me."

"You sure? His 'Boo!' can slow you down. My wings even locked up the last time I was exposed to it."

"Don't worry, Dashie! I'll make sure not to irritate him enough that he'll use it!"

"All right. Let's do this!"

With that, the four of them, Spike riding on Rainbow, descended the stairway leading to the control point. Just as they disappeared, Applejack's team came in from the other side as they approached the opening overlooking the third control point. "All right, girls. Once we've confirmed the others are distracting the monsters here, we're goin' for the pumpkin!"

"You won't need much more confirmation than what's happening now," supplied Bonbon as she and Carrot looked down.

Applejack followed suit in time to see Spike get tossed at the Scarecrow while Pinkie somehow got into the Horsemann's face, forcing him to try and shake her off. As soon as he was in range, the dragonling let out his breath of fire, but the bird-scarer quickly ducked out of the way, gave a shriek as he saw Rainbow and Ditzy closing in with their fire weapons, then dashed into the library. As the two pegasi (and one dragon after getting up) followed, Pinkie jumped off of the Horsemann and beckoned him at a nearby hallway, running as the giant axe-wielder pursued her.

After the room fell silent for a couple of seconds, the EqU Engineer spoke up. "All right. Let's go."

Immediately, the three started descending towards the point. Carrot had something to say, though. "Something doesn't feel right. They abandoned the point so quickly. It could be a trap."

"Maybe, but we'll deal with it once we get there, then call for anypony who can help us. Besides, for all her abilities, I doubt even Pinkie can hold off the Horsemann for long. We gotta hurry!"

In a matter of seconds, the three earth ponies made it to the control point. The moment all three were on it though, they heard a low moaning sound. Next, two hands, wrapped in ratty and dirty gauze, appear on both sides of the carved pumpkin they were supposed to smash.

"Everypony fall back!" Carrot cried out. And the three immediately backpedaled away from the point (without accidentally falling down the pit around it) as the Mummy slowly pulled itself up. Giving a low, moaning sound again, it slowly started towards the three earth ponies before deciding to lunge. The three were able to dodge its grabs for their necks as they scattered around him. Sure, it had only two hands and, but still… And then one of them got the chills.

It was from Bonbon. And her shivering was made obvious. "Ya better get outta here!" said Applejack as she used her lariat to strangle the Mummy and keep it away from Carrot.

"Why?" asked the LUNA Heavy as she and the LUNA Engineer continued to evade the Mummy, who continued to struggle against the lasso around its neck. While it was incapable of being choked, it could still be restrained.

"I think you've been tagged 'It' by the Horsemann. He's gonna come after ya!"

"Dear Luna!" Thankfully for LUNA, before the battle, EqU briefed them on the Horsemann, so it wasn't a surprise to her.

Bonbon immediately scampered…just as the Horseless Headless Horsemann came crashing into the room, yelling happily in a sing-song voice. "Here's Headsie!" Evidently, he managed to take care of Pinkie at this point.

The LUNA Heavy made her way into a nearby room, one with some couches and a piano in it. The Horsemann happily gave chase, practically skipping after the two-tone maned pony. The pumpkinhead's entrance distracted the two different Spirits of Harmony long enough for the Mummy to grab Carrot by the neck, then hurl her at Applejack, resulting in both of them crashing to the ground in a heap.

Worse, it was at this time that the Scarecrow came back into the room, with Rainbow, Spike, and Ditzy in hot pursuit. The straw man was very agile, with enough speed to keep ahead of the EqU Scout, and Spike's fire breath had a comparatively small range, so it was able to dodge every single one of their attacks. As to serve as the icing on this cake of disaster, Bonbon had ended up looping back to the third control point, the Horsemann still chasing her.

With all the mayhem, it was hard to notice the little things. But every single being—pony, dragonling, and monster—froze (those mid-air somehow staying there) when they heard a slight squishing sound. Everybody turned to look at the control point, and there stood Pinkie Pie, thought to have been sent away. The jack 'o' lantern had been cut in two, the halves cauterized. Upon noticing everybody staring, she smiled, "Looks like that's one pumpkin down!"

"When did you get here?" Carrot asked, the Mummy looming over her at the moment.

"Respawn, duh. After Mister Triple H decided to cut our chase short with a 'Boo!', I decided to get back here. And with all the distraction, I thought it'd be the perfect time!"

"Oh." That made sense. Seconds later, chaos returned to the room, and because of how abrupt it was, the monsters won this one, all fueled by anger from being closer to losing their game.

Raindrops was fuming, but was doing very well in keeping from bursting in an outrage.

In the process of finding the Werewolf, she and Fluttershy stood inside a two-story shed near the first control point. Standing (and moaning) on the first control point was the Zombie. The Werewolf had been here too, but one thing led to another, a thrown knife from Trixie was somehow involved, and now it was chasing Derpy. Hopefully, Trixie or somepony else would be able to help her.

The Zombie was nowhere near easy, however. As it was, aside from its unnatural endurance to blunt trauma and thus rendering her Iron Hoof technique useless, the Vampire also lay in wait, attacking whenever the LUNA Soldier decided it was time to attack. The eventual two-on-two was hardly fair, since Fluttershy was barely combat-savvy, it was difficult for her to reach the…point where she's start being a threat to the monsters, and while she's certainly able to kill REDs and BLUs with little issue, she still wasn't very good in fighting.

During the failed attacks, which always ended in them getting sent away and then returning to the spawn points in a while, they discovered that the Vampire was resistant to blades (at least in his humanoid form), but the Zombie wasn't. Already, one hand had been sliced off, but it then managed to somehow re-attach it during the respawn period.

Now, the marefriends of the two Story Crew Field Operatives were about to try again. It helped that they bumped into Trixie en route, and she accompanied them, already invisible and pausing on occasion to refill the cloak. Honestly, though, Raindrops still had a little trouble considering herself as Blue's marefriend since their current relationship wasn't at all significantly different from their previous one (friends and sparring partners).

Along the way, they saw Derpy clinging onto the Werewolf's back as he tried to shake her off, but against all logic she held on with just hoof-holds and both ends of her Disciplinary Action in her teeth with the rest of its length around the Werewolf's neck.

And an update from the others told them that the second control point was now packed with the rest of the surviving monsters, who were adamant in protecting its pumpkin.

Soon, the three were back in the first control point, where the Zombie (and the Vampire) remained on guard. Trixie quietly went to a corner (and already explained her part of the plan), while Raindrops readied Sun Drinker, a sword she first conceived in a dream, then made a reality thanks to Tony. Fluttershy readied the Amputator, which now had a few changes; in exchange for it now doing less damage than the Bonesaw, it now boosts the strange health regenerative properties of her Medic uniform.

With their plan in action, the two pegasi approached the Zombie. A shifting occurred, but a thrown knife then pinned something to the wall; a bat. It was certainly surprising that it did not transform back into the Vampire, and there had been no indication of any other bats in the Manor so there was no possibility that it had been the wrong one; that would've resulted in a very angry Fluttershy not directed at the monsters.

Pressing their advantage, the two pegasi swung their blades at the Zombie, tearing him apart limb by limb. the cuts weren't clean, and the undead's melee attacks were pretty strong for something that's basically a corpse. Raindrops contributed most to the limb-slicing, and then when it turns out the Vampire could still change back to his original form even after being pinned ("Did you seriously believe you could lock me in bat form that way?!"), Fluttershy turned her attention to him and she and Trixie held off the bloodsucker while the LUNA Soldier made absolutely sure the Zombie wasn't going to be a threat anymore.

By the time she was finished, she turned around to see that the vampire being frozen in fear as he looked at Fluttershy in the eyes. She and Trixie (as well as the rest of LUNA) has seen what was called by EqU as the Stare in action before (on top of a scolding) when it was used on Saxton Hale, but now they had a closer view. And it was still unnerving, even after at least one of them had seen it in action during their visit to "Celestia Equestria".

The Vampire then elicited a scream of fear, turned back into a bat, and flew away. The ponies followed to find out where it's going, and saw it leaving the premises of Mann Manor, its shape seen against the light of the moon as it eventually disappeared. The Horseless Headless Horsemann would later give him an earful of it when they meet again.

After ensuring that the Vampire (hopefully) wasn't coming back for the rest of the night, the two LUNA ponies turned to face the EqU one, who just gave a sheepish smile. And then a squelching sound was heard from inside the control point. The three immediately returned there to see not only the Zombie still in pieces and helpless, but Rarity making intricate cuts on the pumpkin, which then shortly fell apart into clean pieces.

"I was hoping to try something, but clearly it didn't work," the EqU Spy said after being asked what she was doing.

Raindrops decided not to delve deep into the matter (right now, at least) and said, "Well, now that we've dealt with this pumpkin…"

"It's time to help the others in smashing the last," finished Trixie as the four ponies galloped toward it. She then turned to face Rarity. "How are things there?"

"It's not looking good, dears. Last I was there, the Horseless Headless Horsemann was defending the pumpkin relentlessly. Even your team's Scout and our team's Heavy are having a hard time, especially since the Witch suddenly started bombarding us with spells. The fact that the Mummy and Werewolf are also fighting them doesn't help matters. The Scarecrow is also still at large. And they and the Witch are always able to quickly deal with anybody else long enough to be shortly sent away."

"Then it's time for another plan."

At the last control point with the last intact jack-o'-lantern was, the situation really was as bad as Rarity had relayed. The anti-Scarecrow team was still at work on subduing the straw man, trying and failing to corner him at every turn; he was unpredictable enough to anticipate even Pinkie's shenanigans. Assisting in the brawl Chronicle and Blue were in against the remaining monsters were Derpy, Pokey, Applejack, and Lyra.

The two stallions' companions decided to assist (despite how scary it was for Fluttershy). Just before the two Spies could follow, a shrill whistle caused them to stop, although none of the combatants were interrupted. It came from the shed close to the shelter of the second control point. In there were Twilight, Bonbon, Carrot, and Cheerilee. The whistle came from the LUNA Sniper. Trixie and Rarity quickly went over.

"I'm guessing we'll need another plan, don't we?" asked Trixie.

"You're right," agreed Twilight. "With only one jack-o'-lantern left, the Horseless Headless Horsemann and his friends are now able to focus all their forces on defending it."

"Even after reducing their numbers, they've just become more determined to win," added Cheerilee. "I take it the Zombie was taken care of."

"It has," reported Rarity. "As well as the Vampire."

"That's good news."

"Still, despite our best efforts, we haven't made any headway against the Horsemann's team, even with our apparent combat experts in the fray," Carrot supplied.

"We need to get the right ponies to focus on as few monsters as possible while having the others distract the rest," Twilight suggested. "That way, we can take them down faster."

"I believe Blue Diary should take on the Witch, and get help from Rainbow Dash if possible," Trixie suggested. "I believe the others can hold off the rest without him. And no progress has been made with the Scarecrow so far."

"Good idea" said Cheerilee. "I'll inform him now." Sadly, the comms system the teams have are limited to their own members only, making contacting other teams outside of hollering in range impossible, so Rarity decided to notify Rainbow while the LUNA Sniper informed the LUNA Scout.

After hearing the directive from Cheerilee via the comms system, Blue—currently back-to-back with his brother as they faced the Horsemann and Werewolf—said, "Chronicle, someone needs to take care of the witch. Can you handle things from here?"

"What do you take me for?"

"Good point." And with that, the white pegasus immediately took to the sky. Somewhere where the Scarecrow was, another pegasus took off as well to join in.

Back at the other shed, Twilight, Cheerilee, Trixie, Bonbon, and Carrot were observing the goings-on. The last two stayed mainly because they felt they couldn't contribute much given a lack of gear. Rarity had headed out to provide distractions whenever she can, and even made a few attempts at the jack-o'-lantern, but the Horsemann somehow always knew her position and promptly sent her away each time. So far, only Blue and Chronicle never had to respawn once throughout the entire fight.

Twilight found it a little weird to be in 'command' again, especially since throughout all these fights, Tasic and the others always knew what to do, and had knowledge on this world. Now, in order to rescue their friends, she had to step up to the plate once more, admittedly with Trixie and Cheerilee, and work out the battle plan. Thankfully, their time here taught them how to battle with the gear they have, think like the Mann Co. mercenaries, and things they wouldn't've been able to do without Tasic's help.

"Now for the Horsemann," the EqU Sniper mused. "We need somepony to get him off the point so another can reach the jack-o'-lantern to smash it."

"But who's available as a distraction?" asked Carrot.

Blue and Rainbow were still busy with the Witch, the Mummy was strangling Pokey and Fluttershy while being strangled by Applejack's lariat, Lyra was firing blasts of sound and Crossbow bolts as she tried to keep everybody in shape, the Werewolf still had Derpy on his back as he contended with Chronicle and Raindrops, and the Scarecrow was still eluding Spike, Ditzy, and Pinkie.

Deciding there were too many chasing the Scarecrow, Twilight decided to contact the EqU Pyro, who came over via being thrown by the straw man, and landed just short of the shed the remaining members of EqU and LUNA were in. Getting up immediately, she zipped over to them.

"Yes, Twilight?" Pinkie immediately asked.

"We need you to distract the Horsemann."

"You can leave it to me! I've done it before, and I can do it again!"

"We'll also need somepony to deal with the jack-o'-lantern."

"I'll do it," offered Trixie.

Twilight didn't argue. Every second wasted in this fight is a second closer to never getting their human friends back. "All right. Everypony else, let's get in there and help! We're almost done!"

As the chaotic battle for the last jack-o'-lantern continued, Trixie made her way to the point, concealed with her invisibility spell. She alternates between the spell and her Spy watch depending on her mood. On one hoof, the spell can go for longer than the gadget (except perhaps the Cloak and Dagger given enough wait time) and can even make her inaudible. On the other, simply losing focus (and not just from collision with the enemy or explosives) can force her to dispel it while the watch can still do its job, even though that alone will alert the enemy of a Spy's presence (but not exact location).

Simply throwing her knife at the carved pumpkin won't do. It had to be smashed, not simply hit. Unfortunately, her telekinetic range is limited because of her card that grants her her Spy gear (and protects her from dying), so she'd have to get closer. Sure, her reach is greater than that of a human's arm, but that still wasn't saying much. And hurling, recalling, and re-hurling the knife over and over would just alert the Horsemann.

Turning invisible via her watch as she dispelled her own invisibility spell (thankfully, the two didn't interfere with one another, as she had adjusted her spell to account for the watch's cloaking field after a couple of tests), she tucked at a corner, waiting for Pinkie to do her thing.

The Horseless Headless Horsemann stood diligently at the point, prepared to protect the last jack-o'-lantern with his life. True, he can respawn, but that's beyond the point. It was only an hour left before sunrise, and already two were taken out. The last time his 'team' battled RED and BLU, it was so they could be cured of their mutations after he cursed them out of boredom. While that should be Merasmus's forte, Silas Mann happened to acquire skills in magic when he came back to life as the Horsemann; he just happens to prefer using only his Headtaker in combat.

"Hey, Headsie!" a voice came from behind him.

This sort-of startled the Horsemann; it was the EqU Pyro, who has the weird ability to defy physics and common sense when the situation can turn out to be funny. He couldn't risk her smashing the pumpkin, but turning around could mean a sneak attack from behind in the meantime. So he decided to have his head do a quick 360 to verify the EqU Pyro's location. However, the instant his head was facing forward again, there she was, on top of his head, and looking down at his 'eyes' upside-down.

Planting his axe on the ground for a moment, the Horsemann clapped his hands in an attempt to grab her, but she was already gone. He then felt a pony clinging on his back. The notion to flatten her is tempting, but he couldn't afford to be lying down on the job, so he picked up his axe and backpedaled to the wall instead to crush her against it. But while he didn't feel her move away, when he smacked his back there, he felt no pony sandwiched between the wall and himself.

And then he heard a squish. Well, more like a series of carving sounds, and then a couple of squishes. He turned to look at the jack-o'-lantern… and saw that the LUNA Spy had cut the darn thing in four parts, and then stomped on each one.

Everybody else stopped to gape at the sight, the ones in flight descending upon noticing the commotion stop. After a couple of seconds passed, realizing that there would be no Administrator declaring victory for their fight, LUNA and EqU began cheering in unison. The Horsemann and his friends all scowled at their defeat.

Nearly growling in frustration, the Horsemann whipped his head to Trixie (and Pinkie, who explicitly joined her). The two nervously glanced between him and their teammates. The Horsemann then did an eye-roll (well, mimicked it as he didn't have eyes), and then, with a scream that rivaled a banshee, brought his axe down… just inches away from the two.

"Alas," the Horsemann grinned and released the handle of his axe, which was still stuck in the ground. "I'm a monster of my word."

With very little fuss, the hostages were returned without Redmond Mann noticing anything, reunions were done, tense farewells were made, and the two transports left Mann Manor for good. Well, one team would end up going to another Mann Manor and encounter one of the teams and Miss Pauling, but that tale is best left unsaid.

Right now, the nine combat members of EqU were facing Jothicu, who offered to explain why their memories regarding visits and encounters with other Story Crew members, which included prior meeting with some of LUNA's members.

"You see, the reason we locked your memories away is because—as evidenced in our first encounter with LUNA—we aren't the only teams here," he stated. "A "turf war" of sorts is going on behind the Gravel Wars the Administrator is perpetuating, and it is our task and LUNA's to make sure that Mann Co. stays in the dark regarding this. If Helen does know of this, she's keeping quiet."

"Which of my relatives are involved in this conflict as well?" Chronicle asked.

"Your twin sister. And that's all I'm permitted to say."

"Does this mean Berry and the others are with her as well?" Pinkie then asked. "And what about Blue Diary's 'female counterpart'?"

"Yes. Not allowed to say. Going after all the territories Mann Co. has battled in is our first step that will pave the way for the others. After that, our mission is finished."

"And after that, we can go home, right?" hoped Twilight.

Jothicu nodded. "Yes. Now let's get some rest. We all earned it. Especially after four battles in a row."

Everybody nodded at that, and because of the same device that inhibited the ponies' (and dragon's) memories, they did not feel like asking any further.

I know the Lunaverse characters' characterization may not be spot-on, but…I don't really have a good excuse, even when I started reading the Second Season, but none of the incomplete ones. And Pokey Pierce's spell is Lunaverse!canon, being first used in the story Where There's Smoke.

Sometimes, when I manage the characters, I realize how small or big the number 18 can still be. It just feels so comparatively big I don't realize I have too few or too many characters left for a task until after counting again. Sorry again if I ended it not-as-good again. As I've said, writer's block.

See ya on Third!