Pony Fortress 2: A Worthy Cause

by The Usurper

The First Wave

Once upon a time, there was a changeling named Exos. He'd served in the army ever since he was born - that is, for about three weeks. After the first two, the Queen had personally promoted him to an officer. It was the highlight of his existence, and he'd spent the next week boasting to his friends. Now, days later, Commander Protea assigned him to the vanguard unit of the invasion force.

When he heard the news, his entire body was shaking with fear. He knew all too well that the first few soldiers into the fray never came out alive. He'd been in the backup unit for the capture of Canterlot, and while he did see some action, he didn't see much. And the ones who saw the most were dead.

Protea had told the army that it would be an easy battle, that there would be little resistance, that the whole place was nearly deserted, and that only the Administrator and his little assistant were in the base.

But like the rest of the army, Exos had heard the rumour about the twenty scouts that were sent in, and how they were brutally massacred. Protea knew of this, and she'd assured them that the earlier incident was isolated, as they were only twenty. The army had two thousand.

It hadn't escaped him that there were only nineteen other changelings in the vanguard.

After a few hours of traveling, he was one of the first to suffer from a sudden inability to fly. The collapse to the ground had been painful and humiliating, but he suspected, with growing dread, it was only a sampling of what was to come. Protea had said that it wasn't permanent - just a gravity spell set up around the area. The rest of the journey was spent on hoof.

Now, at last, he'd arrived. His mind had hidden itself away in his stomach, convinced that it was a safer place. His heart was palpitating wildly, and trickling beads of sweat flowed freely down his face as he stared up at the battlefield.

Rows of plain wooden buildings lined a clear path, all the way up to a few dozen meters away, where a large, big-windowed building split the road into two. Beyond that, he couldn't see much, but he hoped against all hope that the Administrator's base was at the end of it.

"What's the big idea?" One of his fellow changelings hissed. "I thought the Commander said that there were trees here! Trees, grass, flowers! This is just a dusty town!"

"The Administrator may be more powerful than we thought." He muttered. And he looked, carefully, at the town stretched out before him. Silhouetted against the glow of the rising sun, the west-facing walls of the buildings, having fallen into shadow, were dark. Dark as night, dark as... coal.

He had no idea why he'd thought of that. But the name stuck. Coal... town. Coaltown. It has a certain ring to it.

"Well, officer? Your orders."

His imagination abandoned him. Once again, he was back at the head of the vanguard, staring his imminent doom in the face.

"Ah... yes. Move forward carefully and keep alert for any threats. We have no idea what defenses the Administrator has."

The changeling shifted uncertainly. "With all due respect, officer, I must ask that you-"

pew

Without warning, the changeling collapsed onto the ground, his decapitated head rolling slightly to the side.

Exos snapped around. "Sniper! Find her, and now!"

"As ordered." A multitude of green flashes lit the shadows briefly. Seconds later, eighteen Scouts rushed out onto the battlefield, ducking and weaving and generally doing everything they could to make the Sniper's life miserable.

Twilight, hidden strategically in the darkness of the central building, alone, cursed under her breath. Tracking her new target - the one who had obviously designated himself as the commander - she fired again, only to miss as he ducked behind one of the buildings. She cursed again.

"Hey! Twilight, what gives?" Rainbow's voice sounded crackly and artificial through the walkie-talkie. It was somewhat unnerving; as if somepony was trying to make a poor imitation of her. "Why didn't you kill their main guy?"

"I didn't know he was the leader." She grunted in reply. "He looked so... distracted."

"Nothing we can do about it now." Ician announced. His firm tone gave no hint that his earlier breakdown had ever taken place. "Just focus on taking them out. You've got your duty, Squad A's got theirs."

"Right." Twilight was only half-listening. "Hey, Applejack, is your sentry ready?"

"All set up under the stairs, Twi. As soon as they clear that house, they're gonna get it."

"What about your sticky trap, Zecora?"

"It's been laid a little further back, as insurance should we need to switch tack."

"Good to know. I'm still trying to get used to this rifle, so don't expect too much." She took aim at one of the Scouts and fired. The bullet missed her head, embedding itself in her chest. She spat blood and collapsed, but Twilight didn't feel any better.

"Better brush up on those headshots, Twilight." Ician said. "The explosion only triggers upon contact with cranial fluid. I don't want you missing all your shots when we do finally get enough exoskeletons to upgrade your Heatmaker."

"I know, I know." She shot again; this time she only just managed to score a clean decapitation. "But I've been using the Huntsman for so long. It takes a while to readjust."

"Don't worry, we understand completely, darling." Rarity assured her. "Take your time. Haste makes waste, as they say."

Ician cut through the idle chatter. "Rainbow, I want you to get in there and collect all the remains after Applejack's sentry decimates them. You might come under heavy fire if they get reinforcements in, so don't hesitate to use the exoskeletons as shields if it comes down to it."

"Don't you need them in one piece?" Rainbow asked.

"I do, but a few bullet holes or blast markings won't make a difference."

"Whatever you say."

"Heads up." Twilight watched as the Scouts drew closer and closer to the point of no return. "Wait for your cue, Rainbow."

"Gotcha, Twilight."

"Here they are!" Applejack whispered, a hint of excitement creeping into her voice. "Three... two..."

"... one." Twilight finished for her.

beep beep

She whooped. "Yeehaw!"

"Wow, you're really ripping them to shreds." Twilight lowered the Heatmaker and marveled. The mini-rockets tore through the air, driving home on one of the Scout's torsos. She shielded her eyes from the brilliant flash.

"Good work, mercenaries." Ician said proudly. "Go get the shells, Rainbow."

"Five steps ahead of you." She zoomed in, quick as a bullet, snatched up the pieces and rushed back as fast as she could manage. "Got 'em all. I'm bringing them back now."

"Excellent. Upgrade requests, anypony?"

"Explosive headshots, please." Twilight grinned as she peered through her scope. "I'm feeling lucky."

"It's better to feel skilled." Ician retorted. "Rainbow, get back as fast as you can. I'll need a little while to work on it."

"Aye aye, captain."

"Is she gonna be doin' a lot of this runnin' back and forth?" Applejack questioned.

"I should think so." Twilight answered, waiting for the as-of-yet unseen enemies to take their places on the battlefield. "We're going to be killing a few hundred changelings each before the battle is won."

"Then is there anythin' to improve my teleporters?"

"I can augment them to function both ways, if that's what you're asking." Ician said.

"Ah, good. Could ah have one of those?"

"Two-way teleporters, coming right up."

"Hey, Rarity." Twilight began.

"Yes, dear?"

"Where are you?"

"Cloaked behind the furthest house."

"Furthest house from the base, or from the front lines?"

"From the base."

"I see." Twilight allowed the scope to fall away from her eyes, frowning. "Can you see the leader I failed to kill?"

"Yes, he's pacing up and down in front of me."

"Could you help me kill him?"

"I'm afraid she can't." Ician cut in. "I have bigger plans in mind."

That's good to know... sort of. "But if we can take out their commander, it'll save us a lot of trouble."

"He's not their overall commander." He explained. "Is he, Rarity?"

"He's not." She confirmed.

"How do you know?" Twilight asked.

"He's talking to somepony on his walkie-talkie now. And he's addressing whoever it is as 'Commander.'"

"Oh really?" Ician inquired, interested. "What's the conversation about?"

"I can only hear his side, but from what I understand he's informing the commander that we are here."

"So they had no idea that the mercenaries were stationed at the Administrator's to begin with?" The interest was evolving into excitement.

"Apparently not, no."

"Excellent." He chuckled. "That says wonders about their spy network."

"Namely, that it doesn't exist." Twilight said.

"Or that they're grossly incompetent. Either works for me."

"Hold on... there seems to be something more." Rarity interjected.

"What is it?"

"They appear to be... arguing?" Confusion saturated her tone. "Why would they be arguing?"

Ician stayed silent. Twilight could only assume that he was deep in thought.

"Why would they?" She said, trying to push the conversation along.

"Why would they, indeed?" Ician mused out loud. "I believed that most changelings were blindly loyal, but it seems the enemy commander has some resistance to her rule."

Twilight noticed something. "'Her' rule? What makes you so sure that it's a her?"

"I had a little chat with the prisoner yesterday. He told me everything I needed to know."

"We have a prisoner?"

"I knew nothing of it either." Rarity added.

"My apologies, I must have forgotten to mention it. It seemed inconsequential."

"Really, it kinda is." Rainbow's voice came with a distinct echo.

"Ah, you're here." Ician sounded cheerful. "Just drop the exoskeletons off on the counter. I'll take care of it."

"If you say so." Twilight heard the frantic flapping of wings through both Rainbow's and Ician's walkie-talkies, but soon the second sound faded into the background and then disappeared completely.

"She's fast." He observed unnecessarily.

"I am." Rainbow agreed.

"She is." Twilight deadpanned. "And I'm sure we all agree that that's enough superfluousness for today."

"What's superfluousness?"

"We both agree." Ician quickly interrupted. "Now, Rarity, did you hear anything new?"

"Yes. Apparently the bulk of the army is being sent in now."

"Oh... that's bad." Applejack said. "Real bad."

"I wouldn't worry." Ician told them. "There's no conceivable way the enemy commander will try to squeeze in all her troops into this narrow space. She'll space them out a little bit to minimize the losses from rockets, grenades, and sticky traps. You'll have enough time to sweep the floor with them wave by wave."

"Especially when I get my explosive headshots."

"Yes... so long as you get better at aiming within the hour. And when I'm done hammering this into shape..." A grunt and a loud thunk broke Twilight's concentration briefly. "Sorry about that. Let me turn the volume down."

"Please do." Twilight growled.

From the other end, Ician muttered something unintelligible.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

A slightly louder but still indecipherable murmur came from his side.

"I still can't hear you, sorry."

"I said," Ician nearly shouted, though the realization that he was close to yelling came more from the inflection of his tone than the actual strength of the sound, "be careful! The next wave will be here at any time!"

A deafening explosion shook the ground. Twilight gasped, losing her firm magical grip on her rifle for a moment.

"Um," Fluttershy said in her demure tone, "they're here."

"Eeyup." Big Mac's minigun whirled relentlessly. Streams of bullets lanced out at the encroaching horde.

"I know." Twilight replied. It seemed rather pointless. But at least she'd shown her willingness to speak to the ex-BLU Team members.

"They have rocket launchers, Pinkie." Spike, perched atop the central building, was obviously not as willing. "Soldiers."

"Don't call me that." A shadow behind Applejack's dispenser shifted. Applejack fidgeted uneasily.

"But that's your name." Twilight pointed out.

"Not my name." She growled. "That's the soft one's name. My name is Pinkamena."

"Why are you talking about yourself like this?"

"She is not me. I am me."

"Cut the chatter and focus on the objectives!" Ician ordered.

"I do what I want!"

"If you want to kill, I suggest you start doing it now!" The threatening air was somewhat undermined by the pathetic volume.

"Hmph." With a hop, skip and a jump, she leapt into battle wildly, screaming insults at her soon-to-be victims. It disrupted Twilight's concentration.

"Guh." She fired and missed completely. "This is impossible!"

"Twilight!" Ician shouted. "I think it would be advisable to cancel the reception from Pinkie's end of the walkie-talkie so as to-"

"Do it!" A harsh screech interrupted her. She winced. "And quickly!"

"Done!"

All of a sudden, the noise faded away, gone as quickly as it had come. The sharp sting of the commotion was reduced to a dull roar in the background. Twilight sighed in relief.

"Did it work?"

She fired. The bullet flew straight through the skull of a hapless Soldier. "Yes, it did."

"Good to hear!" Ician exclaimed distractedly. "Rainbow! Are you there?"

"Yeah, I am." Through her scope, Twilight caught sight of the pegasus ducking weaving through the crowd of changeling Soldiers, smashing them with bat and exoskeletons alike. "Why?"

"The upgrades are ready! I need you to come and collect them!"

She immediately reversed direction and sprinted away from the fray, blocking a couple of stray rockets. "Okay, I'll just run over there and-"

"No need! I'll install the teleporter upgrade myself! Just get ready on the other end!"

"Gotcha!" A sniper's tracer bullet, now leaving an evanescent red trail in its wake, decapitated the changeling to her right. Rainbow manoeuvred around the falling body and dashed to the safety of Applejack's sentry. "Damnit, Twilight, be more careful!"

Twilight grinned. "What, not fast enough, Rainbow?"

"I'll show you 'not fast enough'!"

"Rainbow!" Ician snapped. "Onto the teleporter, quickly!"

"I'm there, alright? No need to-"

There was a brief flash of light, accompanied by the teleporter's distinct whirr, and in an instant Rainbow was gone.

"... Whoa."

"What do you mean, whoa?" Ician asked.

"That was... awesome. I've never felt anything like it."

"Intriguing." He mused. Twilight noted, with passing interest, that the telltale echo of two nearby walkie-talkies was absent. Probably because Ician's was still set to an abysmally low volume. "I might have to conduct further research into that in my spare time. But for now..."

"Back to the front." Spike finished for him.

"My thoughts exactly."

"And quickly, please." Twilight added. A brief flare from a firing rocket launcher caught her off guard and she misfired. A muttered curse escaped her lips. "This is becoming too much for us to handle."

"Eeyup."

"Got it." A brief flash behind Applejack's sentry caught Twilight's attention, and it was only with the fastest of reflexes that she caught the violently spinning object Rainbow had hurled at her. She gasped. "Rainbow!"

"Just be grateful." For a fleeting moment, the pegasus smirked at her, and then she was back at the forefront of the raging battle.

Twilight took a moment to pull off another headshot and then lowered the Heatmaker. She stared at the thing Rainbow had thrown at her. It was a sleek, elegant cylinder, the little light there was in the darkened building glinting off of its polished ebony surface. She spotted a hole on one end; peering through it confirmed that it was hollow, and that there was also a hole on the other end. She slid it over the muzzle of her rifle and found that it was a perfect fit.

"Not that I don't appreciate the craftsmanship, Ician, but maybe you could put more effort into functionality?"

"It's as functional as I can make it. The innate illusion magic just alters its appearance. Wait a few minutes and you'll see what it really looks like. In the meantime, of course..." He trailed off meaningfully.

"Right, killing." Twilight brought the rifle back up to eye level and searched for her next target. She found an easy one: A firing changeling Heavy surrounded by his Medics, his eyes locked on Applejack's sentry as they traded blows.

Steady... She took her time, letting the red laser dot settle squarely in the middle of her prey's temple. Steady...

pew

Abruptly, the Heavy's head erupted in a gruesome shower of red, his minigun falling from his grip and clattering onto the ground. Applejack flashed Twilight a smile.

She, however, did not smile back. "Where's the explosion?"

"Wait for it..." Ician said.

KABOOM

In an instant, a huge explosion ripped its way through the remains of the Heavy's skull, breaking free from its constrictive prison and rapidly growing bigger in her scope.

Twilight blinked. "Huh."

"Impressive, isn't it?"

"Very." She muttered. The brilliant-yellow cloud of expanding death enveloped the Medics amid a series of horrified screams.

"Whoa nelly." Applejack's mouth hung open in awe. "That's a lot of firepower ya'll got there."

"It certainly seems so."

"And... that's a wrap." Twilight could almost feel Ician's satisfied grin. "Rarity? Any new developments?"

"Well, it seems that there's another argument."

"What are they saying?"

"They're saying..."

---

"... that we shouldn't be sending in more Soldiers and Heavies!" Exos shouted into the walkie-talkie.

"And I'm telling you that we will, officer." Protea's voice on the other end was tinged with venom. "Don't question my orders."

He drew in a breath, readied himself, and spoke into the device. "With all due respect, Commander, I must express my opinion that we cannot continue along our current course and expect to make any difference!"

Protea had gone dangerously silent. He gulped.

"... Are you refusing to carry out my orders, officer?" She said, unspoken threats lacing her words.

Beads of sweat poured down Exos' face. No going back now. I have to do this. "... Yes, I am."

"I can have you arrested for insubordination. Do you know that?"

He gulped again. "Full well, Commander."

"Then why do you still oppose me?"

"Because... because it's my duty to tell my superiors when they are wrong."

He regretted that immediately. Protea said, "Are you saying that I am wrong?"

Exos almost backed away with a hasty reassurance of No, of course not, perish the thought Commander, but his inner drive held him back. He steeled himself. "Yes. You are wrong, Commander. Very wrong. We will lose many more lives before the day is done if you do not switch tactics at once."

"How dare you?!" She screamed. Exos flinched back and dropped the walkie-talkie. "If you think you can so blatantly disobey me and get away with it, then you've got another thing coming!"

"Ease up, Protea!" Another voice, presumably Commander Fal's, boomed. "He makes a good point. Only the insane keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results."

"Don't you start, Fal!" She snapped. "I have my hooves full dealing with this worthless mook! He's even worse than the one who was guarding the throne room yesterday!"

"He was the one guarding the throne room yesterday." Fal said smoothly. Exos grimaced, his stomach turning to ice. "And, like before, he has pointed out a very logical flaw in your plan - if such an action could even be considered a plan."

Luckily for Exos, Protea was too absorbed in her argument to involve him. "I'm the commander here! I think I know what's best - at least better than you do."

"I dispute that, of course, but that's not the point."

"Then what is?"

"The point is that we've already lost two hundred troops and we haven't taken an inch of ground from them."

"You're quite impatient for results, aren't you?"

"Yes." Fal said. "Because at this rate, by the time we do see results our army size will be in the negative numbers."

"I don't care what you say, Fal. I know what I'm doing. And I'm not wrong."

Exos found his mouth moving before he realized what he was doing. "Actually, Commander, I've been thinking. And really, you're not wrong at all."

"I... what?" Protea's fury abandoned her like air whizzing out of a deflating balloon. Confusion filled the maw. "But you just said I was wrong!"

"No, it was I who was wrong to suggest that. I had assumed that your plan was just to continue this cycle over and over again, but I realized that you must have something much greater in mind."

"But... yes, actually." Fal caught on quickly. "Yes, it is clear that you had something else in mind the entire time."

"Pray tell, what do you think my strategy is?"

"It's obvious." Exos said. "You're going to deceive the mercenaries into thinking that you don't have a strategy in mind..."

"... and then you'll send in Spies when they least expect it and destroy all their defenses in a single blow." Fal finished for him. "Ingenious, really."

Exos knew full well that Protea didn't have that in mind at all. But he realized that, for the sake of saving her face, he had to pretend. And pretend he did. "A truly brilliant plan, Commander. One befitting a tactical genius."

"I..."

"Indeed, officer." Fal approved. "A plan that will most certainly win this battle for the Queen."

Ah. A very clever move. If there's anything the Commander cares about it's pleasing the Queen. "I can't wait to see your strategy in action, Commander."

"Nor can I."

"Well..." The anger was gone. Protea had seen an opening. "... It seems the two of you are smarter than I gave you credit for. You will have the privilege of witnessing my grand design unfold."

"Thank you, Commander."

"And," she added, "make sure you know all the details before acting so insubordinate. Have I made myself clear?"

"Crystal clear." Exos replied habitually.

"Good. Then go and carry out my orders."

"As you wish." Exos reached out a hoof and pulled the nearest changeling to him.

"Yes, officer?" He asked.

Exos smiled. This time, he was in charge. "This is what I need you to do..."

---

"So that's their strategy?" Ician asked.

"It would appear so, yes." Rarity replied.

"Are you sure your presence hasn't been compromised and they're just putting on an act for you?"

"I doubt it."

"But... I don't want to give you away either." He mused. "Which means we'll have to pretend that we're not expecting it..."

"Wait... you want us to fall for this trap?" Twilight demanded, splitting her attention between the conversation the battlefield. Another headshot sent a Soldier reeling backwards and then exploding in a violent blast of light and heat.

"Yes. Which means that you'll have to stop being so good at headshots for a while."

She ignored his order. One bullet cut straight through the brain of an unlucky Heavy. "Why? What's so important that you need Rarity to stay hidden instead of helping us?"

"A way to end this battle instantly."

"A way to..."

"Yes."

"Wait... don't tell me." A revelation slowly dawned upon Twilight. "You're keeping Rarity behind to..."

Ician didn't wait for her to finish. "Yes."

"But you haven't even heard what I wanted to say."

"I think I already know. And I need to give the others a chance to guess too."

"Rarity," she asked, "what weapon do you have on you?"

"The Your Eternal Reward."

"Not only with the instant kill on a successful backstab, but also instantly disguising as the victim." Twilight pondered. "There's more than one...?"

"Absolutely correct." He affirmed. "I'm proud of you, Twilight."

"Ah... thanks."

"Can't ya give us just a small hint?" Applejack questioned.

"No spoilers." Ician answered quickly. "For now, just concentrate on being backstabbed." He paused. "That didn't sound nearly as strange in my head."

"I've heard stranger words." Twilight said, turning her attention back to the battlefront. "Mostly from Pinkie."

"Who else?" He chuckled. "But I doubt even Pinkie will predict an army of eighteen triumphing over an army of two thousand."

---

"How," Protea growled, "are we losing this?"

"Don't ask me." Fal replied. "You're the one in charge."

The group of them - Protea, Fal, Espia, Gran, and Shifter - were situated atop the nearest hill, observing the battle raging below. Everything was happening at once; the roar of their immense army, the myriad flashes of igniting gunpowder, the wafting smell of sulfur, and the dull thud of yet another changeling toppling into the dust.

"Well, they do have respawn points." Espia noted.

"How would that matter if none of them have even been killed yet?" Protea snarled. "This makes no sense!"

"They've had the whole of yesterday to prepare, too." Gran said. "Sentry guns, sticky traps, all that."

"Plus," Shifter added, "they've got the home team advantage. Knowledge of the terrain, excellent defensive positions, and advanced weaponry."

"But we have the numbers." Protea scrutinized the front lines intently. "And we still have ninety percent of our changelings intact."

"And if Officer Exos'- sorry, your plan works, we'll push them back a long way. Long enough for us to overwhelm them eventually, given the same pattern."

"But when is there ever a 'same pattern' in battle?" Protea pondered.

"When we outnumber them more than five hundred to one." Fal argued. "We have the upper hoof. We can control the battlefield."

"Commander." A new voice cut through their conversation. Protea turned to her walkie-talkie. "Officer Exos here."

"Yes, officer?" She asked impatiently.

"I just thought you'd like to see your plan coming to fruition."

"Where?"

"Their Sniper's going first. Can you see her from your position?"

Protea looked out. Every so often, an ethereal trail of red would lance out from the shelter of the central building. "Close enough."

"Give it ten seconds, Commander."

---

Abruptly, Twilight stopped firing. Years of practice and training had honed her senses to a finely sharpened point; she knew when somepony was sneaking up behind her. Out of the corner of her scope, a cloud of green smoke shimmered behind Applejack.

She sighed.

"Twilight?" It was Ician. "Twilight, you've gone silent. Are you alright?"

"... Yes. Everything's going as planned."

He got the message. "Alright. See you later."

She sighed again. With a pounding heart, she put her eye back to the scope.

shlck

---

"She's gone."

A little bit of pride worked its way to Protea's head. "I knew it would work."

"Of course, Commander." A brief pause. "Reports indicate that the Engineer has been killed as well."

"Excellent. What of her sentry gun?"

"Without her support, it won't last for long." Exos said. "I've already instructed our Demomares to hammer away at it."

"Finally, we're making progress." Fal nodded.

A loud, sudden explosion tore through the air.

"What was that?" Protea demanded.

"Nothing much, Commander. Just the last sticky trap. The path has been cleared."

"Then go." She smiled, satisfied.

"At once." With a click, Exos disconnected himself from the line.

"What now?" Fal asked.

"Now, we wait."

"... For?"

"For victory." She marched forward. "Come, let's go. We need to be closer to the new battlefront anyway."

"Where are you planning to go?"

"Hm..." She gave the town a once-over. "The central building."

"The Sniper's old perch?"

"Yes." Protea grinned. "Her old perch."

---

"Charge!" Exos roared. "We've done it! We've won! Now it's time to reap the spoils!"

The army surged forward with him. The bright morning sun glinted off unfurled fangs and polished weapons as rank after rank of changelings pushed forth, past the rows of houses, past the central building, and past the still bodies of their fallen brethren.

Time to see what's behind that building. "Forward! Now we will finally gain..." The new battlefield came into view. "... victory?"

Stretched out before him was Coaltown. Same houses, same central building, same dust...

pew

The changeling beside him wordlessly crumpled onto the ground, his head conspicuously missing. Exos looked up, and in the glare of the sun he could just make out a grinning BLU Sniper waving at him.

And the same bodies.

He sighed heavily.

Comments

[The Usurper]

Well everyone, if you've noticed, so far I've been posting chapters on a weekly basis. Unfortunately, that's going to change for maybe the next one or two weeks. I feel like I need to be doing something else other than writing this story for a while, plus there are a few small exams coming up, so I'm going to be taking a little rest. Not to worry, though, I'll be back soon. I've been keeping at least one complete buffer chapter at all times, so when I want to publish the next chapter it'll be ready.

[TimeKeeper112]

I personally wish tthat the action could be q bit more show than tell like the action sections in the prequel
But, it's a bit intriging, sometimes

[The Usurper]

3922458
These are just the few chapters in the beginning, so there tends to be a lot more exposition. Not to mention that there's not very much action for a Sniper. But once we get settled in the action will begin - especially if there's a scene shift to Pinkie. That would be an action-guaranteed scene.

[Lag Incarnate]

That last bit.

[Dr.LunyJoy]

Great chapter!

If the changleing beside him got headshoted, dosn't that mean he is about to blow up! I liked Exos.

[Kitsunemagus]

3925518
Just a reminder for those not really keeping up with it - BLU Sniper is "unicorn" Twilight, and did not get upgraded with the explosive headshots. RED is our much-loved "pegacorn/alicorn" Twilight and has her upgrade. Just thought I'd clear that up

[The Usurper]

3927222
3925518
Actually... Neither has explosive headshots in the beginning. Unlike normal MvM, the cash in this one is changeling exoskeleton, meaning that they don't get any upgrades until they actually kill something.

So... Yeah.

[Hoxtilicious]

BLU Twilight: Thanks fer standin' still, wanka!