The six mares watched in horror and shock as the massive green and orange monster ate the Human leader, and then turn to face... something they couldn't recognize. They were round, made of wood and Iron plating, and sported a smaller cannon on top, as if they were meant to move an entire defensive line forward from stone walls. The green beast, however, was far superior in terms of weaponry and armor, it seemed.
It swiveled around and fired multiple cannon rounds at one of the, what they assumed were Griffon machines, and caused it to explode. It then seemingly flew over to the left after a single jump, and fire a small ballistic into another mobile cannon, which lead to a series of smaller explosions that obliterated two houses. Then, before it took down one more, it raised some kind of magical shield that vaporized the projectile from another Griffon cannon-machine, before firing right through it, shredding the third to pieces in seconds.
It turned around to look at them after it had finished it's path of carnage, and pointed it's cannon straight at them. Before it fired, however, they heard a familiar voice boom from it.
\\\\\\//////
"Get Down!"
Was all Joshua could manage to snap the attention of the six ponies back to reality as he fired the Titan's main weapon into a squad of Griffons. As the barrel of the gun shot forward it's first round, the ponies ducked onto the ground. Making way for the wave of death to strike at their attackers.
Behind them, a shower of gore, metal, and feathers thundered about, and after a series of squawks, the Griffons were no more.
Joshua lowered the Chaingun and approached the six slowly in the Titan, careful not to scare them too much. When he reached them, they were cowering on the ground and shaking in fear of what may come. He saw this and decided to do something: open the cockpit and exit the Titan. So he punched in the commands for staying open, and waited for the machinery to work. The Chaingun was hefted into the right hand as the right knee came to the ground before them. They all stared up in fear, but then turned to surprise to see the machine open and allow Joshua to come out.
When he landed, they all stood up and stared, jaws hanging.
"I thought I made it clear to stay in that safe-zone." he said sternly.
Twilight shook her head and tried to focus on the statement.
"I... um... we... T-the Library's fine but, we wanted to see where you were going." She looked up at the Titan. "What is that?"
"This is an Atlas Titan. I was hoping we didn't have to use these yet, but I'm not about to let an entire town burn down for the sake of secrecy. I'll explain more later. Right now," Joshua jumped back into the seat inside the opening, allowing it to close around him as the machine rose, "we've got some ponies to save."
With that, he raised the Chaingun in the Titan's right hand and began to motion with the other.
"I'll clear the way. Stay close and don't try to charge ahead. Let's move!"
As he barked the last order, the Titan grabbed the weapon with both hands and began to sprint towards the Library.
\\\\\\//////
As Joshua took off in the 'Titan,' the six mares were awestruck by the display of power it showed in mere seconds, and that the Humans which were already impressive kept on delivering more surprises about how superior they were.
And it scared them.
"Twilight?" Rarity asked.
The young Alicorn turned around to look at her friends, to see them as scared as she was. She faced Rarity and spoke.
"Yes?"
"Do you think we can still trust them?" she asked with a great amount of concern.
"What? The Humans?" Twilight responded as Applejack made her way to them.
"Ah don't like this, one bit." Applejack started. "They come down sayin' they want peace, yet here they are with their fancy weapons 'n stuff, tryin' to fight in a war that ain't theirs. Why would they even come with em' if they want nothin' but good intentions?"
They all exchanged looks for a bit, but stopped thinking as they felt the ground shake as a thundering sound approached them. Joshua's 'Titan' came from around the corner and pointed to them as he addressed them.
"Come on! The Library's under attack!"
\\\\\\//////
"You ever think that we're just born to be the fucking punchline in terrible jokes?" Smith asked as Juarez fired from the cover of the window sill.
"The Fuck are you talking about!?" Juarez yelled, pumping two more rounds into another Griffon attempting to barge in through the opening.
"I mean, all we ever do is get involved in some weird shit that doesn't even seem relevant until either the Captain arrives, or those six ponies we saved are around." he explained, fiddling with a magazine while leaning on the door.
"This is NOT the TIME for your FUCKING CONSPIRACIES SMITH!" Juarez shouted, spraying his entire ammunition at a wave of invading troops, careful not to hit the reinforcements outside.
"I'm just saying, if you think about it, how interesting are we outside of when we're with the Captain? Even when we got here, it felt as if we didn't even exist for days until now, and-"
"First off," Juarez interrupted, "that is how YOU feel, so don't fucking say 'WE'. Second, shut the fuck up and SHOOTTHEGODDAMNGRIFFONS!"
"Fine." Smith groaned, loading the rifle.
Before he could fire, however, the troops outside ceased firing, and a strange rolling sound started approaching.
"The Hell is that?" one of the Grunts outside asked.
"I don't know, but whatever-"
The Grunts were cut off as an explosion rang through the area, followed by screams from outside the door. Screams of their fellow soldiers. The walls nearly burst from their frame as a wave of heat passed through the windows. Both Grunts recovered from the wind with ease as the entire tree creaked as it settled in place. They looked out their respective windows and saw the entire area in front of the Library burned into a crater, with bodies of both sides littering the ground, either in pieces or charred beyond recognition. The other side of the clearing was missing a section of a building, and where one stood, a Griffon armor-unit rolled up to them with a small army of Griffons. Juarez and Smith looked at each other and back to their new batch of enemies with not fear, but disappointment.
Smith pulled out his Archer Heavy Rocket, along with Juarez. Both looked at each other's weapon and glared angrily.
"Smith, you fucktard, you were supposed to bring a Sidewander!"
"Wha- I thought YOU were bringing it!"
"When the fuck did I say that!?"
"I don't know! And that further drives my point on-"
"SHUT UP! We are about to be hoarded by a Damn army and all we have are two mags each for our Carbines, and no way to take down that freaking armor, so-"
"Actually, I spent all my ammo."
"What."
"I don't know! I didn't think this shit would happen, so I left my extra ammo at the ship!"
Juarez just stared blankly at Smith as they sat with their Rockets on the ground.
"Don't give me that look, because you know I can't be trusted to do extra work."
"Shit."
The ground around them shook as a massive collision came from the left of their cover, by the side of the Library. Both Grunts looked outside to see a turned over armor unit broken on impact. They turned their heads towards where it was, and saw a Militia Atlas stomping and firing upon groups of Griffon soldiers as it Dashed from one end to holding position in front of the Library, firing a barrage of death to all those who dared to challenge it's might. In seconds the firing stopped, and all the Griffons were dead.
Both Grunts picked up their rifles and held them up as they cheered for their ultimate weapon being put to use.
\\\\\\//////
"Fucking idiots." Joshua muttered as he heard their cheers behind him.
He scanned the devastated area for the ponies that were supposed to follow him, and found them going around a closer building instead of the bloodied bath he took. Joshua disengaged from his Titan again, and landed outside with a thud. This time, though, instead of letting it go to rest mode, he activated Guard Mode, leaving it near the center of the clearing next to a crater. He checked his Autopistol, and found it was fully loaded with 6 magazines left.
Joshua turned to the Library and went to the door. When he got to it, the six ponies had arrived as well, and the door was opened by none other than Smith and Juarez. They all looked to each other and waited until Joshua broke the silence.
"So, the battle's taking a heavy toll, it seems."
The ponies all nodded and looked into the Library, stunned to find it empty. Twilight looked up to the Grunts and started yelling.
"Where are the ponies? What did you do with them!?"
Smith raised his hands defensively.
"Woah, woah! Calm down! We moved them to the underground level, alright? Johnson's with them right now, so they're fine in case anyone's hurt."
Twilight eased her rage and then directed her attention to Canterlot in the distance.
"What are you going to do when the Princesses get here? How are you going to explain all of this?"
Joshua looked down to her and replied.
"We don't have much to explain. Our allies were being attacked while we were around and we acted accordingly. Simple as that."
Another explosion rung out across the field as another armor unit rolled up towards the Library, barrel pointed at the group of ponies at the door. Before it could aim, however, the Atlas began to fire on it in short bursts, shredding it's insides into a mess of blood and wood. After one last series of rounds, the Chaingun made a large *Click* and the cylinder on it's left dropped to the ground with a massive thud. The Titan's left hand went to it's back, where another cylindrical magazine dropped into it's grip, and was brought back to the side of the weapon before rotating into place. Joshua looked to them and then dashed underneath the Titan. When he passed it's legs, it reached down for him and placed him carefully into the cockpit. Once it closed, he stood full height and began to speak.
"I've gotta go and clear out the remaining forces with the rest of the troops. Smith, Juarez, escort these six to wherever the Civies are, and call in for some reinforcements if needed. Also, make sure they've got something besides Archers, because we can't lock onto these things."
With that, he turned the Titan, moving as one with the machine, and went to clear the town of it's attackers.
\\\\\\//////
The Elements of Harmony were crowded into the basement of Golden Oaks Library with a great deal of other ponies, and yet somehow, it was not as crowded as one might have thought. There were somewhere around 200 others, but clearly there would be enough room for at least another 50 or 100. With this space, the Elements were conversing privately in a corner by the door about their situation.
"Alright, everypony," Twilight began, "we need to figure out how this may end, and what to do in the mean time."
Rainbow Dash rose her hoof to speak.
"I say that we gather everypony who can fight, wait this out, and if they threaten us, we attack and hold out in here until we can get help from the Princesses."
Twilight shook her head a bit before responding.
"No, we can't just fight them. Remember that giant thing that Joshua went into?"
Dash let her expression fall to worry and then allowed her ears to fall against her face as she contemplated it's power.
"But, that doesn't mean we can't try to inform the Princesses. We just need to find- Oh my GOSH!" Twilight jumped up and started flapping her wings, trying to observe the crowd in the space. "SPIKE! ARE YOU HERE!?"
"TWILIGHT!" she heard from the crowd.
All six of them turned to face the source and saw the purple dragon approach with three fillies in tow; Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Applejack and Rarity galloped over to embrace their sisters with tears, while Rainbow Dash flew down and swept up Scootaloo, holding on to her dearly. Spike ran up to Twilight as she landed and tackled the dragon with a hug, tears flowing from her eyes.
"Spike... I can't believe I forgot you!" she cried out as she held him tighter.
"It's alright Twi," he whispered, "we're all okay. We're safe, right?"
She released him and wiped tears from her eyes as she answered.
"That's what we're worried about, Spike. We don't know if we're safe. Those Humans came down ready for war, just like the Griffons. They look like they're protecting us now, yeah, but what happens when they're done? Are they going to keep Ponyville? Are they going to give us back our land? Will they hurt us or-"
"Twilight," Spike interrupted, "please, don't think like that. The one that lead us down here seemed nice enough. Plus, they're not that brutal, right?"
\\\\\\//////
"BURN THESE MOTHER FUCKERS!"
After the creature's yell, the three bipeds fired their clubs at the Griffon squad, killing three of them in a shower of red. For Swipe, however, they couldn't react fast enough to shield their throats as he flew by and cut through their necks as they were distracted. The three of them fell to the ground in pools of their own blood as his brothers began to ensure they were indeed dead.
He examined the strange colors and weapons of the creatures that fell from the sky, and wondered how the Equestrians could conjure something like this last-second. Their clubs didn't have blades, yet they were able to shred his men to bits without even touching them. And their armor made it difficult to even try to stab them, hence the need for a strike to their exposed necks.
His moment of thinking was interrupted, however, when he heard the shouts of many more of those creatures, and looked towards the street to find more of them charging. Swipe turned and saw two armor-tillary units roll in behind more troops. He roared and began to charge at the new batch of victims.
Until he heard a menacing thunder charge from behind the enemy lines, and saw a massive one of them with green metal, giant cannons, and speeding right towards him. He watched in shock and horror as it fired a small object past his line and obliterate the Griffon machinery with unfathomable ease.
The only things that Swipe saw after that were his men trying to run, a massive shadow loom over him, and then complete darkness, coupled only with pain.
\\\\\\//////
Twilight nodded towards Spike and smiled warmly.
"You're right Spike. I should have some kind of faith in them.
Spike smiled back and then looked to the rest of their group. The two pairs of sisters (three if he counted Dash and Scoots, which they all did for good reason) had finally ceased their holding, and were now huddled around in a group around the two. As they did, Twilight found a parchment and scribbled on it quickly for Spike to send.
Fluttershy approached Twilight with an uneasy look on her face.
"D-do you think she'll get it?"
Twilight exchanged a worried look of her own, but shook it off as she turned to Spike while wrapping it up.
"It has to. She needs to know what's going on, and that we're safe. Ready Spike?"
He nodded once before grabbing the paper and lighting it on fire, and watched as it's magical ashes traveled out the cracks in the walls towards the Sun Princess.
\\\\\\//////
Celestia and Luna watched the flashes of light from Ponyville through the shield with great anticipation. The flashes became less frequent, but now there was an uneasy feeling about how well their Ponies were doing in the battle, nor did they know who was winning at the moment. As they wondered, a clanking sound had brought their attention to the Unicorn scientist behind them.
"It's ready," he said to them.
Celestia nodded and approached the massive telescope.
"Thank you, Seer. Let us examine what's going on down there."
With that, Celestia made her way to the vision-port of the massive contraption, and knelt down to see through it. She poured in her magic and began to pierce the purple tint of the shield around Canterlot, as the buildings of Ponyville came into focus.
"I'm starting to see something," she said.
After a few seconds, Ponyville became completely visible, and it made Celestia's jaw and heart drop. Smoke was rising all over the place as massive flashes still rocked through the streets. Buildings were collapsed, some were on fire, and few were even coated in blood. In the streets, she noticed that there were some forms of troops that were not Griffons, and enhanced the magnification. The creatures were tall bipeds with green armor with orange tints on several pieces. They carried strange clubs of some sort as well.
As she scanned these new competitors, Celestia realized that these must be the Humans that Twilight was talking about. Strange weapons, green armors, and bipedal figures, now it made sense. Or at least more so to her now than before.
While watching the Humans fight, she noticed something in the corner of her vision. She swiveled the telescope slightly to the right for a better view. And nearly felt her heart stop. There were her Ponies. In the middle of all of that conflict. In the streets, crowded next to a building. Celestia felt her emotions run rampant as she tried to process how they managed to stay alive thus far. That is, until a group of Human troops came up to them and escorted them past Griffon patrols. She felt a massive weight release from her back she watched the Humans protect the innocents caught in the fighting.
Until the group turned a corner and was met with a massive wood and iron contraption with a cannon on top. Celestia felt time slow down as her Ponies began to take on a look of fear at the mobile cannon that now loomed down on them. She almost didn't even notice the massive contraption being destroyed by an even more threatening one. A massive green and orange metallic Human came from behind it and punched clean through, pulling out a Griffon as the rest of the cannon collapsed on itself, and then throwing the Griffon into the side of a building as another mobile cannon rolled up from another corner. The giant metal Human threw down some kind of magical shield in front of it and turned towards it's smaller counterparts. It used one of it's hands to motion them along, pointing towards the opposite side of the alley. It then raised it's own cannon and fired at the Griffon machine. As it's weapon flashed, the Humans lead the Ponies behind the massive beast and towards another building, where they were brought inside. The metal beast turned towards where they were and then went off into the carnage out of Celestia's view.
As she backed away from the telescope, Luna went up to examine what had caused her sister to act as such, and began her own cycle of reactions. As that happened, a small cloud of green smoke came up to Celestia and materialized in front of her as a scroll.
"Twilight," she whispered to herself.
As quick as she could, she picked up the scroll and unraveled it.
Dear Princess Celestia,
As you may have seen, the skies of Ponyville are being occupied by Griffon balloons of some kind as the Griffons themselves are attacking. After the attack began, the Humans came down and started attacking the Griffons while trying to keep us safe. Right now, we are underneath the Library with at least two hundred other Ponies, and the Humans have placed some of their best as a guard for us, including a Medical Officer. However, we saw many dead bodies of their own soldiers outside the buildings, dying to protect us. We've also seen one of their greatest assets at work, and I believe that they will win this battle within minutes. I would suggest that you come here without a Royal Guard army, as they might think of it as hostile. They're saying that they've come to help an ally, and I was truly glad to hear that, but I fear why they chose us so early. Again, we're safe and sound at the moment, and we wait for your decision.
Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle
Celestia rolled up the note and stared out towards the small town with a great deal of mixed feelings. They were protecting her Ponies with their own lives and went so far as to call themselves an 'ally,' yet they were ready with an invading army and such powerful weapons, including the giants made of metal. She wondered if they were to be trusted, but more so, how to know if she was the one to trust.
Stupid ponies, being all obssessed with peace and stuff. Great chapter, though it does seem like the princesses have no brains when it comes to politics, although you might be saving it for later when Celestia realizes that going against two immortals linked to celestial bodies is a bad idea. And that griffins are stupid. Either one.
I find it funny that they mentioned they didn't mean to stop there and only went planet side for fuel and food and they're thinking they had ulterior motives for having a fighting force. Can't wait to see how this pans out.
Uh... Don't wish to sound like a dick, but the whole neck-cutty thing does NOT sound accurate. These are Militia/M-COR troops. The models in game have neck protection. (Except for maybe one.) My understanding is that if the griffons have cannons, then they should have muskets. Why not just use those? They might work just as well, if not better. One thing is for sure, the Militia do not have bullet proof vests (for what reason, I don't know.) so why not use early gunpowder weapons? I get that a griffon can fly by and slit the throat of a soldier or two, but it simply doesn't seem right. Sorry to be an absolute dickhead, but it irks me a tiny bit. These soldiers have military training, and as you detail in the story, have carbines, archers, and sidewinders. (I know how retarded grunts are in the game, but come on. They are up against the most elite soldiers in the galaxy. Ofc they look like children. The grunts would be absurdly overpowered towards the griffons, yet the pilots more so.) The only thing the griffons have that should pose a threat is the tanks, which could be destroyed with a few well placed shots from a regular firearm, killing the crew. (They ARE made of wood and iron, for crying out loud.) Not only that, but the soldiers are smart enough to pull out these anti-tank weapons, as you state in the story. These grunts should f***ing wreck these guys, and yet you say that many of them are getting absolutely murdered. I feel that it doesn't make much sense. Feel free to poke as many holes in my assessment, I barely play Titanfall. Maybe I'm misinformed. Please, tell me that what I'm saying actually makes sense. I WANT people to inform me, please!
4312342 I think you're right, but since you've never played Titanfall, let me explain the Grunts to you.
.....They aren't that great. Now SPECTRES on the other hand have managed to actually killed me once or twice.... which is embarrassing I will say but eh.
I'd estimate that only a few Grunts would actually be killed during a fight like this, even if the Griffons had muskets. More advanced protection and all.
4312464 Thanks a bunch for replying. I agree with the fact that only a few grunts would be killed, due to the advanced armor that they wear. (At least, we can assume that all soldiers in the Titanfall universe are wearing armor better than today's standard, which would still block these "throat slit maneuvers, due to the fact that we have neck protection.) Of course, the tanks have cannons, so those very few grunts would be killed. However, what the hell happened to the air support? One volley from a goblin (which is a dropship, not something meant for direct assault.) could destroy those giant balloons with ease, if it was fired in the right place. (I'm assuming that these ships have something that would be adequate for attacking, considering the Militia sent them out to attack anyways.) These balloons should be gone already. Therefore, the tanks should already be extremely close to finished. (Maybe I'm underestimating how many griffons there are, but I somehow doubt it. Advanced ballistic protection and firearms go a looooong way against them.)
4312342 I think the soldiers do wear some sort of arm or (they are 1-3 hits from most guns) but its not strong enough to stop the bullets from their high tech weaponry, something as ancient as a musket would still be dangerous, but nowhere near as much as the carbines, and while the neck thing seems cheap, its much better then the humans being OP unstoppable creatures that walk through conflict like its nothing
4312583 True true on the whole OP monsters thing. I expect a few grunts to die from these tanks, but that's it. The whole neck thing doesn't make sense to me. (I know the muskets shouldn't be nearly as dangerous as the carbines. I made you misunderstand there, sorry.)
4312342
The only reason the Grunts are getting murdered is because of the enhanced minerals in their blades and the fact that they're shooting through the buildings as well for surprise attacks. Yeah, they were smart enough to bring anti-Titan weapons, but not all of them are equipped with them. I get where you're coming from, though, and I want to say that the Griffons don't actually kill that many, only with cheap tactics like that throat shit and surprise cannons. There are only a few casualties that I'll list in the next chapter, so don't worry about it.
4312464
You could sneeze and kill a Grunt in that game.
4312671 I thank thee. Thanks for clearing that up. I eagerly await the next chapter in this story.
4312672 True.
4312672 Battlefield Friends reference?
4315280
Yeah.
i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/8093682176/h046C5B7F/
4318797 kinda off topic but I always feel bad when I kill the neutral robots cause they have that freakin happy smiley face on them and when I kick them or something, they get a frowny face and die. Just makes me feel bad.
I like your story so far. Looking forward to reading more.
Why did you post the pictures of the guns? It's not hard to figure out that a magic club that kills things without touching them is a gun.
4340135
For those who don't play the game.
If they didn't play the game, why would they be here?
Shoulda' used the Vortex Shield.
Catch whatever projectiles those mobile guns have and annihilate them without a single shot fired.
4320473
Gotta love the MRVNs. Or Marvins as they are more popularly known.
4343636 ive never played it but watched gameplay and although i was disspointed the game was online/live only i still enjoy stories like this but thats just me and im waiting for this to update
Only mistake I really saw was calling the Sidewinder the Sidewander. Yeah, the grunts are usually useless. Don't forget to include the Mag Launcher and the Charge Beam. I mean, I know in game grunts never carry those around, but still. Keep up the good work!
hahahahha that transition XD
4582972 Agreed
Please let her die. If she believes anyone would walk into a battlefield unarmed, or if she resents her town and species being saved, then she is literally too stupid to live.
I'm sure those launchers can be dumb-fired.
5216366 Archer missiles require a lock to fire
Smith is too smart for his own good. He figured out he's in a story.
No. No. I refuse to believe this guy can be that stupid. I refuse to believe any thinking being in his profession could be that stupid. You know, hearing him say he isn't about to let his new friends get hurt nor let their town be destroyed would be an incredibly heroic and inspiring moment if not for one, tiny, insignificant detail...
That is exactly what he did!
I know I'm being a broken record by this point, but this issue is so cripplingly bad that I almost feel compelled to keep bringing it up whenever this guy tries to look good. Literally the only reason any of those ponies are hurt or any part of the town has been destroyed is due to this guy deciding to let the griffon invasion attack the town completely unhindered for several minutes.
You know, I almost laughed (actually, I did laugh) at the fact that the griffons, the bad guys of this fic turned into one-dimensional incompetent morons to make the main character look good in comparison, actually succeeded in launching a surprise attack despite parts like that smug line of the humans being ready days before the attack. That's right; they were unprepared (there is literally no other way to say it since when the griffons attacked it took the humans several minutes to actually prepare, because I guess they don't realize you can get ready to launch at a moments notice) for a "poorly planned" (which is exactly the way the captain described the plan after the griffons showed him) "surprise" attack (that they knew of several days in advance).
There's got to be some sort of award for being so unimaginably incompetent that you end up being out witted by an honest to God straw-man enemy.
Edit:
Di- did you honestly just have Applejack, of all ponies, say she distrusts them because they were too good at saving their lives and home?
If I could leave a tip have you tried, before submitting a chapter, to go back to certain parts (can be major parts or anything really) and read them out loud to yourself and then just thinking about the implications? Because I think I've just realized that bad implications is seemingly my main (and really only) problem with this story. None of the characters (nor the story itself, actually) seem to realize the implications of what they say and do, leading to moments like this were AJ suddenly becomes completely distrustful at the drop of a hat, or where the captain lets the town get attacked because otherwise how will he have any evidence that the town was attacked?
Edit 2:
Seriously, where on earth did this sudden bout of stupidity come from in regards to the ponies? Out of absolutely nowhere they're all suddenly lacking in mental capacity and have as such decided that the humans currently protecting them are now bad.
God I can't wait for this stupid fight to end and for the awesome character interaction to take over. Maybe all of this plot induced idiocy will go away at that moment.
"... So when you can't fight your battles, then you know just who to call. I will stand by your side, Until the TITANFALL"
5842306
I'm sorry sir, but you're suffering from... Walls of text.
5327446 smith is the new pinkie pie.
4582972 I loved the grunts, they would bolster my score in every match! #<3grunts
TIME FOR WAR!
Are you sure about that?