Another Scale of War
Applejack
Applejack trudged forward across the barren landscape they had found themselves in, the hard, sun scorched earth being a far cry from the lush fertile fields she had been in the day before. Every step sent small sparks of pain flaring through her hooves, reminding her of where she was, just in case she had forgotten.
As if she could forget.
It was true that Koghad and Lofeg were on to something when they said that their way of mourning the dead was more of celebration of life, and that it was pointless to mourn the dead for long, and while it may have helped, Applejack couldn’t just forget Mata and all those who fell alongside him.
The cocky Demiurg had always been the nicest of the three diminutive people, acting as a liaison between Applejack and Koghad when the team leader was being pig-headed, which was far too often for Applejack’s tastes. Koghad was nice enough, and when he was told to stop, he usually stopped, but he had the nasty habit of simply pushing too far and keeping a joke alive long after the sheet should have been pulled up over its head.
Lofeg was a little better, but there was still something about him that Applejack couldn’t quite pin down. He seemed calm and reserved at some points, and energetic verging on mild sociopathic tendencies. Not to mention his penchant for smuggling and other forms of kleptomania didn’t sit right with Applejack, and while he had never done anything against her, she still found it hard to get along with him fully.
Mata had been the closest to a constant friend in the team Applejack had got, the little man making sure that she was always well settled, as well as being the one to teach her more about the universe she was no in. Now that he was gone, it was like a void had been opened up in her life, joining the other one that had been ripped open when she had been teleported away from her friends. Applejack suddenly realised that this must have been how Rainbow felt when she watched Elarique die, magnified by one hundred.
For the first time since the attack, Applejack allowed her mind to drift to her Pegasus friend, remembering everything she could about Rainbow's story, and how she described the humans that she met up with. Unlike Rainbow, she had no training, no experience in fighting, and no chance to talk to them. The humans had attacked without warning, without mercy, and would probably continue to do so until they were all dead.
“So Applejack, what’s going on underneath the hat?” Lofeg asked, walking up beside her.
“What do you mean?” Applejack asked, slowing her pace to walk beside him.
“You’re not a very subtle creature Applejack,” Lofeg smirked. “I don’t know how ponies usually look when they’re thinking, but you’re fairly easy to read. So, what are you thinking about?”
“Mata,” Applejack admitted. “Him and all of the others who died at the farm.”
“Still thinking on the dead?” Lofeg sighed.
“The umm, funeral thing helped,” Applejack replied, trying to think of the best way to summarise the drunken singing that they had done last night. “But I can’t just stop thinking about it. Ya can’t tell me that yer fine with yer kin dying.”
“Fine with it? Not in any way,” Lofeg shook his head. “Accepting it? That is a much better way of describing it.”
“But you seem so calm,” Applejack looked at Lofeg in slight confusion.
“Being hysterical about it now won’t make a difference now,” Lofeg shrugged. “If we get back to Tau lines, then Koghad and I will mourn him properly.”
“More drinking?” Applejack raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, but there may also be a more solemn bit,” Lofeg nodded. “When we aren’t in mortal danger, we can afford to brood slightly.”
Applejack nodded, glancing across at Koghad who was trailing along at the back, before changing her pace to walk beside him.
“Oh and Applejack?” Lofeg called after her, leaning down to whisper in her ear. “Don’t bring it up with Koghad, he’s fine, but scratch a scab and it can still bleed a lot.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Applejack nodded, before glancing up at W1. “How you doing W1?”
“I am operating a ninety nine percent capacity Fio’Saal, thank you for asking,” the drone replied simply.
“Not really what I asked, but I guess for a drone it will do,” Applejack sighed, before looking up at Koghad. “How you doing big fella?”
“All things considered, I’m pretty good lass,” he nodded, ruffling her mane slightly, being careful not to knock her hat from her head. Men weren’t supposed to have bruises where he’d got bruises after he’d stolen the Stetson from her for a joke. “We still going the right way?”
“Should be, as long as we find a valley soon,” Applejack nodded. “We can walk down there and reach the plains. Once there, should be fairly easy ta get ta the capital.”
“What’s to say that we won’t run into anyone in this valley of yours?” Koghad asked, crossing his arms.
“What’s to say we won’t run into anyone out here?” Applejack countered. “Listen Sugarcube, you can stay here and hide, or y’all can stop bein’ such a big baby and just come with me. I know ya like being in charge, but this time y’all need ta listen. If ya want to stop and go back to the hut then ah won’t stop ya. Promise.”
“I’ll follow ya lass,” Koghad sighed. “Ah just don’t want to see us blunder into a trap.”
“Neither do I,” Applejack admitted with a shudder, before her ears picked up a distant booming sound. “I don’t want to see anyone else get hurt, which is why we can’t stay out here, especially if there’s going to be a storm coming tonight.”
“If we stay still out here, we won’t be found,” Koghad reasoned. “The humans won’t come out here, we can ride this thing out, and as for a roof over our heads, we could always go back to the shack again.”
“And if the humans win?” Applejack whispered.
“What was that lass?”
“I said what if they win?” Applejack repeated, louder this time. “Ya saw the Space Marines. Mah friend Rainbow Dash fought alongside them once. She described them as pretty much gods, next ta unkillable. Do ya really think…”
“We will push them back,” Koghad snapped. “That’s final.”
With that, Koghad lengthened his stride, catching up with Lofeg and leaving Applejack behind, staring after the irate Demiurg. She let out a soft sigh, before W1 approached her, its anti-grav generator ruffling the fur on her back as it passed over her.
“Fio’Saal Applejack, my scanners indicate that the entrance to the canyon is located two miles west. Should I perform a preliminary scouting run?”
“Yeah, ah think that’s a good idea,” Applejack nodded, before glancing up at the sky. “See if ya can find some shelter. Looks like we’ll be needin’ a place ta stay when the sun goes down and that storm hits.” Her final words were punctuated by yet another booming crash of thunder, followed by a flash of light off in the distance. It was funny, it didn’t look like a traditional storm, but then again, this wasn’t Equestria, so who was to say what was normal here.
“Affirmative Fio’Saal,” W1 bobbed in acknowledgment, before darting off towards a rising wall of rocky hills and mountains, heading for a slightly lower patch that was likely the entrance to the canyon.
“Come on, W1 found the entrance,” Applejack called, trotting up beside Koghad and Lofeg. “Let’s pick up the pace, ah want ta try and find somewhere ta sleep before night fall.”
“Sure,” Koghad grunted, before setting off in silence towards the mountains.
“Smooth going,” Lofeg muttered, looking down at Applejack. “He doesn’t enjoy anyone talkin’ about the Tau in less than favourable terms.”
“It’s true though,” Applejack replied, looking up at him. “Ya saw the Space Marines. Do ya really think anything can stop them?”
“The Fire Caste took this world from under the protection of them once before,” Lofeg reasoned. “Who says they can’t do it again?”
“But…”
“I won’t speculate on something that I know nothing about,” Lofeg cut her off. “We’re not soldiers Applejack. I have no idea how to fire a weapon or command a battle, nor do I know how to tell if we’re winning. Idle speculation isn’t healthy.”
“Silence then,” Applejack quipped, before trotting forward, heading towards the mountains, and the canyon beyond.
***
“This is the place?” Applejack asked, looking up at W1.
“Affirmative, the plain lies just ahead of us,” W1 bobbed up and down. “The canyon pass is guarded by an old village. It appears that it has been abandoned for a long time. Most likely from fire damage, given the condition of the remaining buildings.”
“Anywhere that we can stay indoors?” Applejack asked.
“Possibly. I will lead you to there and you can decide Fio’Saal.”
With that, W1 floated forwards, leading Applejack and the others further down the rocky canyon in silence. They hadn’t broken words since they had entered the mountain pass, and Applejack was beginning to regret her earlier pessimism. She didn’t have time to dwell on it too much however, as the ruined village finally came into view.
Like W1 had said, it looked like most of the buildings had suffered some sort of fire damage, to a greater or lesser extent. Some of the buildings had almost been completely reduced to nothing, save for a few walls that would come up to Koghad’s chest, while others, most notably a large barn like building, seemed to have escaped fairly unscathed. A soft wind kicked a dust devil up before Applejack, and she watched it blow towards the ruined buildings, before wrinkling her nose up as she got a wiff of burnt wood.
“What do you think happened here?” Applejack asked, turning to face the other
“A fire,” Koghad deadpanned.
“Very funny,” Applejack quipped, before sighing. “Listen, Koghad…”
Applejack was cut off by a loud boom somewhere off in the distance, the entire ground shaking, threatening to knock Applejack, Koghad and Lofeg from their feet and hooves.
“What in the hay…” Applejack began again, before the ground shook once more, and this time she didn’t manage to stay standing, crashing to the floor, a rock digging painfully into one of the many cuts on her side.
The booming became louder and louder as Applejack forced herself back to unsteady hooves, keeping low to the ground as she hurried towards one of the burnt out walls of a crumbling house, steadying herself on it as Lofeg and Koghad staggered up beside her. Every boom was louder now, a crashing cacophony of sound that had the regimented mark of some kind of footfall, and Applejack felt her blood run cold as she tried to envision what manner of beast could possibly cause such loud sounds just by the simple act of walking.
“What’s going on?” she asked, looking across at Lofeg and Koghad, the pair looking as shocked and confused as she was.
“I don’t know lass!” Koghad roared, having to shout to be heard above a new whining sound that seemed to pierce Applejack's brain.
Rocks began to tumble from the steep sided cliffs, landing on the outskirts of the village, and Applejack watched as a flock of birds took to the skies, blotting out the setting sun for a brief second, before allowing its illuminating glow to shine forth once more as an aircraft shot over the cliffs behind the birds. For a moment the glorious blue paintwork of the Pa’Laa sept was surrounded by the sun’s rays, the cockpit glinting as it reflected the light, and for the briefest of moments, Applejack was in awe of the mighty vehicle.
Unlike the crafts she had seen, the civilian Piranha and the Orca, this vehicle was smooth and curved, its hull sweeping back from two massive protruding spikes. It was as beautiful as it was ominous, and Applejack instinctively knew that this was no transport or civilian ship, this was a ship of war. She also knew that no matter how loud the whine of the engines were on the craft, it couldn’t be making the stomping sound that was still getting louder, and that thought was the one that brought her crashing back to reality.
As if to confirm Applejack thought, a brilliant beam of red light shot into the sky, searing the afterimage into Applejack's eyes as it narrowly missing the Tau aircraft as it banked to the side, before turning sharply and unleashing two blue beams of light from the spikes on the front of its hull. Applejack still couldn’t see the aircrafts quarry, but that was about to be rectified as the booming finally reached a crescendo, and a massive metal foot came into view around the end of the valley. Half surrounded in the dust it had kicked up, Applejack could barely make out the large cylindrical shin-like plate and the three toes that jutted off from it, before she tripped on her own tail, sprawling on her back, her eyes fixed open.
Applejack was gripped in terror as the foot gave way to yet more of the towering monstrosity, another leg striding forward and pushing more of the machine in to view. It, whatever ‘it’ was, towered above Applejack and the others, eclipsing even the size of the Orca as it took another shuddering step forward. The thing looked almost like a Tau, a metal head protruding from its chest, beneath a massive pod mounted upon the top of its main carapace, large holes that were clearly meant to hold something now devoid of anything, save for small cone like protrusion.
Its right arm ended in a massive fist, the sheer size of the weapon almost being beyond belief, and if Applejack had not been there to see it first hoofedly, she would never have believed that it could exist. Its left arm was what gave Applejack the most fear as it rose towards the sky, the three barrels following after the aircraft with a speed that was belied by the machines size, before three red beams burst forth again, and this time, the aircraft didn’t manage to avoid the shot.
In a bright explosion, the likes of which Applejack had never seen, the aircraft was ripped clean in two, one of the wings tumbling towards the floor, while the main hull and the second wing began to spin as it powered towards the ground. Applejack finally broke the terror that gripped her as she looked at the vehicle now turning back towards them, and raised her voice in a panicked scream.
“Run!” and with that, she bolted from the burnt wall, galloping as fast as she could away from the machine, not daring to look back to see if Koghad and Lofeg were following her.
Her ears were assaulted by a deafening cry of a deep horn, before the ground once again rumbled, the tremors causing Applejack to stumble, but she forced herself to keep going. Part of her knew that anything that size would easily be able to keep up with her and that running was futile, but that part was being squashed by the sheer terror that pervaded the rest of her mind. Her lungs burnt as she ran, before her ears picked up, another high pitched whine filling the canyon.
Two blue beams once again lit up the sky, and Applejack looked up to see another aircraft soar overhead, avoiding the towering monstrosity as it banked around for another attack. The monster had been staggered by the attack, an odd rippling white light now covering its hull where the blows had struck, before fading as the vehicle twisted at the waist, traversing to try and bring its terrible weapon to bear upon the new aircraft.
It managed to turn itself half way around before another pair of shots slammed home, the white light of whatever shields the towering vehicle had glowing white, before disappearing with an audible ‘pop’, the pressure wave buffeting Applejack. Even so wounded, the massive machine managed to retaliate, the cone launching from the box on its back on a tongue of fire, and Applejack realised that it was a huge missile, like the ones that Rainbow had told her the humans used, but in the same impossible scale as the rest of the machine.
The missile arced through the air, chasing after the aircraft as it veered to and fro, attempting to shake the missile while staying out of the war engines sights, eventually pulling off a sharp turn near the ground, the missile unable to follow and impacting with the floor. Dust was kicked up as a fiery pillar erupted from the missiles impact zone, and even though it was hundreds of meters away, Applejack could still feel the heat produced by the flames before they died away.
“Applejack! Get over here!” Koghad roared from further down the canyon, and Applejack turned to flee towards him, crouching in the doorway of a ruined barn as they watched the vehicle continue to turn, its war-horn blaring as if in anger.
“What is that?” Applejack squeaked as another red beam was shot towards the aircraft, thankfully missing it as the pilot artfully rolled the craft around the laser.
“Must be that Legio thing we heard about,” Lofeg panted, his eyes wide as he watched the fight. “It’s not a Space Marine, it’s not a Guardsman. That’s the only thing it can…”
Applejack didn’t hear what Lofeg was about to say as the aircraft fired again, the beams slamming home just below the right shoulder of the vehicle. With a screeching tearing sound of metal on metal, the beams seared through the armour plating no longer protected by the shields, severing the limb and sending it crashing to the floor, sending shockwaves through the canyon.
The war engine let out a bestial howl, sounding like it would come from an animal that had experienced more pain than it had ever known. It was clear that it was wounded now, and Applejack was beginning to make out the sheer amount of damage on the machine as it turned away from them, trying to keep the aircraft in its sights as it tried to raise its left arm once more. There were scorch holes across most of its hull, peeling paint away and pockmarking the surface that had once been smooth with thousands of black dimples, while faint blue smoke guttered out of the massive exhausts on its back, joining the black smoke the billowed out from the top of them.
Its arm screeched and groaned in protest as it was raised once more, sounding as if the gears within were fighting against the arm in a battle to determine the fate of the engine. It had stopped moving now, its head seeming to hang lower as it tried to raise its weapon, swaying slightly as it finally brought it to bear just as the aircraft began another strafing run towards it.
Both vehicles fired at the same time, the three red lasers arcing upwards towards the aircraft, while the two blue ones streaked downwards towards the war engine. Both found their mark in the exact same instant, the aircrafts wing being torn off, while the shots from the aircraft slammed through the war engines chest.
The engine staggered backwards, its one remaining arm flailing slowly as it weakly tried to keep its balance, taking a shuddering step backwards in a vain attempt to stay upright. The aircraft however was still speeding forward however, now spinning out of control with only one wing.
With a sickening sound of metal crashing into metal, the aircrafts one remaining wing clipped the war engines head, showering metal down towards the ground as the engine was forcibly spun round so it was facing Applejack and the others. The aircraft continued to spiral towards the ground, gouging out a great furlough as it hit home, but Applejack didn’t care about that, transfixed as she was by the visage of the machine in front of her.
The engine began to topple forwards as if in slow motion crashing to its knees first and sending out shockwaves strong enough to pitch Applejack from her hooves once again. It stayed like that for a few seconds, its ruined face looking up towards the sky as if it was praying to something, before it began to topple forward once again.
It fell like a dead weight, no life remaining anywhere in its battered and broken body, and Applejack realised where it was going to land. With a painful cough, she tried vainly to crawl away from it, before a hand caught her hoof. She turned, only to see Koghad staring at her with fearful eyes.
She moved towards him as the engine blotted out the sun, wrapping her hooves around him as they sheltered by a massive rock.
She held onto Koghad, squeezing him so tightly she swore her hooves were turning white as he return the favour, pulling her into a bone crushingly tight hug.
She held Koghad so tight.
Stats
Page generated in 0.035 seconds
Total duration
992 users online
2,256,278 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
One of the mighty Titans has been laid low... This should be interesting
Very well written (except maybe a few more details would have been good, for example if there is wind or the air is stale, and maybe a description of more buildings in the village).
The fight scene was surreal, but in a very good way, Salvador Dali-esque. I could really see the titan, impossibly large, half concealed by the dust thrown up by its own steps like a distant mountain, and yet looming way too close. You really captured the mind-boggling scale of that thing (albeit a bit more details of its design would have been good - I pictured it as an Emperor Titan but I would not know which titan you intended it to be) and the air fights were tense and well written. I loved the scene at the end, both machines on collision course, imending mutual destruction, and when you think the day has been lost the tau goes kamikaze and finishes the titan.
4579063
It was supposed to be a Reaver class.I had debated Warlord, but then I felt that was simply too large, while a Warhound is too small and would have easily been destroyed.
Thanks for the tips as well. I will make sure to use them in future chapters, and may edit this one slightly to make it a bit better,
4579736
Ah, the benefits of writing the first part in a slightly drunken haze.
I'll edit it later
Yay, GO PA'LAA SEPT!!!!!
Keep up your good work 
4579814
I will credit you for the sept when I include them properly.
A titan has been lost in battle
I see some executions for incompetence in the near future
well, who crawls out of the wreckage? the crew can survive those falls (not many admittedly) and they wont be happy.
mayhaps this is time for them to run?
or are you going with they all died? reavers dont have that big a crew if memories serves me right this time ( like few hundred at most).
*edit*
never mind, found this.
4580164
Yeah, there are only 4 crew, which is one Princeps, two Moderatii and a tech priest. Servitors are hard wired around the place, but they don't count.
Fuck yeah
Titans....they are sooooooo in trouble.
Oh dear. An Imperial Titan has fallen... Wonder how many foes it destroyed before it fell. I imagine it reaped a glorious toll from the vile Tau Usurpers. Even in death is struck down its for. OMNISSIAH VULT!
4579083
Thanks for clarifying this. The way it is described, it sounded more like a warlord or imperator, which would have survived a bit more. The three barrels were my only major hint, as the Reaver is one of the few titans armed with a weapon like that.
I also appreciate the human element you gave to it. As it is wired directly into the brains of the princeps and moderati, it mirrors their motions, so that one moment of looking to the skies really gave me a shiver, as if it were an ordinary man, looking to the sky in his final moments, wondering why.
Very well done, and I'm glad to see this continue! On to the next chapter then, brother!
4611056
I've just finished re-reading Titanicus, again, so I decided to add in some good old titans. Initially they were just going to be mentioned. Then I decided to have AJ actually see one in action.
And yes, the Reaver was armed with a power fist and a Turbo Laser Destructor. My favourite loadout.
4617915
Definitely nothing to sneeze at, that's for sure.
4579814
For The Greater Good (or the lesser evil.
)!
Howdy Fenrisian , I wanted to let you know that once you get farther along into this story im going to feature this story on Bronyland, Just like I did the first one. Welcome!
4647155
Well thank you then, i look forward to it.
P.S. There won't be another update for a while Unfortunatly.
4648490
You ok? :-0
4698243
Yeah, but I'm out of the country. In a backwater place called America or something.
Kidding, really enjoying it here, especially the Fourth celebrations.
I just don't want to do any writing on my iPad, as it's not very reliable.
4700513 K. :-0
everything she could about Rainbows story
seemed to pierce Applejacks brain
into Applejacks eyes
it’s head seeming to hang lower
1. Rainbow's.
2. Applejack's.
3. Applejack's.
4. Its.
I don't know whether it's more interesting if W1 forgot her command to call her Applejack, or if he is just ignoring it.
Oh. That aircraft is an Orca...
Uhh... I am doubting that it is an Imperator titan, but I'm not sure what else is so much larger than an Orca. The good thing, however, is that Orcas can take down titans. They aren't meant for it like the Stormsurge, but they can.
Edit: I'm an idiot. That thing is obviously a Warhound.