Strange Bedfellows

by BRBrony9

Capital Gains

Corporal Breeze rested his rifle on the sandbagged wall he was crouching behind. Here they come...

Ahead of him on the Boulevard of the Alicorns, the enemy were charging, several hundred of them making progress down the wide avenue and firing their weapons as they drew closer. Evidently their desire to remain at a distance had now been replaced by the typical bloodlust which had been the driver of all Chaos forces encountered by the pony military since the start of the invasion. Not every single man would blindly run at a defended position, but there were massed bayonet charges, organised to a certain degree and designed to overwhelm the defenders with a rush of bodies. Against an undisciplined defending force, such tactics could be very effective indeed, inspiring fear, not just of death but of close combat, of mutilation and blood and gore, of one's physical strength being put to the test and found wanting.

Against a well organised line of trained soldiers and heavy arms, however, a bayonet charge would lead to nothing more than a bloody mess with dozens dead. That seemed the likely outcome here; the boulevard was wide and offered good sightlines for defenders, open space with little cover. Was it not rather foolish to be charging headlong at the palace wall in such a fashion? Surely even this most bloodthirsty of enemies must realise the futility of their efforts.

Breeze fired and worked the lever of his repeating rifle. The cannons roared around him, hurling shells at the oncoming enemy who continued to advance into the teeth of the pony guns, seemingly heedless of the danger. Bullet and blast found them and they began to fall, dead before they hit the ground. They returned fire, but though their red beams punched through the defensive shield held up by the captain, they could not penetrate most of the defensive works behind which the ponies crouched, protected from the worst of the danger.

But then, just like that, things changed. One of the enemy dropships appeared overhead, quickly drawing the attentions of the anti-air gunners on the palace wall. But then, just like the city shield, red energy began to crackle around the defensive position, tearing open a hole in the captain's shield as she tried her best to maintain coverage and protection for the whole area. The charging enemy headed straight for the hole, now having a target to aim for, a way inside.

The anti-air gunners failed to open fire, for reasons that were not apparent. Breeze glanced back and up at the wall. The gunners had a clear target. The dropship was much closer to them than the enemy bomber had been, which they had successfully engaged. Why were they not doing the same? Had they run out of ammunition? Were their guns damaged? And what the hell was causing that opening in the shield?

Breeze loaded another clip into his rifle. The enemy now had a way through and into their positions, assuming they could survive the gunfire which could now focus down on a single point. If anything, they were merely going to be funneled into a killzone by whatever had opened up the shield, presumably in an attempt to try and assist the enemy attack. He sighted in and prepared to fire as soon as the first soldiers appeared in the breach.

Appear they did, but not where anypony had been expecting them. There was a loud crack of displaced air, then several more, accompanied with flashes of purple light, off to Breeze's left. He glanced over. Reinforcements teleporting in?

Yes, but not pony reinforcements. A dozen men now stood among them. At least, he assumed they were men. Their faces appeared the same as those of the humans, but they were much, much larger, towering over the ponies, being almost twice their average height, if not slightly more than that. They were clad in armour from their feet to their necks, and some of them had helmets rather than bare heads, with glowing eyepieces. Their weapons were almost the size of one of the anti-air cannons up on the walls, great bulky and blocky guns clasped in massive gauntlets. One of their number wore a cape and held a long staff, which was wreathed in arcane fire.

Breeze swung his gun around in alarm. There were shouts of dismay from along the line. Unicorns could teleport, yes, and Changelings, but now humans, too? None of the defenders had encountered such a thing before from either the Chaos or Imperial forces, and it had caught them by surprise. The dozen men who had materialised brought their weapons up and began to fire, and ponies began to die. There were screams and confusion. Some ponies charged with their bayonets, but it was futile as the enemies were covered with armour. Bullets bounced off of them, while in return their hand-cannons ripped ponies apart, exploding ammunition blowing great holes in their bodies, punching clean through their armour before detonating inside them.

One of the field guns was hastily rotated to try and engage the targets with a canister round as ponies scattered before them. The captain, her shield rendered useless by the infiltration and the red energy, dropped it and turned to fight, firing off a rippling blast of magic at the towering figures. It struck one of them on the shoulder, and blew a chunk from his pauldron but did not break through to injure the man himself. She tried again and struck home, as the targets were relatively slow moving, perhaps their only disadvantage. Again, her magic failed to penetrate. She teleported to the side as the man opened up with his gun, blowing holes in the cobbles and sandbags . Another unfortunate pony lost his head, his brains spread across the barricades.

The captain reappeared and fired again, catching the man in his chest, staggering him for a moment before he swung his weapon around to target her. Again she teleported away as bullets pinged off the armour of the aggressors. The field gun fired with a roar and sprayed the area with ball bearings, an anti-personnel round which had almost no effect on the hulking, armoured giants. The captain tried a rapid string of magical blasts, peppering the enemy from behind but still achieving nothing more than scoring and burning the paint and melting the top few inches of armour. Nothing seemed to be able to break through the armoured suits they wore, and their guns continued to chew up the defensive line.

More ponies died, unable to combat the powerful enemy effectively, having no weapons which could harm them. Some tried to get into cover, to move away from the threat, but the enemy on the Boulevard of the Alicorns were now free to engage with all of their weapons as they charged into close combat, now evidently buoyed by the arrival of their powerful allies. The defenders now faced threats from two places at once, and they were being squeezed. Some ponies leapfrogged the sandbags to fire at the armoured beasts from the other side, but in doing so exposed themselves to fire from the massed ranks of the enemy on the boulevard. Others tried to flee to the flanks, which was more successful, but the position they had held strongly until mere moments ago was now in danger of crumbling before their very eyes.

The armoured enemy holding the staff turned his attentions to the captain as she was proving the trickier threat, thanks to her unicorn abilities of teleportation and offensive magic. Again she flashed out of existence and then back into reality again, continuing to fire her magic even though it seemed to have little effect against the foe. It was her duty, after all, to keep on trying and trying until she could try no more. The staff-wielding enemy wanted to make sure that time came sooner rather than later. The head of his staff crackled with swirling energy, a deep red in colour, like that which had opened up the shields. When the captain reappeared once more, it fired, engulfing her.

It did not kill or burn her, but she collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain, clawing at her own head and eyes, beset by visions and horrors unknown and unknowable that tormented her now rapidly decaying mind. Where she had stood proud moments before, unyielding before the enemy, now she was little more than a gibbering fool on the ground. It was a sight that shocked both Corporal Breeze and the rest of the defenders who saw the incident take place. What foulness had been unleashed by this man?

Breeze backed away, urging his ponies to follow- not just a section, but now a platoon or more of ponies who had been under his command since the attack on the command centre. He had to try and reorganise them, defend the line, hold the palace walls. But how could he do that when their weapons seemingly had no effect on the great armoured beasts that faced them? Even magic was failing to slow them down, and the captain was either dead, dying, or going slowly insane inside her own head. She couldn't help them now, and Breeze's section was separated from any other officers by the armoured echelon that was tearing through them. To make it worse, there were hundreds of enemy soldier streaming down the boulevard toward them, with screams and curses on their lips.

The only way they could go was back through the gate and into the palace, but the gate was closed and sealed. They could go west along the wall to the street, but they would be heavily exposed to incoming enemy fire from the boulevard, as well as from the armoured enemies should their attentions turn that way. They had to get inside the palace walls and to safety. It was the only way. To stay would be to see the whole defensive position crumble before their eyes, dissolving into a mess of scattered groups trying to fend off a vastly superior force, and eventually to nothing but a carpet of bodies lining the cobbles in front of the main gate.

Other ponies, he could see, were trying the same thing, banging on the gates for them to be opened, but that was not going to happen. Unless Princess Cadence dropped her shield around the whole city and switched instead to protecting only the palace, the risk of opening the gate was simply too great. There were forces inside the walls, yes, but their attentions had been greatly diverted by the landings being made inside the walls. Princess Celestia had dealt with the major threat they posed by destroying the landing barges and killing many of the troops who had set foot inside the grounds, but several dozen had either made it to the palace buildings or were taking cover in the gardens and were in the process of being hunted down by the guardsponies and soldiers. A force still lined the walls, and there were several platoons deployed inside the gate area, but it would have been folly to open the gate to try and save a few pony lives.

'Go up!' Breeze shouted to his followers. 'Over the wall, go! Pegasi, airlift! Unicorns, levitation or teleportation!' he ordered in a voice that sounded much more confident than he felt inside. The ponies complied as best they could while under fire. Pegasi took to the air, lifting their earth pony comrades on their backs or in their hooves and heading to the top of the wall. Unicorns gathered small groups of ponies around and began to either teleport them to safety beyond the wall, or levitate them quickly, one by one, up and onto the parapet to join the other defenders who were already firing from the walltop. It was a risky business as they were under enemy fire, but it was necessary, as with the gate closed it was the only way to get inside the palace walls and the relative safety that would bring.

The messenger Pegasus the captain had dispatched to the palace had not had time to return with orders. Perhaps, Breeze consoled himself, their orders would indeed have been to fall back inside the walls, given the current situation. But the current situation was not the same as it had been when the messenger had left. Now, they were being attacked from inside their own lines by enemies they could not harm, and from outside by hundreds of men. An order given now would seem logical, sound. But an order such as this in the mind of somepony who was unaware of the developments would seem half-treasonous. Giving up ground, holy ground, almost, just outside of the palace walls to the enemy without a direct order from a superior? Perhaps even the Princess herself was the only one who could truly authorise such a thing. Or, perhaps, it would be the right thing to do regardless of how it might appear. Breeze did not know, but he did know that he lacked the time to have an in-depth mental discussion with himself over the correct course of action to take. He and his ponies had to move now or they would be overrun, unable to fight effectively on two fronts at once with their flank in danger, even with covering fire from the walltop.

One by one the ponies went up or teleported away from the danger. Breeze could see the armoured enemies still chewing up and spitting out other defenders who were standing and fighting, their rifles still unable to penetrate the armour. Several of the enemies lacked helmets, meaning at least their heads were exposed, but that still required an accurate shot to hit them in a relatively small target area, and it was hard to take careful aim when under attack from two sides and with bullets and deadly red beams flashing around your ears. The defensive position was finished, anyone could see that. But maybe they could hold the wall from above and behind it; just not in front of it.

Breeze kept low and emptied his magazine in the direction of the onrushing enemies, killing two of them. There were many more, however, all eager to close the gap, and they were making excellent progress in their attempts to do so. Just a few more seconds would see them in close combat range.

'Corporal, over here!!' a pony shouted. Breeze turned to look. It was a Pegasus, Thunderclaw was his name, beckoning him over. 'Hurry! I'll get you up there!' He gestured to the walltop. Breeze knew he was right; it was time to go. He slung his rifle over his back and galloped to Thunderclaw.

'Make it snappy!' he ordered, clambering onto his back and holding on tightly. 'Don't leave anypony down there!' Breeze looked around and saw a few ponies still fighting around them. They were his responsibility, but he had to get clear himself or nobody could command them. That was how he convinced himself it was the right thing to do, to leave while some of his ponies were still fighting, to not be the last pony out. Wasn't he meant to be? Wasn't he meant to stay until the last?

Thunderclaw carried him up through the gunfire, to the walltop. The palace walls were not as high as those of the city itself, but they were more grandiose, decorated with aesthetic delights that wowed many visitors to Canterlot even before they began the official palace tour. There were gargoyles, sweeping curves, arches. Before they had been destroyed by the enemy, there were decorative mosaics and frescoes, banners like those which lined the hallways of the palace itself. They were some fifty feet high, topped with crenelations and lined with rifles. Guardsponies were posted every few feet as part of the defensive preparations of the palace. Even in the emergency situation which had developed, there had been time to occupy their positions and man the guns mounted there, both field guns and anti-air weapons. If they could not hold the street outside, then they could at least hold the wall.

Thunderclaw approached the walltop with Breeze on his back. 'Almost there, corporal!' he assured his passenger. But though they had climbed higher, they had not left the gunfire behind, and Thunderclaw grunted in pain as a bullet went straight through his left wing. He carried on going, but then a red beam hit his right wing, burning away most of the feathers on the leading edge. Thunderclaw rapidly began to lose altitude, both wings trying to flap but being damaged and unable to provide enough lift. 'Jump, corp!' Thunderclaw shouted. 'Jump!'

Breeze looked at the wall. He was close, but surely not close enough. Thunderclaw was going down, however, and if he stayed on his back they would probably both plunge to their deaths on the street below. A fifty foot drop was hardly survivable, unless somehow the Pegasus's body cushioned his fall sufficiently to save his life. If he stayed, he was most likely dead. If he jumped and missed, then he was dead for sure. But if he could jump and reach the wall before Thunderclaw dropped below the parapet, then he would live. It was a simple choice, and one he had but a split second to make.

Breeze had a mere moment to analyse the jump. It was a good few feet, with nothing to push off from except Thunderclaw's falling body. But he surely had to try. He did as the Pegasus had instructed, and lifted himself high on his haunches, pushing down with all his might with his hind legs. He felt himself rising free, floating in mid-air, Thunderclaw falling away behind and below him. The gap seemed infinite, the time interminable. But finally he landed heavily atop the wall, bouncing with a thud from the crenelated parapet and rolling onto the wall itself, among the rest of his ponies. Thunderclaw disappeared from view, falling, falling back down into the maelstrom of battle, unable to remain in the air with both wings injured.

Breeze rolled and sat up. He was alright, no harm had befallen him. Thunderclaw was gone, he knew that much, if not dead from the fall then certainly dead now; the enemy were swarming the defensive line, and he would have been hacked down at the first opportunity, of that there was no doubt. But what now? The wall was well defended, with guns and firing ports and plenty of ponies, Guard and Army alike. But the cannons could not be depressed far enough to engage the enemy, not now they were at the food of the wall. The defence would have to focus around rifle fire and magic, two assets that the ponies did, at least, have good amounts of.

Breeze scrambled back to his hooves and removed his rifle from his back. It would be needed once more, and he trotted to the edge of the wall. The enemy infantry had reached the end of the boulevard and linked up with their armoured brethren. They were now firing up at the ponies above them, who were returning fire from behind cover as bullets and beams chipped away at the thick stone and concrete. Several ponies had stashes of satchel charges which they were tossing over the side, the explosions below killing dozens of the enemy as they crowded around at the base of the wall.

One benefit of fighting the human enemy instead of, say, Changelings, was that their foot soldiers could not fly, unlike drones, or Griffons, or rogue Pegasi that the Guard fought on a somewhat regular basis. The downside was that the humans compensated for that with their own aircraft, which were far more maneouverable and much faster than pony airships, or even a particularly fast Pegasi. Perhaps the Wonderbolts could catch up to one; Breeze didn't know what their top speed actually was, but they roared overhead and were gone within a second or two, disappearing among the spires of Canterlot before looping round for another run. Some of them were attacking other points in the city, but at least two had their attentions on the palace, though they could not freely fire without fear of harming their own men.

Breeze peered over the parapet and quickly ducked back as bullets whipped around his head. There were several officers barking orders, which was something of a relief to him. He did not like being put in charge of more than his fair share of ponies. Rising above his rank was not a good idea for any pony, until they were suitably trained and experienced. He was more than happy to turn over control back to those in whose hooves such power should rest. They had to hold the line, hold the wall, and keep the enemy out of the palace grounds. He didn't know that the palace grounds had already been infiltrated from within by other enemy landers, but either way, they had to keep this large force at bay.

Accurate fire and explosives tossed from the walls brought down large numbers of the enemy infantry below, but the rest of them tried to take cover behind the sandbags and barricades. They offered some protection from the barrage coming from above. The armoured enemies joined in, their heavy boots thumping on the cobbled stones as their guns fired explosive rounds at the defenders, blowing holes in the parapet and killing several ponies.

Breeze heard shouted orders from a nearby Lieutenant. Hold the wall and keep shooting. That was simple enough. What else could they do, after all? He took up position and peeked over the edge, aiming his rifle. He pulled the trigger. It was easy enough to hit someone; there were so many men down below that it would be harder to miss than to strike a target. He worked the action and emptied his magazine, reloading with a fresh clip. More rifle fire continued around him as the ponies tried their best to keep the enemy back, stop them from trying to climb the wall. There was no direct access from outside, no stairs or ladders that led up onto the walltop from the boulevard beyond the gate. The Chaos forces would have to climb up somehow, with grappling hooks or ropes, if they wanted to get over the wall.

Of course, they did not necessarily have to go over the wall to gain access to the palace grounds. The armoured infantry, heedless of the barrage of rifle fire coming down at them, advanced in formation to the gate. The huge metal doors towered over even their large frames, barring entry. They had resisted countless invaders down the years, hurling back battering rams and siege engines. But all of those attempts had been primitive, compared to the technology available to the humans. The Chaos forces possessed similar technology to the Imperials. One of the supermen advanced to the gate and drew an item from his belt, affixing it to the gate by the use of a magnetic adhesion strip. It was simple but enough to hold the device in place as the men withdrew to a safe distance. The few ponies who had witnessed his action braced and shouted warnings of an impending explosion, but none came. Instead, a fountain of sparks and light erupted from the gate as the Melta-charge got to work, burning white hot and simply melting through the tough metal surface, doing exactly as its name implied.

A hole appeared in the gate, rivulets of molten metal running through the grooves in the cobblestones. One of the huge men approached the gate and gave a firm kick at the damaged section, knocking more of the metal away and clearing a path. He stepped through with the thud of his boots on the cobbles echoing. There were shouts from the wall. The enemy was through. There was a breach. There was confusion and panic on the wall. If the enemy was inside, they had to throw them back, force them out. But how could they do that when they couldn't harm them at all?

Comments

[Booster Spice]

Chaos Space Marines?

Time to go Bowling?

Or just how hard can an Earth pony kick a Cannon?

If that staff has teh same colour though, then thats classed as dangerous as the Demon. But how to get Celestia or Lunas Personal attention to it?.. Surely being a Chaos staff it cant be broken or even damaged just by striking it or smashing it against mere rock? Even Spike shouldnt be able to bite it?